Half of this month for mummy and Henry was spent back in her hometown in hunan province while daddy was left to man the fort (and find a job). During those weeks we all tried hard to get Henry to talk with daddy on the phone but with limited results. Qilin was usually too distracted and mummy thought it might be better if they took a different approach. Calls were then made in the evening by mobile while mummy and Henry lay in bed, and the results were much better. They returned at the end of October with stories of cars and motorbikes, of country life and chickens.

This month signalled the start of a new semester at the play school. All in all we have been very pleased with this school because the standards are high enough to set our minds at ease. We like the teachers, we trust the cooks, we’ve seen the grounds and we know the area. In essence, we respect it. The only drawback is the cost – steep that is – and it became even more significant this month because Henry joined a new class.

This month, Henry continued his deep friendship with daddy’s hand, known affectionately as Xiao Gou. Xiao Gou is a dog that walks around the bed or bath, has four legs and a neck-head thing. He is sometimes naughty, sometimes affectionate, and he will mostly do as Henry asks. Qilin can ask Xiao Gou to jump up on his toy cars when playing on the bed, to sit down (or else he falls down), and to come down afterwards so that the car cam make a return journey. He does it all in English. Xiao Gou is his one constant friend and he loves him.

Being a little man walking around with adults is a tiring responsibility. Legs have to make bigger strides than the competition and they almost always feel like they are performing a gentle jog trying to keep up. So it’s no surprise that Henry prefers to be carried, especially when his confidence of walking on the road is somewhat lacking. But this month Qilin took great steps towards bipedal bravado and into greater independence.

School has had a major impact on Henry. We spent a little extra on his playschool because we knew they took it seriously and we are so happy with them  - a healthy blend of responsibility, fun and education. For example, with his part-time English teacher Peter (a girl!) Henry has picked up most of the alphabet song and loves to sing it at home.

For the first time in almost two years Henry met some relatives on daddy’s side; granny and grandad. Although this was not their first encounter, the last was at only a few months and not even a memory. We watched to see if there was any twinkle of recognition in Qi Lin’s eyes but instead we witnessed a rare moment of shyness – his big voice became a whisper and parent proximity turned into a safe haven.

There are times in everyone’s lives when they wish their memories had failed them and nothing was registered. This has been definitely one of those months for Henry, as he spent nearly the entire time battling an off-and-on cold, cough, fever and throat infection. He’s gone to the hospital five times, each time for more medicine – a veritable cocktail of drugs – and as I write this he still coughs badly. Doctors say that if we hadn’t given him all the medicine, he would certainly have developed pneumonia by now.

This was a big month for Henry, and for us too really because playschool was a go-go! We love Henry, but we have been dreaming of getting some days to ourselves for a long time. The good news was that Henry seemed to have a lot of fun too and although he cried after realizing we had gone, he apparently soon perked up and made some friends. This was a Friday. Starting from Monday the next week, daddy had to take him on his way to work. For a few days Qilin cried when he was being left but within 3-4 days he was in control, often after talking himself into it on the journey there.

This was an extremely eventful month for us all. With a new job for daddy came a new flat, and for Henry, a completely new set of rules. In the flat Qi Lin is treated as a boy, not a baby, and among other things is given the chance to feed himself. This control over his food is actually very useful because we now have a separate living room, meaning that we no longer eat in the same room as a TV. The bargaining chip has gone, but ‘Hen’ doesn’t seem to mind.

As a mixed-race child in Beijing, knowing who you are might be difficult. So daddy is putting a touch of British flavour into Henry’s life by getting him ‘into’ tea and biscuits. Every evening for the last couple of weeks, Henry has had a small cup of tea (really just a mouthful) and a chocolate biscuit. He loves it, looks forward to it, and probably even dreams about it.