Hi Sidra,

Well the school year is winding down for both of us. You will be done this week and I have about 3 more weeks. You will actually be going to a 'camp' at your school before my last day at school.

One thing you've been doing at school is learning some tumbling/gymnastics from your mom. She's been teaching all the kids at your school on Tuesdays. So last weekend was the school's open house. Your mom volunteered to have all the kids do a performance of the skills they have learned. You both did a great job. I was impressed by how well you stayed in line since your mom had reported that it was a problem for you when she was teaching. This didn't surprise me because I had been to a couple of her peewee sports classed that you were in. A couple times I had to take you home because you weren't listening to her. Anyway, you did well and I think your mom did well with the big classes of little kids. They were pretty well trained. For the performance, your mom also recruited your cousin Rachel to help keep kids in line. So the video shows you in your best moments. Your best move was the 'scissors' on the trampoline.

You've also developed a habit of giving me a report of the news of the day when I get home. It's interesting and would probably be difficult to follow for a stranger. Sometimes I have to depend on what I've heard from your mom on the phone to really decipher the story. It's kind of funny too that you will report on things you got in trouble for while I was gone. That might be something that fades from the report when you get older. Anyway, it's fun to listen to.

I've posted some of the pictures here from our sitting in the photographer's studio. You were a really good helper and the one that was able to get your sister to smile most of the time.
We get to go to Kahneetah next weekend and enjoy warm water even if the weather is cold.

Love, Aba

Getting to Know the Princesses

Hi Sidra,

You've been spending a lot of time listening to stories, watching movies, and playing with some of the Disney princesses. You've become quite enamored of them and a bit of an expert on their various stories. At least, I think you know more than I do about them. I learned that there are 9
Disney princesses and I can't name but a few although I do know that your favorite is Ariel the little Mermaid. I can't really say why you like her better than the others but I felt mildly positive about her today at the pool when you said you were going to swim and dive "like Ariel."

Your most prevalent use of "princess culture" is in your desire to get married or have certain dolls get married. You asked me to marry you, asked me to marry a new Barbie doll you're calling 'Belle,' and are generally talking about marriage quite a bit. It should be noted that you clearly haven't the slightest clue about what getting married means.

The way I counter this is to tell you bedtime stories with a theme that competes with the princess stories. I'll tell you a story in which you actually meet one of the princesses and they tell you that they are tired of waiting around the palace for a prince to show up. So they tell you that they've decided to quit waiting and go out to have adventures and then write books about them. Or that they have found a fulfilling life as a teacher, or a nurse, or a doctor, or an artist, or anything but a princess. I don't think it will surprise anyone when I say that you don't particularly like my versions of the stories. When I finish you will say 'but I want to be a princess.' I'll sigh and reply 'I know.'

You had a great time when we went to the Wooden Shoe Tulip farm a couple of weeks ago. You wore your tutu and climbed all over the haystack, rode the 'cow train,' pumped water for the ducky races and slid down the bouncy slide.

You've learned on your own to do a seat drop and make it back to your feet on your trampoline. In the video you are in your newest tutu, an orange one. You are a pretty good sport about entertaining your little sister, which for you is pretty easy. She doesn't miss much when you're in the vicinity.

Love Aba.