Our Happy Winter Melon

Since little DongYu joined our program, he has added a lot of joy and laughter with his liveliness and sweet innocence.

The playful 3 year old likes to hide behind the door to play hide-and-seek. He also likes to walk around with a cake box on his head, asking everyone to look at him. I remember one time I took him outdoors to play. When he lay down on the lawn, he loudly shouted, “Ouch!” As I gathered him in my arms, I asked him what was wrong. “Mama,” he said earnestly. “There are needles down there!” His words made me burst into laughter.

Because DongYu is strong and plump, we have given him the nickname, “Winter Melon,” which he loves. Once, when he saw me carrying a big basket full of toys, he came and took the basket from my hands. Quickly, he poured all the contents on the floor and then climbed into the basket. Smiling, he informed me: “Mama, the basket is for winter melon!”

Our Winter Melon has a lot of energy. He likes to play basketball with his older brothers and sisters and is strong enough to carry a baby girl around the activity room. During his exercises, DongYu likes to imitate his teachers, jumping up and down.

DongYu’s playful nature sometimes comes out at inopportune times.Once, the children were playing with a ball that was floating in a basin—they were trying to get the ball out of the basin just by blowing on it. DongYu jumped in to disrupt the game by using his hands to scoop the ball out. Then he soon discovered that patting the water was much more fun than scooping out the ball. As he gently splashed the water, he attracted the attention of all of the other children, who gathered in a circle around him. Pleased with the attention, DongYu patted the water harder until his splashing soaked the all the children’s clothing. It wasn’t long before DongYu’s own clothes were soaked through.

Our happy Winter Melon always delights us with his special ways of playing and his sweet nature.