Safta has been with us since Thursday, and here are a few pics of the girls’ time with her so far. (Check out the portrait of her that Zoe drew.)

-M

Zoe had two days off of school this week, and I spent one of those days playing with her and her good friend Zachary. Where did they want to go (and have tons of fun running around at)? A pumpkin patch, of course.

-M

Speaking of sweet… The girls were upset when I wasn’t home when they woke up yesterday morning. (A Stanford doc won a Nobel Prize, and I had already been working for three hours when they got up.) They were both really cute when they saw me in the evening, but it felt particularly special when Avery climbed into bed and lay on top of me for a good five minutes. It is very rare for a 3-year-old to sit still that long (unless ill), and I soaked up every minute!

-M

I’ve mentioned before how sweet Avery can be at times – and she often likes to make sure everyone (herself included) feels happy. Here are a few recent examples:

-When Pop Pop left the house on the day we were flying back from Maryland last month, Zoe started crying. “Don’t be sad, Zoe,” Avery raced up to her and said. “You’ll see Pop Pop laaaaater.”

-On the ride to the airport, Avery turned to her sister and asked, “Do you feel better, Zoe? Are you not sad anymore?”

-I commented to Avery one evening that I missed the big blue exercise ball that we used to have in her room (the one that I used to bounce her and Zoe on when they were babies). I must have looked a little sad and  sentimental because she asked me, “Why don’t you buy another one? So I can see it and you can see it, and you’ll be happy.”

-At bedtime one recent night, Avery told me that she didn’t want me – she wanted Daddy. Seeing my disappointed her face she tilted her head and said, “Oh, but Zoe loves you.”

-I teased Avery – a huge fruit fan – one day that I was going to take her to live with the monkeys so she could eat all the bananas she wanted. “Will you come with?” she asked and started to sniff. “I want you to be there, too, or I won’t be happy.”

-At pick-up one day I asked Avery about school. “I was sad because I wanted Mama,” she told me about her morning. She then started jumping around and said, “But you’re here now and I’m happy!”

-M

While at Great America this weekend (and like last year) we did some early Trick-or-Treating with Peanuts characters. Our little princess was a little tentative at first (“Pick me up, Mama/Daddy!”) but by the last stop she was just fine going through the line with Zoe (and without us). This has got to be one of my favorite Halloween traditions; it was so fun watching them run around together!

-M

We went to the amusement park yesterday, and Avery is old enough now to go on many of the rides with her sister (and without one of us). I love the happy looks on their faces during a roller-coaster ride, and the video of them on the bumper cars is also fun. (It’s a bit long, but worth watching for the :26 and 1:05 marks.)

-M

Two recent mealtime comments that I hope not to hear again.

Zoe, calling out to me from the kitchen one morning: “Mommy, I accidentally spilled my cereal on the floor.” Me: “How much?” Zoe: “Uh… all of it.”

Avery, after taking a taste of dinner the other night: “Can you not make this for me again, Mommy?” (I take it she didn’t like it.)

Like last year, the girls seemed to have as much fun doing non-pumpkin things at the pumpkin patch as the Halloween-themed stuff. Here they are, goofing around in a little house and going down the bouncy slide.

-M

As mentioned below, we went down to Half Moon Bay (like in previous years) to hit the pumpkin patches over the weekend. Here’s the first batch of pics.

-M

Speaking of cute comments, Avery and I were talking last night about a party at her school, and she mentioned that the “little kids” (i.e. the ones in the class she was in last year) came, too. I know she’s big for her age but she’s still only 3, and the comment sounded so funny coming from her. “The little kids?  Aren’t you little?” I asked her. She shrugged her shoulders and replied matter-of-factly, “Not anymore.”

-M

Last week, Avery had a follow-up appointment with the surgeon who put her ear tubes in.  The doctor said everything looked perfect (I love that word!), and we don’t have to see her again until January.

On our way to the appointment, Avery was in a particularly good mood, and at one point she noticed a group of birds congregating in the park we were driving past. “Oh, they’re flying away,” she cried out looking towards the sky. “I want to go up there, in the sky to be with them. I want to go to their house!”

Her comment was so sweet and kid-like (who else but a small child would take so much interest in birds?), and it made me smile and think. I’m sure Avery had these innocent/cute thoughts when she was much younger – but before her surgery four months ago, we couldn’t fully hear them. (She probably was saying them, but we didn’t understand!) I sometimes get sad thinking how many sweet comments we missed out on last year; the only upshot is that we’re hearing them now!

-M

One of my favorite times of the year begins today. Here in San Francisco, Halloween is practically its own season, and we kicked off its month with our annual trip to the pumpkin patches this weekend. I’ll have more pictures soon; here’s a taste for now.

-M