Speaking of little faces, this photo – which I recently got from her teacher and am using for the school yearbook – really captures Avery’s. It could be my (new) all-time favorite…

-M

I can’t pinpoint the exact moment when Zoe went, looks-wise, from baby to little girl – but the 3- or 4-year-old range sounds about right to me. So I read with great interest (and laughed a little) when I came across an article on new research showing that at about 4 ½, kids are no longer seen as babies and no longer considered so darn cute. From the article:

Chinese psychologists and researchers at the University of Toronto asked adults to gauge the attractiveness of children’s faces from infancy to age 6; the study participants found younger kids’ faces more likable than those of older children — and way more gorgeous than adults’. The magic tipping point? Age 4 ½. That’s the age at which “certain crucial infantile facial cues” — the researchers are talking about babies’ big eyes and big heads in relation to their smallish noses and mouths — are no longer very noticeable, according to the study, which was published in the fall in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology.

I get the appeal of smallish noses and mouths (those features on Avery - combined with her big eyes and big hair – drive me crazy), and it’s good to know we’ve got some more time with them. But, as any parent knows, you adore your kids and think they’re cute well after their babydom slips away. And I like the way the writer here puts it, noting that though her daughter is older than 4 ½ the mom is still “scientifically smitten.” When it comes to Zoe: me, too.

-M

Zoe saw Star Wars (episode 4) for the first time the other night, and she’s now a huge fan. She has been talking about it nonstop (she couldn’t wait to tell the boys in her class that she had seen it), she’s already looking forward to the next movies, and - perhaps most surprisingly – she wasn’t at all scared or put off by the fighting or bad guys. Q said he’s never seen her pay such close attention to a movie, and she asked tons of questions throughout. The one that made me laugh? “Daddy, is his last name D2?” she asked about the droid R2-D2.

-M

When you’ve got two little kids, there’s a lot of pretend/playtime going on in the house. When the girls aren’t playing school, “family” (with Avery and Zoe taking turns at being Mommy) or Mystery Reader, they’re likely hiding out from a monster – as in the video below. (My favorite part? The way Zoe gives props to the monster for a job well done.)

-M

A few nights ago Avery asked for a smoothie but pronounced it “booty.” I corrected her and then, to be silly, patted my behind to show her what a booty actually was. Zoe, sitting nearby and clearly thinking of a popular children’s snack, suddenly piped up by saying, “Actually, booty is what pirates eat. You can’t teach your kids the wrong things, Mommy!”

Score one for Robert’s American Gourmet Food!

-M

Avery had her first bowling experience this weekend, when she celebrated a classmate’s 3rd birthay at Sea Bowl. (Her sister’s first time, incidentally, was when she was just a few months younger than Avery is now.) The verdict? I think she liked it!

-M

As I implied earlier in the week, things have been really intense here lately. I can’t remember the last time I had such an anxiety-ridden 2-3 weeks; thanks to the perfect storm of work nuttiness (my event is now over – hooray!), health-related concerns with both girls (things are, for the most part, fine) and a big school decision, I’ve been really stressed.

When I have so much going on I can easily get trapped in my head and lose sight of the big picture, which is why I was so grateful for something Zoe said the other day. After overhearing one of our (many) discussions about school and the future and the best path for our kids, she interrupted us to say, “College? Why are you talking about college? College is so far away!”

I didn’t even know she knew what college was, but she was totally right that we shouldn’t be fretting about something years and years away (on top of everything else). Leave it to a five-year-old to provide some (much-needed) perspective!

-M

The girls, as mentioned before, are rather musical – and I just had to share a few pics of them singing together recently. I can’t, sadly, remember their exact tune, but based on recent history it was probably Take Me Out to the Ball Game or the Hamotzi. (They don’t have the lyrics to Justin Bieber down just yet.)

-M

Boy! Congratulations to Jenny and Dan, who are about to bring the first boy-baby into the family. I hope the little guy’s ready to play with his two cousins, who already love to play “mommy” with their little babies, and I hope he won’t mind wearing pink hand-me-downs!

-M

Between work, school stuff, and numerous doctor’s appointments, life has been nuts! I don’t want to ignore Avery’s two-and-three-quarter-year milestone, though – so in the interest of time I’ll do our update bullet style (after sharing a photo of a very Avery face).

• Interests: Likes to play school and pretend she’s a “mystery reader” (“Close your eyes, guys… Open your eyes!”), sing and play the guitar, play “family” with Zoe (during which she’s usually the baby, Zoe is “Mama” and I’m “Grandma”), sit and look at books (“Hop on Pop” is a current fave), run around with her babies – often covering them with washcloths and pushing them in a stroller
• Temperament: Generally bubbly and happy and devilish, teases her sister and calls things “funny” or “silly” a lot, can be feisty (“No do that!” she’ll out in anger) and naughty – even scratching and pulling hair at times. Also has a sweet side – rubbing my face affectionately at bedtime and running to get Hippo for her sister when Zoe is sad, as examples.
• Verbal abilities: Talks a lot, and in more multi-word sentences, but still not always easy to understand. Likes to comment on the obvious (“I’m awake!”) and ask “why” a lot. Has her own (cute – though I’m totally biased) way to say a lot of words: waffle is “faffle,” lipstick is “lipdick,” Band-aid is “body,” working is “wooking” and octopus sounds like “ah-puh-puss.” Likes to tell everyone she’s two-and-a-half (though she’ll have to update her wording now) and Zoe is five, often greets us in the morning with a big “Hi, guys!”
• Other stuff:  Likes school and often gives reports on her classmates and teachers (“Monie’s sickie today”), still often imitates her sister (including doing the kung-fu moves from Zoe’s class), acts less shy and more comfortable in new situations (she took to swimming class with no problem for example). Is clearly a younger sibling: When I recently held a friend’s baby, she climbed up on my lap and said, “My mommy.” Needs more attention at bedtime than she did when she was younger, is fully daytime potty-trained (and has been for a few months).
• Little stories: I recently told Avery “good job” after she went to the bathroom, and she responded with a big smile and an “I potty-trained!” ~ The other night Q told Avery he had just ordered her (nighttime) diapers and they were being delivered soon. The next morning Avery told me, “The diapers are out of town.” ~ After seeing Zoe yawn and hearing me ask her if she was tired in the car the other day, Avery said to her sister, “Good night, Zoe.” This displeased a grumpy (and, yes, tired) Zoe, who told her, “I am not going to bed, Avery!” Avery just laughed and said again, “Good night, Zoe,” and continued to do so despite Zoe’s pleas to stop. It’s the first time I’ve seen Avery straight-out tease her sister (in such a little-sibling way); Q and I held back our giggles from the front seat.

-M

After two years of research and more than 15 school tours, we submitted Zoe’s elementary-school applications at the end of January – and this was the weekend where we found out which schools she got in. (To say I was stalking the mailman on Fri. and Sat. would be an understatement.) Miraculously, considering San Francisco’s crazy lottery process, we got into our first-choice public school. And though we have a potentially tough decision to make (this school over a private one we applied to), I’m so grateful to have good options! That’s just not a guarantee here.

-M

I’ve posted several Avery-sleeping shots lately, but I just couldn’t resist sharing another…

-M

I started opening a box that was delivered this afternoon (thank you, Endless) when Avery came racing over to me. “Oh my gosh!” she cried out as she ripped away the packaging and got her first glimpse of the metallic wedges I ordered the other night. “I like them!”

Again, uh-oh.

-M

As mentioned earlier, Q and Zoe were gone over the weekend: They went to Tahoe for a dad/daughter get-away with some friends. The snow and cold probably weren’t the best for Zoe’s health (we found out about the the ear infection the night they got home), but it looks like they had fun!

-M

My parents left this morning, and their trip here was a little different than normal: Q and Zoe were out of town for two days of it, and then (as mentioned) the girls got sick. And yet, I still think they had a good time: They got to hang out and shop with Avery, watch Zoe perform during numerous guitar and magic shows, and do craft projects with both girls. And, of course, there was a fair amount of playing and snuggling!

-M