daycare, weekend

We don't spend as much time doing the drop-off and pick-up from daycare in the states as we used to do in Taipei. And while I've been meaning to take pictures at Miss Donna's, I always forget. And then, when I do remember, I forget to download them. Finally, here are some snapshots at Miss Donna's Morning Sun Daycare. The kids, all two-year-olds, are in the backyard, looking for grasshoppers amidst Miss Donna's cherry tomato plants.

From left to right are: Izaak, Binbin, Alexis, and Ryan






Binbin occasionally makes art while at Miss Donna's house. On this particular day, maybe about 3 weeks ago, he drew what he called a "funny face" in the corner in yellow. The funny face brought smiles to our faces.



Last weekend, we had some gorgeous fall weather, and *finally* Binbin consented to go for a hike at Bradbury Mountain. At times, he bounded ahead, propelling himself forward at top speed...



...which means not so great pictures *and* a tuckered out kid who never made it to the top of the mountain. What do they say? It's about the journey, isn't it?

weekend in Acadia

Oct 5-8, we drove up to Mt. Desert Island's Acadia National Park. We stayed in a little cabin at Quietside Campground, on the west side. Our dinners were cooked on the little campstove, In the cooler evenings, we made fires in our firepit, and one night we tried roasting some marshmallows. Binbin thought that we fun, but he wasn't keen on eating the blackened marshmallows. In the evenings, we also saws stars, the moon, and the Milky Way.



Saturday morning, our first stop was at Sand Beach. It was a bit windy, but glorious and beautiful morning for digging in the sand



Here's a view of Sand Beach from the cliffs above.



Binbin hiked in his new green crocs. He did remarkably well, clambering up the rocky trail.




He found the mushrooms quite interesting. Certainly worth a photograph.



By early afternoon, he was exhausted.



So we went for a drive up Cadillac Mountain, the highest point in Acadida. Binbin missed the view, but we captured it in digital image, of Bar Harbor far below.



They predicted rain for the next morning, Sunday, but as it turned out, the rain came Saturday night, and Sunday was a stunning, crisp fall day. We went for a walk around Eagle Lake on the famous carriage trails. Here are some scenes near the lakeside.

interments

Every day, no every hour, Binbin has more english words at his command. No doubt daycare plays a huge role in this, but I also think that books do. I make weekly visits to check out a dozen or so new books that I think may spark his interest. While there are stacks of books about trucks and trains, about fish and bears, about dinosaurs and monkeys, there are few about musical instruments. but, last week I found a couple. One is called simply: Musical instruments. Binbin's title for that book is: interments. You can imagine that the first time he said this word I could not understand why my child was talking about burial. The other book has a less confusing title: Zin, Zin, Zin, a Violin!

Binbin is also reading: Mouse Paint, Mouse Shapes, and Mouse Count. He continues to love color, especially purple, pink, and green. He can sing the alphabet song. He can count to twenty in English; and to twenty in Chinese, with a little help after the number 10.

He can tell short stories about how he pulled carrots and beets at Keena and Zack's farm. Or how he heard the baseboard heater make fire or fireworks sounds, and he got scared, came to the landing and fell asleep on the floor.

Binbin has been cooking a lot lately, pancakes with lots of cinnamon ("Binbin like cinnamon" he says) for breakfast weekend mornings.

He will help build a Roy Toy wooden log camp cabin, then destroy it with his John Deere bulldozer. He destroys with obvious relish. He will also paint with watercolors and draw with color pencils. A couple weeks ago, he drew a "funny face." Artwork to come soon.

catching up

I haven't had a chance to download photos from either phone or camera until now. These are from the phone.

Sitting on the couch with Yeye, Binbin shares a fleece blanket. He also enjoys a most civilized hors d'oevres plate.



One morning, I decided to put on a necklace. Binbin decided to get into the act, and scooped up all the pearl necklaces and bracelets he could get his little hands on. Pretty!



On our way home from daycare, Binbin smiles giddily. I can't remember exactly why, and it's so unusual for him to grin for the camera.



I did want to be sure that Binbin's fans could all see his latest fashion statement: electric green crocs. Yes, we're jumping on that trend! And, we're jumping (running, crawling, dancing, moving in all sorts of ways) in crocs. He loves these shoes.