Making new friends

Right now Holly Jun is upstairs with her sister Myleigh, and two new friends, Savannah and Mckayla, neither of which speak Chinese, at least not much that I know of, but, they have a Chinese grandmother, so, perhaps there is some spoken in their family that they have picked up. Either way, Holly is chattering away up there like I haven't heard yet. She was so excited when they got here, as they are the first kid visitors we have had. I wasn't sure how she would interact with them, but, she's acting like she believes they will understand her, and she is undaunted in her attempts to be a part of the group. I just hope she doesn't become too frustrated.

Last night I took her to parent teacher night at Mindy's high school where she is on a ballroom dance team. The whole team has taken to Myleigh over the past two years. They knew we were bringing home Holly, and a bunch of them came over to the table where I was talking to the coach. She loves two of the boys, who both have dark hair, and chattered at them and showed off her sassy side. She is loving using her few English words, especially bye bye and thank you, to the delight of her audience.

Today Holly and I had a go round over rules. I have a firm rule about how close the children can get to the gas fireplace in our dining room, and she wanted to disobey as her brother and sister were watching, and she was determined that I was not going to tell her what to do. So, in time out she went, and after the requisite 5 minutes, I asked her if she wanted to come out, and reached for her, but, she shook her head no and stood her ground. This went on for about an hour, until she finally relented, and sat on my lap in the rocker while I talked to her and told her I love her. After a bit she wanted water, and was hungry, so I fed her grapes, which she readily accepted, which is a big deal in our relationship.

Then, I did something she didn't expect. I asked her if she wanted to play outside with Baba. She was happy and cooperated with me, and afterward she has been playing with me, bringing me things, calling me mama, and even teaching me Chinese words for things. Little battles equal big victories.