Checkmate

I haven't played chess with Big Bro in months now, he hasn't been particularly interested when I asked. He took chess at his summer class and has also been in an afternoon program. Tonight, when we talked about playing, I was quite interested in seeing how his skills had changed since we last played.

As for myself, I am very much an average player. I can move the pieces and line up basic attacks. Strategy = not much. I learned from the best, my father, when I was around seven, Big Bro's age. His grasp of the game is much better than mine was at that age (or this age for that matter!)

We started the first game, and I was swiftly knocked into defense as Big Bro began doubling up on all my pieces. He swept through my pieces, capturing them quickly. As I tried to make countermoves, he observed with comments like "Well, that wasn't part of my plan, but it will merely be a momentary distraction" -- and sure enough, he would handle my re-attack and then move back to his checkmate strategy.

At an early point in our second game, I moved my knight out -- really for no reason other than to get it out onto the board. He looked at me and attacked it with a pawn, reached over to our pencil cup, found one that needed sharpening and smiling ear-to-ear, said "Would you want a pencil like this? No because it's pointless... Just like that move you just made!" Such a clever little comment, I put my tail between my legs and moved my knight back into its original position. He was right, it was a pointless move!

Our second game was down to king, queen & 2 pawns on my side and king, queen & rook on his side. When we were down to his king & queen and my king, I asked him if this game could even be won or if we would just end up chasing each other. He didn't want to end up in a king-king stalemate, but said he wanted to play it out.

Sure enough, a few moves later, he looks at me and said "I reckon the end has come for you". He proceeded to march me into checkmate. His king, then queen, closing in on me, backing me into a corner, closing in my space. Checkmate. He won.

What a wonderful game.

Lil Bro, starting preschool

And my little boy is off to preschool, proudly showing off his new backpack, walking past his toddler room to the big kid room and blowing kisses to me as he walked away.

Bedtime reading

From time to time, Big Bro will read a bedtime story to Lil Bro. Tonight's ready was from Lil Bro's Star Wars book. In a valiant effort to push off his own bedtime, Big Bro decided to give a full life story for each character. On the "C" page for C3P0, we learned all about how the protocol droid was a friend of Luke and R2D2, how he came to have his metal covering (poor droid didn't want to be naked!), his recovery possibilities when getting a limb cut off in a battle.. The list went on and on. I had to cut him off a few letters into the alphabet, after hearing all about Darth Vader's battle with his former mentor Obi-Won, lest staying up to midnight!

Backwards you speak

Big Bro tells Lil Bro, while trying to tell him to be patient:

If you wait, good things will come.


Me: I think you mean "Good things come to those who wait"

Chuckles from the backseat.

NEVER!

Lil Bro's latest vocabulary addition is "NEVER!!", applied as follows:

~~

LB, hold my hand when we go into the parking lot. --> NEVER!


LB, are you doing to try to use the potty at your preschool? --> NEVER!


LB, you have to eat breakfast before a snack. --> NEVER!

~~

He learned this one at preschool. One of the little girls says it, mostly in reference to using the potty. This "never" bit is going to get OLD very quick.

Hangman

We were going for a bit of a drive the other day. Big Bro was being quite nice to Lil Bro and asked him to play Hangman with him to pass the time. The game was played with Big Bro running an app on his i-Touch and Lil Bro calling out random letters. Of course, Lil Bro doesn't have much of a concept of the game, but he knows his alphabet and was thrilled that Big Bro was engaging him in the game. Alas though, Lil Bro's interest was running low after the fifth letter or so. Result of Lil Bro's lower interest was fast decline in Big Bro's patience with him..

"Pick a letter, any letter!!", I hear from the back seat. "Come on, any letter"..

Lil Bro: "ugh....", finger by his mouth, thinking pose..

"ANY LETTER!"

"Ummm..." finger tapping..

"COME ON!"

"Wait -- I THINKIN' bout it!" go little bro, standing up for himself.

Table skills of a three year old

Big Bro is becoming well-skilled at cutting his own meat. He uses his own knife (usually a butter knife), fork and muscles his way through the task. Lil Bro always wants to do whatever Big Bro does. Conversation at dinner the other night:

Lil Bro: I want knife. I cut my steak.

Big Bro: You can't have a knife. You're ONLY three years old - you'll cut your head off !!