Her first snowshoes!

Wynn got her first pair of snowshoes for Christmas ... but we had no snow on the ground then! Finally, yesterday overnight we got a nice 4" coating - enough to give the shoes a try.  Shadow wanted to help:

Having clear skies ought to be good for playing outside, but when sunset is at 4:30 pm, there's little time to romp around.

 

She got the hang of walking really quickly, and Shadow was overjoyed to have someone to chase.

 

Let's have a video of the two of them playing!

BFFs on the playground

Wynn and Tess are both goofy grapes out on the playground - they love to dig in the sand, chase each other, have big pretend adventures. They have so much fun together - pity they're in different classes during the day this school year but they hook up every afternoon and have a grand time.

 

Kind of nice too that Tess is Wynn's size - the European kids in their classes are almost all bigger

 

South China sisters keeping guard on the fortress...

School's out - big play date

Yesterday we hooked up with some of the other families from Wynn's 1st-grade class at Yinghua for a play date near the school. It was good for us grownups to be able to just sit around and chat (we learned more about behind-the-scenes stuff at school than we'd picked up through official channels for the entire year) - and we learned that Wynn's beloved teacher is leaving YA to get married and move to Copenhagen of all places! She is majorly bummed out about that as she really wanted to take Choir next year & be instructed by her...

Someone managed to bump her shin REALLY HARD on the edge of something ... neither Ann nor I recognized Wynn crying (because she just doesn't cry, she's awesome all the time!  we're not bad parents, right?  ...   oh we are so ashamed ...)

Long lens to get a candid shot, as Wynn hams it up whenever she knows she's being photographed...

 

Injury doesn't seem to be bothering her now.

NO IDEA what the story is here but the expressions are just great.

 

Random Wynn Video

She's simply doing random things. And she could go at it like this all day, too...

There Was Sun. There Was Fun.

Easter weekend was one big Wynn-o-centric photo op.

Here are some highlights ...

Where Bubble Blowing Meets Tai Chi

Highly-Focused Bunny Coloring Time

Getting Smooched by a Pooch

Hunting for Eggs

Finding a Basket with Enough Candy to Feed a Family of Five

Flying a Kite

(She's pointing her finger to tell Grandpa and Uncle Paul

where to run next.

She loves giving orders.)

Looking Cool on Her Tricycle

If You Give a Tot a Camera ...

We went on a little weekend getaway to Duluth. Wynn, who is drawn to all gizmos with buttons to push, took some pictures of our trip for everyone to see. Here they are -

Still Life with Sandal on Hotel Carpeting

Deck with Parking Lot: First in a Series

Mom's Suitcase

Growling with the Grizzly Bear

(Okay, I took the last one.)

Travels with Toddler

This morning we toured the gardens at the Imperial Palace - another serene and beautiful place. As it's Saturday, there were quite a few people there strolling around to admire the meticulously-maintained gardens. Amid all the peace and contemplation, one voice rang out - the voice of a toddler singing ...

"You can't catch me! You can't catch me!"

Don't worry.

We caught her.

It's her favorite part of the game.

Mystery Date

Today Wynn had a mystery date with Grandma and Grandpa. She knew she was going to spend the day with them, but she didn't know where they'd be taking her.  

Lunch at the Asian all-you-can-eat buffet was a promising start. We hear she enjoyed eating the fried skin off the chicken instead of the meat, and that the ice cream dessert was very much to her liking. Her announcement, "That's from China!" on seeing the decor earned her instant adoration from the staff.

After lunch, the big surprise came. Grandma and Grandpa had made arrangements with some friends of theirs for Wynn to visit their horse today. (She had met a horse with Grandma last spring and still talks about it, so this was a BIG deal.) Grandpa said Wynn's jaw literally dropped when she saw the beautiful saddlebred go by pulling a cart. 

Wynn got to feed her some grass ...

And she even got to go for a ride in the cart ...

(Click on the pictures to get a closer look.)

Her day of adventure was rounded out with some kite flying with Uncle Paul, who brought dinner (complete with cupcakes!) over to Grandma and Grandpa's house.

She came home really tired - but really happy too.

A Special Message from Wynn

Holiday Preparations

Wynn wanted to make sure the Easter Bunny 

felt welcomed and appreciated.

The carrots are "bait". 

She claims the part that she wrote (behind her) says 

"Easter Bunny hop".

A New Car!

We got past the playing with the cardboard box stage and finally unveiled the super-cool plasma car.

Wynn's reaction? 

"A new car!!" 

How very Price is Right of her. 

She understood to sit on it right away, but the lack of pedals threw her, so she scooted it along Flinstone- style on the carpet for a while. Then I had her take it over on the linoleum in what used to be our dining area. (It's now Wynn's Play Space, which is what she calls it too.) 

On the smooth floor, the car moves much more easily by just moving the wheel from side to side. Of course, Wynn yells, "Wiggle! Wiggle! Wiggle!" as she moves the handle back and forth, and she pretends the yellow button in the middle of the wheel is a horn and honks it constantly. 

She rode around on it in the Play Space while wearing her p.j.'s right up until it was time to go to bed. 

Fun! Fun! Fun!

And She Hasn't Even Seen the REAL Toy Yet

The plasma car is still hiding downstairs, but we've gotten a solid hour of play out of the canoe-sized Amazon box it arrived in ...

She's a Magical Ninja Princess Bakery Engineering Salesperson

Playing the "what will Wynn grow up to be?" game just gets more and more fun as she gets bigger and more sophisticated with language and expression. She's mastered the art of stacking boxes, here demonstrating her interpretation of the Petronas Towers. She figured out on her own she needed a stepstool to place the topmost pieces.

I knew I needed to ask Ann out when I tried her carrot cake; her family is well-known for baking. Wynn seems to be picking up the skills from her mom, and she digs the outfits!

I suspect our daughter will gravitate toward a role where she can employ her persuasive skills. Here she was last weekend explaining her interpretation of the rules of Candy Land to Ann's folks and walking them through a game.

Truly, every day brings something new. Her expanding world is carrying us happily along with it.

Adjusting to Normal

We're still having trouble convincing Wynn to fall asleep at night, but we think that might have something to do with her being a toddler...

We've set a appointment for Wynn to see the cleft palate specialist in early-August. It'll be nice to hear what he has to say and get some specifics on what kind of surgical schedule we're looking at. While we're not looking forward to major medical procedures for her, we're happy to be in a place where quality medical care is available. Once her palate repair is underway, getting liquids in her should be easier, and it will help with her speech also. (Although, she did very clearly say, "banana" this morning as I was slicing one up for her.)

This morning she figured out the difference between the REAL remote that actually turns to TV on and off and the FAKE remote that has no batteries; she prefers the real one. She managed to turn the TV on by herself. When Elmo came on, she looked a little perplexed, so she hit another button; Darth Vader appeared on on the screen, and she started to smile and laugh.

Today's pictures show Wynn playing with Nick and Megan, who visited her yesterday - and brought a sandbox and a McDonald's Happy Meal luncheon to enjoy at the mini picnic table. Very much appreciated.

You can also see how she's bonding with Ranger; it's FUN to delicately drop your rice on the floor and watch the dog eat it.

Ann