Mimi 5 years old

It's Christmas again and you're almost 6! Let's see what notes I kept for your 5 year old letter :) 

This letter started in March, the US-Canada border was still closed with no signs of opening, Ms Shanda was your main caretaker. You're comfortable with her. You showed her your butt. Many times. Once when you were playing outside, you ran to her, pulled down your pants, pushed your butt in her face, and said it hurts, in Chinese. She understood, and I gave you an emergency butt soak. (You've just showed your butt to Ruyi too, we're happy you feel comfortable with her too). I hope you have less itchy butt as you grow up :') You run over immediately when Ms Shanda opens her lunchbox, with your big eyes sparkling, making ennns noises. She always shares her fruits and sweets.

You have a sweet tooth. You eat dessert as fast as baba. You even asserted you'll eat watermelon faster than baba, check out the contest video (-_^) One day I decided to make taro balls and sweet potato balls. You were so excited, you danced around me, gave me the 8 and tiny thumbs up hand gestures, furrowed your eyebrows, and gave me many 加油。When you saw the balls taking shape, you exclaimed 妈妈你做的很好，和meet fresh一样！You stayed with me the whole time, more than half an hour, cheering me on, and making stories with Ella about how you would eat the balls. You cheered me on with many 棒and加油while I boiled the balls. You patiently waited until they cooled. You ate one bite, and said 妈妈你是不是做错了。它看起来像meet fresh但是味道错了。It was not sweet enough for my 小甜。

You and Ella's two play is quite intense. Sometimes Ella dictates more, sometimes you dictate more. Just when I thought I might need to step in and change the dynamic, you change it yourselves. Most of the time you make up a story by taking turns talking for a few sentences each. You do this while running back and forth around the room. It usually goes like this: you happily make up story for about 10 minutes, Ella talks more, you don't seem to care, but then the story takes a wrong turn, and you yell at Ella for talking more and not giving you a turn, you yell back and forth for a bit. Half the time you make up and continue. Half the time you start fighting, occasionally a bloody scratch fight. But mostly you tire yourselves out and come for us for a snack or some other entertainment. One time after two play you produced birthday Charizard and birthday Blastoise - two colored Pokemon sheets. We hang them on the wall. You've maintained they must stay on the wall, until this day in December. 

You run away a lot. You picked up my "if you say this, you mean I'm not this, and I will do this as a consequence" talk. "You say I make too many messes, so I can't stay in this house, I must go away". Or sometimes shortened to "OH OK YOU DO that to me, I will go away". No matter how explosive the declaratio, you always look back at the provoker, and make the smallest steps towards the door, and once outside, stand on the doorstep for a long time. One time you bravely ran half way around the culdesac, cried and got picked up by a neighbor. A few times you took a little walk around, came back, and said you felt better. Recently baba would chase you down, it's dark and there're wild animals. We love you, don't go away before you're a teenager. 

You are in control of your emotions. When you're tantrumming and I ask if you wanted to lose a reward, you'd stop and give me a smile, and say "Oh I'm just kidding". After you just fought with Ms Shanda, when I remind you I'd give you a reward for saying goodbye when she leaves, you'd say with your sweet, slightly raspy (because you were just shriek crying a moment ago) high pitched soft voice "goodbye Ms Shanda, I'll miss you. I'll see you tomorrow". You have a way to calm Ella, once Ella yelled very angrily at you (no idea why), you said "oh Ella I thought you said you'd 搓my豚 (something only I threaten), but you just wanted one more turn." She calmed down. You can't squeeze out tears like Ella, at least not as easily, you tried many times, I tried not to laugh. Your laughs are also uncontrollable, until you're doubled over. You are a fun kid.

You like helping Ella. You jump up to find things when she whines she can't find something. When you see bows on paper (I give you to cut), you cut them out and give to Ella because she loves bows. When we're walking you'd turn and extend your hand as to pull Ella forward to be closer. You help me with laundry and asked for more detergent as Christmas gift. You like giving gifts, you're always making little crafts for us. And you always share little bits of your fruits and desserts with everyone. You deliver me fruit when I'm pooping too, and say in a sweet voice that if I don't eat it now I'd forget. I had to eat them. 

We suddenly thought about Pokemon one day in March. That night's 2 goodnight videos were Pokemon. You were so interested! I installed Pokemon Go a few days later to get you girls to walk around the neighborhood with me. We took a picture with a Chinchou in the front yard, and found a Raticate on Ella's bed. You'd accompany me to stormwater to do raids. Most of the time just us because Ella declared stormwater scary. You ran so fast on those trips, pulling me and telling me to not miss the raid. But if we encounter a slug, we must stop for a minute to try blocking it and see it change direction. In the summer I spent a lot of time prepping and interviewing. Lots of rejections, but I pulled through and got a job at Niantic, just in time for you to tell me "we don't like Pokemon anymore, we like dinosaurs now". Anyhow, I'm excited, we can brave a new job & new kindergarten life together.

You started kindergarten! You immediately liked Benjamin, the only other kindergarten kid in the Y. He sounds like a fun kid. One day after school you told me in PE Ella got to pair up with Benjamin, but you had to pair up with Clement, although you wanted to pair up with Benjamin too. But you're not sad, because "I have to follow directions". Clements was boring you said, because he followed the rules. Although we later found out he is very spirited. You refused to join Y activities because Benjamin didn't want to join them. One time you said you didn't mind that Ella got smarties and you didn't because you played with Benjamin, another time you said you wished you joined, but you had the sweetest smile on your face when you said that.

November came and lao lao is back! You've settled into school, hating most days but loving some. When you get a soar ticket, or get to be library helper, or when Sophie calls you to look at her school work (I think Sophie really likes me you said), or see Mark climbing Max at the Y. I'm level 40 in Pokemon Go btw ^^b

You refuse to go on walks because it is too cold. But when we're outside you refuse to wear your coat. At school dismissal you always have your coat in your hand, lifted high so it doesn't drag on the ground. Ruyi阿姨 has deemed you the toughest kid for your cold resistance. You and Ella are nudists. In the winter, all 光光. Running around in your bedroom in the coldest of nights doing your two play. You still have lots of fun two playing. It had transitioned from being lao and being ye, to being Aitle and Harrison (or other classmates). Although lao and ye are still a regular occurrence. We usually need a 2nd and 3rd and 4th tuck. I do love to use you as pillows while I tuck you, and listen to your little hearts pumping. You always push all your blankets off when you sleep, sometimes even exposing your belly. You do have chilly cheeks when I kiss you at night. I tuck you in little sweetie!  

You are so snuggly, you pet my head and say in the cutest soft stern voice 小乳妈, and make the cutest tensed up cute rage face. You snuggle baba even harder. You know I love your cheeks. You hold your cheek rubs hostage, when you see me eating a snack, you'd say "I would not give you 贴蛋儿 if you don't share". I had to share. When I'm angry, you'd turn my face with your soft little hands, and push it on to your cheek, and say 贴蛋儿小乳妈，我能再有一次机会么。I had to give you another chance. (most of the time my anger is unreasonable anyways ^^;) Sometimes you give me 闷儿 forehead butts and nose to nose. Occasionally you'd give me 100 kisses, with your softest little lips on my arm, "one", kiss, "two", kiss. One time you counted 50 kisses, then another 50 kisses, and said "50 plus 50 is 100". Good math my 甜蜜蜜的小mimi <3