Chess

Since we moved to Washington, Alden has been really into chess. He really likes playing board games, and chess is one board game that Joe and I encouraged and would be willing to play. Ha ha. Shortly after we moved here, we found out that the Korean Branch down in Federal Way had a free chess club every Saturday. Alden was very interested in going, so we have been going down there every Saturday morning as a family. Since then, Alden's chess skills improved drastically, from just knowing how each pieces move, to eventually beating me and Joe.

He completed in two beginners tournaments in Bellevue, during which he crushed all of his opponents and won 1st place with gigantic trophies. He kept the first one for himself, and gave Ellie the next one. The next tournament he participated in was a smaller game night at Chess4Life called Friday Night Quad. This was consisted more of kids from the Chess4Life programs, and was a lot more challenging because he played kids a few years older than him (they were paired by rating). But he learned a lot and enjoyed playing all those games.

Today, Alden participated in a bigger chess tournament called Winter Chess Fest, hosted by the Orlov Chess Academy and Chess Mates Schools in Seattle. It was really big. There were more than 50 kids in just Alden's division (K-1). Most kids there seemed like they were there as a part of a team with their school chess club. A lot of them were wearing chess t-shirts, indicating that they probably have been playing for a while and with intensive training with a coach.

It started at 10AM, and we didn't want to be late, so we left the house really early and got there 15 minutes early. We packed Ellie and Eli backpacks full of toys, books, and snacks to help them occupied.

As soon as we got there, kids were eager to pull out their bags and start on their snacks.

I was so surprised at how big it was... There were so many kids, who were good, I mean GOOD, at chess. The 1st game went pretty well for Alden. He was paired with a kid rated at 400. But the next game, he was paired with a kid rated above 1000. (Alden's rating is in the 700's.) He came close, but lost. But Alden has been learning that losing does not matter much, that you can learn from losing. He was excited to keep playing more rounds and ended up winning the next three rounds. Turned out, the kid he lost to, took first place in the division. 

We were there from 10AM to 3:30PM, but Ellie and Eli did really well. James even took an hour long nap. We had Domino's for lunch, munched on a lot of junk food, and watched Alden play, taking turns watching the little kids. Alden seemed like he was really enjoying himself and didn't seem nervous at all.  He ended up taking 4th place, winning another trophy. He gave it to Eli, and Eli was soooo happy, he kept smiling and saying "My, my, my." Because he won more than 3 matches, Alden is now qualified to go to the State Tournament in April in Spokane. 

Waiting for the 1st round to start

Contemplating the next move

Notating so we can review the games later

Capture

Award ceremony

Eli with "my" trophy

After the tournament, we went to Alderwood Mall, mainly to get Cafe Rio. Kids wanted to play at the playground, so Alden and Ellie ran around the indoor playground while Eli took a nap in the stroller. After that, we visited a few stores and even went to a candy store where kids got to pick out their favorite candy to celebrate Alden's win. We gave up on Cafe Rio because we realized that it was in the outdoor part of the mall and we didn't want to go out in the rain. Al wanted to eat pretzels for dinner, so we got some pretzel bites then came home. It was a really long day but we had lots of fun as a family. :)

James Jihu Rigby

James learned his first word! He says "Mama." Guess what he is referring to? WATER! 

Yeah... Water... before he even learned to say Mommy or Daddy. So sad. But he is so cute! He is growing up fast. Not sure really about physically. He's got his 1 year check up tomorrow. But he is learning to do new things everyday. He loves to pretend to play the wii by holding up the wii remote and shaking it up and down. He can actually turn the TV on and off, although he doesn't really seem to be interested in much of what's on the TV.... He loves to smile and mimic you if you yawn. 

In just the past couple days, he has grown really, really clingy. He would not let me get out of his sight. He does play really well with his siblings, or even by himself, as long as I am sitting in the same room. But as soon as I stand up and start to walk to the other side of the room, he starts to cry and crawl towards me, super fast. If he can't catch up, he will put his head down on the ground in despair and cry even harder.

He is a big daddy's boy. He looks the most like Joe's baby pictures out of all of the kids, and he is the first one to prefer daddy over mommy. I think it has to do with the fact that I can no longer pay more attention to the baby with all the kids swarming around, and daddy is always there to pick him up when he is being "abandoned" by mommy. Joe loves it! The other day, he had a nightmare and woke up crying. I picked him up and rocked him for about 20 minutes before he realized that daddy was sitting close and pointed at him. As soon as Joe took him, he stopped crying. 

He can now stand up on his own and stay standing for a few seconds before he decides to sit back down to crawl.

On his 1st birthday, he chose the thread indicating a long, healthy life.

James gives us a lot of joy. He makes everyone around him so happy with one of his silly smiles. His siblings adore him and love to play with him and get his attention. He eats well, sleeps well, and poops well (too much sometimes). I will update again when I have the stats from the doctor's office!

Food

I enjoy cooking and baking. When I have the energy and time (which means I got a good night's sleep-- rarely happens--and the little kids are taking naps and the big kids are doing something independent), I will get in the kitchen and create something fun. I will cook something that Joe really likes (there are a few in the repertoire) or try out new recipes. It's happened a lot less since we've moved to Washington, with the new baby and the lack of family support. But since James is getting older and more independent, I am going to try to do more. (My new year's resolution for the family was to bake more this year.) So hopefully I can continue to upload more pictures of food here. Below are pictures of some foods that I've made in the last month.

Ellie's birthday pumpkin cheesecake

James' 1st birthday

New Year's Day - new recipe (bacon wrapped chicken)

Pancake breakfast catered for the Rigby family