Tuesday, December 31, 2013

happy new year!

it's hard to believe that 2013 is over - penny is four years old!  about a week ago i realized that penny was 3 in 2013, will be 4 in 2014, etc.  this is really going to help her in the future when she's my age and cannot for the life of her remember how old she is.
alex and penny made a great resolution this morning - we are all going to try to clean up after ourselves more and keep the apartment in better shape.  she told alex that she is going to try and listen better.  she is going to write one thing that makes her happy in her diary every day.  she can now write her name and spell the names of everyone in her class in english and in hebrew.  she wrote wonderful thank you notes for all of her birthday presents.  three was a great year for penny - she's grown into such a self assured, intelligent, funny girl.  it is crazy to believe that this time next year, penny will be in kindergarten.  big changes in 2014!  i can't wait to see what happens next!

from our little family to yours, i hope 2014 is filled with health, joy, good food, and good times.

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Nutcracker!

This afternoon, Penny's grandparents treated us all to Penny's first ballet experience, The Nutcracker at BAM. The performance was great, but it was very warm in the theatre, so for the second half, Penny wore approximately 1/2 the clothes she was wearing for the first half.  We peeked in the orchestra pit, we read the program so she'd have an idea of what was happening, and overall, she did really well! The ballet is tough, even for grownups, and the whole audience did very well. 
When we got home, we visited with our downstairs neighbors in pajamas, so Penny could see their Christmas tree. We are so lucky to have access to so many wonderful experiences - Penny had a great first day of Winter Break!

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Birthday breakfast!

For breakfast this morning, Penny had a waffle with M&Ms in each of the squares. We live it up on birthdays!

happy birthday, penny!

another year has flown by and you, my dearest daughter, will be four years old when this is published.  year two of school, year four of bringing incredible joy and laughter to everyone you know.  this year has been one of incredible creativity.  you are constantly singing, dancing, drawing or telling stories.  you can now reach shelves, sit in a regular chair at the table, choose your own outfits, get yourself dressed, brush your hair & teeth, write your name and the names of everyone in your class.  you can put together a 25 piece puzzle with no picture for reference.  you can entertain yourself for hours at a time.  you can cut, glue, and tape.  at the beginning of the year, you took a notebook everywhere so you could take notes, which meant scribbling.  now you bring a notebook and write lists, draw pictures of what you see and actually take notes.  it's remarkable.  you are remarkable.  i look at you, and I cannot comprehend how I had a part in creating someone so lovely, so generous, so compassionate, and with so little interest in dessert.  seriously.  what is that about? 
penny, I love you.  i love your four year old face, and i am so excited to spend another year watching you learn and grow.  happy birthday, little one - i don't know how much longer i'm going to be able to call you that.