All 16 lights are on. Full energy.

Binbin has been in fourth gear learning, it seems, more and more quickly every day. He has quickly advanced from knowing, for example, how all the individual pieces in chess move to seeing and judging better moves from worse.

On the reading front:

We are on the verge of transitioning from a mixture of picture books, comic books, easy readers, and chapter books to classics. One afternoon, Binbin started gathering what he called "big boy books" from his old bedroom bookshelf and bringing them down by the armfuls into the living room. He showed us each title, and based on whether Jack or I or both of us had read it, Binbin sorted them into 3 piles. Out of the multiple piles, he selected Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book as his new nighttime reading. The quality of vocabulary, crafting of prose was immediately apparent.

What Binbin has learned: the meanings of words such as "thy" "thee" "thine" and "ye."

What we have learned: classics work make good bed-time reading.

On the math front:

What Binbin has learned: Using two 20-sided dice, Binbin is now doing addition requiring "carrying over," and doing this with more consistency. He rolls the two dice, which determine the numbers to be added. We write 4 problems down to make a set. Binbin does the adding, I check his work.

What I have learned: Adding is way more fun when 20-sided dice are involved.

april showers

We're getting some of that wild and crazy weather that happens when the earth starts tilting to spring in the northern hemisphere. That means almost alternate days of running around in shorts and of shoveling snow off the driveway.

This weekend, the perfect blend of warm sunshine and lots of snow came together for us at Sunday River. We piled into a studio condo at the base, and spent Friday and Saturday skiing the slopes. Binbin started off on easy greens, especially Broadway near the magic carpet. It wasn't long, though, before he graduated to more challenging and newer terrain. (I should acknowledge Jack's saintly patience working with Binbin to get himself down a run ironically called "Dream-maker.") With Chris as our guide and Cooper as Binbin's inspiration on Saturday, we made the crossing from North Peak way over to the east side, where Binbin coasted down Green Cheese and Moonstruck. On his last run of the weekend, he following Chris' big, easy turns all the way down Monday Mourning.

That brings us to this Monday morning, which began with a crack of thunder, a 90-second downpour, and a brief power outage. Tulips and crocuses are pushing their way through the gravelly soil, and...what's that sound...birdsong cheers them on. It's spring.

Brief report on Binbin:

He and Jack have gotten the green light to join the chess club at Lisbon Community School.
Cooper couldn't believe that a kindergartner, our Binbin, knew the word "desperately" and knew about vitamins.
After a visit to the Kuceras, Binbin brought home a DVD of anime (Cooper is a Japanophile) and the book "Everyone Poops".
A trail of Binbin's legos now meanders through just about everyone room in the house.
Once a week now, Binbin is part of a group that meets with Mrs. Thomas for more in-depth academic work. Last week, they worked on narrative development of a story fragment concerning five barefoot monsters from Santa Cruz.
We're reading Stephen and Lucy Hawking's book about George's Cosmic Treasure Hunt.
Binbin has mastered the snowplow skiing technique.
While not paying attention to Jack's reading of the Hawking book, Binbin's mind wandered to a laugh-out-loud scene from "Shaun the Sheep."

April vacation is coming up next week, and perhaps sometime then, we'll have some pictures to post for you die-hard readers.

Officially spring

Our first full day of spring in Maine brings a snowstorm, naturally. Mother Nature had me completely fooled, though. Last Friday afternoon saw the mercury climb to 70 degrees, so after picking Binbin up from school, we stopped at Food City to pick up some popsicles. Binbin picked out a box of Bomb Pops and one of rainbow push-ups. He had one of each immediately! Later, when Amy came over to play, he ate two more. The Bomb Pops were a definitely hit. Amy and he would take bite before setting the pops down in the bowls so that they could run through the house frantically waving their arms and shouting, "I surrender! I surrender!" Surrender to what, you ask. Surrender to the Bomb Pops.

Binbin has been honing his chess skills, and can now with just a little coaching from Baba, completely cream me. He also has all the chess lingo down, from en passant to bad bishop. He also showed me how to stack a pawn on top of a rook in order to make a second queen.

He now reads with proficiency, and can write pretty well, too. Last week, I wanted him to work on some abacus puzzles, but he got frustrated. I was disappointed in him, and told him so. He scampered off with a sheet of paper and a pen. Five minutes later, he handed me an illustrated letter:

"Dere Mom I do not want to do it can I save it for latre Pleese mom. love Sebastien"

The picture was what I call Binbin's ur-composition. It shows a two-story house with a staircase connecting the first floor to the second. He and I are sitting at the table, while Jack is in the garage.

A few minutes later, he delivered a second letter:

"Dere mom I love you mom you are the best mom in the hol intiyre wrold."

The picture shows Binbin and me holding hands. Assorted hearts with and without arrows through them provide visual accents.

I love this kid, even when we're both cranky and ornery.

no shadow...

that's for sure. So, we're home for a snow day due to the inclement weather. That's an understatement. I think it's an epic storm, and we're in for snow until 5 a.m. tomorrow morning! If any groundhogs popped up for a look, they would be hard-pressed to see even the slightest ray of sunshine. The hopeful news, a shortened winter (if you can believe that).

So, as promised, some pics (since we're snowbound).

First, Binbin's storm trooper mini-figures taking the Rolls for a spin at Yeye and Nainai's basement.



Next up, one of many rounds of Memoir '44. Even Mama (who is war-history-averse) learned this game and rather enjoys it.



Binbin bundled up and ready for snow action. I can't remember if it was sledding or skiing.



Here he is, just off the chairlift at Lost Valley with his teacher Johnny.



And, wearing the peels of one of Mama's favorite fruits (the pommelo).



We've spent a good part of this morning cleaning the house, getting ready for the new year. As I said to Binbin, we take care of our house together, and our house will take care of us. We're grateful especially on days like today!

slip sliding away

Every now and then, Binbin gets a chance to watch network television. Most recently, that opportunity has come with NFL playoff games, and he is quick to tune into his favorite commercials. One of them features clips of automobiles slipping and sliding down snowy roads. That image springs to mind as we brace ourselves for another blizzard and school closure tomorrow. The phrase, "slip sliding away," also serves well for our losing track of time.

Since Binbin's birthday party, so much has happened and he has grown so much. Some of the changes are physical—his first wiggly tooth. Other changes are of the mind—he reads and writes with increased proficiency. Yet other changes are of the whim—favorite activities now include practicing math on the abacus, playing chess and checkers, lunch-time protein strike. He is, as ever, interested in watching Avatar and reading Harry Potter and playing with legos. Since Christmas and Santa Claus' favor, he may now also indulge in games of Memoir '44 and Pocket Frogs (the latter on iPad). He went downhill skiing for the first time last Sunday, at our local Lost Valley resort. It was physically challenging, but he liked it enough to ask for another lesson.

We've got loads of snapshots just waiting to be downloaded, then uploaded. The perfect activity for a snowday. We'll squeeze it in between house-cleaning and cooking for Chinese New Year.

Birthday #6

After Thanksgiving, much of this past weekend was dedicated to birthday party preparations. At the same time, Jack has been in the process of installing our new kitchen island. Here, you can see past the party streamers to the island, which is veneered in mahogany.

A birthday party calls for...cupcakes, of course. We're now using Cherrybrook Kitchen products (egg-free, soy-free, all-natural), and the results are delicious. These cupcakes are topped with chocolate covered sunflower seeds (Trader Joe's), which are mighty addictive.

Sunday morning, Binbin was like a broken record, or scratched CD, or misfiring MP3 (if there is such a thing). Every 2-5 minutes: When are people gonna' get here? Answer: They're coming at one o'clock. So, the morning was filled with busy-decorating-work like: how about if you spell out a Happy Birthday message to yourself with blocks?

The goodie bags were neatly arranged on the sideboard, and the previous night, Binbin insisted on sleeping under the dining room table in order to make sure they stayed in good order, which they did!

Caption for picture below: When are people gonna' get here?

We set up our party plan in the living room. Here is it:

In case the printing is too small, we began with 6, then it became 7 and finally 8 Labors (modeled after Hercules' labors, which provide one legend for the origin of the Olympic Games). The first labor is: text-twist.

Binbin here using his fingers to help figure out letter order.

Here, Emma, Anja, Zoe, and Chase on the sofa with their thinking caps on.

Cooper comes up with winning words: I, a, & yap.

I don't have photographic evidence of the 2nd labor (word bingo), which required some emergency help from Lorraine because sometime between a month ago when inspiration hit and Binbin's party, I seemed to have misplaced about a dozen bingo cards. Anyway, with assistance also from moms Melinda and Kristin, everyone got a bingo...and subsequently moved on to the 3rd labor: the egg balance relay. Here, Zoe passes to Cam, while the gang cheers wildly.

The 4th labor was an egg hunt, with clues for finding a map that would lead to the minotaur along with a puzzle providing a clue to the location of a sword for slaying the minotaur. Anja took her turn and smiles for the camera while others work on the puzzle.

With sword in hand, the 5th labor was to find the minotaur, which Jack brilliantly made of paper mache and expertly hitched up our giant maple tree. The 6th labor is, of course, to slay the minotaur. Amy steadies the beast. Emma gave it the coup de grace, spilling the minotaur's guts, or candies, as the lucky kiddies would have it.

Our fine Olympians, crowned in laurels and wearing medals designed by Sebastien Lee Xiabin Kline, bask in their triumph.

Happy Birthday was sung; cupcakes were consumed; presents were opened; and raucous partying was had by all.

To Binbin's friends, thank you all for some awesome fun presents and thank you for coming to celebrate!

a costume? no, thank you.

As per usual, Binbin had nothing of that dressing-up-for-Halloween and trick-or-treating stuff. No, he would NOT carry a sword. No, he would NOT wear a fireman's hat. No, he would NOT. Well, it's perfectly possible to have a grand time without the props and the impersonation. How, you ask? Try the following:

1. Invite a friend whom you adore to come over for brunch (Amy will do just fine, thank you!)
2. Run around with said friend, creating cardboard vehicles, building forts, and freeing the world of pesky grown-ups.
3. Go shopping at the newly opened Trader Joe's in Portland (Yes, folks, believe it or not, TJ's has arrived!)
4. Purchase a new add-on for a favorite game (builders and traders for Carcassone...yippee!)
5. Decorate the house (light the jack o'lanterns, make an orange and black sign with the words, "Trick or Treat")
6. Keep a constant lookout for trick or treaters.
7. Alert parent with escalating incitements to "come quickly, come quickly, come quickly" and "hurry-up, they're coming" and "I see more kids, I'm running up the stairs to hide" and "no, YOU give out the candy"
8. Get a surprise visit from friend (Anya in her fabulous pink fairy get-up)

May visions of twizzlers and willy wonker's loffy toffy dance through your head!