fun runner

On May 1, Binbin ran his first fun run. Sponsored by Coastal Youth Orchestra, the fun run was a full mile. Here's our budding runner headed to the finish with speed and determination written on his face.



Yes, that's me in bright pink, running back-up, just in case of emergency. After all, thought I, this is the first time that Binbin has ever run so far! No emergencies, fortunately. For running, Binbin received:

a coastal youth orchestra t-shirt
a coupon for free Ben and Jerry's cone
two juices
a cereal bar
a plush toy, a little grey kitty, which he has named Scurry
a boost of pride and confidence

iPad iPhotos

Not long before my birthday, way back in March, apple computer announced opening day sales for the iPad. We all zipped down to the mall after school, and got in line. Lots of conversations with our neighboring apple enthusiasts and an hour and a half later, I received the gizmo for my birthday.

Since then, Binbin (more than anyone else, naturally) has effortlessly embraced the technology and joyfully experimented with its photographic possibilities. First, the straightforward, old technology. Portrait of Binbin on St. Patrick's Day...



Now, the fun stuff. Kaleidoscopic Binbin...



This, and many others like it were taken one afternoon with Baba. Since the iPad has two cameras, you can choose your expressions and capture them accurately. Monkey see, monkey do, monkey snaps a picture.

More light

Days are longer, trees are deepening their green, and flowers are blooming. There are times, though, when I still find myself wearing two layers of fleece, and the thick fur Laplander hat around the house to stay warm. Binbin, though, is transitioning to T-shirts and sandals. And, after he picked out a new wind-breaker (medium blue, no patterns thank you), he has let go of his puffy jacket.

Yesterday was "opening day," for the Lisbon Junior Athletic League, which runs T-ball and softball in our area. Although we had hoped to place Binbin on the same team as Chase and Aidan, he is as happy as a clam being on the Slovaks team. Coaches Kevin and Ben provide good direction (little Owen is apt to bat and run to the pitcher's mound), and Kevin's wife Amanda makes sure that the team huddles up and cheers before and after games. Also, I should add that, in terms of fashion, the Slovak colors, black and white, are among Binbin's favorite, and Jack liked the crest motif on their T-shirts.

On the baseball front, we attending our first Seadogs game of the season. Though they lost to New Britain, Binbin and his buddy Cam and his sister Sarah were rewarded for their 9-innings' of patience with an invitation to run the bases. They and about 500 other kids ran their hearts out, from left field down the third baseline, then around the bases and back out to their phone-camera bearing parents. Although the clouds rolled in around the 7th inning, there was no rain. From left field, we beheld perfectly thick green grass and very happy kids.

Last Monday, kindergarten wasn't in session, but Binbin went to chess club after school. He came home, with an enormous grin on his face, reporting that he beat a fifth-grader! He used the classic four-move checkmate on the unsuspecting upperclassman. Apart from that, he won some and he lost some, and he'll be back for more.

He's got a new set of wheels, bicycle wheels with trainers, for the season. Binbin has always been wary of speed, and he is slowly building up confidence. Fortunately, the kitty-korner store has slushies, which are a good incentive for getting out there again when the sun returns.

One more month of school. I can hardly believe how quickly the time has passed. Where did it go?

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!