I often write about how helpful the girls are, but they’re not always so cooperative. Zoe, for example, has been known to answer, “No, thank you,” when I ask her to do a chore, like empty the dishwasher or help with the laundry. And yesterday, after Q asked Avery to help him by picking up something he dropped on the floor, she first ignored him and then – after he repeated his request – told him in an exasperated voice, “I do not like to do things!” Spoken like a real 3-year-old.

-M

The latest installment…

-M

I had a Parents’ Council meeting at the preschool Monday night and, since Q was at a Giants game, I wound up bringing the girls. (The meetings are normally adult-only.) Dressed in their pajamas, they sat on Zoe’s Dora the Explorer sleeping bag in a corner of the classroom, munching on dried strawberries and watching a show on my iPad. I had talked to them before we arrived about the importance of being quiet and not being disruptive as Mommy and the other parents talked – and they totally listened.

I was really proud of how they behaved, and also happy that coming along made them so happy. The first thing Avery told Q when she saw him yesterday morning was, “I went to a meeting with Mommy last night!” but the sweetest thing was her comment on our way to the meeting. “I like being with you,” she told me. “I love you.”

-M

Passover ended a week ago, but the story of Moses (Baby Moses, in particular) has made a lasting impression on Avery. Here she was at dinner last night, talking (and singing) at length about his story.

-M

Last Friday, Zoe came home from school and told us she was selected to read something at the upcoming school assembly. She was tasked with describing which science projects the kindergarteners were working on, and her teachers sent her lines home with her so she could practice them over the weekend. Practice them she did (she was so excited!), and this morning was her big moment.

It’s a big deal talking in front of so many people (especially bigger people), and Zoe was very serious-looking before and during her talk. She told me later, “I was really nervous at first, but after I was done, I felt very proud.” So did I!

-M

One of our favorite places to visit in the fall is Lemos Farm down in Half Moon Bay. (Our tradition is to stop there after picking out our pumpkins for Halloween.) It’s actually open all year round, and we discovered at a birthday party today that it’s pretty fun in the spring, too!

-M

Avery was especially affectionate and attached to me during bedtime the other night. “I don’t ever want you to not be my mommy!” she cried out, quite out of the blue, as she clung on to me. “I was born with you!”

-M

A recent “girls day” for me and my best friend meant that Zoe, Avery and Q were on their own – and the first thing on their itinerary was the zoo.
-M

When I turned on TV the other day, Avery got very excited when she saw what was on the screen. “Oh my gosh, it’s Daddy’s show!” she called out. “And they got a home-run!” As it turns out, the TV had been set to the the NFL channel, which was re-airing the Super Bowl; one of the teams had gotten a touchdown, not a home-run. This isn’t the first time she’s gotten her sports mixed up, but her enthusiam over something her dad loves was cute just the same.

-M

The “bonnet” referenced below was actually a paper hat (decorated with tissue flowers) that Zoe made at one of the craft tables at the fair on Sunday. And more fun news: We got a call last night that the girls (Avery made one, too) won first prize for best hat! (We entered them in the contest but left before the judging happened. We’ll pick up our prize this weekend.)

-M

Like last year (and several others before it), we attended a spring celebration on the other side of the city yesterday. While there, Zoe and I shared how much we liked the event for an article in the San Francisco Chronicle:

“I love it,” said Zoe Browdy, 6, as she modeled a handmade bonnet with her parents and  little sister.

When asked what specifically she loved, she answered, “All of it.”

Her parents loved it, too.

“It’s definitely not the Folsom  Street Fair,” said Zoe’s mom, Michelle Brandt Browdy. “It’s one of our favorite events of the year in San  Francisco. It’s under the radar. We feel like we have it all  to ourselves.”