First day {Pre-K4}

Today was Meili's first day of pre-k4 @ Cedar Crest. Ms. Libby is her teacher.

I asked her about her first day when I picked her up from afterschool care.

Me: How was your first day of pre-k in Ms. Libby's class?
Meili: Good.
Me: Did you do anything fun today?
Meili: No.
Me: What did you learn?
Meili: Nothing.
Me: So you did nothing for 8 hours today?
Meili: Right.

Her teacher emailed all of the parents and provided us with a synopsis of their activities. I actually already know what she did/learned for the first day.

During dinner, our conversation continues...
Meili: Mommy, I did learn something today.
Me: You did!
Meili: Yeah, I learned how to snap my fingers.

Which she showed me repeatedly with great confidence. I guess that's one developmental milestone that we can cross off our list.

Big Sister

Even though my family and close friends knew that Mary Baby was on its way, the greater community did not. And by greater community I mostly mean facebook.

Most just assumed that it was another adoption. Lol, I wish but not right now. (Maybe in a few years when Meili is in school and Mary Baby is, well, not a baby)... Now everybody knows that Meili will be a big sister in about 9 weeks!

90s Delight

I've been very silent since the end of June. That's because I bought a house. I dubbed it the '90s delight'. Because of the brass fixtures, berber carpet, and just overall 90s feel. Over 1200 sq feet of 90s. 1200 sq feet that needed a lot of help.

Renovations! My underpaid team and I have been working every day since closing at the end of June. After almost 6 weeks, Meili and I finally moved in last weekend. We have a living room, 2 bathrooms, and my bedroom mostly done.

Enough to finally move in.

All while being in my last trimester.

At least we have finally settled into our new city and it's home sweet home for the next few years.

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Back to China

Meili and I recently took a trip back to China. To adopt more babies from the orphanage. "Because all babies need a mommy," she said.

We adopted:

Big baby.

Snow White and Mulan.

Not what you were thinking? She is starting to process her story. And by playing 'adoption' (that's what she calls it), she is starting to put some of those pieces together.

Swim lessons

I enrolled Meili in level 1 swim lessons @ the local boys' and girls' club. Just a 2-week introductory class. The first day was a complete bust. She was scared and didn't want to participate. She just sat on the edge of the pool and watched the other kids. I tried to talk her into participating, even bribing her with ice cream. No luck. Meili didn't want anything to do with the pool, instructors, or other kids.

The second day was completely different! She participated just like every other kid in the class. Meili kicked her legs, blew bubbles in the water, floated on her back, and played the 'lock' game (where you grab a lock that's placed on the bottom of the pool). She had so much confidence! I was really proud of her. We even got ice cream as a treat after the class. I think that was the best part for her.

Photography by Meili

Meili loves to take pictures on my phone. Here are some of her latest.

A contemporary composite of the living room, my legs, and Speedracer. Notice how she framed the photo to only include my hand.

She included both Speedracer and myself as the subjects in these classic photos. We seem to be her favorite subjects as the vast majority of her photos include us in various poses and styles. Good thing she documented my 23-week pregnant belly too.

A selfie.

Her favorite mode of transportation in the house.

This is by far my favorite. She got up early this morning and took this fantastic photo of me sleeping. She got quite a few taken before I heard her giggles and woke up.

It's interesting to see life from her 3-year-old perspective.

WDW: Magic Kingdom

We slept in until 9 am today. We were both exhausted and needed the rest. We started the day off by meeting Tinkerbell.

Meili showed me the Rapuzenal doll that she wanted me to buy. Sadly for her, I didn't.

We met Mary Poppins.

Tigger too! Meili was really excited to meet him. In her words, "Momma he's a tiger, like me."

Eeyore made an appearance as well during lunch.

We met a bunch of princesses, including Ana and Elsa. I didn't take photos but the Disney photographers did! I'll have a post later dedicated to nothing but Disney princesses. Meeting them was by far the best part of the trip!

WDW: Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom was on the schedule for Day 2. I've never been to this park so wasn't sure quite what to expect.

Meili started the day by signing up to be a Wildnerness Explorer. She was given a book and had to collect badges from different places around the park.

Waiting in line for the safari ride. Perhaps the best ride at WDW. We got to see animals from a 'safari' truck. Reminded me of the safari park in Guangzhou.

Meili got her first henna tattoo. She picked out the design.
"Two hearts Momma. One for me and one for you."

She spent almost an hour looking for dinosaur bones.

We were so exhausted that we called it an early day. Meili spent the rest of the afternoon swimming, eating, and licking her giant lollipop.

WDW: Epcot Center

Epcot Center was the first park. We started out all smiles.

Which quickly turned to a frown by a little girl.

After a few rides, she perked back up. Especially when I told her who she would be meeting.... Mulan!

She was so excited to meet her. We were the last ones in the line. Meili got a few extra moments with her b/c of this.

When we got back to our room, we came in to find a present. Complete with a princess lollipop, crown, and Minnie ears with her name.

We took a 3 hour nap and went back in the evening to meet one more special princess.... Snow White! Meili was quite enthusiastic to put on her Snow White dress in order to 'match' the real Snow White.

Today was quite a fun day. Epcot continues to be my favorite park @ WDW.