My parents are here visiting, and I had to laugh at an exchange I had with Zoe yesterday morning. When I asked her if she had brushed her hair like I had requested of her (more than once), she shook her head. “Grandpa told me it was beautiful already,” was her reply.
Thanks, Grandpa.
-M
The changes in Avery has been dramatic lately, and there are moments when I catch a glimpse of her big curly hair and bright, happy face and wonder, “Who is this girl?” She is growing at such a fast pace, and that line from Sunrise, Sunset has never been more appropriate: “Seedlings turn overnight to sunflow’rs, blossoming even as we gaze.”
Along the same lines, when I picked up Zoe from school the other day, I almost didn’t recognize the girl who burst through the door and galloped towards me with a huge smile. (“Oh, there’s a tall girl with long brown hair and a mint shirt,” I literally thought before, a split-second later, realizing it was my tall girl.) We went out for ice-cream later that day and, quite different from the days in which she was in a stroller, we held each other’s hands and chatted like girlfriends as we walked down the street.
Seedlings may be amazing, but there’s something pretty special about “sunflow’rs,” too.
-M
When we arrived at the amusement park the other day, I commented to the girls that I had snacks for them for later. “Thank you, Mommy!” Avery answered with a smile, marking the first time she has delivered a “thank you” for something other than being given food or handed an object. Parenting can be a pretty thankless job – so when you get some out-of-the-blue gratitude from one of your kids (like I did with Zoe a few weeks ago), it’s pretty special!
-M
After the girls peeled off their ladybug costumes yesterday, they did a lot of running around and went on a lot of rides at the amusement park. Oh, and they also posed for a lot of pictures – thanks in part (bad mom alert!) to some bribery on my part. (“Just smile and I’ll buy you a churro!” I told Zoe in a moment of desperation.) I’m not proud, but it’s close to impossible to get a cute picture of the two of them – and at least we got a few good shots this way. And, yes, we did buy them a churro as we left the park.
-M
Remember when I said how excited I was (er, I mean, we were) about October and all the Halloween activities? Well, we headed down to Great America today for one such activity: a Peanut-themed costume party. The girls got to run around as little ladybugs and do a bit of trick-or-treating, I got to take lots of photos, and we all got a taste of what the real Halloween (22 days away!) will be like.
-M
We took the girls to synagogue for a Yom Kippur children’s program today; when told to get in a circle with the rest of the kids the girls found a spot and immediately held hands and snuggled with each other. Despite not knowing the instructor or the other children well, I knew they (and Avery, specifically) would be okay – and I left feeling so happy that they had one another. The image of them sitting together would have stayed with me even without a picture, but the teacher snapped one anyway. Blurry, sure, but still sweet.
-M
Avery stayed home from school today so we could host a playdate with some old friends this morning. She had fun, I think, and I had to laugh at the subtle way in which she and her buddy Greta let us know they (and Avery’s baby!) were ready for a nap.
-M
Defying the normal early-October weather patterns, it has been rainy here all week – leading to several discussion with Zoe about rainbows. “Unicorns can ride over rainbows, but not persons,” she told me matter-of-factly on our way to school yesterday. And then: “But people can ride the unicorns.”
-M
Last week, Q brought home some special presents for the girls – a pink electrical guitar for Zoe and a small acoustic one for Avery. Though I’ve questioned this move at times (let’s just say the sounds emerging from the instruments are not always easy on the ears), there’s no denying that it has made Avery quite happy. You’ll see her in action (and get to experience her rendition of the Itsy, Bitsy Spider) below.
-M
Although I don’t use the blog to vent or complain as much as I could (or sometimes wish I did), it should go without saying that parenting isn’t always sunshine, unicorns and, er, pumpkin patches. Raising kids is a very up-and-down thing and, as I have complained about here before, nothing brings on the “downs” more than sickness.
Avery has been sick three times, and Zoe twice, since the beginning of the school year, and I was also sick shortly after our trip to LA a few weeks ago. The constant trips to the doctor’s office and Walgreens, the who-can-miss-a-day-of-work-this-time conversations between me and Q, the general interruption of our family routine, and the girls’ (understandable) grumpiness really took a toll – and led to more than one rough moment. (“That’s it! Mommy is leaving and not coming back!” I cried out in frustration one night. Of course, I didn’t go anywhere.)
The good news, of course, is that the girls got better and we fell back into our normal routine. (And while “normal” isn’t always perfect – Zoe and I had a tear-filled battle over getting dressed just this morning – it sure beats the alternative.) And if any positive can come from a rough month, health-wise, it’s a renewed appreciation for healthy, happy days!
-M
We visited some of our other favorite Half Moon Bay spots after picking out pumpkins on Saturday; here’s our second batch of pics.
-M
Feeling excited about the recent arrival of fall, and looking forward to Halloween, we made our annual trip to Half Moon Bay yesterday. The first thing on our agenda was picking out pumpkins (one each for the girls), and here are some pics from our favorite patch.
-M
It’s October! Since having kids, this month has emerged as my favorite: Its arrival means pumpkin patches, Halloween-themed activities, warm (Indian-summer) weather and lots of parties. I’m already excited for the various things we’ve got on our calendar, and I think Zoe is too.
-M
