WELCOME TO THE WORLD, CARMEN!

Carmen Noel Canales has arrived, and she's made life even better!

I thank all of you for sharing in the excitement of her arrival on Christmas Day! To all of you that have sent cards, well wishes, and presents to celebrate Carmen's birthday, we thank you for your thoughtfulness!

Motherhood has been humanizing as my life now revolves around Carmen's needs. She's got a lot of them, and I embrace the responsibility. I've already learned a lot about patience. People keep telling me that they can't believe that I'm a "Mom." I find myself saying that too, but one look at Carmen's "cherub cheeks", and I can't help but feel a surge of love that I've never felt. This reminds me that I truly am a "Mom!" You hear about this feeling, but when you become a mother you grasp it in a way that you couldn't before, and that's the reminder that "things are much different now."

Quite simply, Carmen makes me look at the future differently (certainly with more optimism), and her life has marked the beginning of something very positive in my life!

Since her birth, Carmen has already racked up miles on her frequent flyer card. We even put together a photo album of our recent travels!

Check out Carmen's Photo Album:

In Her Own Words (…if she could talk!)

HINT: This photo album was put together in PowerPoint. If you do not have PowerPoint installed on your computer, you can download the PowerPoint Viewer for Windows or the PowerPoint Viewer for Macintosh to view this presentation.

We started out in the Big Apple for a miniature family vacation at the end of February. I love New York City. They say it takes a lifetime to understand "the city that never sleeps", so it was fitting for Carmen to make her first visit to NYC at the age of two months. We walked a lot. We shopped a lot. We ate a lot, and we only scratched the surface of one of the world's most favorite cities!

While in New York, we attended the 2008 American Cup. I look at this competition like the "kick off" to the gymnastics season. For obvious reasons, it carries extra weight during an Olympic Year. The history and visibility of New York City and Madison Square Garden make it a great venue for gymnastics.

This served as my first gymnastics event to attend as a "Mom," and ironically I bumped into Anna Liukin (Nastia's mother), Teri Johnson (Shawn's mother), Debbie Worley (Shayla's mother), and Luan Peszek (Samantha's mother) within 10 minutes of entering Madison Square Garden. Bizarre....but in a good way!

At the risk of sounding corny, I now look at each of these mothers through a different set of eyes. While the build up of Olympic momentum is a thrill for us as gymnastics fans, I couldn't help but feel really nervous for all of our mothers. As I think back to a time when my own mother was experiencing "the emotional toll of the Olympics," I realized that we often forget that the Olympic year can be more stressful for family members (most notably mothers) than athletes and coaches. I guess motherhood has shed some light on that perspective. I venture to guess that the worry and uneasiness has to do with motherly instinct and possible feelings of helplessness and fear for one's child. Perhaps I'll learn more about these feelings later.

Rather than discussing all that I liked and didn't like about the American Cup, I'll share a simple list I put together after the meet. Unfortunately, I had more "dislikes" than "likes".

I liked that…

• The American Cup was at Madison Square Garden
• Shawn Johnson went for her Amanar (Yurchenko 2 1/2 twist vault)
• Nastia Liukin showed all of us that there is not simply one "It Girl" in the sport
• Raj Bhavsar got the NYC crowd "pumped" and involved after his high bar routine
• Paul Hamm proved, once again, that he'll be a serious force in Beijing
• Shayla Worley was healthy enough to compete
• The well-credentialed Hisashi Mizutori continues to be a part of the American Cup roster knowing that he has little chance of winning the title (regardless of his performance)
  

I didn't like that…

• The women's competition was nothing more than an intrasquad between the top American women.
• There was an enormous discrepancy in difficulty performed amongst the female competitors.
• Several of the international athletes' names were "butchered" during the opening ceremony (most notably the pronunciation of "Fabian Hambuchen"). Not classy! This reflects poorly on our country as hosts.
• Lu Bo had a bad meet.
• Shayla Worley had a rough meet.
• Fabian had to withdraw due to illness and cancelled his trip to Ohio. Mike and I had planned to spend time with him during his training camp in Columbus to learn more about who we believe is one of the best representatives our sport currently has.
• Two women came close to serious injury (Xiao TingTing & Alyssa Brown). I REALLY didn't like that!
• Prize money was NOT awarded to individual event winners
• Scores were all too often inflated, especially on uneven bars
• There was too much down time for television. This was bad for the athletes and even worse for the audience.
• I heard that Courtney Kupets re-injured her Achilles tendon as I left Madison Square Garden that evening.
  

We left New York City with pleasant memories, full bellies, some damage to the credit card, good photos, sore feet, and a hint of things to come in the Olympic Year.

After our stay in New York, we headed off to California for the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS)! We stayed at the Calistoga Ranch where Carmen experienced a few more "firsts" in this cozy resort located in the heart of wine country! We made good use of the climate and the relaxed lifestyle of Northern California!

It was a real treat to spend time in New York and California back-to-back. The vast differences in lifestyles and pace where underlined, and I really fell in the love with both places all over again! Needless to say, after Carmen's coast-to-coast voyage, we were ready to return home.

Next, we are off to Houston, Texas to visit my family and my girlfriend, Svetlana Boguinskaia.

To the men and women serving our country at home and abroad. We thank you for your service!

I thank all of you for tuning in again!

P.S. Don't forget to cast your vote for the Mag 7 in the USOC Hall of Fame Class of 2008. The deadline is March, 28th, 2008!

Dominique