re-discovery

...of mega-blocks, and all sorts of other toys. A delighted Binbin deftly stacked mega-blocks this morning, choosing naturally to use the four-wheeled bases. Come join the fun!

home sweet home

Oh the wonderful things you can do
The things you can do when you are
Home sweet home.

You can sit in an exersaucer
You can munch on chips
You can sip your juice
And you can share it, too.



You can sit on Baba's lap
You can grab copper pots
You can take chopsticks, too,
And bang like Animusic robots.



You can stack blocks up high
Build them into a town
You can admire them briefly
Before knocking them down.




You can look about your great big room
Pick up a pinwheel to blow
You can get on your trike
Take a big bite, and GO!

summer reading

What we are reading:

Binbin:
Sheep in a Jeep
Yoga Baby (which Binbin transliterates as 有一個baby, for those of you who are bilingual)
Car, Trucks, Planes, and Trains
Llama Llama Red Pajama (given by his pediatrician at his 30 month checkup)

De-nin:
Mirror of Morality
The Inheritance of Loss

Jack:
Socrates Cafe

very maine

Well, we are home at last! We spent the past week getting our refrigerator re-stocked, our boxes and bags unpacked, and generally resettling our home. It was exciting and wonderful to live in Taipei for six months, but the feeling of coming home can't be beat!

Today, Sunday, we breakfasted at our favorite diner, the Kopper Kettle. And, the waitress remembered precisely our regular order: eggs benedict, yogurt and fruit, and the waffle special; two cups of coffee, and one milk. Dee-licious! We worked off some of our breakfast at the playground in Topsham before heading home for a rest. But not a long one...

The Horches--Hadley, Fred, Cordelia, Everett, and baby Ian--invited us to join them in a classic summertime Maine activity: foraging for blueberries.

Binbin runs down the sandy path along property that belongs to...the town? Crystal Springs farm? We're not sure, but hey, there's lots of blueberries to go around. They won't miss another pint or two, right?



Here are some of the Horch clan hard at work harvesting.



This smile must mean that the work isn't too hard...or is that indulgent Baba provides handfuls of already picked blueberries.



All those blueberries that went into the container? All gone!

summertime

Here are some snapshots of a happier pre-mumps Binbin enjoying himself on the deck at his grandparents' home in Rockford. The Tonka toys are vintage items from Jack's childhood. The froggy pool, with a sprayer, is new.

not again!

It looks like Binbin is experiencing another round of the mumps, or whatever virus he had three weeks ago that produced mumps-like symptoms. This time, it's the left side of his face that's swollen. We went to see a pediatrician in Rockford yesterday, then headed to the hospital lab for bloodwork. More complete results come back on Tuesday. Until then, it's alternating doses of ibuprofen and tylenol for Binbin, who is feeling under the weather.

"When I grow up..."

We are posting today to mark a momentous event. Binbin, for the first time, said what he is going to do when he grows up.

We had been watching the July 4th parade and there were several bands that had gone by during the parade. When it became clear that the parade was about over, Binbin kept asking if there were going to be any more drums. We said "no" and Binbin was very sad. On the ride home he began to tell us that "When Binbin grows up I'm going to play lots of drums and cymbals." He even suggested that Mama and Baba could grow up with him and play drums and cymbals as well. So, you heard it here first, on July 4, 2007 Binbin decided that he would be a drummer when he grew up. We'll have to wait a while to see how it all plays out... :)

ps. pictures to be posted soon.