Searching for Chu Coi

Today was the day for Tet Trung Thu, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite holidays!  I don't know if it's the mooncakes, the fun it is to pronounce the holiday, the excuse to make pho on a nippy fall day, the fact that the celebration doesn't necessitate cleaning the house or buying presents (though we usually add a "moon" book to our collection each year on this day), the hokey parade we do around the house holding our .99 cent star lanterns bought years ago, the pumpkin pie that I added to the menu this year, or the read aloud about the guy whose wife planted dahlias near the banyan tree (or peed on it in a different version), against her husband's direct instruction, the result of which was him being launched up to the moon clinging to the tree's roots!  We go out there and search for him every year and tonight we were treated to a beautiful clear view of a bright harvest moon, to which we each sent a secret wish. Anyway, sometimes the amount of photos I take is inversely proportional to the fun I'm having, and that's what happened tonight.  After all the cleaning up was done, leftovers put away (looks like a pho lunch for tomorrow), Fulcos headed home, and Bea went to bed, I finally thought of grabbing the camera and least getting these two shots:

Thank you moon and thank you Tet Trung Thu for giving us a reason to celebrate together tonight as a family in an innocent, fun, simple celebration.

Family Drawings

Any guesses on who the subjects are in these sketches?

Above is either me walking Sula, or B. walking Sula, depending on the moment you ask.

Above is clearly Daddy with his wild spiked hair!

And this one was "Mama" when first asked, but she later changed to say it really was a self-portrait.

Sunday Funday

This summer, one of the chapter books we read was The Boxcar Children, the first in a series of many written way back when by Gertrude Chandler Warner, a native resident of and teacher of our small little town.  The Boxcar Museum is right down the street from us and I've been promising B. a visit for many weeks.  Well,yesterday, crammed between church and a birthday party, we finally went!  She was beyond excited to head out the door:

 

A closeup of the cling-on on her Daddy's leg.  (how she loves her Daddy these days, ever since Wednesdays have become "pretend to love Daddy day!")

 

Entering the museum on a gorgeous early fall New England day:

 

She was so excited to "meet" Watch, the dog from the book, and see Benny's pink teacup:

Here she is exploring an antique typewriter and looking for the letters that she knows from the computer keyboard "p.b.s.k.i.d.s.o.r.g."

We're almost finished the second in the series now and looking forward October when there's a big Boxcar Children event complete with a train ride!

She got to make a wooden spool kitty cat and puppy:

 

My little girl as she nears 4 1/2 years old:

Then we headed to Massachusetts to celebrate our friend Jeremy's birthday.  How happy Jillian and Bea were to be together again! Here they are drooling over the warm bibingka (Filipino sweet rice cake):

Handsome birthday boy on his "double digits" birthday:

Here are B. and "Jilly Bean" feeding each other some birthday ice cream cake:

Moments later, the saddest faces ensued as it was time to head home and, sadly, our visits with them are usually months apart.....

Funny Girl

Anthony and B. are off to the Providence Children's museum today on her "day off" and he just emailed me these photos:

Why does my baby all of a sudden look like a kindergartener overnight?   

The size 3T pants, and even some 4T things, are all getting short, and all of a sudden she's 31 lbs and her foot measures size 10! (she was an 8 for a couple months, and apparently skipped size 9 altogether)

On another note, last night B. chose The Red Balloon to read at bedtime, a book we've read dozens of times, though not recently.  So I started reading the first sentence which is something like "Once there was a young boy who lived in Paris and his name was" and I paused so she could fill in the name, seeing if she'd remember it. 

Without any hesitation, Beatrice exclaims enthusiastically "Zippy!"  Pascal is the boy's real name, and the sound of "Zippy " just had us both roaring out loud. So I substituted "Zippy" every time "Pascal" was written, and it is amazing how funny this sophisticated French tale became.  She knows how to smile, she knows how to have fun, she skips everywhere she goes.  Almost 4 1/2 =JOY!

Wishing Upon a Star

This morning I told Beatrice that my sister-in-law's mother, Nonna, was very, very sick and that the doctors were trying really hard to make sure she doesn’t have pain, but we’re not sure that they can cure her, and that we need to keep remembering her every night in our prayers in a special way.  About five minutes later, while eating breakfast, this is what she came out with:

 Mama, I have a idea on how we can help Nonna.  You and me and Daddy and even Sula all need to sit in a circle and hold hands, even Sula’s paws, and think about Nonna.  Then we need to go upstairs in my room and get my special stars from Vietnam  and each hold one and do a special dance.  Then Nonna can feel our love.

So that’s what we’re doing at our house tonight...

Awesome Wednesdays

I've been doing a lot of reading lately, both professional and personal, and there is a theme that's running through both: being outside in nature is more critical for people than ever.  We are living in a time in which  we have at least one of our "gadgets" with us almost everywhere we go, and in which we turn to technology many, many times daily, constantly interrupted by beeps and signals announcing new emails, texts, etc. It is a time in which  information is immediate and communication is instaneous, and patience is required far less than ever. Due to this technological "progress," engaging in activities during which we can focus on the present moment and slow down time are more important than ever.  Furthermore, it appears that being outdoors and in nature is the perfect prescription for the "ailments," that time with this technology can bring; namely, lack of impulse control, lack of empathy and compassion, and weaker social skills.  Apparently, nature inspires awe, and awe-filled moments actually stimulate the parts of the brain that have to do with self-control, self-satisfaction, and this leads to, at least temporarily, increased gratitude, compassion, and empathy toward others.  Who knew?

Perhaps the scariest thing in all of this is that we have to read literature written by Ph.D's to advise us to get our children outside and  take a walk in the woods! Beatrice loves books, she loves to draw, she loves TV more than I care to admit, she loves pretend play and boy oh boy does she love pbskids.org, select "movies" from Netflix, and Daddy's iPad...all things she can do in the house.  We try to moderate her time with  media and technology, but it is a slippery slope for sure. Aside from going to the playground or a few other select activities, she rarely chooses to play outside, and fusses at the suggestion, which drives us kind of crazy, although once out there she generally enjoys herself. So Anthony has decided that he's going to use his precious Wednesdays, the day Beatrice is not in school, to get her outside, at least while the weather is nice.

 My mother had 4 out of 5 babies in the winter time, and she believed that from the day we came home, we needed a minimum of 15 minutes a day outside breathing fresh air, and believe me the time increased exponentially when we were of school age. (She was a woman ahead of her time, recycling and reusing everything long before it was trendy to do so!) She boasted that she bundled us up and put us in a carriage and sat us on the porch when we were only days old, wanting us to get used to the air and being out. When we were older, she would kick us out to look at clouds if we proclaimed ourselves "bored" and we would groan, and we eventually knew better than to even ask about watching TV if it was a nice day out. ( Apparently, she thought TV and rain went together.)

So here's our little flower child, out at the Audubon center just a few miles away from our house. We are so fortunate to live here in beautiful southern New England where hiking trails, lakes, and woods abound.  She whimpered over the jeans and a deal was struck enabling her to, upon return, change into one of her beloved skirts or dresses and finish watching the Dr. Dolittle movie we started watching weeks ago, but out she went for an outdoor adventure, which reportedly was a blast, and hopefully provided even a few moments of awe.

Before the words change, or I forget....

Beatrice's language has become quite complex, her sense of humor is great, and her vocabulary makes me shake my head.  I guess the thousands of books we've read are paying off!  I don't want to forget some of these quotes or this phase, so for documentation sake:

"It would be great:"  She uses this to begin or end a request, as in "It would be great if we could have dessert after dinner tonight" or "If I could watch a little TV after piano practice, that would be great."

"Must:" This is a favorite word of emphasis lately, used either in a bossy or hopeful "You must (do)...." or "I must go feed Sula.  Uh-oh, I forgot....woops! I must remember next time!" or in an Ed Grimley (Martin Short's famous SNL character) way "I must say, these clothespins are very tricky!"

"Alright" except her "l" is developing so it's more like "Oh-right:"  I cannot describe in writing the sweetness of this word, other than that she does it with such emotion. She does it to express trust in my decision, even though she may be disappointed or apprehensive, or really drags it out  to express curiosity, like "Okay, I"m starting to understand what you're talking about." So many people have remarked about her adorable use of this word.

"That will work:" this one is just a mimic of my "that works!" meaning "that's okay with me."  I will say "Daddy will pick you up from school today" and she replies "I think that will work."

"It's a plan/Is that a plan?:" Yup, this one's right out of my mouth too!

"I'm going to think about you:"  This is a substitute I suggested for "I'm going to miss you" since Beatrice still sometimes gets upset at dropoff at school.  I told her I can say "I'm going to think about you today" with a smile on my face, whereas "I'm going to miss you" sounds so sad.  She even added "I'm going to think about you at snacktime" or lunchtime and "if you think about me too we can have a pretend playdate!" (If she only knew how often I think about (and miss) her during the day!)

"Sorry:" Beatrice uses this when appropriate, but also lately when she just doesn't want to do something, as in "Beatrice, would you please feed Sula?"  Her response might be "Sorry, I just can't.  I'm really busy right now."  And "sorry" is said so sadly and genuinely that sometimes she almost tricks me into letting her off the hook!

"I know that/Do you know that?:"  The first is used when slightly annoyed, like when I ask her to do something or I talk to her for something that someone else has already talked to her about. The second is said when she's really excited about something or asking it like "can you believe it???" I heard her use it with a group of girls while playing after dance class last week, and I think the quote was something like "You can have this dog and I'll use these two dogs, that way they can be together.  Do you know that????"

Minute-talk and Time talk: "How many minutes until we (insert activity)?  Is it 3 or is it 6?"  Or I'll say "B, you can play in the tub for about 5 more minutes until it's time to get out" and she'll reply "Or 4 or 7?  How about 4 Mama?  If I could have 4 or 6 minutes, that would be great!" She also announces times of things in her pretend play and it's never a time that really exists.  Some of her favorites are "8-o'40 and 13-o'7."

Rhyming: She has become a fabulous rhymer over the summer and loves to play the "3 rhyme game" where we have to take turns coming up with 3 rhymes each.  Anthony almost drove off the road this summer when she enunciated three  "_uck" rhymes perfectly, starting with "F,"  "S,", and "D."  I was so proud! (of her articulation of course, and the fact that she had no idea what she was saying.)

and some moments that have made me smile widely this week:

(upon leaving the house)
B:  Mama, do you want to waste electricity or do you not want to waste electricity?
Me:  I do not
B:  Alright.  I will go shut off the fan in the TV room, and you do this one (pointing to kitchen ceiling fan) and the fan in the piano room, okay Mama?  That way, we will not waste electricity, right?

(after sitting on the "throne" and passing some "air" and after I asked "What was that????")
"Sorry.  Some people are having a party in my bum and one of them has a cold and burped, that's what that was....."

(in the car)
Me:  Beatrice, would you please hand me the bag on the seat?
B:  Sorry, I can't.  I'm working on bar graphs.
Me:  Bar graphs? Let me see! 
(she holds up her notepad and I see rectangles)
How did you learn about bar graphs?
B:  Mama, I learn a LOT from TV!

(in the car a few days later)
B:  How many minutes until we get to the library?
Me: about 5
B: I think it will be 4, or maybe 3
Me:  Do you know how many seconds there are in a minute?  60!  Shall we count how long it takes to get there?  (I've never done this, but feel kind of guilty because I know lots of kids her age who can count past 20 very well, and she still messes up on the teens, so I thought this would be a good opportunity. So  I start counting, and she amazes me with how many numbers she can "fill in."  Finally I get to 39 and she says
B:  40!
(I am amazed!)
Me:  Wow, terrific!  Do you know what's next?
B:  41!
Me: Holy smokes!  I didn't know you knew those high numbers!
B:  Mama, I TOLD YOU that I learn a lot from TV!!!!!!
(she didn't get any right beyond that, except she did come up with "100" after I said "99."   I guess I need to double my monthly contribution to PBS.

(while doing "pretend homework")
B:  How do you spell chocolate?
Me: c-h-o-c-o-l-a-t-e, it's a long word
B:  NO!  I mean "chocolate" like in South Dakota!
Me:  South Dakota?  They spell "chocolate" the same way.
B: NO!
Me:  Well you tell me then how they spell "chocolate" in South Dakota
B:  M-E-Q-R! (duh!)

Pre-K: Day 1 of Year 2

So here she is, ready to take on the world once again!  Beatrice had a super morning until the moment I "requested" taking her picture on the porch.  She wanted it taken in the house.  After some yelling and tears, here's what I got.  Unfortunately the camera was on Manual focus so all but one is blurry, but asking for a "take two" on this occasion likely would have led to a horrific start to a new school year.  B. is scheduled to attend four full days a week, a huge jump from the three half days she did last year.  She's rarin' to go, so look out St. Joseph's!

and here's what she came home with, name tag with self-portrait, ponytails included!