Transferred from my other blog: The Adventures of Sisterhood.
First published: 4-16-12 at 11:05 PM EDT
Here in North Carolina, really in all of Bible Belt America, it's
been heating up. The last 3 days have been some of the hottest days
we've had all year. My little sister, recovering from yet another ear
infection, has not been happy.
Today's entry is about
the in-between. Everyone knows and hates the in-between, when it's still
pollen-y outside, air full of allergens, yet the sun is beating on our
backs and torturing us with 90 degree weather, and mosquitoes start
sneaking into the house. Neighborhood pools aren't yet open (though I
don't think ours even has a pool). Here in the south, droughts have been
recurring for the past few years, so no beautiful sprinklers either.
What is there to do when the blithering sun is languishing even the most
energetic of us?
My family and I took my little sister
to the playground near our house a couple of times this weekend. Before
it's too dark and too much of bug territory, we sneak a few hours in
the sun. But those few hours have to be before noon or around 3 or 4.
They must be oh-so-precisely timed or we'll be stuck in the heat on the
walk back. Once we get to the playground, the slide is hot, the swing
sets are as well.
In fact, everywhere is hot. Today, I
struggled and winced my way into opening a doorknob to get into the
studio at which I take music lessons. Kylie's car seat buckles, black
colored plastic, is hot to the touch while buckling. I'm honestly
surprised that she hasn't protested because of it, yet. The worst thing
about all of this is that the worse has yet to come. Summer's not even
begun, and we're already suffocating under the sun.
On
another note, our grandmother arrived from China last Thursday. She'll
be spending 6 months with us, primarily to help care for Kylie. She
cared for Kylie between Kylie's 2 months and 8 months old, but Kylie's
pretty much just re-met her. One of the shiest babies' I know, it took
her less than 2 days to completely warm up to our grandmother. ♥
-Chichi
Monday, April 16, 2012
Monday, April 9, 2012
Being A Good Influence
Transferred from my other blog: The Adventures of Sisterhood.
First published: 4-9-12 at 10:27 PM EDT
I have a friend who has a little sister also. A while ago, we had the following exchange:
Me:
Your sister is freaking adorable. Be a good influence :)
Him:So I taught her how to open a safe without getting caught today.
He said this as sarcastically as he could in an IM (at least, I'd hope it was sarcasm), but this reminded me of an issue that should have some light shone on it. How much can you do around a babbling, wordless younger sibling without being a bad influence? And how much does what you do really influence your sibling at all?
When I understood absolutely nothing about how life and the world worked, even less than I do now, I looked up to my parents. I watched them, observed, asked questions, learned, picked things up subconsciously, etc. As parents, they had the ability to pretty much control everything I did and all the habits I have now. Between always remembering to turn off the lights when I leave the room and putting my dirty dish in the sink after dinner, good habits are the things that remain clearest and most automatic.
As Kylie is growing up, I'm going to strive to prevent myself from accidentally teaching her bad habits or letting her pick up on my bad habits. From baby habits to big kid habits like speaking before you think, I've done all the bad stuff and corrected most of it. No yelling or screaming or loud noises in the house, no complimenting her or encouraging it when she makes such noises, and never say swear words. As a high school student, I obviously have potty-mouthed friends. Whatever happens, they will not be the ones teaching my baby sister foul language. I think she'll have the power to resist it as a habit even once she does get to that age. I have faith in her.
More recently than the first exchange, another question came up between the two of us. "Where do you get your moral compass?" I'm a very non-religious person. In fact, I avoid religion almost at all costs. My family is not affiliated with any religions either. I, personally, am an advocate for LGBT rights, and would categorize myself as one who bases her ideas off of proof and science, not divine intervention. Freethinker. However, with a childhood education that sprouted in a college town in the Deep South, Christian influence was extremely prevalent until I was about eight. From ages eight to thirteen, last summer, we lived in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia that had up to 6 churches on a major street. Where we live now, where Kylie is going to grow up, I've only counted 3 churches in the area total. Of course, my parents were stronger navigators of the moral compass than the community around us, it probably would be beneficial to have the extra reinforcement of the common sense kind of right or wrong within the community.
-Chichi
First published: 4-9-12 at 10:27 PM EDT
I have a friend who has a little sister also. A while ago, we had the following exchange:
Me:
Your sister is freaking adorable. Be a good influence :)
Him:So I taught her how to open a safe without getting caught today.
And she almost has the word "[expletive]" down.
I'm so proud of her.
He said this as sarcastically as he could in an IM (at least, I'd hope it was sarcasm), but this reminded me of an issue that should have some light shone on it. How much can you do around a babbling, wordless younger sibling without being a bad influence? And how much does what you do really influence your sibling at all?
When I understood absolutely nothing about how life and the world worked, even less than I do now, I looked up to my parents. I watched them, observed, asked questions, learned, picked things up subconsciously, etc. As parents, they had the ability to pretty much control everything I did and all the habits I have now. Between always remembering to turn off the lights when I leave the room and putting my dirty dish in the sink after dinner, good habits are the things that remain clearest and most automatic.
As Kylie is growing up, I'm going to strive to prevent myself from accidentally teaching her bad habits or letting her pick up on my bad habits. From baby habits to big kid habits like speaking before you think, I've done all the bad stuff and corrected most of it. No yelling or screaming or loud noises in the house, no complimenting her or encouraging it when she makes such noises, and never say swear words. As a high school student, I obviously have potty-mouthed friends. Whatever happens, they will not be the ones teaching my baby sister foul language. I think she'll have the power to resist it as a habit even once she does get to that age. I have faith in her.
More recently than the first exchange, another question came up between the two of us. "Where do you get your moral compass?" I'm a very non-religious person. In fact, I avoid religion almost at all costs. My family is not affiliated with any religions either. I, personally, am an advocate for LGBT rights, and would categorize myself as one who bases her ideas off of proof and science, not divine intervention. Freethinker. However, with a childhood education that sprouted in a college town in the Deep South, Christian influence was extremely prevalent until I was about eight. From ages eight to thirteen, last summer, we lived in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia that had up to 6 churches on a major street. Where we live now, where Kylie is going to grow up, I've only counted 3 churches in the area total. Of course, my parents were stronger navigators of the moral compass than the community around us, it probably would be beneficial to have the extra reinforcement of the common sense kind of right or wrong within the community.
-Chichi
Monday, April 2, 2012
The Polka-Dotted Raincoat
Transferred from my other blog: The Adventures of Sisterhood.
First published: 4-2-12 at 10:39 PM EDT
This past weekend, our family was grocery shopping. At Target, my mom and I browse the baby section, like we do on every trip. We decide that Kylie needs some new little outfit, like we do nearly every week. This time, it was some raincoats that caught our eyes. After choosing, we narrowed it down to two: a pink on with white polka dots or a classic but cute solid yellow one. We couldn't decide ourselves, so I went over to where Kylie was playing with one of those shopping carts that have the fun little area for kids in the front.
First, we asked her which one she liked better, as always. She didn't really pay much attention, so I dressed her in the pink one. We saw her in it, and as I started to take it off, she resisted just a bit. Then we put the yellow one on her. My mom and I agreed that the yellow one would be easier to match with pants, demonstrated quite obviously by the fact that the polka dots clashed with her cheetah print pants. We took it off of her, put it in the shopping cart, and started taking the other one back. The whole time, though, Kylie had been eyeing and grabbing at the pink one.
At this point, Kylie is starting to fidget a lot more. She chased after mommy and clawed the air for the pink one. Laughing, my mom took the two and held them both at Kylie's eye level. I held her back until my mom had them even. When I let her go, she flew straight for the pink coat and practically tackle-hugged it. She carried it back to me and made the motion that asked me to put it on her. Take account of the fact that the day was very hot, and the rest of us were sweating in our short-sleeved shirts.
At the cash register, Kylie still refused to take off her new raincoat. The little fashionista finally relented when we left the protection of AC inside the building for the egg frying heat of the sun. When I was a toddler, I never chose my own clothes out shopping. Even now, shopping isn't something I enjoy. Kylie, however, has made it very clear very early on that we will not be the ones choosing her outfits in the future.
This is the jacket (much cuter in person, though)
-Chichi
First published: 4-2-12 at 10:39 PM EDT
This past weekend, our family was grocery shopping. At Target, my mom and I browse the baby section, like we do on every trip. We decide that Kylie needs some new little outfit, like we do nearly every week. This time, it was some raincoats that caught our eyes. After choosing, we narrowed it down to two: a pink on with white polka dots or a classic but cute solid yellow one. We couldn't decide ourselves, so I went over to where Kylie was playing with one of those shopping carts that have the fun little area for kids in the front.
First, we asked her which one she liked better, as always. She didn't really pay much attention, so I dressed her in the pink one. We saw her in it, and as I started to take it off, she resisted just a bit. Then we put the yellow one on her. My mom and I agreed that the yellow one would be easier to match with pants, demonstrated quite obviously by the fact that the polka dots clashed with her cheetah print pants. We took it off of her, put it in the shopping cart, and started taking the other one back. The whole time, though, Kylie had been eyeing and grabbing at the pink one.
At this point, Kylie is starting to fidget a lot more. She chased after mommy and clawed the air for the pink one. Laughing, my mom took the two and held them both at Kylie's eye level. I held her back until my mom had them even. When I let her go, she flew straight for the pink coat and practically tackle-hugged it. She carried it back to me and made the motion that asked me to put it on her. Take account of the fact that the day was very hot, and the rest of us were sweating in our short-sleeved shirts.
At the cash register, Kylie still refused to take off her new raincoat. The little fashionista finally relented when we left the protection of AC inside the building for the egg frying heat of the sun. When I was a toddler, I never chose my own clothes out shopping. Even now, shopping isn't something I enjoy. Kylie, however, has made it very clear very early on that we will not be the ones choosing her outfits in the future.
This is the jacket (much cuter in person, though)
-Chichi
Monday, March 26, 2012
Sisterhood in the Hunger Games
Transferred from my other blog: The Adventures of Sisterhood.
First published: 3-26-12 at 11:12 PM EDT
This weekend, some friends and I went to celebrate one of their birthdays by seeing a movie that just recently came out, the Hunger Games. The movie itself drew a ton of hype. Honestly, it really didn't live up to my expectations, but that's not my point here.
In the book and movie, Katniss goes off to fight as a tribute in the 74th annual district Hunger Games because her younger sister was at first chosen as the tribute. Katniss volunteered to replace Primrose as the female representative from their district. It is because of this action that eventually leads to a revolution in the districts (sorry, that's a spoiler for Catching Fire and Mockingjay!). Today, I was speaking with the birthday boy, and he asked me if it were me and Kylie, would I have volunteered for my baby sister? Would I volunteer to replace anyone?
Without experiencing what is going on in the fictional world that Suzanne Collins created for us, I can't accurately predict my own actions or judge the actions of the characters. I'd like to say that I'm sure I would volunteer for anyone younger than myself, anyone with more promise and opportunity and deserves to live to see as least as much as I have. However, I can only truthfully say that the only person I'm positive that I'd undoubtedly volunteer to replace is my baby sister.
Assuming that I'm 19 and she's 7 (not in the age eligibility range in the series). If, out of oh so many names it's hers that is chosen, though I wouldn't be nearly as dramatic as Katniss, I would not allow, under any circumstance, my baby sister to go into cruel, blood-shedding combat with other kids. There's so much violence, danger, and thirst for fame and power that even if she survived and won, she'd be traumatized out of her mind or turned into a monster. What little kid wouldn't, if they were to watch people get decapitated by spears?
If it were your sibling, what would you do?
-Chichi
First published: 3-26-12 at 11:12 PM EDT
This weekend, some friends and I went to celebrate one of their birthdays by seeing a movie that just recently came out, the Hunger Games. The movie itself drew a ton of hype. Honestly, it really didn't live up to my expectations, but that's not my point here.
In the book and movie, Katniss goes off to fight as a tribute in the 74th annual district Hunger Games because her younger sister was at first chosen as the tribute. Katniss volunteered to replace Primrose as the female representative from their district. It is because of this action that eventually leads to a revolution in the districts (sorry, that's a spoiler for Catching Fire and Mockingjay!). Today, I was speaking with the birthday boy, and he asked me if it were me and Kylie, would I have volunteered for my baby sister? Would I volunteer to replace anyone?
Without experiencing what is going on in the fictional world that Suzanne Collins created for us, I can't accurately predict my own actions or judge the actions of the characters. I'd like to say that I'm sure I would volunteer for anyone younger than myself, anyone with more promise and opportunity and deserves to live to see as least as much as I have. However, I can only truthfully say that the only person I'm positive that I'd undoubtedly volunteer to replace is my baby sister.
Assuming that I'm 19 and she's 7 (not in the age eligibility range in the series). If, out of oh so many names it's hers that is chosen, though I wouldn't be nearly as dramatic as Katniss, I would not allow, under any circumstance, my baby sister to go into cruel, blood-shedding combat with other kids. There's so much violence, danger, and thirst for fame and power that even if she survived and won, she'd be traumatized out of her mind or turned into a monster. What little kid wouldn't, if they were to watch people get decapitated by spears?
If it were your sibling, what would you do?
-Chichi
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Deception and Deceit
Transferred from my other blog: The Adventures of Sisterhood.
First published: 3-20-12 at 4:00 PM EDT
Before they really know what's going on, toddlers are so easy to fool. Sure, it sounds cruel, but sometimes it's necessary. Two examples:
I ate a bag of vegetable chips because I was heading out and needed to eat first. Kylie had a yogurt and an egg coming up. She spotted my chips and did a double take. After pointing and asking for them to no avail, she strolled over to the box, lugged the box out of the corner, nearly fell in face first putting it down, and took one bag out. Handing it to mommy, she said, loud and clear, "da da," which is baby talk for "open" in Chinese. Mommy hands it back and tells her to go ask sissy, who snatches it and tosses it back into the box, makes the box disappear, and confuses Kylie. She ended up happy watching a video of herself on mommy's cell phone (she loves those), and I was able to finish my snack in peace.
Another example is of her fussing at the dinner table last night. She sits next to daddy and diagonal from mommy (mommy sits at the head), and I sit across from her with no one next to me. I washed her hands for her and put her down to finish washing my own. She immediately bounces over to my chair and pats it, as if trying to get on it. I tried to put her into her own seat, but she did NOT like that. She and I wrestled for a good 2 minutes before I got her buckled in. She still wouldn't quiet, so I switched her chair and my chair, putting her where I was sitting and me where she was sitting. She quieted for a bit and ate a few bites. This distraction wasn't enough, but it did work for the few bites that it allowed.
Sure, sure, big sissy is evil for being a lying meanie to baby sis. But it's quite necessary very often. Dinner time! Distract her so she'll eat. Snack? No, it's not healthy. Pretend it's empty. Mommy and sissy need to go somewhere! Daddy, make sure she doesn't see us go out the door without her. The kid is smart, and soon enough she won't fall for our silly tricks. 'Til then, we can keep her away from making a mess with the chocolate and pretzel cereal bars.
-Chichi
Also, HAPPY SPRING!
First published: 3-20-12 at 4:00 PM EDT
Before they really know what's going on, toddlers are so easy to fool. Sure, it sounds cruel, but sometimes it's necessary. Two examples:
I ate a bag of vegetable chips because I was heading out and needed to eat first. Kylie had a yogurt and an egg coming up. She spotted my chips and did a double take. After pointing and asking for them to no avail, she strolled over to the box, lugged the box out of the corner, nearly fell in face first putting it down, and took one bag out. Handing it to mommy, she said, loud and clear, "da da," which is baby talk for "open" in Chinese. Mommy hands it back and tells her to go ask sissy, who snatches it and tosses it back into the box, makes the box disappear, and confuses Kylie. She ended up happy watching a video of herself on mommy's cell phone (she loves those), and I was able to finish my snack in peace.
Another example is of her fussing at the dinner table last night. She sits next to daddy and diagonal from mommy (mommy sits at the head), and I sit across from her with no one next to me. I washed her hands for her and put her down to finish washing my own. She immediately bounces over to my chair and pats it, as if trying to get on it. I tried to put her into her own seat, but she did NOT like that. She and I wrestled for a good 2 minutes before I got her buckled in. She still wouldn't quiet, so I switched her chair and my chair, putting her where I was sitting and me where she was sitting. She quieted for a bit and ate a few bites. This distraction wasn't enough, but it did work for the few bites that it allowed.
Sure, sure, big sissy is evil for being a lying meanie to baby sis. But it's quite necessary very often. Dinner time! Distract her so she'll eat. Snack? No, it's not healthy. Pretend it's empty. Mommy and sissy need to go somewhere! Daddy, make sure she doesn't see us go out the door without her. The kid is smart, and soon enough she won't fall for our silly tricks. 'Til then, we can keep her away from making a mess with the chocolate and pretzel cereal bars.
-Chichi
Also, HAPPY SPRING!
Monday, March 12, 2012
Knowledge is Power; Innocence is Bliss
Transferred from my other blog: The Adventures of Sisterhood.
First published: 3-12-12 at 10:03 PM EDT
You tell Kylie to say "bye bye," and she'll wave and say bye bye. She knows what it means to go "pick up sissy" , and she'll readily crash into daddy's arms when he says it. She knows how to "go to mommy/daddy/sissy" and "give this to mommy/daddy sissy." She'll lean in her chubby cheek if you say "kissy" in Chinese or English, and as I mentioned before, she readily gives everyone high fives. She can't really talk yet, but some of the words she's experimenting with are the Chinese words for mommy, daddy, sissy, horsey, and cat, and dog, apple, hug, and llama in English.
At just over 16 months old, Kylie is undoubtedly in one of the fastest-paced learning, most innocent, enriched-experience points of her childhood. She's just starting to understand how life and all it's little pieces work, the clockwork of her brain just beginning to click and whir. Because she's just beginning to understand, she's in a state of perfect bliss. The low points of her day are having to go to nap-time and when mommy doesn't want to hold her. With this in mind, I'd like to state my wish for Kylie when she grows up.
There is a race to "need" to know everything you possibly can leading up to the adolescent years, starting in 4th or 5th grade. In those years, kids start trying to catch the sex jokes on late night TV from Fridays and Saturdays, start experimenting with foul language, and wish to act rebellious. Kylie's hunger to learn won't fade for a long, long time, and eventually, her path will cross the evils. I promise to myself and my baby sister that once she starts getting exposed to these things, I pledge to be a positive influence and steer her away. Knowledge about health and safety from the mundane busy-work given to preteens and teens during "Health Week" or just any health class isn't really busy-work; such knowledge is power, and completely necessary for one's safety. However, knowledge of perverted, dirty, and young child inappropriate phrases, jokes, and discussion in general is NOT power.
At this point in time, there is also a race for popularity. Most of the guys and girls at the top of the food chain fall under a category of folk who know the correct answers to suggestive questions. The athletic, good looking, perverted-joke-makers aren't necessarily going to be the best off in the future. In fact, they may not be the smartest or the happiest right then. The more fakeness, the more stress, the more likely to have to hide behind something to "keep up your cool."
As her older sister, I'll of course support all of her level-headed decisions. There is, however, one expectation I've already set for her: stay innocent as best as you can, for as long as you can. Never ever feel the need fall behind a facade. Masked people aren't as happy as they can be, and I wish for you to be as happy as you can be. Be a strong girl, Kylie, and be happy and amazing and generous and love with all your heart.
As sappy and sentimental as this post may sound, it's something that people need to hear more often. Here in high school, teenagers with raging hormones and crazy ideas act dramatic and rambunctious daily. They get lost in the sea of pituitary glands. They lose themselves and their honesty towards themselves. They develop facades behind which they hide what they think are true feelings, and the facades make them generally miserable. They fight and claw and bite their ways up the coolness pyramid that also happens to be full of sex jokes. I'm one of the lucky few that truly believes that I live a great life. And there's absolutely nothing more than true happiness, even in her "rebel years," that I can wish for Kylie as she grows up.
-Chichi
First published: 3-12-12 at 10:03 PM EDT
You tell Kylie to say "bye bye," and she'll wave and say bye bye. She knows what it means to go "pick up sissy" , and she'll readily crash into daddy's arms when he says it. She knows how to "go to mommy/daddy/sissy" and "give this to mommy/daddy sissy." She'll lean in her chubby cheek if you say "kissy" in Chinese or English, and as I mentioned before, she readily gives everyone high fives. She can't really talk yet, but some of the words she's experimenting with are the Chinese words for mommy, daddy, sissy, horsey, and cat, and dog, apple, hug, and llama in English.
At just over 16 months old, Kylie is undoubtedly in one of the fastest-paced learning, most innocent, enriched-experience points of her childhood. She's just starting to understand how life and all it's little pieces work, the clockwork of her brain just beginning to click and whir. Because she's just beginning to understand, she's in a state of perfect bliss. The low points of her day are having to go to nap-time and when mommy doesn't want to hold her. With this in mind, I'd like to state my wish for Kylie when she grows up.
There is a race to "need" to know everything you possibly can leading up to the adolescent years, starting in 4th or 5th grade. In those years, kids start trying to catch the sex jokes on late night TV from Fridays and Saturdays, start experimenting with foul language, and wish to act rebellious. Kylie's hunger to learn won't fade for a long, long time, and eventually, her path will cross the evils. I promise to myself and my baby sister that once she starts getting exposed to these things, I pledge to be a positive influence and steer her away. Knowledge about health and safety from the mundane busy-work given to preteens and teens during "Health Week" or just any health class isn't really busy-work; such knowledge is power, and completely necessary for one's safety. However, knowledge of perverted, dirty, and young child inappropriate phrases, jokes, and discussion in general is NOT power.
At this point in time, there is also a race for popularity. Most of the guys and girls at the top of the food chain fall under a category of folk who know the correct answers to suggestive questions. The athletic, good looking, perverted-joke-makers aren't necessarily going to be the best off in the future. In fact, they may not be the smartest or the happiest right then. The more fakeness, the more stress, the more likely to have to hide behind something to "keep up your cool."
As her older sister, I'll of course support all of her level-headed decisions. There is, however, one expectation I've already set for her: stay innocent as best as you can, for as long as you can. Never ever feel the need fall behind a facade. Masked people aren't as happy as they can be, and I wish for you to be as happy as you can be. Be a strong girl, Kylie, and be happy and amazing and generous and love with all your heart.
As sappy and sentimental as this post may sound, it's something that people need to hear more often. Here in high school, teenagers with raging hormones and crazy ideas act dramatic and rambunctious daily. They get lost in the sea of pituitary glands. They lose themselves and their honesty towards themselves. They develop facades behind which they hide what they think are true feelings, and the facades make them generally miserable. They fight and claw and bite their ways up the coolness pyramid that also happens to be full of sex jokes. I'm one of the lucky few that truly believes that I live a great life. And there's absolutely nothing more than true happiness, even in her "rebel years," that I can wish for Kylie as she grows up.
-Chichi
Monday, March 5, 2012
Stranger Danger
Transferred from my other blog: The Adventures of Sisterhood.
First published: 3-5-12 at 7:42 PM PDT
I'm not qualified to assess the accuracy or precision of Kylie's StrangerMeter, or even how active it is now. When she was only a few months old, Kylie was extremely wary of strangers. I imagine any baby would be. I mean, when you're that small, and the world is that big... I'm a dedicated athlete. I'm at gymnastics practice 13 - 15 hours a week, plus six or seven competitions per year that require us to stay on the premises for sometimes up to 6 hours. Kylie loves coming to the gym to pick me up after practices. She really likes one of my teammates. A while ago, she started high five-ing all the team girls. After that, she started giving them hugs or patting them when prompted. But before she was comfortable enough with all of that, she let the teammate that she likes hold her hand and walk her to come find me at the back of the gym.
Kylie likes kids. My dad says that all little kids like other little kids. I suppose it's because the size is less intimidating. Even at 14 years old, I still prefer being around kids my size (on the short side) than towering giants, gentle ones included. This past weekend, I had a gymnastics competition. During the awards ceremony, Kylie was struggling to climb out from mommy's arms to come sit with my team and I. We finally convinced mom to let her down, and she came and sat with us. My level was called up first, so while I was on the award podium, Kylie sat in my teammate's lap. The teammate even got her to clap for me!
Obviously, in my little sister's naive baby's mind, her favorite teammate is no longer a stranger. But she waves bye bye to people she's never met. She high fives anyone who asks. If you tried to hold her, forget about it. Sit next to her in the car? Fat chance. But her StrangerMeter stops there. She's a friendly little social butterfly.
-Chichi
First published: 3-5-12 at 7:42 PM PDT
I'm not qualified to assess the accuracy or precision of Kylie's StrangerMeter, or even how active it is now. When she was only a few months old, Kylie was extremely wary of strangers. I imagine any baby would be. I mean, when you're that small, and the world is that big... I'm a dedicated athlete. I'm at gymnastics practice 13 - 15 hours a week, plus six or seven competitions per year that require us to stay on the premises for sometimes up to 6 hours. Kylie loves coming to the gym to pick me up after practices. She really likes one of my teammates. A while ago, she started high five-ing all the team girls. After that, she started giving them hugs or patting them when prompted. But before she was comfortable enough with all of that, she let the teammate that she likes hold her hand and walk her to come find me at the back of the gym.
Kylie likes kids. My dad says that all little kids like other little kids. I suppose it's because the size is less intimidating. Even at 14 years old, I still prefer being around kids my size (on the short side) than towering giants, gentle ones included. This past weekend, I had a gymnastics competition. During the awards ceremony, Kylie was struggling to climb out from mommy's arms to come sit with my team and I. We finally convinced mom to let her down, and she came and sat with us. My level was called up first, so while I was on the award podium, Kylie sat in my teammate's lap. The teammate even got her to clap for me!
Obviously, in my little sister's naive baby's mind, her favorite teammate is no longer a stranger. But she waves bye bye to people she's never met. She high fives anyone who asks. If you tried to hold her, forget about it. Sit next to her in the car? Fat chance. But her StrangerMeter stops there. She's a friendly little social butterfly.
-Chichi
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