"No" means I'm growing up

We have gotten pretty used to a generally amiable child over the past year or so. Binbin generally listens and responds to reason, if you explain why something could be dangerous, he'll use as instructed. And, still, he won't insist on eating something if you tell him it has egg or soy or peanut in it. We've also gotten used to a kid who marches to the beat of his own drum, literally and figuratively. If all the other kids are running after a ball, Binbin is content with gazing at vegetables and remarking on the smallest one ("a teeny cucumber" "a baby carrot" "I love it") or the biggest one ("ooh look! it's a big beet"). But nowadays, he is more apt to feel left out. Especially if Coco and Anjali are running through the sprinklers at Miss Donna's, and he isn't keen on exchanging pants for shorts or having water run down his face.

Fortunately, the moodiness passes. But there are days when, if I could have a dollar for every time he said "no," why, I'd be rich! But then I realize that my life is already rich.

allergy update

Binbin had his annual round of allergy testing yesterday. He's much more aware of those prickly needles on his back and not at all happy about the itchy discomfort that must be endured for 15 minutes, but all in all, he was very brave.

It looks like he is definitely *not* allergic to melons or corn...hurray! And, he seems to have outgrown his allergy to oats. Cheerios...here we come.

The egg yolk allergy and the soy allergy may not be quite as severe, but we await more results from blood testing.

This morning, I took him to the lab to have blood drawn for confirming the skin test results. And again, he was not too happy about that needle going into his arm. He cried and wimpered, and seemed terribly injured. But by the time we headed back to the car, he told me it didn't hurt, and he quietly studied the two spider-man stickers the phlebotomist gave to him as a reward.

the machines and all you need

According to Binbin:

The red machine is hot. The blue machine is not hot. The red machine, it has saws. Look, here and here and here and here and here. They are all saws. The saws cut wood. That one cuts pasts. And that one cuts wood. This machine goes. Look. Watch. From here to here and here. They are all saws. This one cuts carrots. and this one makes bread. It makes little breads and big breads. That one is hot. This one is not hot. Look. I can stick them together. Oops. Sorry. It broke. I can snap it together. These are the machines.

[He brought them to the Kopper Kettle for breakfast on Saturday]



We celebrated out tenth anniversary in June, a few weeks back, and received from the Klines this Beetles card. Binbin recognizes John, Paul, Ringo, and George. And one day, he decided to find all the ancient jade and bronze magnets and surround the message: All you need is love.

It's true, isn't it?

friends

Yesterday, we went to visit Binbin's new friend, Coco, and her family. Anjali and her family came, too. The three toddlers had a blast, running through the house, playing with Coco's kitchen, throwing red balloons at each other. They also played a sleeptime game in between jumping on Coco's bed. Here, they pretend to be sleepy bugs.

First, the album cover:



Now, the snapshot:



All three kiddies go to Miss Donna's daycare, where it's beginning to look like post-United Colors of Benetton.

Chalkboard

Recently, our friends Natsu and Paul moved to Japan. That kind of move definitely motivates one to downsize. Binbin was the happy recipient of a number of things including this chalkboard/whiteboard artist's easel. For this, we want to say a big thank to Aya. And, we hope that you all are settling into your new home. We miss you.

Camping

We've been out camping a couple of times this season. To Lake sebago on Memorial Day weekend. Here are a few snapshots from that weekend.

Getting ready for hot chocolate.



A view of our site.



Very proud of himself after squirting water into his mouth with his squirt gun (a gift from the lady working at the local candy store).



And then to Lake St. George for Fathers' Day weekend. Roasting hot dogs.



A view to the lake.

Fathers' Day

Happy Fathers' Day to Yeye, Ah-gong, and to Baba! Hugs and Kisses from Binbin.

Fathers' Day weekend coincided this year with De-nin & Jack's 10th wedding anniversary (and, less notably, Friday the 13th!). We celebrated by going camping up at Lake St. George. Friday afternoon, we headed up and set up our site. Binbin helped with the tent poles and throwing the mats into the tent. Before evening, we had a campfire going. Saturday morning, it took a little convincing, but Binbin put on his new Personal Floating Device, and we climbed into a canoe. Once he was situated on a seat (as opposed to being in the middle), he was happy enough to explore the lake shore, looking for lily pads, watch for the turtle, and spot other notable lake things. The paddling definitely had him tuckered out, and after driving over to John's for ice cream (Binbin had cherry sorbet), we all crashed in the tent until about 4 pm. Evening settled in, and we had another good fire going. Our neighbors came over to share a set of sparklers with Binbin. He was eager and curious, but when confronted with sparks at arm's length, caution took hold.

Sunday morning, Binbin announced, "I like camping. I like to camp." But as the rain started, we packed up the car for home. But before reaching home, we stopped in Hallowell to celebrate Fathers' Day with brunch. Jack ordered steak eggs benedict; Binbin refused his turkey & harvarti croissant and opted to spoon sugar into his mouth. It's fathers' day, so why not?