Zara on Ice

Jo, Clare and I took Zara skating for the first time on New Year's Eve eve.

7th Night of Chanukah

Also, Zara's half birthday.

Puffy Zara

Heh heh heh.... wipe out!

Pat the Bunny

So, we do have some non-school pictures to post, but really, who doesn't love a Zara in a fuzzy bunny suit? I think this post requires no further explanation.

Go Bananas!

Here's a few pics from school to tide over all those Z fans until her lazy parents get back to posting pics they actually took of her. The top 2 feature Zara rolling a banana in yogurt and then covering it with chocolate sprinkles, making a kind of banana pop. On her right is Georgia, who seems to be her best frenemy - they play very well together and are constant companions except... when they are not. And when they are not, apparently there's a lot of yelling and sparks of the not-so-romantic type fly.



The third picture is Zara, her teacher Eric and a LOT of bananas. Said fruit was a bit brown (from too cold storage) but otherwise edible, and were hence donated to her school by the C'ville Market! It was a banana week all around.

Playdough

This was supposed to be a picture of Zara having fun with playdough this morning. However, instead it's a picture of Zara's pretty-but-massively-in-her-face hair and the awesome shirt Auntie C got her, and there is no playdough in sight. So just imagine in some playdough in the bottom of the frame. It was green. And some purple. And still has a bit of Coda hair in it.

Happy Trails, Coda

Or should that be tails? Coda moved out last Tuesday and has taken up residence with a family in a nearby county. They have 20+ acres of land, so plenty of space for him to run free and play, and not nearly so many people to bark at! More importantly, they have a 3 year old son with Autism, and Coda, having been raised by a 3 year old, is just the companion for their son. We hear things are going great with them, and we're very excited for Coda's new job as a therapy dog. We are all a bit sad, too, since he is such a great dog and was a well-loved member of the household for the last 1.5 years... I don't think Zara remembers living here without him. It's definitely bittersweet.

Balloon!

Zara, as a very small child, loved balloons. Who wouldn't? A series of unfortunate events later, Zara decided she was done with balloons, particular helium filed ones. They escaped, they popped, they let her down, they were not to be trusted. Time heals all wounds, apparently, and she finally decided it was time to get back on the balloon horse. Also, the awesome dress Kasthuri brought her from India 2 years ago still fits! Thanks again, Kasthuri!

Taking the Dog for a Rock

Looks like we won't have Coda for much longer - he's officially washed out as a service dog. We're looking to place him as a therapy dog with a family with a kid or kids with special needs, since he's so robust thanks to Zara's part in raising him. He is very clever and snuggly and continues to be a lot of fun to live with, and we will miss that. On the other hand, it will be nice to take a little break and give Zara a chance to have our full attention, since they sometimes have some sibling rivalry.... funny, isn't it.

Ragged Mountain

Here we are on yet another hike at Ragged Mountain, an awesome "nature walk" just 10 minutes from our house. Have I mentioned how much I love living in Charlottesville? The big difference on this hike is that there was no backpack (for Z carrying) in sight, and while I am wearing the Mei Tai, just a few moments earlier Zara has been wearing it to carry her friends, Molly and Allison. It took a little convivcing and a little game playing - find the blue blazes, anyone? But Zara walked the whole time, which was about 40 minutes! I'm so excited to go back there again and go for longer!

Portland

We all trekked out to Portland in support of my first National peer-reviewed conference presentation as a PhD student at NAI. Wes and Zara played at the Portland Children's Museum while I attended the conference. The giant lincoln logs are part of a Bob the Builder exhibit. We all got very wet, as can be seen by Zara's pants. It rained the entire time, which did not stop our fun but did put a damper on any urges I had to move to Portland. For now. :)

Also? Russell Street BBQ is fantastically yummy and clearly very kid friendly, though Zara fell asleep in the stroller on the way to dinner and stayed asleep for the next 12 hours. Ah, jetlag.

Giant Brain!

Zara with our current favorite grad student (bar mama) Caitlin. Caitlin is studying psychology and needed test subjects for her IQ tests. Zara and I volunteered. Zara also got the bonus that Caitlin used to teach ballet, so brought her toe shoes for Zara to admire.

Fall

What Fall looks like in C'ville: 73F and not a cloud in the sky.

Gorgeous

Fairy!

This is how Jo keeps Zara entertained when she wakes up at 6:30am. We're more of an 8am household. Those are ballet hands, by the way. Not to be mistaken for spirit fingers.

Fab Farm

Zara's class had a weekend outing to a farm in Ruckersville. We only saw one other family, really (Ana's). But there were a few animals to see. And a corn maze!

Skeptic

Since we've apparently stopped taking pictures of our daughter, you, dear readers, will be treated to yet another round of school shots. It's really quite a good thing they take so many pictures at school, because otherwise we might not have any digital documentation that we even have a three year old!

The first shot is from yesterday, when Zara's class went to visit Rabbi Dan and the real torah. Notice Z's trademark skepticisim - torah, schmorah, she wants to know what's behind those scrolls! The next shot is from their (slightly belated) simchat torah parade Wednesday - she can carry a plush torah and bang her rhythm sticks. Now that's talent! Finally, Z and her buddy Celia having fun as they await snack time.

On the Playground

This picture was taken while Zara was at school, playing at McGuffey Park with her pal Georgia. I have no idea whose shoes she's wearing... Ah, the wacky fun exploits of preschoolers.

A Night without Woodstock

A series of misfortunate events and miscommunications, plus the fact that Zara stays at school for lunch, naps and playtime these days (Laura, we miss you!) caused Zara to arrive home, after school closed, sans her purple multicolored kitty, Woodstock. Some of you might recall aforementioned kitty as a blankie called Urple (though Wes just made that up - no one ever called the blanket urple, though it is a funny name). Others of you might know it as the special knitted blanket her excellent Aunt Debi made for her back when she was a wee-er lass. In any case, Woodstock, her kitty-blankie, is her special lovely. And she spent the night without her.

It was not easy. She also hadn't napped, so bedtime was really tough. But with a lot of discussion about the fun adventures Woodstock might be having with the other lovies at school (lovie sleep over party!), and some back up blanket action from the Grandma Bonnie Blanket and LA's tassle-y blanket, we made it through the very very long night. Here's a couple snaps of her the morning after. I think she looks pretty good for someone who's spent the night without what is effectively a body part...

Karen & Vince's Wedding

Zara had a blast with her cousies, the other flower girls.

Playground Fun (and concert, and dance)

We took a short trip to Upstate NY (a little town called Altamont near Albany) for an Irish music festival featuring two of our favorite bands - neither of the bands are Irish, per se... One is Carbon Leaf (from Richmond, VA) and the other is Great Big Sea (from the tropical island of Newfoundland). We all had a fantastic time, but since we were so busy enjoying ourselves (and keeping an eye on Zara, running and dancing around in a crowd of hundreds) we took very few pictures of the festival itself.

Highlights for Zara included a petting zoo (and she did not stick her hand in the donkey's mouth - she even told the donkey 'no donkey, don't bite my hand!), a little carnival style train ride, participating in a céilidh dance, and watching irish step dancing (soft and hard shoe). She had great fun sitting on our shoulders watching the bands, but was often happier dancing and jumping on the ground, where she couldn't see a thing. I think she's still not sure why we were so intent on looking at the stage and watching people play - music is still something she mostly listens to, I think. She sang along to many of the songs while on shoulders, and was really getting into clapping along and fist pumping a la Alan Doyle.

But what I actually did take pictures of was this little park we stopped to play in before we hit the road back to VA on Sunday morning. Here is Zara showing what a big kid she is on something that reminded me of the high ropes course (only very low) and a twisty balance beam.

It must be the jeans...

So last week Zara was napping in her room, and I was in the kitchen putting away dishes. I hear the telltale pitter patter (which is really more like loud thumps and stomps - sometimes I wonder if an elephant would be more subtle?) of little feet, check my watch and find Zara's only napped for an hour. This isn't so bad, 1.5 hours is more the norm these days (when she naps) but I'm about to go see her when I hear Wes talking to her... and she kinda whimpers and babbles incomprehensibly, and then Wes says something else, and then it's quiet - no one is talking. I peak out of the kitchen and look into the office, where I find Zara snuggled up to the Sunflower blanket, laying on the floor, back asleep. Wes said she wandered in, snuggled with him, and then decided to strike out on her own and claimed her floor spot. She proceeded to nap for another hour and a bit in the middle of the office floor.

This is especially funny as I often complain about what a bad sleeper she is. Wes and I have recently concluded that she's actually a fantastic sleeper... she's just bad at falling asleep. In particular she has a very hard time laying still and closing her eyes. It's no wonder since she is in constant motion! Once she's asleep she is really quite a champion sleeper, especially if one of us is nearby. So yes, I originally thought she maybe got passed over in the sleeping super power department, but it looks like as she gets older she may still be in the running....

Summer Buddies

Peggy tipped me off to these really cute shots they finally downloaded from Ezie and Zaza back in the beginning of August. So thanks to our guest photographers, once again.

In the top photo, Zara's helping Esme get a drink of water, but hasn't realized that not only can Esme not reach the button, she also can't reach to get a drink, either. Of little import when you are helping a friend!

In the next picture, Zara and Esme are showing just how cute sun hats, jumpers, crocs ad sticking out tongues can be.

Dentist!

Here's a shot from Zara's first visit to the dentist. Also a nice view of the top of Meredith's head. Before she became a pediatric dental hygienist, she was a nanny, a camp counselor, and several other kid-oriented jobs, so she was perfect in this role. Zara was completely comfortable with the cleaning, scraping, and the subsequent exam. No cavities, but instructions for where to spend special teeth brushing & flossing attention.

Face Paint!

Never one to pass up an opportunity for face painting, Zara apparently found a small set of paints in one of the stations in her new classroom. Jill and Eric (inspired by the awesomest preschool director ever, Ellen :) were quick on their toes to supply some mirrors for a more authentic face painting experience - and voila, Zara's a kitty!

This was taken on Thursday, and at pick up there was one other painted face in class, Z's pal Abby. At pick up on Friday the number of preschoolers sporting face paint was up to 5, or maybe even 6...? Can't wait for next week!

Down in the Easy Chair

Here's Zara lounging in the comfy reclining chair in her new classroom. She's got on her princess regalia, she's got on a backpack (not hers, mind you, this is a dress up backpack!), she's ready to take on the world. Or maybe a rest. Hard to say.

First Day of School (Take 2)

Here we have Zara on her first day of preschool. Not her first day ever going to preschool, that was in March, but her first "first" day of school, since she didn't start in the 2s class until 3/4 of the way through the year. Speaking of, she's in the newly formed Levana class, a 3s and 4s class taught by her same 2 teachers, Jill and Eric. She's very excited to be back with them. While the teachers are old hat, the classroom is new. It's on the 3rd floor, next door to the also newly formed Kindergarten. Note the cool dress (courtesy of Marmee) and the bike helmet. Zara was very proud to be reducing her carbon footprint and expanding her parents' lung capacity by biking to and from school today. Our hope is that she'll be ready for a tag along bike this winter, as that will make biking to school even more fun (and I can put her seat on the back of my bike, so either parent can take her to school on bike.)

Albemarle County Fair

While Clare was in town, we took a trek down to the fair grounds -- basically, a big open field in the middle of no where, mountains all around. Zara seemed to enjoy all of the rides she was tall enough for, and promised to concentrate hard on growing big enough for the other rides by next year.

Exact Change, please!

We visited the MTA's Transit Museum in Brooklyn, with Sophie & Nat. Old school buses & trains, in a real live (tho no longer running) subway station. They've renovated since the last time we were here: now with AC, at least in parts.

Marmee Summer Camp

Zara tells me that she enjoyed Marmee Summer Camp very much. This is despite it being truncated from three days to about one without mom & dad. The remaining two days were a bonanza of fun, mostly with Marmee, but with some mom & dad thrown in for extra good times (mostly naps).