Ni hao! (Knee How)

Les already mentioned this on facebook but it is so cute I couldn't resist telling the whole story. 
  Our girls have watched this show called, "Ni Hao Kai-lan" that teaches kids chinese similar to how "Dora the Explorer" teaches Spanish.  Les really wants the girls to learn Chinese so he has been pushing them to watch the show.  Not that he really needs to push it because they like it already.  Emma has been the only one really trying to say the Chinese words and learn what they mean.  So it really surprised me when (while driving to SLC) we hear Sammi say, "Ni Hao, Tai-an."  She said it over and over and I got this shiver of pride that shot through me.  I thought that I would see if I could get her to use it in another way.  So I started by saying, "Ni Hao Sammi!  Ni Hao Emma! Ni Hao Khloe!"  Then I focused on her.  Everytime she said, "Ni Hao Tai-an!" I would say, "Ni Hao Sammi!"  After a few more attempts she started to say, "Ni Hao Mommy!"  Ahhhh success!  So having mastered saying hello to an actual person I had Les say, "Ni Hao Sammi!"  She automatically replied, "Ni Hao Momm . . . (this is where she realized I wasn't the one speaking to her) Ni Hao Daddy!"  How cute is that!?!
   Other cute related stories . . . Emma has developed a little sense of humor.  We have this rule in our house that after a cup of "pink milk" they must drink a cup of water before they can have more.  Sometimes Emma tries to trick us into letting her have another cup of her "pink milk" rather than water.  She will ask over and over even though we keep telling her no.  One day Les said, "Well if you want a drink but you aren't willing to drink this nice cold and clean water then I'll just go fill your cup up with toilet water.  Then you can't have any pink milk until you finish it."  Emma told him, "Ewww toilet water is gross."  Les- "Which would you rather have then . . . the toilet water or the water right here out of the fridge?"  She went for the water out of the fridge (she calls it Mommy's special water).  We went through this only a few times before it rearlly sank in for her.  Now she will even ask for a few cups of water in between cups of "pink milk."
  Now on to where her personality came shining through.   A week or two later after Les had come home for the day she told him she had made him dinner in the toy room.  So he went back and "ate" the meal she had made (not very filling since it was plastic food).  A little while later I hear an rucus coming from the room they were in.  Les came out a few minutes later and calls for me.  Here is what he said, "Emma gave me the food to eat so I pretented to eat it.  I told her it was all so good.  Then she handed me a cup to drink from.  I again pretended to drink it.  I told her that is was good orange juice.  She looked at me and said, 'That wasn't orange juice!   It was toilet water!'  Then she laughed and laughed.  How funny is that?"  I had to agree that is was rather funny.
  Oh another funny story.  Emma asked me for a baby wipe one day.  A little while later I hear her singing, "I'm a map! I'm a map! I'm a map! I'm a maaaaaaap!  I'm a map!"  (For those confused it comes from "Dora the Explorer)  She had taken that baby wipe and rolled it up.  It is now her "Dora map."  She makes me laugh.
  I was begining to feel bad cause I couldn't come up with a cute story about Khloe.  It just came to me.  She will take Sammi into their room and have her crawl into her bed.  Then Khloe will tuck her in and "read' a story to her.  Then she will kiss Sammi on the cheek and say, "Night, night."  Sammi will close her eyes and pretend to go to sleep.  It is so cute to watch.  It makes me feel good to see them get along after fighting for so long.