The Rankin Zoo

That’s right, Coral’s first tooth is gone! See the photographic evidence below if you don’t believe me. Actually, the tooth next to the missing tooth is now pretty loose so I wouldn’t be surprised if that one goes soon too. The Tooth Fairy has already stopped by to claim the tooth. It actually fell out at Cousin Eva’s house the morning after Coral’s first sleepover so I wasn’t around to experience the fun and excitement but Uncle Brian said it was fun and exciting.

As I mentioned before, last week was Coral’s first week of kindergarten. After two very short days (just 1 hour) where B drove Coral to school she transitions to riding the bus. Even though Coral kept telling us she was excited to ride the bus we kept assuming she would eventually get cold feet. So, we decided to take Coral over to Eva’s bus stop so they could get on together. Normally, Coral would get on the same bus but just a few stops earlier – so this plan was okay with the bus driver.

It turns out Coral probably would have been fine getting on the bus by herself (and has done that the two times since the first day). It sure was fun to see Coral charge up to the bus and get on without any concerns at all. Like most parents, I was a bit sad to see her go but she was so excited to do it that I couldn’t help but be excited too. In fact, I found myself checking the clock frequently waiting to hear from B in the afternoon how the bus ride went.

The ride went well and Coral enjoyed her first week of school. This week we have short days again (they get out around lunch time) but full day of school starts next week, which should cause Coral to be incredibly exhausted by the time she gets home each afternoon. We’re planning on having Coral buy lunch at school most days and since things are high tech now she makes that purchase via a PIN pad and a number that she enters. She has already memorized the 5 digit number and bought lunch twice. Once she didn’t like it but I head that she did like today’s lunch – so that’s good.

She has complained that they won’t let her sit on her feet on the bus or in class – stupid rules! But other than that she has been having a great time.

Some of you will think this is gross so feel free to skip it.

I took this video a few days ago. Coral’s loose tooth is very loose. I heard that this afternoon she managed to bang her face against something and now it’s even looser. And the next tooth is already coming in behind it! So, I think the days are numbered for this baby tooth.

On an unrelated note, Coral is planning on doing her first ever sleep over tonight! She’s staying at her cousin Eva’s house (if all goes as planned), which should be fun. Should she lose the tooth tonight we’ve already warned her that the Tooth Fairy will only pick up her tooth from our house – so she might have to wait a day.

Today, September 8th 2009, Coral turns 5! It seems like just the other day she was a little baby – and now she seems so grown up. I guess that’s how it works, but it makes me a little bit sad. I know that’s what all parents say – and it’s because it’s true. However, the sadness is actually overshadowed by the fact that Coral is an amazing kid and it is so much fun to watch her grow and learn. So, while I will always cherish those days of carrying her around as a cute little baby, I will also cherish her today and dream about what’s next.

I’m very biased, as all dads are, but if you know Coral you know she’s a neat little kid. This summer she really learned how to swim – and snorkel! She loves animals, playing outside, exploring, experimenting, singing, and all the other things that kids love. She also loves her sister. It’s really quite remarkable. PJ is over three years younger and in many ways puts a damper on Coral’s life. Activities often have to be shaped around naps. PJ generally gets more attention than Coral does. PJ’s been known to cry – sometimes when Coral’s trying to sleep or watch TV or something. PJ is pretty viscous when wrestling with Coral – pulling hair, scratching, pinching, and even biting. PJ’s allergies even means no peanuts or peanut butter in the house! Despite all this, you can tell Coral really loves her – it’s awesome.

Here are some things that might be interesting when I read this in five years. Coral seems to be fairly tall for her age. She can read some words now and if she tries she can sound out most things – but she’s not really reading yet. Her favorite color changes from time to time but has been pretty solidly yellow for a while now – but she keeps telling me she’s going to change it to pink. Her hair has been pretty long for a while but lately she’s been talking about getting it cut (she saw a picture of herself with short hair and liked it). At the beach this summer she got very tan, and actually enjoyed playing in the waves and did some body surfing! She likes to walk and will regularly walk up to my office and back with me (about 20 minutes each way). On our walk to my office on Monday she listened to this song about 7 times:

We walk to the Farmers Market together almost every Saturday – sometimes with her sister, sometimes not. She usually gets a whoopie pie, I give her the $2 and she goes up and pays for it herself. She loves princesses – oh well. She says she wants a small dog (but she also says she loves Scout). She likes the TV show Survivorman. Despite the pictures on this page she almost always wears dresses or skirts (this summer she put on shorts a few times). She would prefer to never wear shoes but when we force her it’s flip flops, sandals, or crocs. Her bedroom is decorated with an underwater theme. She already has her first loose tooth which seems like it should fall out any day now. So, that’s Coral these days.

It just so happens that in addition to today being Coral’s birthday it is also her first day of kindergarten! The first couple of days are only an hour or so – easing them into it. On Thursday she starts riding the bus. In two weeks it’s all day kindergarten, every day (well, except Wednesdays – they get out early). I think Coral will really enjoy going to school – she has such a love for learning things. She’s lucky that she’ll ride the same bus and go to the same school as her cousin Eva (they’re in different classes but should see each other at lunch and recess).

Heading off to kindergarten seems like a big step to me. So far, Coral has expressed a lot of excitement about the idea of going to school, which is great. I think she is a little bit anxious about it but I think once she gets to know the other kids and the teachers she will really enjoy it.

So, Happy Birthday to Coral! I love her!

Since I didn’t really have anything else to do on Saturday night I decided to put together this little movie from photos and video clips from the family reunion. As I was doing this I realized again that I didn’t have any pictures of half the people who were there! I hope someone else managed to take photos of all the people I missed.

I showed the video to Coral and she loved it. Then we started watching some old videos which inspired me to post this one again. Coral was a month shy of her 3rd birthday in this video.

Last weekend we had Rankin, Takaki, Williams, and probably other families show up for a fun reunion at my mom’s house in Annapolis. Not everyone could make it, which was too bad. I tried to document some of the fun activities. On Sunday, Uncle Tim took a bunch of us out on the boat for a sail and we had a lot of fun.

Here’s a video and photo from the sailing trip.

Swimming Fish from Andy Rankin on Vimeo.

Coral has spent a lot of time in the water this summer. This inspired me to splurge for a new camera. Today we took it for a trial run – check it out!