Milestones in Pictures

 my Little Orchid has reached several mile stones in the past month 

 

first day of English Kindergarten

 harvest fest

 

making new friends

 

growing up to beautiful

 

losing her first tooth!!

Little Fingers, Little Work

Lan Lan received this kit for her fifth birthday from a friend. Looking at it I thought there would be no way that she would be able to do it by herself or that she would have the attention span to work on it long enough to get anything done. But being the crafty person she is she was very interested in at least trying so, I sat down with her the other day and taught her how to do it.
There is a lot of work involved in doing this project, there is a pattern to follow that reminds me of counted cross-stitch. This pattern consists of little blocks representing different pegs either 1, 2, 3 or 4 pegs long. Once you determine the length of the peg to use, and find the location you poke it into the peg board. After hours of pegging what do we have . . . Snow White's face!! She is just about 1/4 of the way down with this project. In the end it will be Snow White & Ariel standing next to each other.
Just like in counted cross stitch it can be easy to lose your place so I taught Lan Lan to highlight the places she has finished. She is doing an amazing job! I'm so proud of her, this is a lot of work but she sits there, works hard, is diligent and gets the job done. There have been a few times that I have had to go back and fix mistakes (and they weren't all hers). But I think she is learning a lot from this little birthday present. I can't wait to see the finished product

Pretty Pink Orchid

元宵节 (Yuan Xiao Jie - Lantern Festival)

Yuan Xiao Jie is the last holiday celebrated for the New Year. Translated, yuan xiao jie is called The Lantern Festival. It falls 2 weeks after New Years day when there is a full moon. On this holiday you eat yuan xiao which look like a full moon.

LanLan celebrated at school by getting to dance with her classmates in a dragon/lion costume. I wish I could have been there to see that, it sounded fun. They also made yuan xiao together.

LanLan described the process like this . . .
First you take rice and mash it down with your hands.
Next you take some black stuff and put it in the middle.
Then you roll it up into a ball and then you roll in some flour.

She was very proud of her Yuan Xiao and wanted to eat them right away. I was very impressed with them and excited to see how they turned out but I told her she needed to wait till daddy came home. When daddy did come home he had bought some yuan xiao at the store and so we cooked them and ate them for dinner.

I love yuan xiao! The outside is a glutinous rice dough and then inside is a delicious bean paste that tastes like peanut butter. Yum YUM!! (I believe that they make them with all different kinds of fillings.)

Happy Yuan Xiao Jie!!

Survival of the fittest

The other day I sent LanLan to her room for a time out. A few minutes after she was there she called out to me to come quick. Thinking she was trying to get out of her punishment I didn't respond right away. But the tone in her voice was a little different so I did end up going into see her.

As I walked in her room she was very upset b/c this . . . .

was eating this . . .

Not really knowing what to do I tried to "rescue" the fish from the crayfish's mouth. He was still alive and tried swimming away. He wasn't very good as you can imagine a fish with no tail would be.

Later that day when my husband came home LanLan and him found this fish being eaten by his "brother" fish. The fish was still alive but now only had half a body. Again my husband "rescued" the fish but this time flushed him down the toilet.
Sorry little dude that I didn't flush you earlier and save you from all that anguish.

Can You Hear Me Now?

LanLan has had a few ear infections in her life. For the past 2 years she has seemed to have hearing issues after getting sick (w/ or w/o an ear infection). We also noticed that she seemed to have issues hearing after we flew on an airplane. As parents we have struggled to know if it has been true hearing issues or just a listening & obeying issue.

We decided that we would take LanLan to the ENT to have her hearing checked.

Waiting for the test took over an hour but the kids did great entertaining themselves with snacks & toy cars.

There were so many people waiting to have their hearing checked the audiology lab closed for the morning. Thankfully we already had our slip turned in to have the test done.

We prepared our little orchid before hand for what the test would be like. She was very excited to listen for the beep and raise her hand.

LanLan was so excited after the test she told me "Mama I heard it!"

We went back to talk to the doctor with the results to hear what he had to say. He actually wasn't very informative. All he told us was "She has a middle ear infection. Here is a prescription for medicine." He didn't even give us the dosage. I was shocked and said "How can you diagnose an ear infection from a hearing test?!" We didn't anything explained to us at the hospital, we weren't even sure about the results of the test.

When we arrived home I called my brother who is also an ENT. I read the results to him over the phone and he talked with me and explained everything to me. He told me that LanLan had significant hearing loss in the right ear (the left was normal). He said that there shouldn't be any permanent hearing loss and that as soon as the fluid build up/pressure in the ear (we don't think it really is an infection) was gone the hearing should return. My brother said that after 6 weeks the fluid/pressure should subside and the hearing should be normal. If it isn't we can go from there.
I had mixed feelings through this whole ordeal. Relieved that there actually is something wrong with LanLan's hearing (and she isn't just ignoring her mother's instructions). Sad that my baby girl actually does have a hearing issue making it hard for her to hear mama & daddy/her teachers/friends . . . Frustrated that the doctor at the hospital was not helpful or informative, but not surprised. Thankful that I have a brother who is an ENT and was able to explain things to me. Impatiant as we have to wait 6 weeks before we know what the next step will be.

Math Class

This Friday we were invited to come to LanLan's Preschool to observe a math class. It was interesting to see what she is learning (as a 4 year old in a Kindergarten class in China). A few weeks ago LanLan came home with a sheet of math problems saying that she had to finish it before going to school the next day. We worked on simple addition problems (all numbers adding up to 5) for 30 minutes past bedtime. Another day we were practicing counting at home and she asked to count by 100's. Other than that I had no idea what her teachers were teaching at school.

When the class began the teacher pulled out these visual adds to help with counting. I was a little surprised that they are learning to read numbers in the 1000's. I remember working with these things when I was in 1st or 2nd grade, and here my 4 year old daughter is learning it.

After going through and identify which represented 1's, 10's, 100's, & 1000's the teacher pulled out papers with different numbers on them and the kids worked on pulling the proper bead sets to represent the numbers.

At the end of the class the kids split up in groups and the parents got to participate with the students.

It was great to see LanLan's teacher in action and LanLan in the classroom setting. Her teacher said lots of great things about my little Orchid, plays well with the kids, excels in everything especially drawing but is a bit behind in math. She is probably a little behind mostly because we don't reinforce these math concepts at home, I haven't thought about doing it since she is only 4. She also does struggle with the language. We will probably start to practice these concepts and numbers in Chinese at home so she can keep up with the class.

A Big Reward

My Little Orchid has been working on filling up her behavior chart with stickers. Over the course of many months we were work on many different things to encourage good behavior. Things that we have worked on and she received stars for were obeying right away, saying "Yes mama" and then doing whatever mama asked, if told no instead of being upset and throwing a tantrum she would say things like "OK" or "that makes me sad, but alright", sharing, eating without having to be reminded to take another bite, being helpful, etc.

After filling up her chart we told her we would take her to the nearby toy store and she could pick out any toy she liked. After carefully looking at all the toys available she told me she wanted this Barbie kitchen set. It was a bit more money than I had originally thought we would spend but my husband reminded me how hard she had worked and that it took several months (plus I don't very often buy her toys).

LanLan was anxious to open her new prize and place it in her doll house her dad built. She and I had a lot fun playing with the new toys. We made mac & cheese, smoothies, tea and washed the dishes. Of course before Barbie could cook my Little Orchid had to do her hair. (I have to brag for a minute) LanLan is really getting the hang of doing hair! Braiding is still a bit hard for her but she will pick it up quickly.

Hooray for LanLan for completing the behavior chart!!

Milestones

There are many milestones in life, laughing for the first time, taking first steps, talking, going to school, etc. This weekend my daughter has reached one of those milestones, riding a bike without training wheels.

I remember when I learned to ride a bike. My childhood best friend was moving and we were in her new house's basement riding bikes. I was riding in a circle pushing with my feet and picking them up. Quickly I was able to keep my feet up and on the peddles.

My Little Orchid is pretty athletic and very active. When she was a baby she never liked sitting still to held and was walking by 10 months. She loves playing outside, climbing, jumping (giving Daddy a heart attach with whatever dangerous thing she is trying to do).

We figured it was time to take off the training wheels and go with just two wheels. I feel like she might be a little too young but think she can pick it up quickly. Personally it would awesome if she could ride a bike, it would make life going places a bit easier for me . . . but I am also proud of her for being willing to try and learn.

Go LanLan!!

"加油" (JiaYou)

LanLan's preshool had a mini field day for the school, the parents were invited to come and cheer on the children. My little orchid's class had a relay race, competition bouncing a basketball and got the parents to compete jump roping. We jump at any opertunity to go to LanLan's school as we don't really know too much of what actually goes on. Because there is a language & culture barrier I don't get too much information and because of security reasons I'm not allowed into the school very often (this is good & bad - I feel that my daughter is safe but sad that I can't go in anytime and observe class time). So this means that we have to relai on our 4 year old to tell us what happens at school.

This past Thursday when I picked my little orchid up from school I was given an announcement saying there was going to be a field day the next day. (Also very cultural to not tell people in much advance of activities or special advents. I remember when we were teachers coming into school and finding out that that day parents were coming to observe classes! Or, better situations, was when we arrived to find out that we weren't teaching that day b/c we were going on a field trip.)

It was a lot of fun to cheer "加油兰兰!" "JiaYou LanLan!"(pronounced jiayoh - which literally means add more gas, like in a car) as she bounced the basketball and ran. It was exciting to see how she interacts with the other children and her teachers. It is also fun to see other parents there cheering on their kids, so excited to see their child's accomplishments. At the end of the activities everyone who participated got "你真帮!" "Ni Zhen Bang!" stars (translation: You're Great!). Even mommy got one though I can't say I was very great at jump roping 20 weeks pregnant.

Mama Makeover

My little orchard is very much a girly girl. She loves wearing dresses, doing hair and putting on make-up. I think the make-up especially increased after Halloween when mama did her makeup extra gaudy to be a princess & Tinkerbell. Just the other afternoon she wanted to do my hair and makeup. I actually had a lot of fun! I remember thinking it was so fun to things like this when I was her age, now I get to be her guinea pig.

The Little Nurse

My husband recently had his appendix removed. While in the hospital LanLan stayed at a friend's house. When her daddy came home it was apparent that she had missed him. I walked into the room and saw this scene. My husband, who was very tired laid down for a nap. LanLan pulled up a chair right next to him and held his hand. It was so sweet! She even got him his drink and later on brought him her stuffed animals as well. She really missed her daddy.

Flower Girl

My sweet "little orchid" was in a wedding this past weekend. It was her first time to be a flower girl. It wasn't a typical wedding someone from a Western country might think of. Although there were a few things that were similar there were more things that were out of the ordinary. The father walked the bride down the aisle which was a dirt street covered with a red carpet and shoulder to shoulder people pushing their way to see. As the bride, father of the bride and the two flower girls walked down the "aisle" people sprayed silly string and threw confetti. I guess this is like our tradition of throwing rice, or now a days, bird seed or bubbles. The ceremony took place inside the courtyard of the groom's house where people just crowded in so they could see.

Though my daughter was born in China and has been "popular" since the first time we took her outside you can see her personality shining through in the above picture. When lots of people she doesn't know are around she turns inward and internalizes everything. She doesn't talk (even very little to mom & dad), clings to mom or dad (in the picture she is staying very close to her friend) and never smiles. Looking at her I thought she was very scared and about to cry. I didn't think she was enjoying the experience. But I guess I was wrong...

When we left I talked to her and asked her what she thought about the wedding. She told me that she had a great time! She loved walking down the aisle and having people throw stuff at her. I never would have thought looking at that face.

Popularity

Being a child with white skin in China can be a little overwhelming. Fair skin is considered true beauty in China. If you watch the ads or look at the skin products they sell here most things are to help whiten your skin. So when a Chinese person sees a child with white skin they are fascinated and think they are the most beautiful person they have ever seen. (I don't blame them, my children are the most beautiful! hehe)

We knew we were in for a ride when we took LanLan to the park when she was only a couple months old. In a matter of minutes we were surrounded by at least 25 people just looking at her, wanting to take her picture, or taking a picture with her. My husband had to stand on a ledge to get out of reach from people so they wouldn't touch her. It's been 4 years since that has happened and almost every time we go out (especially to parks or an attraction) people come crowding around to have a look. It can get taxing and most of the time LanLan doesn't appreciate it.

Yesterday I was shocked! I noticed that a woman was eyeing my two children and I saw her get her camera out (not surprising). But she had the sweetest spirit and spoke so kindly. She talked to LanLan, asking her name, telling her she was beautiful (also not surprising) and then asked if she could take a picture with her. Most of the time people don't even ask they just do it. Occasionally we will have someone ask but there was something totally different about this woman. LanLan I think was taken with this woman's kindness and agreed to take a picture with her! (LanLan will usually refuse)

Attitude

Sometimes my precious little orchid is the sweetest little girl, very caring for her brother, kind to her friends, loving, and encouraging. But there are moments where she is likes to give a little attitude. Yesterday I took the kids to the park to enjoy the beauty of creation. I told LanLan, "Look at all the beautiful trees and flowers that are blooming! It is such a pretty day, isn't it?"

LanLan turned to me and said "No! It's a BLACK day! With BLACK flowers and BLACK trees!"

Spring is Here!

Since about the end of February LanLan has asked just about everyday to wear short sleeves and her light coat. I would always tell her no, it's too cold out. She then would ask when she could wear it. I would reply "In Spring."

We were out walking around and I pointed out that the tulips were beginning to bloom along with some trees. LanLan turned to me and said "Mama, Spring is here today!"

Expressions

Since my daughter was a few weeks old I was fascinated with all of her facial expressions. I thought that this was normal for people/babies. When our son was born I realized how special my daughter's expressions are. Don't get me wrong my son is super adorable but he just doesn't have as many different facial expressions as LanLan. I made a collage and it is hanging in LanLan's room with some of these different faces. It is actually the inspiration for the name of this blog, the many faces of my orchid.

Muddy Buddies

Living in China we often can't get some things that are so easy to pick up in a local grocery store anywhere in America. It makes making some favorite recipes almost impossible to make. My very kind sister brought over two large suitcases filled with fun food just for us when she came to visit this summer. In it where two key ingredients for Muddy Buddies - Chex cereal and chocolate chips. Today we made this yummy snack.

Another Two Bite The Water

Two more of my daughter's fish died. LanLan came to me and said "Mom, come look! My fish is sleeping in the leaves, it's not dead." She was a little more upset about these two than the first one. I kept saying that the fish were dead and she kept insisting that they weren't dead, just sleeping. Her dad says that the fish are sick (they have white spot disease) and so they all will probably die. How very sad.