The Necklace and the Eyes

I brought two frou-frou items with us for our girl:

a necklace, and 3 hair bows...so, technically, that makes 4 frou-frou items.

The necklace is one I'd picked up on clearance at WalMart last January, after the after-Christmas sales.

Really cheap, uh, inexpensively.

I pick up stuff  like that to have on hands for those surprise birthday parties that other mothers repay me with. (I think paybacks are quite my due, seeing I've thrown together parties at the last minute nearly every year for nearly every kid. You'd think I could do better party planning than that,
since I obviously have a full year's notice.)

Regardless, the necklace was a sweet little Flower I found on my shelf as I was packing for China. I read the three words that hang as charms with the "crystal" and the heart charm:

Really, could you have picked out a better set of words for our girl to have near her heart? How could I know  in January I'd need those words in my closet 8 months later? Hmm.
Some Flowers were in seed, maybe?

Maylin enjoys putting it on nearly everyday.

I also brought three hair clips because I figured, neither of my other girls would wear them past the age of 3, so I needed to begin hair bow training ASAP with Maylin. Maybe I would be able to get Maylin used to the idea that they were part of her American "uniform" and she'll

possibly wear them once she's home. 

HA! She lets me put them in, but sneaks them into her pocket shortly thereafter...

That's the necklace...now, for the eyes.

As you've seen in the  photos, she has lovely eyes of the deepest brown.

And she uses those eyes to talk.

 Tonight they said some sweet things to us.
She rubbed my hands and gave me qinwen (kisses) on my cheeks and arms
while I sang her a song about Little Ones belonging to Him.

At Yuntai Gardens---AMAZING

It was gorgeous...even in the rain
(and it was much cooler than it could have been!)

This afternoon, those eyes joined her mouth in saying some not-very-sweet things about her daddy who had told her "no" about something and was forced to endure the Wrath of Khan.

(Daddy  Outwitted, Outplayed, Outlasted while I was plotting to vote myself off the Island)

Tuesday night after her bath, hangin' with her Baba

At lunch, her eyes told us she was contemplating a meltdown, but she chose the lesser of two evils
(melt down vs. asking for something instead of grunting)
She clearly understands her options at times, and we can watch her making choices.


After supper, we took her to the outdoor pool on the 14th floor.
Her eyes told us she had no intentions of putting one body part in that water, regardless of who else was in there (Daddy,  and friends Sofi and Luca) and no matter how much fun it looked like they were having.

Well, you know how it goes...
She kept her sandals and cover-up on, but got closer to the edge as the four of them played and splashed. Maylin's eyes even started to smile and she enjoyed the activity.
She actually put her hand in the water.
She bent over near the edge and splashed daddy.
And then her eyes breifly widened and said,
NOT THE PLAN!!
as she slipped, and fell into the pool...right into daddy's arms.


Of course, she cried and sputtered while daddy talked to her in English and
Luca (a newly adopted 6 yr old) told her in Chinese
that "you're okay, you'll be fine."

She didn't seem to hold onto the surprise or the anxiety for long, and we headed to the Foosball table where her eyes told us she thought watching this competition was great fun. She loves to observe, but like me, Justin and Matthew, she doesn't feel the need to be in the middle of it until she's sure she's got the upper hand.

For tonight though, Daddy and I think we've got the upper hand.