Have a Nice Day

R adding to props to her yellow daisy "birthday cake." (Thanks Lee!)

Three!

Counting the years.

Emoting.

Graceful bird.

We are deep in the midst of a snowy, weeklong birthday celebration. It started last Saturday with an afternoon of sweet mayhem with our fantastic birth group friends. Out of our group of 8, there are still 6 families in Brooklyn. (Kai and his family have moved to Kuala Lumpur and Uri and his family are now in Argentina.) Left to right below: Sadie, Maggie, Maple, Rosie, Leo, and Henry.

We haven't had such an easy couch picture with these wigglers since their 3 month old picture. Times have changed: now we can get them to sit still - or stillish, at least -- by telling them they will get cupcakes after they do so. Nice development.

Oh, was this little girl excited for her birthday. She woke up and the minute I walked into her room she commanded, "It's my birthday! Let's sing. One, two, three: Happy birthday to you..." Etc. She reminded her teachers at school, told strangers on the street, etc. After school, we had a few neighborhood friends over for cake. As requested by the bday girl: White cake with pink frosting with tulips. (Best this non-cake-decorator could manage; I'm feeling pretty proud I didn't completely wreck it.)

Jason and I had a double camera malfunction, so there are no actual pictures of the event, but you can pretty much imagine it. Loads of fun, loads of chaos, loads of pink frosting in funny places.

Pleased as punch with some fun birthday loot:

Money Talks

Rosie's class at school decided to build an ice cream shop in their dramatic play area. That's probably the only thing that could be more fun than a subway, which was what they made last fall. They built it, decorated it, made a menu, and now it is open for business. Here's a conversation her teacher wrote down yesterday:

Rosemary: "Can I have some ice cream? What dollars is it?"
Ellis: "What dollars?"
Rosemary: "There's dollars here? (gets money box) See dollars?"
Felix: "Please can I have some dollars? 1 dollar for ice cream. There we go. I was gonna pay for ice cream."
Rosemary: "I was gonna pay for marshmallows."
Elijah: "Please help me." (Rosemary opened the money box. Elijah got out a dollar.)
Rosemary: "Can I have some ice cream?"
Ellis: "Only if you give me money." (Rosemary hands Ellis a dollar, Ellis pretends to hand Rosemary ice cream, and she eats it.)
Rosemary: "Can I have some ice cream?"
Ellis: "Give me a dollar."
Elijah: "We looking for ice cream somewhere." (Elijah walks back and forth between the kitchen set and the door.)
Milo: "Little cookies!" (Milo put his hand on the picture of the little cookies on the menu.)
Ellis: "But you didn't give me any money."
Milo:"Oh, money." (Milo gets a dollar from the box and hands it to Ellis.)

Snow Fall!

We arrived in Bethesda hearing great predictions for a great, white Christmas, and then--no wait--a white Boxing Day. But then the storm swerved the area and we didn't get any snow there at all. (That sound you hear just might be my parents' massive sigh of relief; they are still reeling from last year's back-to-back snow dumps that showed Montgomery County's snowplowing shortcomings and had them shoveling snow for two weeks.)

But NYC did have a mongo snowstorm. 20 inches, I think? The city was unusually slow with the clean up and actually there were some pretty tragic stories of stranded people, but by the time we got home things were under control and it was just a messy winter wonderland.

Hanging out in our courtyard, reclining in the snowy chaise lounge with a snowman (made by someone else):

We excavated some nice clean snow for a snack:

Then we visited the Dixcy House for a fabulously fun New Years Eve, and enjoyed all of Connecticut's snow! I'm not sure how we got all the way until almost 3 for R's first time sledding. She was nervous beforehand, watching Bea (sledding expert) go down. But she stood up after the first one and said "Let's do that AGAIN!" And again and again...

Santa comes to Bethesda

Here are a few shots from our cozy Christmas stay in Bethesda with my parents.

(Just like last year, an early morning wake-up made for a good photo-op. I guess even traveling the same time zone throws off sleep.)

Leaving a midnight snack for Santa while Granddad looks on:

Santa brings pajamas!

Hanging out (in new pajamas) with Grandma:

Making gingerbread cookies:

Little Things

Or, How We Spend Our Time.

1. Carefully placing tiny alligator-style hair clips on our holiday cards. Throughout the season they have moved from one card to another, but they are still there. Actually, at one point I think she put them away because I remember she helped me open one very lovely card and then, when I went to hang it up, she darted into her room saying, "I have a good idea!" and came back jangling 10 of the little clips in her hand to put on the card. Excellent idea. It's like a little floating shrine, where one card gets this special treatment.

2. Making and serving stews, cupcakes, tea parties, cookies, and other assorted offerings. Below Brown Bunny enjoys a feast of hickory nut, shell, and local pebble stew on washcloth place mats, while and Matryoshka Doll ponders toast. I'm not sure whether she is a diner or part of the display. Fine line.

Cupcakes with white frosting:

3. There is also a lot of arranging of chairs into movie theater style rows. This interest in movies does not, by the by, translate into sitting through an entire movie. Also, an excessive amount of doctors visits with flu shots and treatment for sick tummies.

4. Naming things. This green fellow is a boy but he is called Mother Cabrini, named for a local park. She called him this from the instant she pulled him out of her Xmas stocking. Another good name of late is "Baby Espresso," who is a white bear with an American flag on his chest.

5. And now, thanks to all four grandparents:a new dollhouse with little animal inhabitants. Big, big hit.

6. I almost forgot. Rhymes! Over the past 2 months she's been getting increasingly interested in rhymes and goofy made-up words, and is getting better at making rhymes that are really rhymes and not 1) alliteration (which would be the opposite of a rhyme, I guess) and 2) the exact same word.

I've been trying to work in more puzzles, but she doesn't have much patience for the jigsaw style ones that take some thought, though she likes to whip through her stack of easy ones (the ones with individual pieces). She's not a builder/stacker type either. Blocks and Legos are, to her, mostly served as food in tea parties. (See Item #2...)