Friday, April 12, 2013

Cranky pants

Today Yi woke up on the wrong side of the bed.  She was fussy and impatient all day long, interspersed with moments of insane cuteness.

Cute moment #1:  We went to a nearby shopping mall to get some extra shirts for her as the shirts I brought are too small (too short and too tight across the chest).  We went into a store and held up a number of options for Yi.  "Boo hao" to all of them.  I was beginning to think that she just wasn't into picking out clothes, when she spotted a cute pink and white flowered flowy tunic and that was the one she wanted.  We tried it on, and it just barely fit around her rib cage.  Of course, they didn't have a larger size AND it was $30 (ouch ... was expecting to pay less than $5).  I explained it was too small - and she insisted it wasn't too small.  I explained again that it was too small, and she again insisted that it was not too small.  We went to take it off and she was having none of it - she even locked her hands behind her back so we couldn't lift it off.  It was going to take both Eric and I to forcibly remove it from her body, and we decided discretion was the better part of valor.  $30 later she was happy happy happy.  Afterward, we went to a large park.  She kept showing off her new top to random people, chattering away and then holding it out so they could see it better.

Cute moment #2:  She was playing with play doh and decided to play doctor on Eric.  She displayed impressive medical procedural knowledge.  She expertly tapped the side of the injection, massaged the injection site, and so forth.

Cute moment #3:  Monologuing.  The girl can talk.  And talk.  And talk.  Medora is going to have a run for her money with this one, and poor Lian is going to have a hard time getting a word in edgewise.  Last night, she went on a monologue to Eric that easily lasted 5 minutes.  She went on and on and on.  She would pause occasionally, and Eric would ask a question (in English), and she would launch right back into it.  Tonight, she was monologuing while preparing imaginary food for us.  I couldn't follow along with her story, but she was very busy pretending the desk was some kind of kitchen and preparing imaginary food? drink? in a cup and saucer.  Here's a little bit from dinner tonight - this was fairly restrained - when she gets on a full monologue there's no stopping.

Having trouble? Click here to view the monologue video on YouTube


Cute moment #4:  Ice cream in the park.  As a parent, I love treating all three kids to ice creams at a tourist trap park for the princely sum of $1.20 total.  We chatted briefly with a Chinese family that was also having ice cream, and Yi told them all about the new shirt, and held it out for them to appreciate.


Cute moment #5:  We attempted the second bath tonight.  Bath #1 was not a hit on Tuesday night.  It required a phone call with the guide to negotiate what she wanted (turned out she wanted me in the bath with her, holding her, so she wouldn't slip).  As soon as she got into the tub with me, she stiffened her whole body, put her hands over her eyes, and started crying about having her hair washed.  I assured her we wouldn't wash her hair, but she was still wary and tense.  Bath #1 lasted less than 5 minutes.  Tonight was bath #2, and what a difference!  Three times, she wanted me to reassure her that we wouldn't wash her hair  (thank goodness for our Mandarin lessons!!!!).  Then once she was in, she had a blast.  We gave her the lids off some bathroom products (shave gel, deodorant, etc) and she had a blast pouring water with them.  She was upset that the bath had to end.

1 comment:

Kay said...

If there is anything left of that favorite dress after numerous chocolate ice cream treats, I will be happy to let it out for her in early May and salvage a few more weeks of wear out of it.