A friend to all

Ting Ting prepared lunch the other day for her good friend:



Yes, that's a toy fire truck sitting in that chair.


She spends her days with a bunch of kids and her weekends with her brother and sister, but I guess evenings at home with just Lance and me are a little lonely.

And, no, I DON'T think that means she needs a sister.

Homework

A couple of weeks ago, Ting Ting graduated to preschool. Now she has weekly homework.

Precious in Pink

Auntie Debi came to visit and let Ting Ting pick out her birthday present.


Ladies and gentlemen, I present "Sleeping Booty":

Then and now -- Chinese New Year edition

Chinese New Year celebration 2007:

2008:

and 2009:

It's amazing how this stuff comes back to you

Early one morning as I ended a conversation with a coworker, Ting Ting demanded her turn. My friend was happy to oblige.

"OK," I said, handing Ting Ting the phone. "Say 'hello' to Miss Mary."

She chattered happily for a minute, then returned the phone to me. I said goodbye to Mary and hung up.

"What's her got?" Ting Ting asked me. I looked at her blankly.

"Excuse me?" I said.

"Her got baa baa black sheep?" Ting Ting asked.

I thought a minute. The light went on.

"No," I said. "Mary Had a Little Lamb."

Chinese New Year celebration

Xin Nian Kuai Le! This year our agency didn't co-sponsor the Chinese New Year event we have attended four years in a row, so last weekend we went to downtown Chicago for an event sponsored by the local chapter of Families with Children from China.

A good time was had by all.


These photographs were taken by Dan Patten, a local photographer (and Dad) who donated his services at the event.

The Face

Ting Ting and her Daddy love to play together.


He taught her how to make The Face.

Are YOU smarter than a 3-year-old?

Lance and the older kids had a meeting after church Sunday, so Ting Ting and I were alone for lunch. After lunch comes nap, and I'm not so good at making that happen. Usually on the weekends, Lance takes her upstairs and gets her right to sleep, but when he's not around I'm in trouble.

Sunday she was goofing around, ignoring my attempts to corral her. As I gathered her blanket and closed the blinds, she picked up her toy phone and "called" her grandparents.

"Hello, Papa and Lao Lao. It's Ting Ting!" she said. She proceeded to chat for a minute, then asked me if I wanted to talk to them.

Sure, I said. I had a plan.

"Hi, Papa and Lao Lao," I said. "Yes . . . uh huh . . . well, yes, Ting Ting IS about to take a nap . . .yes, we were just about to go to bed . . . OK, we'll talk to you later. Bye Bye!"

I hung up the phone.

"Papa and Lao Lao told me they would say goodbye so you could take your nap now," I told her somewhat smugly. (Good one, Mama.)

Ting Ting looked at me thoughtfully, then picked up the phone again.

"Hi Papa," she said. "I don't like to take a nap right now. Uh huh . . . OK . . . OK, Papa, Bye Bye."

She hung up the phone and met my gaze.

"He said I don't have to take one today!" she announced cheerfully.

It's abundantly clear to me that in this ongoing battle of wits, I am unarmed.