"I China"

Wow. Tonight at bedtime, Mae launched into her standard trying-to-stall tactic of talking. "Mama, I want tell you somethin." "What's that?" I asked, sitting on her bed, knowing this would take a while. She pointed to the shadow box of her gotcha outfit and said (like she does every time she sees it), " I wore that dress...baby!" "Yes," I said. "You wore that outfit when you were a baby in China." She looked at me seriously. "I China," she stated. "Yes," I croaked, overcome at the moment. "You're from China." "Mae-mae...wear that dress...China...baby!" "Yes, Mae-mae," I said. " You wore that outfit when you were a baby in China." Then her whole body and serious little face relaxed and she smiled. "Ni hao!" she said. I've never heard her say that before. "Ni hao!" I said. "That means hello in Chinese!" "Zi jian!" she sang out, cracking up at my astonishment. ""Zi jian!" I squacked. "That means good bye in Chinese." "Xie xie!" she said, leaning back against the pillows and rubbing her eyes. "That means thank you. You're welcome, Mae-mae," I said, covering her up with her blankie. "I love you, Mae-mae." "Wo ai ni, Mama," she said, still grinning, then closed her eyes and puckered up for a kiss. "Wo ai ni, Mae-mae," I said, giving her a kiss and a hug. Holy cow.
I've shown the gotcha pic of Mae and me a zillion times. Here's the other side of the coin. We've come so far.