It’s been raining like crazy here the last few days. But that didn’t stop Avery from stopping to admire the trees and flowers (as she likes to do) on a recent walk.

-M

As readers and friends know, the last two weeks have been rocky, with both girls taking turns being sick. Avery, in fact, was sick for almost a full week – which meant a lot of juggling of schedules for me and Q. There were a few comically bad moments (think: comforting a girl who is about to throw up while being on an important conference call) and more than a few times when I felt as if we would never get back to normal. But we are back to normal now, and in retrospect things weren’t that bad. Avery, despite having a fever that wouldn’t go away, never really acted all that sick (“You’re such a good patient,” I would tell her, to which she would teasingly respond, “I’m not a patient – you’re not a doctor”) and I enjoyed getting to spend so much non-Zoe time with her. In addition, I’m left feeling very lucky to have a job that affords me flexibility (with no nearby family and no outside help, that’s a must) and a husband who is an equally hands-on and caring parent. Mostly though I’m just happy that we’ll soon be heading off to where we belong: school and work!

-M

Before Avery got sick, she got to partake in some early St. Patrick’s Day-themed fun at school. Her teacher, a huge St. Patty’s fan, brought in some green milk for the kids to eat over Lucky Charms – who wouldn’t like that?

-M

I haven’t written in awhile because most of our family has been under the weather… First Avery got a cold, then Zoe developed a fever, then Avery came down with a fever, and finally I got a cold. We’ve been spending lots of quiet time at home: reading, watching cooking shows on TV, and doing crafts; here were the girls earlier today.

-M

The four of us did something fun – and meaningful – on Sunday afternoon, when we volunteered at the SF-Marin Food Bank, an organization that sends out 100,000 meals worth of food each day. (A first-grade mom at the girls’ school had organized the event, and more than 30 Brandeis families participated.) We spent two hours measuring and filling up one-pound bags of rice; Avery quickly took on the role as scooper, while Zoe was the measurer and bag sealer.

Zoe had been at a sleepover the night before and was extremely tired (read: grumpy) when we first arrived, so I was wondering how our time would go… But both girls wound up being enthusiastic workers, and they couldn’t believe when the two hours were up. (“That’s it? But that was so fun!” Zoe said.) I’m already thinking of going back with the girls on a regular basis…

-M

I put this on Facebook, also, but it’s too good to not share here. We were in the car the other morning when Zoe asked me a question. I can’t remember how exactly I answered, but I must have said it in a nice tone because Avery piped up with, “Oooh… Mommy is learning to be sweeter.” (Um, thanks?)

-M

Zoe, too, had a lot to show us during open house: She had prepared an informational book on swimming, contributed to the class’s San Francisco Landmarks book, and co-starred in a short film in Hebrew. Below is the cover of the landmarks book; in the “about the author” section inside she had written:

My name is Zoe Browdy. When I went to the Painted Ladies I enjoyed taking pictures because where I went it was not crowded at all. I play piano. I live in San Francisco, CA. My favorite food is burritos. I like to swim. I love reading.

-M

The girl’s school hosted an open house for parents today; we got to look around the classrooms and explore the many projects they’ve been working on over the past few months. Among the highlights with Avery: her koala project, a Hebrew weather report (which she and Q are looking at below), a Marc Chagall-inspired piece of art, and a feature on her favorite body part. (It’s difficult to read the text, but she likes her eyes because if she didn’t them “I would bump into everything.”)

-M

We spent the weekend in Tahoe, where the girls had their fill of wintery activities: They didn’t ski, but they did snow-tube, ride on a snowmobile, make snowmen, and get in plenty of snowball fights. I love that, despite having visited cold-weather places plenty of times, they still get excited by the novelty of snow. (They’re such San Francisco kids.)

-M

Since right after the break, Avery has been hard at work on an animal research project. First she had to pick an animal, then read about the animal, and write a brief article and do a visual piece. She chose the koala and decided to do a little poster-board quiz about the animal for the visual component; the answers appear when you flip up the faces. Our family knows way more about the koala than we did before!

-M

Unlike when they were little, the girls have few matching outfits. But they do have one dress in common – and over the weekend they decided to pull it out and dress alike – right down to their socks and underwear!

-M

Avery loves her first-grade teacher and takes her words very seriously. One day last week, after a good chunk of students came down with colds or worse bugs, Mrs. Eisenhauer told the kids they should go home, drink a hot beverage and curl up with a book in order to ward off sickness – and sure enough, that’s just what Avery did. As soon as walked through the door, she requested that I make her a cup of hot milk “with a teaspoon of sugar” and plunked herself on our brown leather chair. (She wound up getting sick a few days later, but at least we tried…)

-M

Last night, Q and Avery surprised Zoe with a belated Valentine’s Day present – a large stuffed bear that Zoe has since named Snowball. Her reaction to the present took me by surprise: She grabbed and hugged the bear close to her and immediately started reading a book to him. Later I heard her tell him, “Tomorrow I’ll teach you how to read and introduce you to all my other stuffies,” and this morning I watched as she did indeed introduce him to her stuffed animals in the playroom.

Just when I think she’s getting so old, she reminds me that she’s still very much a little girl!

-M

Like her sister before her (and in honor of Presidents’ Day), Avery was asked what she would do if she was president. Her answer was a sweet one.

-M

…from our little lovebugs.

-M