I have trained Mommy and now the Nanny on Gioia’s new walking game. Basically, stand her up, back up, and she comes 4-5 steps towards you. This was the Nanny’s first shot at it. (NOTE: Nobody does this game quite as well as Daddy, but somebody has to use the camera :) I know it is not walking yet, but we’re close! I gotta tell you I am quite jealous of the dry cleaner’s kid (yes, house husband talking here). He is 11 months old (two months younger than G) and already walking and standing on his own. I know it is just my competitive nature that wishes G was walking. That said, he has a HUGE scar from chin to ear. Guess learning to walk was not uneventful for Xiao Di Di.

Speaking of competition G has mastered many new hand signs. Among some of the new ones are:

  • in
  • out
  • grapes
  • shhh (Thanks Aunt Jennifer! We owe you big time!)
  • milk
  • and chicken.

Chicken is particularly interesting considering: we taught it to her in English; she mastered the sign in less than a day; ate chicken with the Nanny the next day; gave the sign; and heard the Nanny say the Chinese word (ji rou). G made the connection instantly and now will give you the sign when heard in either language.
Some other signs she can give in both languages are:*

  • hug/bao bao
  • apple/ping guo
  • wear hat/dai mao zi
  • bath/xi zao
  • walk/zou zou zou
  • milk/niu nai
  • belly button/xiao duzi

She is learning so fast that we can’t make the signs up fast enough. One of the toughest problems we have is she is saying many words, we just don’t know what they are as she copies the Chinese and we don’t always understand.

This week we are in the Hyatt. The reason?: Our AC is broken. It is 98 degrees with about 98% humidity. We finally convinced our landlord to replace the 22 year old units. He is doing so as well as the pipes (BONUS!). When we discussed the timing they said it would take 3 guys to change one AC unit. I thought each day we would rotate rooms and continue to reside in the house during construction. Silly me. In China if it takes 3 guys and you have 6 units, simply bring 18 guys and do them all at once! With no AC, 18 sweaty men, noise and dust… yeah, we fled to the Hyatt (life is hard). I say we, meaning G and me. Rebecca is in ShenZhen ordering big macs. No worries. We are having a good time and actually getting a lot done.

G loves it here. She is definitely a hotel girl. She loves the clean white sheets and will throw herself all over them again and again, relaxing in the crispness of them. Rebecca thinks this is because we have a great child who loves to travel. I like to think it is because the first day we got her we immediately took her back to the hotel and sat her in the middle of (err.. on) the bed. That day her life (and ours) was changed forever and maybe every time she visits a hotel she remembers meeting Mommy and Daddy…. Enh. Maybe she just likes the Hyatt. ;)

* This list is mostly for my wife who has NOT mastered both languages and needs Gioia’s signs to know what the Nanny said :P