Dear David...

I fed G in the night. I know I need not do that, she just cries and I don't want her to wake Tobin, I don't want to move Tobin with me, and I don't want to move her in the office. Overall I am lazy about it I suppose. She has a cold and probably is cold, who knows. Not to mention more teeth I think...

I am doing some 'Chinese School break' work flow ideas and Home School organizing, I chose 2014 pics for the book (first round anyway). We will start working on the homeschool conference project next week...I keep saying to the kids "come Monday" and sound like Jimmy Buffet crooning... but his song is about a girl and mine is about school. They have had a good little break though and are doing such fun creative play.

But the girls still bicker too much. Sophia just tattled that "Bella is killing a fish with scissors", that is something I should know. "It was already dead" was her excuse. We had a little discussion ("Unless you are cleaning and bringing it for dinner, don't do that").

They really have an exciting little fort over there. The swinging has slowed down though. It is just cold. Ayi says there is snow on a mountain real close by, Sophia wanted us to drive up right away. No four wheel drive, honey. But I wouldn't have done it anyway. (update: zhongshan had snow??!!)

After a little tot school with Tobin and Math and spelling/writing with the girls we went outside. The girls danced to Frozen, Poppy and CC called and we had a nice chat.

 Gabrielle is all over the place, has a cough, and is very opinionated these days.

I found her here 

 with crayon in hand ready to start her artistic career on Tobin's walls.

She is all smiles because she is smart enough to know what the machine I hold in my hand is for...but rest assured the tantrum ensued when I took her down, and moved the chairs so she could not climb.

Tobin had an allergic reaction. To Pine, I think. Here is a funny discussion that took about 15 minutes. Meanwhile his right eye is puffy, very red, and has a lot of bumps underneath. He says it tickles (he means itches)
T: "maybe it was the caterpillar"
M: what caterpillar?
T: it crawled up my leg and my face. (they had just played outside thirty minutes prior)
M: hm...that is an option, what about those wooden blocks you were JUST playing with, did you put those near your eyes?
T: yes
M: show me how
T: puts it up near his eye.
M: (I wash his hands and face) Let me call Aunt K, who is used to allergic reactions
T: it could be the cat
M: cat or caterpillar?
T: cat
M: what cat, did you touch a cat?
T: yes, outside
M: (I finally catch on, I had been pretty much believing his tales until then.) Tobin, was there a monkey in the tree outside eating a banana?
T: laughs, no, mamma.
M: I need you to be a truth teller. I may need to take you to the hospital and get you lots of shots based on the truth that you tell me (can you sense the hypocrisy in that statement?). Was there a cat or a caterpillar?
T: no....
(I am pretty sure the blocks he put on his face are pine and irritated his skin greatly, I gave him a small dose of Benadryl and put him to bed, note to self: don't rub pine on your skin)


Sophia did an excellent job with her weekly 'thorough room clean':

K took T and B to MengBaNaXi while I made sweet potato casserole and laminated our kids 'daily duties' among other things. I don't really know what possessed me to use our expensive butter on the casserole but I did and it was good. It was my dessert.

Tobin's eye had cleared by the time I woke him from his nap, but looked a little irritated again by the time he returned at 5:30.

While they were out and I finished the casserole and put chicken in the oven, I took G out for a walk. And....she walked, twenty paces and plopped, then twenty more and turned around. All around the water area she walked, not super steady, a little like a drunk old man staggering, but she did it. It is official, she can walk, she just doesn't prefer it yet. She got tired and was done. Inside she wouldn't try it either. Soph and friends watched Gabrielle take her first real stroll and they were just as excited as we were! I got a bit of it on video too.

Sophia and company also made a little pretend business selling ice cream "mei wei" and marched and chanted a few times just like the advertisers around here. Hilarious. Ayi and I were really laughing, the girls came in for lollipops and got the giggles going too. I LOVE these friends and how they all play!

Tomorrow morning Sophia gets her Chinese test scores. I told her I really did not want her to be disappointed when she said: 'tomorrow I get to go see if I got a hundred!'  I reminded her that she knew all the characters writing and reading that she was supposed to when we reviewed and that was perfect in my book (it would have been perfect if she knew even half in my book!)

Reading Keller's book on prayer at night, it is so good! It is 9:02, I am making my way there now...while the house is quiet.
love and miss you!