There are certain books that are difficult for me to read, and one of them is The Giving Tree. By the time I finished reading it to Avery one recent night, I was a blubbering mess – and Avery sweetly tried to make me feel better by rubbing my arm and telling me that it was okay, that the tree was happy… Her efforts weren’t really working, but I couldn’t help but laugh when she said to her sister (who had just walked in and hadn’t said anything), “Uh, Zoe, can I have a little help here?”

-M

Zoe’s 9th (!) birthday is fast approaching, and she decided she wanted to have a slumber party (her first!) to mark the occasion. For weeks now she has been scouring books for ideas, getting prepared and making lists; here she was working hard on one such list recently.

-M

When Q is out of town I let the girls take turns sleeping in our bed with me. He was on a business trip earlier this week, and when it was Zoe’s turn to be in our room, Avery decided she didn’t want to be alone and would sleep next to us in a sleeping bag. Hearing this, Zoe set up a mini projector next to Avery and projected on the ceiling a sweet little message for her sister…

-M

And one last one from Halloween (which you may have seen on Facebook)… Here are the girls, around 3 PM on Saturday – just itching to get the evening’s activities started.

-M

Some photos from Halloween, including one of Zoe parked in her favorite spot: on the porch, ready to hand out candy. (Though we mixed things up by venturing out and doing more trick-or-treating this year, Zoe still spent most of her time giving out the treats.)

-M