For a while now, Andrew and I have been taking martial arts classes at a local gym called Self Defense America (or SDA). It's been terrific fun, regular exercise, and we've gotten to know some really great people. We had taken a bit of a hiatus from class with the China trip and subsequent recovery, but we're now getting back into "form" (really lame inside joke). Anyway, we thought it would be fun for Althea to see a bit of what we do, so we brought her in for a belt promotion test.We dressed her in the atrociously cute TaeKwonDo uniform Master KC & Miss Cassandra gave us as a shower present. At first she was taking it all in very seriously. This is her intense concentration look.
You will also notice her hair is definitely getting fuller and longer, especially noticeable around the back. Oddly enough, it even seems to have a little bit of wave to it. Go figure.
After a few minutes, she 
really began enjoying things--especially watching the kids run through their techniques. I did take her outside while the motivational speaker was doing his thing. I think he was actually pretty good, but Althea decided she should be the motivational speaker for the evening. She tends to have the same reaction to the sermon in church. She really is our daughter.When the test was over, Althea got to crawl, cruise and roll around on the gym mat--which she loved! Sorry no pics of this--I was too busy crawling around with her. She thought it was a hoot to see her Baba doing a backwards roll. Anyway, towards the end, she was feeling quite at home. Too bad she can't start in the Little Dragons class for a few years yet.
Saying goodbye, she made what any martial artist or kung-fu movie fan will recognize as the sign for peace:
Peace to all of you--our friends and family,Dawn
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