Chopstick Baby

My baby can use chopsticks. She’s 20 months old. I can’t wait to see all she’ll do in the next 20 years!

Cold Day

I woke at 7:15 this morning to a little girl with a strange idea that we leave our warm blankets. I was reluctant but she was convincing with a sign language announcement that it was time to go potty, so off went the covers and on came my warmest house slippers. Not warm enough.

Here to Go

by Lori Ann

We’re back home from Hong Kong… and I’m writing this just in time before leaving on another trip, this one to Thailand. None of the 3 of us have ever been so we’re really excited!

I’ve revised my Packing List which I’ll post once we get back… traveling with a toddler requires different gear than a baby, I’ve discovered.

Meanwhile, here’re some shots from Hong Kong:

Going

by Lori Ann

We’re headed out for a 10-day trip to Hong Kong, applying for new visas and visiting several farms where we hope to learn more about organic methods. Thankful once again for my packing list, to which I just had to add “swimsuits” as we’re staying on an island! Just wait til we get back and you see photos of Tigger’s suit… let’s just say

We’re not made of Jell-O. We get behind a fellow. Black and yellow!

6am

by Lori Ann

6am. The air seems crisper, the sky meditative. Something about the still quiet seems to enter my body with each breath, helping me think clearer. No distractions, nowhere to go. Just my daughter and I, enjoying a new day together. Tickling, giggling, playing peek-a-boo. Quietly, so as not to wake Baba. Which makes it all the more fun, like a secret between just the two of us.

Tigger’s bedtime has been 7pm since she was 5 days older. As a newborn, she slept (barely interrupted by nursings) until 9am. As she got older, morning wake-up backed up to 8am, 7am. Now 6am.

And I couldn’t be happier.

What’s your morning routine? Is it dreaded or enjoyed?

Dirt

by Lori Ann

“God made dirt and dirt don’t hurt” — this playground chant was popular when we ate outside on nice spring days, especially if an especially tasty treat fell to the ground. 10+ years later and the chant comes back to mind frequently these days as I realize how futile (and scientifically speaking, harmful) it is to keep Tigger away from every bit of good-old-fashioned dirt.

Unfortunately, the local Grandmas don’t agree, and “dirty” will probably be Tigger’s first word in Chinese.

Village Family

by Lori Ann

In the local (Yi minority) culture where we live, a married couple who has grown attached to another family’s child can propose a “new name” for that child. If accepted, the married couple becomes the godparents for the child, and there is a special relationship between the birth parents and these godparents. If the child was formerly naughty, it is also hoped that this new name and these new parents will change that, too (our friends joked about this, but I don’t think they took that part seriously).

We were excited and blessed to enter this relationship with close friends of ours who named Tigger, “Snake-Flower Girl” in the minority language. I don’t have any photos of our family — villagers rarely sit still long enough for a photo, which I suppose is true of most traditional farmers! — but here we are enjoying the hospitality of their home. Ah, the simple life!

March Smiles

by Lori Ann

Tigger’s always been a very smiley girl (well, a very expressive girl… but her happy times definitely outweigh the emotional lows!), but it seems to just increase as she gets older. And with those teeth? All the more adorable. Here’s a look over March and a few of the smiles it brought!

Village Baby

Lori Ann

We’re spending more and more time with our friends in the countryside, which is a ton of fun, lets us devote up to 13 hours a day to immersed language study, and lets Tigger spend most of her time in her favorite place, the great outdoors!

Of course, it also means less time online, which ironically equals less time sharing about what we’re doing (ironic because it makes it look like we aren’t doing anything!). Also ironically, though we’re doing what we love most, we more often forget to pull out the camera; I told my dad a few weeks ago it seems the moments that matter most are the ones I never think to record!

So, though there are only a few, I thought I’d share some village highlights from last month. I haven’t uploaded this month’s yet but will share once I do!

Rest

by Lori Ann

I just woke up to Tigger’s bedtime alarm — you know, the one that is set to 6:45pm to remind us it’s time to BEGIN bedtime. I rolled over, and she was lying on the floor next to me, still steadily breathing despite the sound. I rose to quiet the alarm and she stirred a little but was quieted back into a deep slumber with just a little dream nursing. I know this probably means she’ll wake early (before 7) tomorrow morning, but the same would happen if she woke now and didn’t get to bed for the night til 8:30 or 9, so she might as well continue to rest.