She's so tiny.

This is something we hear all the time, even in China. One of the flight attendants on the flight from Kunming to Guangzhou fussed over Baby S, then stated, “She’s five months old, right?” Nope, she is 15 months. The young lady was rather surprised. Baby S is small, and will always be small, but we are beginning to worry about her future self-image. Initially, I was annoyed that people would say she is tiny before knowing her age. Then Thursday afternoon, it sort of hit me. We were at the Mall waiting for P and as I walked by the play area, Baby S became excited. She is still on that shy stage and we only take her in there when it isn’t too crowded. When is crowded, she enjoys watching the kids play from the safety of our arms. That afternoon it was really crowded with kids between 6-8 years old and only one small little girl. I removed her from her stroller and held her, then she almost took a dive from my arms into the play area. Baby S appears to be determined to visit one of our local ERs before the year is over. Although I was supposed to meet P on the other side of the Mall, I decided to let her play, since she was so eager.

As I took off each shoe, Baby S ripped her socks and began to cry. The girl was ready to play. She ran into the play area and shouted “HI!” She then made a beeline to her favorite toy, which was being used by three much older girls. Baby S was about to push one aside when I grabbed her. I thought a meltdown was imminent but I was able to redirect her attention. Much to my surprise she mingled with the older kids and fell in love with one of the slides. She kept making the sign for up and once she reached the other side of the slide she would do her usual squeal/applause/happy dance combo. Then she’d do the sign for more.

The little girl I mentioned earlier was there with her father and brother. The father was not Caucasian and was barely 5 feet tall. The little girl was taller and bigger than Baby S. The father was taken with Baby S and struck a conversation with me. He began by stating that Baby S is beautiful and very agile. He asked her age, and I asked his daughter’s age. Dude, the little girl was 10 months old! I was floored. Maybe her mother is 7 feet tall, and there are recessive genes to consider, but still, wow. When P found us, and I informed him, he was equally stunned. It finally hit us why everyone comments on her size.

Like most parents, when we look at Baby S, we just see our daughter. We do not see a Chinese child, or a tiny child, we just see Baby S. The problem is that Baby S either has not received or has not bothered to read the memo, because she has no clue about her size. She tries anything she sees other kids doing and finds that perfectly normal. I think we are going to be on a first name basis with the local ER staff.

Baby S is slowly coming out of her shell in public and this particular outing was really an improvement for her. She was not clinging to us and did very well until the end. A little boy about her age arrived and befriended her. They played for quite a while on the slide. Whenever the little boy went down, baby S would smile and applaud. Very soon, the little boy was doing the same. They looked SO cute together. Then the little boy tumbled and landed on Baby S’s lap. That kid was a moose compared to Baby S, but before we could help him up, Baby S let out an angry scream and pushed him off of her. I guess she is no longer smitten by her handsome suitor.

Baby S's hair is getting long and in her eyes. She HATES anything on her head, so the hair battle has begun. This is the first salvo, a bow. You will see this bow in subsequent pictures, but she ripped it off more than a dozen times. She is not the only persistent one in this family. :)

Could someone tell me where to get this toy? Baby S LOVES that thing and wants one for her wall at home. Awesome outfit courtesy of her Aunt Courtney or her Nana. Sorry, but we mixed the outfits you guys sent and are not sure. Anyway, the outfit is still awesome and we are grateful.

Baby S and the giant mushroom.

Wheeeeeeeee!

After the playground adventure we went out for dinner, which led to Baby S's first try at coloring. She is the two fisted type.

Just as we were done with dinner, Baby S reached her limit and began to squirm in her high chair and get rather loud. P and I were looking for our waiter to get the check and get the heck out before Volcano Baby S erupted. It was rather busy and we had to wait for quite a while. We were able to redirect her and avoid a scene. She was really tired and had she just let it rip we would not have been surprised.

Baby S is a really easy going child and we are fortunate to have her. In my experience with kids, once they reach the meltdown stage, it is downhill from there. The icing on the cake is that Baby S was asleep by 8:30, her Mama by 8:45 (unheard of) and BaBa by 9:00. Gosh, it was a great day.

*Pictures taken with my iPhone, sorry about the bad quality*