The little girl's cousin now starts her journey

[Reporter]

The little sister came to me and wanted to sit on my lap. She padded my lap and said "mmm...mmm..."

I lifted her up to sit there. But after a while, I put her on the chair and walked off to something in the kitchen .

When her maternal grandma was going to take her to the car outside, I reached for this little sister and said "R take you, ok?"

She turned away grimacing and wrapped her arms around her, signaling an angry "no."

[Reporter]

Both Cousin 4 and Big Girl's little sister came to visit me today. But, because the little
sister was asleep on her carseat, we left her in the car in the driveway where we can
see her from the back window--with the heat on. Her mom doesn't want us to wake her up
from her nap, because that would make the little sister very cranky into the day and night.

Cousin 4 and I went inside the house and she began playing her house kit. "Toy-yet," she tells me. "Fridge. Bed."

Then she walks to the window and says "NiNi...(Little sister's nick)...NiNi in house."

She plays some more and turns her toy house around many times. "Pissa," she brings me a toy
tray of pizza slices.

Then comes "NiNi...NiNi, R. NiNi."

They fought each other a lot the other day, and Cousin 4's mother made them
hug each other in peace.

When I finally brought NiNi inside, Cousin 4 hugged her and holds her in that hug for a minute or so.

NiNi was just standing there. So, I wrapped NiNi's hands around Cousin 4 and they stayed in that hold for some times. NiNi padded Cousin 4 on the back slowly.

Now, it seems Cousin 4 is concerned about NiNi's well-being.

[Reporter]

When Cousin 4 was at my place again yesterday, she raised up a piece of toy pizza and said "pepperrr...pep perr....mushim mm."

I could tell she was referring to the toppings.

Then she turned away to her other toys.

[Reporter]

Cousin 2 was under the weather and came to stay for the day at my place.

Whatever her parents' curfews or policies are at home, I had no idea of. But a reprimand of Cousin 2 was nothing unfamiliar to her.

I didn't pay much attention to what she was doing while here. But when her maternal grandmother and an aunt visited, they saw her talk on the phone with a friend.

"My friend does not go to school," she told the elderlys. "Her bus didn't come to pick her up."

(I did question how could that possibly be and Cousin 2 responded in a lower tone with: "Yeah. I don't know...")

At 5:30 p.m. when her mother and Cousin 3 returned to pick her up and learned that Cousin 2 had been on the phone, the mother said, "I told you not to be on the phone but to just stay put...Now, three days without a phone."

Cousin 2 didn't say anything.

[Reporter]

I stayed over at Big Girl's place when we had a little party last Thursday.

In the morning, she got up early and so did I. Her step-dad, mom, little half-sister NiNi and others were still not up yet.

"What time is the school bus coming?" I asked. I had pushed her door open as she was putting her books into her backpack.

She seemed a bit bothered that I asked about school, like I have never stopped asking about each time I see her.

"Seven twenty," she said and turned quickly away.

"The school bus picks you up at the end of the driveway, right?"

"Yeah."

I went to do my wash-ups and then came back to the kitchen finding her eating some natural grain, breakfast candy bars.

"Back in high school, we lived less than a mile from school and I had to walk to school everyday for five years," I said.

That was 8th grade through my high school graduation year.

"What grade are you in this year?" I asked.

"Seventh. It's different than before. We don't stay in one place anymore. We move around to different classes."

I said I understood.

"It's going to be like all the way to through high school. In college, too, you do that. Same for graduate schools for Master's Degree people and law school and medical school and other university levels. No more staying with just one teacher all day now," I said. "In colleges and universities, the people who teach are called professors. In grade schools to high schools, those who teach are called teachers."

"Ok."

"Each day you have six classes to go to now. How many classes do you have each day?"

"Five ...six," she said.

"Do you know what you want for a career yet?"

"No," she said.

"It's ok. Just study what you like and what's required first," I said.

"Yeah."

"Colleges and universities are harder," I said. "You also don't have that many classes each semester or trimester but more work."

"Yeah. We are taking some classes that are prepping for college...like note-taking. It's called Cornell note-taking. Do you know what that is?"

No. Never heard of it. I have taken notes with a short-hand system I created but I had never heard of Cornell.

She explained that you put important notes in different spots, like quizzes and other questions and summaries so you can get to them quickly.

I noted that it made sense, so I just listened.

She peeled her second candy bar for breakfast.

Darkness was still outside but she was already all packed up.

She stepped down the stairs of this split-level stairway to the door.

"I'll watch you go," I said.

I went outside with her and watched her stroll away in her flashlight.

As she was  half way through the drive way of this wooded area, she looked back. I could see her light shining back. I shone my phone's flashlight to her. Then she turned away and quickly walked towards the bus stop area--a stretch of about four houses away.

I used to drop her off to Kindergarten and first grade and her paces were the same as they are now. She's just bigger.

[Reporter]

Cousin 4 and NiNi are just the opposite of each other on one thing or two: the former loves hats and wears hats to bed; the latter loves shoes and wears them to sleep.

[Reporter]

NiNi has a very pecular way of doing things.

Last week, the little ones' families gathered at Great Wolf Lodge and I visited them on the second day.
When I got to their joined rooms, NiNi was leaning onto a pillow on one of the beds while feeding herself
with her bottle. She didn't turn to greet me or anything. I looked her and she was just focused on feeding.

I turned to instruct the other girls that they should have other casual clothes and not their swimming
suits on, since NiNi's dad was taking us to the cafeteria downstairs and not the swimming pool.

Cousins 2 and 3 quickly slipped onto other clothing over their swimming suits.

NiNi quickly threw her bottle away and raised her arms to me to be picked up. Then she pointed to
items around the room for information. I walked her to the window and let her look outside to see
the roof below and also cars running on the street. "Pib pib ntau ntau os," I told her.

She couldn't say anything but I knew she was registering the information.

[Reporter]

I had returned home and let the girls stay with their families another night.

But around 2:00 p.m., I got a call from their maternal grandmothers that I
should get something from Culver's and take to the girls for lunch. "They are
very hungry now," she said.

Cousin 2 came on the phone and told me what she wanted: "Cheeseburger with mayo and lettuce and 'can I have root beer'?

After whispering to her paternal grandmother in the background, Cousin 2 said "and medium fries."'

Came Cousin 3 who said, after a long pause, she wanted "lemonade, chicken tenders and medium fries."

"I want lemonade, cheeseburger with mayo and no lettuce," Big Girl said. Then came "and large fries."

I asked, "What about the two little ones?"

Big Girl said, "NiNi doesn't know what to tell us. But (Cousin 4) already went home."

The girls were at Big Girl's family's home.

"And the adults?" I asked.

"We don't want anything," said a grandma from the background.

I did put in an order for "family fries" in case the adults wanted some foods, too.

Twenty minutes later, their grandma called and asked where  I was and if I was near Culver's. I chose the location closest to them and was still driving there.

I told her I would be there in 20 minutes.

But ten minutes later, she called back and said "[T]hey are very hungry now, Big Girl especially."

I told them I was just waiting for the foods and would be there soon. Within 10 more minutes, I got to their house.

[Reporter]

At our Thanksgiving gathering today, Cousin 4 wouldn't go home anymore. She
wanted to go to my place, partly because I have a kitchen set for her to play with
but partly because she must be so tired of her own home.

Her mom insisted that she go home, however, so her mom threatened that
Cousin 4 would be severely punished when she got home for behaving this
way.  Whether the girl understood that or not didn't matter to Cousin 4. She
 just said "bye-bye, Mommy" as she clung to me.

Despite  her mom's demand that "let's go home," Cousin 4 continued to say "no, no, no!"

I tried to speak softly to  convince her that "you come to me tomorrow ok? You go home with
mommy now! It's okay."

Yet she would continued with her strong utterance of her exclamation! "No!"

A fight over ten minutes or so, her mom gave up. She passed the car seat and Cousin
4's backpack of all goodies and toys to us.

At a group text later, her auntie said that Cousin 4's mom wanted to slap her on the face
for that behavior.

I said that would never and should never happen.

At my place, she played with the interactive kitchen set while I worked on the computer. She knew
not to disturb me.

Of course, my focus is not to build her into a future housewife who is good at cooking. But it appears
that she enjoys such toys so much that it's just impossible to please her in any other way. She does
have her study times and she knows all of the alphabet letters as well as counting both in English and
Hmong up to 20 and 10, respectively. Plus, many nouns around the world, including the moon, stars, and
the sky and cloud. Details she learns about cooking and kitchen items will only build her skills and
vocab for the future in other areas of life.

[Reporter]

Of course, at 7:40 p.m., I insisted that we study.

"Study at home," Cousin 4 said.

"We study here.  I have things to study here."

"I study at home," she said.

But soon when I started serving dinner, she said she wanted to "go to Mommy house."

"No. You kov kom here," I said.

"No. Go to Mommy house."

I tried to bribe her with some chicken noodle soup. She at only two spoonfuls and said "go to Mommy house."

A video of her reversed demand was sent to her mom.

"Lol. You two are so annoying, now arguing," she texted back.  "Bring her home."

But her mom didn't seem too thrilled to have her back.

"No rush though," her mom texted.  "We are just home, not going anywhere. But see if you can convince her in another way to stay..."

I started dressing her up but gave her some papers and a pen. She sat down on the desk I have for all of the little ones and started drawing circles and heads with dots for eyes, mouths and noses.

[Reporter]

Yesterday I picked up Cousin 4 to go sleep over at NiNi's place. On the highway, it was slippery and foggy. Night has already fallen. Cars were shining all over.

There were lots of cars around us and we saw just the red tail lights of cars to the right and left and front.

"Rashing!" Cousin 4 said. (She's still lisping.) "Rashing! Go faster, R! Faster!"

Years ago when Big Girl was about her age, I took Big Girl to Cabela's in  Rogers to amaze her with the giant fish aquaria and the "big elvphant" on the Africa exhibits set. Lots of cars were around us while we were on Highway 94. "So many cars! Go slow! Go slow!" she said from her car seat in the back.

Sounds like Big Girl was more concerned about safety while Cousin 4 more about winning a race.

[Reporter]

On Friday, we gathered at Peking Garden for a surprised birthday party for the little girls' paternal grandmother.

All of the little ones, except Cousin 1, showed up.

Despite the serious occasion, NiNi's parents--who organized it and also invited me along--just had everyone sing the happy-birthday song while the foods were on the table. That without more.

Everyone was singing but Cousin 4. She was sitting right between her grandparents and just kept looking around.

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you!..." we all changed in unison.

"Where cake and candle?" Cousin 4 asked.

[Reporter]

Whenever something is lost, Cousin 4 tells us she can just buy a new one and not to worry.

"Don't worry. No sad. I buy you new one," she says.

One time her mom took her shoes away by mistakes and we had to put her in her car seat without her shoes. She didn't just ask to get her shoes back. "New shoes. New shoes!" she insisted.
 
Cousins 2 and 3 were laughing about that.

Then a toy just couldn't be found the other day and Cousin 4 assured me she'd just buy a new one for us to play with.

"Where?" asked. "Where you buy new toy?"

She just looked at me silently and didn't say anything.

[Reporter]

Yesterday, after Cousin 4 and her little still-crawling infant sister visited me for the day, their parents came to take them  home. Cousin 4 wouldn't go yet, since it wasn't dark outside. So, they left her with me. We agreed I would drop her off later when night came and she wanted to go home. We were sure of that.

But at 7 pm, she wouldn't ask to go home. Instead, she asked to go to her uncle's house where Cousins 2 and 3 would be.

But she was just on her diaper and not wearing any pants. I told her to put her pants on. She refused. I brought her the pants and she screamed: "No! No! No!"

I explained to her that it was cold outside and she had to have her pants on or we weren't going.

Still "no! No! No!" as it was.

So, I opened the deck door and let her feel the brief chill.

"Cold! Cold! You need pants on!" I said.

"Where moon? I see no moon!" she said instead.

The sky was cloudy and the moon wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Moon hiding. Too much cloud!" I said.

On a Facetime video, her mom, too, couldn't make Cousin 4 put her pants on.

So, I had to wrap her up with a sofa throw to put in  her car seat for the trip. She wouldn't
just go home or sleep over anyway.

Later, the uncle said they had dropped her off at her parents' place. I asked if she was willing to put her pants on at all. He said that after the long play times with his two daughters that somehow exhausted Cousin 4, she just slipped her pants on the minute he said she had to do that to go to "mommy and daddy house."

"My house," she said.

[Reporter]

Last night, I picked Cousin 4 up again to sleep over at NiNi's because Cousin 4's mom would be going to a meeting physically out-of-town today.

Downstairs behind the bar counter at NiNi's were some wall decorators in shapes of flying bats.

Both little ones wanted me to pick them up and hold them up high so they could reach those figures.

NiNi was counting them but stopped at the number 2 only. She could not count beyond that yet. "Ib. Ib. Ob. Ob," she said.

"Ph...ph....ph. ... peb," I said for her to imitate.

"Ph...ph...." she said.

Then Cousin 4's turn came and, as she was raised to them, she pointed to different sizes and said "Ej ej puav...mommy puav...Auntie puav....Uncho puav...daddy puav..."

After a long pause came "R puav."

We laughed at that before she took off to her house toy again.

"I sell food," she said. "What you want? What you want? Just five joyars...five joyars..."

"I want a sandwich," I said. "Give me a sandwich."

She picked up two toy slices of bread and put a darker piece of plastic under them. As she handed them to me through a windown of the toy house, I asked what that dark piece was.

"Meat!" she said.

"Oh, meat patty?" I said.

"Meat patty."

Then she closed the window by pulling the frames in and said "have nice jay! Thank chu. Have nice jay!"