SisterSidra: Winter Update

Hi Sidra,

Again, it's been too long since the last post and a lot has happened so I have a lot to report.

First , not long after the last post you lost both of your front teeth in quick succession. One of them was loose for the longest time and finally fell out. The next day the other one fell out at school. But that was a couple of months ago. You new teeth have been slow to appear in their place. One of them has begun to emerge but only in the last two weeks. So you've spent quite a bit of time toothless in front.

Since your first lost tooth you have been exchanging cute notes with the tooth fairy. The one pictured here may be your first attempt. The tooth fairy(mom) has had some crafty responses directing your attention to taking care of your little sister. You seem to hold the tooth fairy in high regard (she is, after all, a fairy) and thus have taken the advice seriously. The tooth fairy has been very generous as well. I questioned some of my students about relative tooth fairy largess and it seems like you made out pretty good.

You've become much more confident and self assured. It can be witnessed by how you perform at Tai Kwan Do and other events. You have made your yellow belt. I got to see some of the belt test. I saw you break a board with a roundhouse kick. There were many others there with higher belts that were not as confident with their board breaks. You did it like you'd been doing it for years. Not only that, but your mom says that you were the best of the group at answering the questions about Korean words before I got there. You were not shy about raising your hand and answering. I did see the same swagger in one of your classes recently. You were one of the only ones willing to raise your hand. You didn't get the right answer that time but it was because you didn't hear the question correctly. We talked later and you said you knew the answer but thought the question was something else.

At a recent open mic arranged by who else? Your mom. You took the mic and stood with a couple of your classmates and some siblings (including yours) and sang one of your songs from school "Family of the Sun." Actually, your supporting cast barely mumbled but you sang confidently and worked through a couple of rough spots without getting flustered. You clearly showed leadership.

You've learned how to snowboard! Your mom got the urge to go and decided to take you along. You had two really nice days to try it out and you have picked it up in a snap. You had two lessons and have already gone down the Magic Mile at Timberline. Your mom got a couple of videos and I have to use your Uncle Ben's usual accolade: I'm blown away. You looked really good. I'm going to have to see for myself.

All right, I wrote the prior paragraph last night. Today I went with you to Timberline. You had a another lesson with Dennis who was your first instructor. I got a couple of videos. I was blown away. You are fearless. I was stunned at the speed you are already willing to go. I think you are braver on the board than you are on your bike. Maybe because you've hit the deck a lot on the snow and it hasn't bruised you. Anyway, I had a hard time skiing ahead quickly enough to get the camera out before you had passed. And I don't think Uncle David should worry that you're on a board instead of skis. I think on your next visit to the lake you will make water skiing look easy, too.

I have to comment on the picture of you and your sis chillin' to the street music together. I think it's a pretty good picture. I think it could be framed a little better but I only had a few fleeting seconds to decide what to do. I have to give your mom credit for spotting you guys in such a touching moment. I was on the street corner trying to keep Fenway in check in all that excitement and your mom nudged me to notice what you were doing. I wish I could have frozen you there until I could have gone around behind the musicians so I could have your faces in the shot. All in all, I think it's pretty great and I think your mom likes it too.

You are becoming more aware of your surroundings and better at having a conversation. You pick up on things and make reasonable inferences. Last week, a UPS delivery arrived. It was in an envelope instead of a package. It was for your mom who wasn't home at the time so we didn't open it. You suggested that it might be instructions for the new phone because you heard your mom asking for them over the phone. It turned out to be a birthday gift card from Uncle David but I was still impressed by your reasoning. I also love to talk with you about what animals are mammals vs. reptiles and what makes each fall into which category.

I have to say that my favorite part of the day is bedtime reading. Both you and Shira pick a book for me to read to you and I pick one that you will read to me. I love it that you're both so into it and either sit between my legs or lean on me from the side.

Oh yes, you did break a board with a head butt, too. You did it first at a birthday party that was held at the dojo. You told us about it when you came home but we were a little dubious about it. You then recreated the feat for us with some of the leftover board. We still had one piece left so we decided we should record it. I have to say, it's pretty cool.

Love, Aba