It was a zoo kind of week...

Maliana ~

You are growing up right before my eyes. Lately, you have been getting so much more self-sufficient and helpful around the house. All on your own, you finished your yogurt the other day and got up, put your spoon in the sink and threw the container away before leaving the kitchen; you’ve been doing great with remembering to hang your jackets up (even if sometimes they get hung up on the kitchen drawer knobs – hey, they’re still hung up, right?); and you even got up on your little stool the other day and insisted on attempting to brush your own teeth (putting your own toothpaste on the brush and turning on and off the water yourself, in spite of being barely able to reach just about anything in the bathroom). Whenever I see these little milestones and surges of independence, I get so excited and proud of you.

And speaking of proud, I don’t think I could have had a better parent-teacher conference with Miss Rachel this week. All of your teachers are so pleased with you, saying you are a joy to have in class. Evidently you are a natural leader among your peers, coming up with all sorts of games and then getting your friends involved with them; you have met or exceeded all of the developmental/academic milestones in class; you are extremely smart and interact very well with all of your peers; you have the best boundaries and healthy communication skills of any kids in class (I guess you are one of the only kids who does not resort to aggression when someone upsets you but instead will clearly state what you need or want and then get the teacher to assist if things don’t improve); you love to help with anything they ask of you in the class; and in spite of your speech delays, you don’t get frustrated when misunderstood but will calmly repeat what you are saying and/or find another way to express yourself. Miss Rachel said that normally she has to find a challenge for each kid, something to work on or improve over the next semester, but with you she admitted that she could not honestly think of anything. You are such a well-behaved and cooperative kid and they are so happy to have you. I have to say, I’m not surprised by the feedback from the conference…I personally think of you as such an amazing child and I see these things in you every day. But, it’s still very nice to hear from other people you spend so much time with, that they enjoy you nearly as much as I do. Way to go Mali!! You rock!!

After the glowing report at school, we came home and decided to give Abby a bath. It was quite a task, as Abby (like most dogs) HATES baths. You, however, enjoyed using the sprayer and helping lather her up. Much of the house was soaked when we got done, but hey, it was fun!

giving Abby a bath...of which she is not a fan

and Abby is outta there!

After Abby’s bath, we played the most stellar game of hide and seek. It was so much fun. You are getting even more hysterical as you get older and your excitement during this game is infectious. You get those great squeals where you shake and fidget and your voice gets so high-pitched that I think Abby is the only one who can still hear you.

This week we got to go to the zoo twice! The first time we took Wai Gong with us, since he is still at home recuperating from shoulder surgery. We had fun, in spite of it being damp from the rain. Your favorite parts had to be a tie between the photo booth near the petting zoo and the reptile building (you LOVE snakes!) After the zoo, we headed through Powell and stopped at Jeni’s Ice Cream to get a treat on the way home.

climbing inside an iceberg at the Polar Frontier

"Ha! I found a photo booth! C'mon!"

teaching Wai Gong about snakes

holding Wai Gong's hand in the snake house so
he won't be scared

Ha ha! This is Wai Gong's face after he tried some of my Jeni's ice cream
that had cumin in it!

discussing the joys of ice cream

As we drove home from this adventure, you were chatting up a storm in the backseat. All I could hear was your teeny tiny little voice from the dark backseat, with intermittent glimpses of your sweet little face as we drove under street lamps. I had a thought wash over me in those moments. I realized with complete clarity that someday, you’d be grown. Days and nights like this one are fleeting and eventually would be just memories. I felt myself wishing there was some way I could preserve your teeny little voice in that dark backseat forever. I am so in love with everything about you…it’s hard to believe that these experiences will eventually be just stories living in my heart and mind. It’s not that I DON'T want you to grow up. To the contrary, because I love beholding all the new things you learn each day. I just wish I could somehow freeze every stage of yours in time, so I could go back and experience it exactly as I do as they happen. I know I can’t, but I wish. I’m beginning to understand the laments of all those other parents who have children who are already grown.

Friday night we had a crazy busy day. As soon as I picked you up from school, we headed downtown so I could attend a planning meeting for the Cleft Lip and Palate support group, then we hurried back home to meet Lao Lao so we could race back out to Easton to meet Uncle Joe and Aunt Tina to see the Christmas tree lighting ceremony. We missed most of the parade, but we did make it in time to see the tree lighting and watch the fireworks (which surprised us all…you poor thing, you are so sensitive to loud noises). Afterwards, we headed over to Edamame where Daddy met us all for some sushi.

and then there was LIGHT!

NOW we're ready for Christmas!
(even if it's nearly a week before Thanksgiving)

the best group shot we could get at the sushi joint...a certain
3 year old wouldn't pose for a picture

loving your Lao Lao

Saturday we went back to the zoo, trip #2 this week. This time it was with the Fu Playgroup and we took Uncle Blaize with us. You were ecstatic to see him and have him come with us, and later spend the night at our house. I don’t think I’ve heard you squeal that much in a while. It was hilarious! It was a nice mild night, it was great to see our Fu friends again, and the zoo’s Wildlights were so pretty!

yay! ready to see some animals!

excited to get on the carousel

who says riding the bench on the carousel isn't exciting?!

Wildlights!

Blaize spent the night with us and you were so excited, fending off sleep until nearly midnight. We watched movies and you finally collapsed over sideways on the couch when you couldn’t keep your eyelids open anymore. We woke up and made a huge breakfast and asked Wai Gong and Memaw Lisa to stay and eat with us when they came over to pick up Blaize.

late night play session after the zoo

early morning play session before breakfast

yummy breakfast!

The rest of Sunday was cold outside, and since we all had such a late night, we made it into a “rainy, gray, jammie kind of day”. We stayed cozy and warm inside, with you not even venturing out of your Dora jammies all day long.

And finally, with Thanksgiving nearly upon us, the past week I’ve been trying to make a conscious effort to have us sit down for dinner each day, (in spite of Daddy working late most nights). We’ve also begun saying a prayer of sorts of what we are thankful for each day. You LOVE this! Sometimes we can understand what you are saying, other times we cannot, but I think my two favorites this week have been…”I’m thankful for Mommy, Daddy, and home” and also, “I’m thankful for Mommy who makes me happy”.

Doesn’t get much better than that.

Love,
Mama