Daddy Day in China.....

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, it is worth repeating that Melissa and I are extremely proud of how Little Bitty (Leah) has adjusted to her new life on this trip. It's pretty hard to start sharing the spotlight with someone else after ruling the roost for the better part of three years... kinda like how Arnold probably felt when that little redheaded kid and his Mom Dixie Carter moved into the Drummond household in the later years of Diff'rent Strokes (OK, bad analogy, but I thought it more fitting than using the example of Oliver, the kid who started showing up in later episodes of The Brady Bunch. I mean come on... did anyone really like that kid? Who was he, anyway? Funny what things you think about after being in a hotel room for over a week).

Anyway, she has been great, but that doesn't mean that she hasn't had her moments of wanting some undivided attention. Therefore, yesterday (Monday), Leah and I headed off to the local park for some quality father/daughter time while Melissa put Little Bird (that's become our pet name for Kate) down for her nap. Back home we call these "Daddy Days," which we usually spend together every other Monday on my day off while Melissa is at work, and we always look forward to spending some time together to just talk and play. If you've ever met Leah, you know that she is 3 going on 30--- we have to catch ourselves sometimes to remember that we're talking to a 3-year-old because she is so insightful and mature for her age. Thank goodness for Google, otherwise I wouldn't know how to answer half her questions. It makes me wonder how Mom and Dad ever did it for me!

We had a great time, walking through the paths and looking at the beautiful flowers, eventually ending up at a small amusement park with a carousel and helicopter ride that spins around while playing a pretty catchy little tune. Since it was Monday morning the park was pretty deserted, so we had the run of the place. Next, we stopped at the paddle boat rides and were one of only three boats out on the river. Finally, we visited our shopkeeper friend near the bridge (I'll write more about him in another post) and bought an ice cream cone, then headed back to the playroom at the hotel for more fun.

What a kid. What a morning. What an honor to be her Daddy.