Last day of school

All about pears




Hannah and her friend Mikaylee talk during class (naughty!)



Ava, Hannah, Irene, Mikaylee, Lily and Lao Shi (Teacher) Lu He


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Thursday was the last day of Chinese school for Hannah and me. There was a little party for all the girls in our class, and after class we (parents and kids) had a picnic at the playground at CCAI.

Hannah really surprised me at Chinese school. Every week the teacher reviews some of the words the kids have learned in the past couple weeks, but it's really mostly the teacher "reminding" them what the word is, and the kids repeating it after her. Sometimes one of the girls will remember a word, but it's never Hannah...she's the youngest in the class and sometimes it's hard for her to sit there and pay attention. As soon as we get to class she starts asking Lao Shi (LOU-as in "loud" SHIR: "Teacher") for a snack (which they get at the end of class). We listen to the CDs they give us during the week but she only likes to hear the songs, not the vocabulary. And of course, I could review the words with her more often. But anyway, I think the point of the classes is for the parents to learn Mandarin words and songs so that we can teach them to the kids. Two and three year olds are not going to become fluent in Chinese by going to a one-hour class once a week! I also like that she can meet some Chinese role models in the teacher (whom they all LOVE).

Anyway, Lao Shi was holding up fake fruits and vegetables and asking the kids what they were. After the kids would tell her the English, she would ask them the Chinese word, and then usually she would prompt them. When she held up the carrot, Hannah told her "It's a carrot!" Then when she asked her "In Chinese?" Hannah piped up immediately with "Hu luo bo!" - or close enough, anyway. I almost fell off my chair, and Lao Shi told Hannah that was the best present she got today (prompting a "What about the flowers I gave you?" from one of the other girls, who thought her end-of-school gift was dissed!). All the other parents were surprised, too, and everyone gave Hannah a big round of applause. I don't know how she knew that one, because I didn't even remember it. Could it be that she's really smart....or is it just a lucky guess? Hhmmmm! Which one could it be?

Happy Mother's Day

This is my second Mother's Day, and the first one where Hannah gave me a present. At Chinese school this week, they all colored a drawing of a flower that said Happy Mother's Day in English and Chinese. So actually I was there when she made my present, and I even helped her cut it out. But I did give it to Lindsey so he could have her give it to me at breakfast at Village Inn. When we got to the restaurant, the hostess called Hannah over to her and gave her a flower (a carnation), saying, "Give this to your Mommy." It was nice that the girl didn't question if I was Hannah's mother, since we don't look anything alike; she just assumed that I was her mom. Lindsey and I have talked about getting away to a B&B in Manitou Springs, so that will be my Mother's Day gift from him.

This is my first Mother's Day without a mother of my own. I think of last year's Mother's Day, and it would never have occured to me that there wouldn't be another Mother's Day for mom this year. She was in such good health, except for her vision problems. I was so happy that she was able to live on her own in her 80's. I even remember the card I sent her last year, and I had Hannah color it too. I thought Hannah would be sending her more Mother's Day cards in the future. I guess it's true that you can't take the future for granted.

We had a great weekend. Yesterday we went up to Denver to go shopping. We hit all our favorite haunts, including the Tattered Cover, one of the best independent bookstores in the country. Lindsey went to an antiquarian bookstore in Cherry Creek, one that Hannah wouldn't find interesting. While he was there, Hannah and I took a walk to an ice cream store and then to a toy store. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and it felt like summer. Hannah was outgoing and charming to everyone she met, saying "Hi!" to people as we passed them on the street, and asking to pet all the dogs.

At the toy store she really had fun playing with the doll house. I guess we should get her one but I cringe when I think of all the pieces all over the place. She already has little toys everywhere they can possibly be, all over the floor. The house is like an obstacle course...of course, that's not all Hannah's fault.

Happy Birthday, Aunt Annie!

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We went to Atlanta this past weekend to help celebrate Lindsey's Aunt Ann's 75th birthday. It was a surprise (the party, not the birthday - I think she knew she was going to be 75!). Her kids, Eve and Scott, invited a bunch of her friends from high school in Harlan, Kentucky. We showed up on Friday night, and Eve and Scott took Hannah out on the deck to see her. Eve was supposed to be picking Scott up from the airport, and she actually picked up the three of us in addition to Scott, who flew in from Chicago. So Eve and Scott took her out on the deck and said, "Look who we found out at the airport!" Then Lindsey and I followed her out on the deck. Then while we were sitting out there talking, the Kentucky friends arrived, and Eve and Scott got them all set up in the living room. Eve said, "Mom, I need to show you something in here," and Aunt Ann went into the living room with her. I thought she was going to faint. Then, like she did with us, she started crying, and I think I can safely say she was surprised.

Scott had ordered in some deep-dish pizzas FROM CHICAGO (they arrived half-baked and frozen), so we had them for dinner. The next day, her Kentucky friends came from their hotel to take her shopping so we could set up for the Derby Day/Birthday Party. Well, THEY set up for the party; mostly I kept Hannah hout of the way, and we both took a nap! Scott and Eve had the party catered and had a delicious cake made. Everything was delicious and we all had a great time.

On Sunday, Eve, Lindsey and I went to a nail salon, where Lindsey had a manicure AND a pedicure! He refused to take our advice and get the bright pink nail polish (he went for the natural look), but Eve and I both had manicures. We brought Hannah with us, and she wanted a manicure, too. But I bought some pink nail polish at Walgreen's, and Eve and I painted her fingernails and toenails out on the deck. She's so proud of her pretty pink toes!

You have to check out the video (above) of Hannah singing "My Old Kentucky Home". The video is very dark (I took it with my digital camera and it was dark on the deck) but the singing is really cute, especially towards the end.

If you're interested, you can see more of my photos and videos at my Dropshots site: www.dropshots.com/cscomo

More Hannah-isms

Hannah showing off her "nose owies". She gets them by sucking her thumb and rubbing her nose with her index finger of the same hand. She sometimes does it while she sleeps.

Hannah with Mama & Baba and JoJo & Clint

I haven't listed any of Hannah's cute little sayings lately. It's really too bad that she is getting bigger, because she is starting to pronounce things the way they are supposed to be pronounced. The Hannah-isms are really cute. Her verbal skills are exceptional - most people can't believe she's not even three yet.

• The other night, I was reading to her before she went to bed. She looked up at me while I read, and very seriously she said, "Mommy, I'm not a child." I asked her, "You're not?", but before I could recover from my surprise, she continued, "I'm sixteen old." Lindsey heard her, too, and we just looked at each other for a minute. I gradually realized that this was not something she came up with all by herself. I asked if somebody else said that. She nodded and said, "The little mermaid!" So I realized it was a line from The Little Mermaid, one of her favorite movies. I think her famously dramatic, "Leave me alone!" is not actually a quote from Greta Garbo; it's also from another one of her Disney cartoons. I just can't remember which one right now. She says it when we have made an unreasonable demand of her (like pick up your blocks or put on your shoes), and she could almost be an adolescent girl for all the drama she puts into it.


• "Hi, Mister Mommy!" or "Mister Mommy, what are you doin'?" I'm not sure where she got that one! She usually laughs when she says it, so I guess it's supposed to be funny.


• She has "girls" that always hang around her. They are apparently very tiny girls, because she often tells us, "Hey, you're sitting on my girls!", when we sit down for dinner. She also says her "girls" are sitting on the table watching her eat/put on her shoes/read her books. They don't have names; they're just "my girls."


• She is very quick on picking up on when I have made a mistake. Like if I say, "Pick up your sock," when I mean "shoe", she says, "You said sock!" Then, "Mommy, you made a mistake?" Thanks, Hannah.