I’ve been sick for the last several days – what I thought was a simple cold took a nasty turn on Thursday and forced me into bed. Though I doubt (fingers crossed!) this bug will be long-lasting, it’s hard being sick even for a short period of time when you’re a parent. Not being able to get out of bed to help is a terrible feeling – and worse is the thought that you’re missing out on things. As I texted a friend yesterday, “I know it sounds dumb, but I get really down when I’m sick – because I miss the girls. I barely spent time with them last night, and I didn’t see them at all this morning. I hate being out of commission and missing even a day with them!” The girls seem to miss the normal routine, too – with Avery telling Q last night, “I hope Mommy feels better tomorrow, so she doesn’t take so many naps.” And both girls asked me if I would be able to put them to bed tonight. I hope!

-M

Zoe loves watching YouTube videos of people talking about baking or cooking. In the video below, she shares her own recipe for viewers. And in the second video, Avery lets us know what she thinks of her sister’s yogurt-based treat.

-M

Q wanted to run some errands before the girls’ bedtime the other night; I was tired from a long day and didn’t feel like going out – but I eventually agreed to. The girls had heard our back-and-forth, and when we later stopped for dinner Avery suddenly patted my arm and looked at me with a smile. “Thanks for coming tonight, Mommy,” she said.

-M

Avery wasn’t the only one to dress up over the weekend: Zoe had a princess-themed birthday party to attend. We have several princess costumes lying around, but Zoe wasn’t excited about any of them – it was only after Q suggested she wear something we bought for Halloween next year that she perked up. (Black is her favorite color, after all!) She called herself a night princess…

-M

Avery was invited to a superhero-themed party yesterday. And look who she went as.

-M

During our trip, Avery was (mostly) her silly, bouncy self. During a few of Avery’s particularly cute moments, Safta asked her, “Where did you come from?” Avery responded each time, “My mommy’s tummy.”

-M

The first thing Avery yelled out a week ago yesterday morning was, “Today we’re going on an airplane!!” Indeed (after a lot of build-up to the trip), we were heading to Maryland to see Safta and PopPop. Here are a few photos of our time there – including our last-night visit to the Garden of Lights at a nearby park. Gorgeous!!

-M

Tonight marks the last night of Hanukkah, and Avery celebrated by going to a party at Zoe’s school. I snapped her picture as we left for school this morning to mark the occasion.

-M

A sign of the times – and an illustration of how technologically savvy kids are: After taking a video of Zoe the other day the first thing she asked me is, “Are you going to put this on YouTube?” And during a recent discussion about her beloved Hippo I asked her what she would do if she ever lost him. Her answer? “I’d just buy another on eBay.”

-M

School can mean serious business, and the girls are certainly working hard below! These teacher-snapped photos are bit grainy but still worth sharing…

-M

As mentioned, we had parent-teacher conferences for both girls a few weeks back. I highlighted a few things about Zoe’s already (it was a good report, overall) but didn’t mention that the teacher had also asked her to fill out a self-assessment. Zoe gave herself smiley faces in all categories, except for science and PE, which got neutral faces. When asked her favorite thing to do (either inside or outside of school) she wrote “play with my sister.”

As for Avery, her teachers said all is well and she’s ready for kindergarten next year. (Good thing – since it’s our plan to send her!) She likes working in both small and big groups, and she often raises her hand to contribute in class. She’s mild-mannered at school, they said, except when it’s her day to be line-leader – when she takes charge and gets her classmates in shape. (One of her teachers said she was surprised and amused when she heard Avery yell, “TIME TO CLEAN UP!” one day. We know Boisterous Avery very well, but apparently she’s new to them!) In terms of favorite activities, Avery’s particularly fond of the dress-up area and doing dramatic play. “She could play house with Sofia all day long,” they told us.

-M

Thinking about how fast time goes, I asked Zoe the other night if we were going to be friends when she was older. “Yes, we’ll have a lot of play dates – after work and on Saturdays,” she told me. “We’re going to be friends for the rest of our days.”

-M

Zoe’s class held a little Thanksgiving performance on Tuesday, and I was able to attend and take some videos and pics. In the first video, Zoe, as Native American Etu, introduces herself to Pilgrim Jonathan.

-M

Happy Thanksgiving! In honor of the holiday, here are what the girls are thankful for.

-M

(On the back, it reads “have houses. I am thankful for my friends because they help me.”)

As mentioned below, we made night-themed cupcakes for Zoe’s party. The girls helped decorate, and I took a little video of them in action.

-M