Some of my favorite memories from our trip are from our time at the beach… We hung out at three different beaches in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale (and were joined one day by a small group of relatives), and the girls couldn’t get enough of the sand and ocean.

-M

We spent the last five days in sunny Florida, where we went for a family “tri-mitzvah” and some beach time. It was a pretty terrific trip, and here’s the first of our (many) photos.

-M

Some things never change: Avery still loves playing around with store mannequins – human or otherwise. Here she is during one recent Old Navy trip.

-M

A few nights after I shared my cracker story here, I started getting upset over something that the girls and I were talking about.  I can’t quite recall what it was (I might have realized I had misplaced something), but I do remember Zoe telling me, “This is a small thing, Mommy,” and then having Avery chime in, “Yeah – remember the cracker!” And a few days later, when I started to fret over something in the car, Avery called out to Q, “Say ‘cracker’ to her – tell her about the cracker!”

I had encouraged the girls to help me remember to not get upset over small things, but I was just so happy that they remembered – and understood!

-M

A group of third graders periodically come into Avery’s classroom to help out. Here are Avery and one of her buddies doing some recent math work.

-M

Speaking of school, here’s a peek at Zoe in technology class. She’s with (who else?) her bestie, Zachary.

-M

Zoe has had boy friends dating back to when she was a baby, but Avery: not so much. It’s been fun, then, to watch her blossoming friendship with a little boy in her class – the one who asked her to marry him a few months ago. Avery had him over for a playdate a few weekends ago, and I loved watching and listening to them interact. (She played with him differently than she would with her girlfriends – they mostly just ran around – but I know she had fun.) And I had to laugh when I overheard him ask her, “What is lip gloss for? Does it go on the lips?” Avery laughed and answered, “Of course, it does, silly! Where else would it go?”

-M

This has been a good school year for the girls so far, and Zoe in particular is super happy. The other day we were talking about the movie Frozen and Zoe announced, “Would I rather watch Frozen or go to Brandeis? Brandeis!” And when we started putting together the girls’ summer camp schedule (camps fill up months in advance, so you need to figure out where you want to go in February!), she started pouting. “I don’t want to go to camp,” she said. “I want to go to school!”

Her love for school may not last forever… But I sure hope it does.

-M

The girls’ school had a Purim-themed game night on Thursday, and we brought out two princess costumes for the occasion…

-M

Purim is fast approaching, and Avery’s class made hamantashen today. Q joined the kids, who he said did a great job rolling out the dough, filling the cookies with jelly, and pinching them into little triangles.

-M

A familiar site in our house these days… (She just started the third Harry Potter book.)

-M

Several winters ago, when we were making our way to Wisconsin to see my parents, our plane got delayed. I remember hearing the news in the Minneapolis airport and expressing my displeasure loudly – the girls were little, traveling was tough enough without delays, and I was extremely tired and frustrated. (I may have even sworn out loud.) I flopped down in a chair and looked to my right, where an older woman – some sort of airport employee who was clearly on her break – was sitting with a smile on her  face. She was watching the girls (who were then, I’m guessing, about 2 and 5), and she pulled from her pocket a few packages of Pepperidge Farm crackers. She obviously didn’t speak much English, because she gestured for me to take them, which I did, stuffing some in my pocket and giving the others to the girls. (All the while feeling embarrassed about how I had just acted.)

Long after we – finally – boarded the plane, that scene with the little old lady stuck in my mind. She had been so sweet and generous – such a contrast to my grumpiness – and she had reminded me, in that moment, that the small stuff (like a delayed flight) isn’t what matters in life. What matters are things like the innocent look on my sweet girls’ faces and the random kindness of strangers. I purposefully left one of the packages in my coat to remember her…

Fast forward to last month, when we were getting ready to go to Tahoe and I plucked from the back of my closet a warm down jacket that I hadn’t worn in years. I took it upstairs to try it on and when I reached into my pocket I felt it: one of those little cracker packages from the airport. I immediately burst into tears. The girls, who were standing near me, looked horrified – but when I managed to get out the story I think they got it. Sorta.

I put the crackers right back into my pocket. For next time. Should I forget again.

-M

When we got home from school one day last week, Avery walked into our garden and starting exploring the various plants and flowers. She was wearing a floral dress and fit in so well that I had to snap a few pics.

-M

Though Avery is extra-affectionate with us these days, she’s less interested in being so with boys. During one of our cuddling sessions the other evening, she asked me, “When you get married, do you have to kiss on the lips?” When I told her yes, she replied without hesitation, “Well then, I’m not getting married.”

-M

I’ve been a parent long enough to know that kids go through various phases – some short-lived, others on the longer-time side. Both girls seemingly entered new ones over the last few weeks: With Zoe, there’s a lot more tween-like eye-rolling and expressions of disgust; she started yelling out “OMG!” or “Really, Mommy?” when frustrated. Needless to say, I don’t love it – and am hoping it will pass quickly.

Avery, on the other hand, is Miss Lovey-Dovey. Both Q and I have experienced a marked increase lately in the number of hugs and kisses we get and the number of times we hear from her, “You’re the best Mommy/Daddy in the world.” And her favorite thing to do lately is to snuggle on our bed; she’ll jump up right next to me, press her face next to mine, and caress my face or stroke my hair. I’m not sure how long we’ll get this extra-affectionate treatment, but I’m eating it up!

-M