Random Daycare Daily Report #1

It seems like Sophie has really gotten happy and comfortable back at school. Lately, she's had a smile on her face almost all day long, with smiles and waves and kisses for everyone :) At lunch, she almost couldn't finish eating because we put on some music and Sophie started bouncing and dancing in her seat! The past few days she's just wanted to walk everywhere! She'll push anything she can around the room just to stay on her feet. Before we know it, she'll be walking on her own!

:)

Hello there, world!

It's me, Sophie :)

We are ladies who do lunch... with an attitude.

The defense is 4 weeks away. Thinking about it makes me want to throw up. But Thursdays are Sophie days and I don't think about the dissertation. We just hang out and do things like take goofy photos with the iPhone during lunch.

Just because we can :)

For our 宝贝

Update:

[thanks to Jude for a serendipitous find-- the best kind...]

This song goes out to Sophie, whose parents' combined knowledge of Chinese was tapped for the first time in eons to read the lyrics (in traditional Chinese no less- my friend, Yvonne would be so proud...) so that they can sing this sweet, sweet, lovely song to her. From now on, depending on whether she's being good or bad, we're going to start calling her 小鬼 (loosely translated: little rascal) or 宝贝 (precious). And to make this song even more poignant, the singer-songwriter, Zhang Xuan, wrote this when she was only 13, after a particularly rough falling out with her mother.

我的寶貝 寶貝 給你一點甜甜，
讓你今夜都好眠
我的小鬼 小鬼 逗逗你的眉眼，
讓你喜歡這世界
嘩啦啦啦啦啦我的寶貝，
倦的時候有個人陪
唉呀呀呀呀呀我的寶貝，
要你知道你最美
我的寶貝 寶貝 給你一點甜甜，
讓你今夜很好眠
我的小鬼 小鬼 捏捏你的小臉，
讓你喜歡整個明天
嘩啦啦啦啦啦 我的寶貝
倦的時候有個人陪
唉呀呀呀呀呀 我的寶貝
要你知道你最美 嘩啦啦啦啦啦 我的寶貝
孤單時有人把你想念
唉呀呀呀呀呀 我的寶貝
要你知道你最美

My baby, baby, giving you a bit of sweetness
Allowing you to sleep well tonight
My little rascal, little rascal, teasingly playing with your eyebrows
Making you love this world
(Vocals) My baby
When you're tired, there's someone to accompany you
(Vocals) My baby
Wanting you to know you are the most beautiful
My baby, baby, giving you a bit of sweetness
Allowing you to sleep well tonight
My little rascal, little rascal, teasingly playing with your face
Allowing you to love every coming tomorrow
(Vocals) My baby
When you're lonely, there's someone to think of you
(Vocals) My baby
Wanting you to know you are the most beautiful
- 張萱, "寶貝"

It's like we never left...

More photos here.

Wake me up when September ends

The next month and a half are going to be pretty crazy around here. I have to write like a superhuman being in order to make my dissertation defense deadline and Jude's teaching, on top of writing his dissertation as well. And so until things become a little more sane, blogging will have to take a hiatus. Oh, I might post a photo or two here and there, or a quick update about what Miss Sophie's up to, but long meandering blogposts are going to have to take a back seat until this tome of a dissertation comes together.

Until then, here's a random photo of Sophie enjoying the new orientation of her car seat. Methinks she's enjoying it better now that she's finally sharing our view of things- you may call her Queen of the Back Seat, perched on Her throne, holding Her orb of stately puffs :)