Happy Eid!

We had such a wonderful time visiting my cousin Joe's family in MA yesterday, taking advantage of Columbus Day to catch up with them and celebrate Eid a day early.  We had delicious food, bountiful desserts, and spent time with one of my favorite families on the planet.  Beatrice and her cousins Maryam and Muhammad camped out in a living room "tent," played on the iPad, played kitties, and ate their fill.  Such a wonderful day, and I always kick myself that we don't get to spent time with them more often.

2nd Rachel Weekend in a Row!

We headed a couple hours north for 24-hours of whirwind fun with Rachel!  The girls spent Saturday afternoon together, enjoyed s'mores and a cozy fireplace, then headed to Rachel's room for stories:

These princess glow sticks were well worth the $2 I spent!

These two are going to be reading their own nighttime stories very soon, I suspect:

The next morning they were rested and ready for action, taking turns being "rock-and-rollers:"

It was the first time we saw the new beautiful family home complete with an awesome playscape!

Can you hear the deliriously happy girlie screams coming from this tire swing?

They ran up and down between the swings and took turns steering the "pirate ship" up above:

More happy delirium:

Ryan got in on the fun too!

I'm into feet and leg pictures lately, and just love these....

The pink, the purple, the sparkles, the shine, the fancy skirts....it's all good.

We blew kisses to the ladies as we drove away:

Came home in time to  meet up with friends Kristin and Jeff, and Bea gave a quick tour of the downtown and Daddy's mural:

More fun tomorrow as we head to New Bedford to visit with Maryam and the cousins!

because someday I'll forget...

*Beatrice asked if she could have a "hula hoop cake" for her birthday next year, "a chocolate cake in a hula hoop pan, like a donut with a hole in the middle."  Realized a moment later she meant a bundt pan.

*She's been learning a few words in Chinese thanks to a doll someone gave her and very intensely asked the other morning "How do you say granola bar in Chinese, because I really need to know?"

*"Magnificent" and "Magnifique" are her favorite adjectives lately.  I credit the French to Fancy Nancy and Madeline.

*My sentimental girl cried her eyes out the other day when she said goodbye to the rocks in our lower driveway.  I am thrilled to have our driveway finally completed and re-paved, but she was extremely dramatic and emotional stating "I will never be happy about it.  I will miss those rocks.  They were my favorite!  I was studying them and loving them and I was even going to be a geologist but now you are changing my life!"  She chose a few special ones to add to her rock collection. Once again I flashed back to our tour guide Thanh in Hanoi who labeled her "Princess of Many Dramas."

*She calls us "Tu-Tu" lately, instead of "Poo-Poo" (which I poo-pooed), especially when answering a question..."How was your day Beatrice?"  "Fine, Tu-tu."

*She's become quite good on her bike in just a few short sessions, but I never have the camera/video with me!  The foliage has been great too, so I've got some great pictures in my mind, but unfortunately none for her.

*Fire Prevention Week has led to some Fire Phobia in my girl.  She detests fire drills, is on-and-off afraid to fall asleep because she's afraid of a fire at home, wants us to practice going to our "meeting place," and no longer brings Blankie to school in case there's a fire and she can't get it out of her backpack.

*Bea has become really, really good at playing by herself. She often talks quietly acts out scenes in her mind with her props and little figures. I love overhearing her re-enacting part of her day or quoting us or her teacher.

*"My feet are my favorite part of my body, because I can use them to walk, jump, run, hop, and squat...see?"  (squats)

See why she loves them?

Heifer Farm's Global Harvest Festival

I've always wanted to go to Heifer's Overlook farm in Rutland, MA, and today was a dream come true. Not only did we go for a special event, but it was closer than I thought at less than an hour away, AND we met the Chazanoffs there for a few hours. A perfect fall day!

The girls sort of liked the sheep, goats, and cows, but mostly wanted to follow around the yellow lab (who had a pumpkin face painting by the way) around all day:

As usual, they were off to the races as soon as they saw each other! (Beatrice had mourned earlier today that we don't live right next door to Rachel, as she exclaimed "I wish I could move my whole world next to her.")  Sweet, sweet friends:

Here's Bea outside the Tibetan house in the global village:

One of my favorite pics, which I titled "Mischief behind a Tibetan clothesline:"

It was a beautiful New England day with spectacular colors:

Outside the Ghanian home, Anthony taught Bea how to use the djembe:

She got the hang of it!

In Appalachia, the girls picked apples to use for cider making, as Bea sucked on honey from African bees:

I told you the colors were gorgeous! Here's Martha and Ryan looking right out of an L.L. Bean catalog:

What's a trip to Heifer without a cow picture?

After lunch and a horse show, we took a short hayride through a pumpkin patch:

We came home and emptied her special bag of goodies, including some fruit/vegetable stamp artwork, Polish paper cutting, Ghanian cloth printing,  a hand-wrapped Guatemalan worry doll (and some  yummy chocolate from there too),  and an alpaca ornament  from Peru for our Christmas tree this year.  It was a great experience and she was quite enthusiastic about and adventuresome with all of it. I guess exposing her to  International Week at my school each year primed her for this.  

Of course there was fussing when we left, but she was comforted knowing that next weekend we head to NH to Rachel's new house for a sleepover party.  Can't wait!

Biker Chick

We finally got training wheels for the bike that's been in our garage for just about 5 years (a hand-me-down from my friend Sangeeta given after our baby shower October 2008.  Who knew then that this pink My Little Pony model would be so perfect?) Anyway, today was a gorgeous fall day and Bea and I headed to the park to try it out.  She drove ever so cautiously, but it was great to see her getting stronger and feeling more independent with each passing minute! I didn't have the camera, but we drove to Daddy's music shop after to show off on Main Street and captured these with his iPhone:

Right now, it seems like the day when she can ride with wheels off is very far away, but then again imagining her on this bike at all seemed impossibly distant when this bike was handed to us, and here we are.  The time and new stages/phases just keep passing by.