week in review

Nearly a week has passed since our last posting. The gap is not for lack of Binbin antics, but because of a relentless cough. A dry hacking that prevented sufficient sleep finally caused me (De-nin) to make use of my state medical insurance card. Many drugs and a day later, I'm feeling marginally better.

So, what happened this past week?

On Friday, Binbin and Weiwei (a newer child in Binbin's Elite's class) teamed up to play basketball at Love to Shop friday after school. The two of them, side by side, made quite a few points.

The cardboard box, the toy of the week, lasted the week, but was finally liberated from the Projects on Friday. Binbin and Xuanxuan played nearly every evening in that box, pretended to be posted to Love to Shop, or pretending to be cats who lived in the box. Or, they simply ran in and hid in the box, wanting someone to "knock knock" and ask if anyone was at home.

The school week was rather rough, with repeated crying. We're guessing that the teachers' demand that Binbin remain seated throughout lunch may have caused too much distress. Or, perhaps it was his teething (2-year-old molars are currently erupting). In any event, it was a trial until Friday when finally, he seemed happy (rather than upset or resigned) to go to school.

Binbin has also been protesting changes of clothing, clinging to soiled clothing as if his very life depended on it. Is this a stage? We hope it is a short one. Otherwise, he may continue to go to school with either pajama top or bottom on.

We're also taken to going to playground #1 in the evenings. We hadn't been there is weeks, and it's quite nice to take a stroll after dinner, in the twilight. It's also much cooler than the recent daytime highs of 88.

Our new silly game is to listen for the sound of soup slurping. Binbin slurps, we show signs of surprise, Binbin giggles.

New items on the menu this week: crunchy snow peas, homemade orange juice popsicles, and microwave popcorn. Binbin pronounced the latter two "好好吃 delicious!"