Weapons

Q just started with weapons at tae kwon do. He even has to do 10 knuckle pushups if he drops them.

Purple Belts

Q was just awarded his purple belt and his cousins their purple stripes. Q enjoys doing tae kwon do, but still does not like being in class with all the other kids. His instructor is good about pushing him a little to build up his confidence. Q very rarely volunteers to demonstrate, so instructor Ramirez will call on him to demonstrate for the class. Cooper LOVES tae kwon do, it's fun to see him take so much pride in his martial art. Cooper, who is so different from Q, will almost always volunteer to demonstrate.

Purple Best Testing

Q just tested for his purple belt on Thursday, Cooper and Dex tested for their purple stripe belt on Friday. Q is still nervous and anxious during testing, but once he warms up, he does a great job. I love watching testing, it's such a positive experience for the kids. They start with prayer to give thanks. Then they remind the kids that testing is about their effort and not giving up, the instructors do a great job encouraging the kids. The kids end testing feeling so proud and with a huge sense of accomplishment.

Disneyland!

Q's reward for doing such a great job at his Christmas belt testing was his first trip to Disneyland. We have never taken him because he didn't like crowds, life sized characters or rides. He's built up some tolerance for crowds, isn't too deathly afraid of characters anymore and doesn't mind slow rides so we decided to take him the day after Christmas. We had so much fun! He loved It's A Small World, but bolted when we saw Mickey. His favorite ride.......the bus ride to the park from the parking lot.

Straight Hair

Q has the BEST cousins ever! They take good care of him, entertain him and set good examples for him. Even though there's a big age difference between him and them, they are so good about humoring him. He even wishes he had straight hair just like his cousin Dexter. New years day is Sami's birthday, so we spent the day hanging out at my brothers. Q must have told Sami and her other girl cousins that he wanted straight hair like Dexter, so they flat ironed his hair for him. The first picture is the end result.

Life Lessons at Tae Kwon Do

At Q's tae kwon do school, the teachers always say the kicking and punching is the fun part. They stress that what's most important is that the kids learn about hard work, discipline, giving their best effort, love, respect and gratitude. They also end every class reminding the kids to be thankful to their parents. I always wonder exactly how much of these life lessons Quentin is really taking in. The other day, Q fell asleep in the truck on our way home from Disneyland. When I was laying him down, he woke up and told me he had a lot fun and said thank you for working hard and spending your money on me so I can have fun. I just about died.......

Q's Gift

Q just had his Tae Kwon Do Christmas Party/Belt Testing. Q still doesn't like doing his belt testing with other kids and in front of all the parents, so his teacher put a lot of thought and effort into building up his confidence for the event. It's the biggest testing of the year. Instead of just 50 - 60 kids for each testing session, all 180 kids would be testing together with parents and grandparents watching. The day before, Q had his last practice and still was not happy about the idea. Q's teacher sat him down and explained that his best effort would be his gift and his way of showing appreciation to his parents and grandparents that would be there watching. B and I weren't sure if he would go through with it. Actually, B was pretty sure he would chicken out. Q did the entire testing so well and even did a solo demo! We couldn't be more proud of Q and all of his hard work.