The girls’ cousin Tanner was born just a few days after Zoe, and he had a little birthday party at Rockin’ Jump when we were in town. I had to do some work, but Q took the girls – and it looks like they loved both the place and the cousin time!
-M
One of my new favorite shots of the girls, taken in my parents’ backyard…
-M
As mentioned, we were in Madison for Zoe’s birthday and Thanksgiving. Here now, a few photos — including our traditional just-arrived photo from the airport and some outdoor pics. (It was way warmer than it normally is there this time of year!)
-M
Zoe’s officially 11, and we celebrated her birthday after a Thanksgiving dinner in Madison. It was the first time she’s spent her birthday with Grandma and Grandpa since she was a toddler (and the first time ever with Aunt Sandy) – and, of course, her sister was on hand to celebrate too.
-M
Today’s a big deal for Zoe: It’s the first time that her birthday has fallen on Thanksgiving since she was born! I’ll never forget that holiday eleven years ago: no turkey or stuffing for us but instead a little baby with a squished nose. Our lives have never been the same, and I’ll forever be thankful for that day (and, of course, for June 19). I’ll have more to say about Zoe-at-11 during a more quiet moment, but for now: Happy Birthday, Zoe! And Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
-M
As we drove to the airport the other day Avery commented that she hoped we would see a rainbow. It wasn’t even really raining so I didn’t think much of it (nor did I expect to see one) – so imagine our surprise when we looked outside and saw this. A good travel omen for sure!
-M
She’s almost 11 – and she had her first birthday celebration the other night in Vegas…
-M
After our time in Carlsbad, we took a quick trip to Vegas (where Q had a work conference). Among our activities there: enjoying the gardens and fountains of Bellagio (where we stayed), exploring the Hershey store and hanging out with (or, more accurately, jumping on top of) Cousins Isaac and Dorothy.
-M
As mentioned, our Legoland trip was the biggest hit with Avery. She loved the miniature landmarks made of Legos (“This is so amazing!” she said when she first saw them), and she was also very into the Lego Friends section of the park. She even got to meet the “real” girls, and she proudly told me about one of them, “We were both wearing stars on our shirts! She told me that means we’re besties.”
I love that the innocence is still there!
-M
We were in Carlsbad for a family event over the weekend and decided to visit a place we’ve always talked about going: Legoland. The amusement park is quite pretty, and the statues and landmarks that are made with hundreds of thousands of Legos (including the Golden Gate Bridge, U.S. Capitol, etc.) are like pieces of art! The park is definitely geared towards younger kids, and I think Zoe may have aged out – but we all (and especially Avery) still had fun!
-M
We had parent-teacher conferences last week, and they went as expected. Zoe is really happy with fifth grade and is doing well across subjects, especially in math, which has always been her fave, and Hebrew, which seems to be easier for her than in previous years. The school changed up the set-up this year, so all fifth-graders have the same teacher (one for science/tech/math and another for humanities) and rotate throughout the day; the idea is that they’ll be more ready for middle school next year, and Zoe seems to really like it.
Things are going well with Avery, too, and we’re most excited about her reading. While her sister has been a voracious reader since second grade or so, Avery has been slower to get into it. Something clicked at the start of this school year, though, and she’s now picking up books on her own and reading without being asked. Reading somehow went from being a chore to something super fun, and we couldn’t be happier!
-M
Frustrated by my request to do some cleaning, Avery recently declared: “When I grow up I’m going to have a maid. And I’m going to make my husband pay for it. And I’m going to just lounge around.”
The feminist in me cringed, but the mom in me had to laugh. Avery’s always coming up with doozies like this one!
-M
Speaking of cross country, Zoe’s season just ended. The Bay Area-wide championship happened last week, and she came in 33rd (and the 3rd fifth grader overall) out of about 200 girls. Her goal was 60th place, so she was happy with the results!
-M
Look who was one of October’s Athletes of the Month at Brandeis. (She was nominated by her cross country coach, for shaving time off her mile since the start of the season).
-M
-M
I mentioned a donut eating contest at a Halloween party we attended last weekend. Below is Avery in action; she didn’t win, but she gave it a good try!
-M