Ada's favorite bedtime story is "Jack and the Beanstalk". She insists on reciting the "Fee Fi Fo Fum" part herself, and she tries to sound as mean as possible while she's doing it.
Monday, May 26, 2014
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Elsa
Our household has a new member.
Ada and Dad went to the pet store last week and picked out Ada's first pet. After several days of saying "she can have any name", Ada has decided that her real name is Elsa. Welcome to our home!
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Ada: Four
Dear Ada,
Where do I start? You had your fourth birthday yesterday, and today will be your fourth birthday party. We hired a real live princess to come to your party because that was the best way we could think of to make you feel special on your birthday. You love princesses. Your favorite thing about princesses is the beautiful dresses they wear, because you love dresses. And fairies, dancing, and singing. I never expected that my daughter would be such a GIRL, because I was never into these things. You are teaching all of us.
You love to play by yourself, and you will "play princesses" for hours. Ama gave you a group of princess dolls with interchangeable dresses for Christmas, and they are an unending source of fascination. You will line them up to watch a show, or take them to swim lessons in their bathing suits, or cover them up with a blanket for a nap. You also love to cook in your kitchen, or work on puzzles, or build with your Legos. For your birthday, we gave you a game which includes ten different cupcakes which can be taken apart and put back together in endless combinations. You were in heaven.
You have been taking weekly ballet classes for the past few terms, and it is the highlight of your week. You love dressing up in your tights, leotard, ballet slippers, and pink flowy skirt. You spend hours standing in front of the mirror in your room practicing your moves. First position, second position, first position, second position. You are going to be in a dance recital in June, and I'm sure you will be the cutest lion ever. You also love to dance to more contemporary music. We have dance parties all the time, and you are definitely the best dancer in the family.
Ada, you are becoming so brave. In the past year, you have learned to ride a scooter, climb halfway up the rock wall, swim across the pool, and ride a balance bike. You are still somewhat apprehensive of new people and situations, but after you warm up you are the life of the party. You are always listening to the conversations around you, and you'll often interject with a hilarious comment or question.
You like to sleep late (like your mom) and you are very grumpy in the morning if you are woken up before you are ready (like your mom). Some days, you'll sleep in until after 10am. It's nice for mom to have someone else in the family who is not a morning person! You still love your milk, and I think you would drink it all day long if we let you. Other favorite foods are bacon, carrots, nuts, and cheese. You are tall for your age, and you're wearing mostly 4T and 5T clothes at this point. Your torso is very narrow, so you can still fit into your favorite 3T dresses - they are just short dresses instead of knee-length. You have beautiful blond hair that is a complete bear to comb. Every morning you wake up with a head full of tangles. We've started cutting it very short in the back to avoid the 30 minutes of screaming every morning, and it looks adorable.
You have been trying really hard to be potty trained, but it is difficult for you. Most days are accident-free at this point, but we still have a long way to go before we can stop buying diapers. As my childhood pediatrician Dr. Pagano used to say, "I've never seen anyone walk down the aisle in a diaper." You'll get there.
Ada, you are full of joy and laughter and sunshine. We are so happy to have you in our family.
Love,
Mama
Where do I start? You had your fourth birthday yesterday, and today will be your fourth birthday party. We hired a real live princess to come to your party because that was the best way we could think of to make you feel special on your birthday. You love princesses. Your favorite thing about princesses is the beautiful dresses they wear, because you love dresses. And fairies, dancing, and singing. I never expected that my daughter would be such a GIRL, because I was never into these things. You are teaching all of us.
You love to play by yourself, and you will "play princesses" for hours. Ama gave you a group of princess dolls with interchangeable dresses for Christmas, and they are an unending source of fascination. You will line them up to watch a show, or take them to swim lessons in their bathing suits, or cover them up with a blanket for a nap. You also love to cook in your kitchen, or work on puzzles, or build with your Legos. For your birthday, we gave you a game which includes ten different cupcakes which can be taken apart and put back together in endless combinations. You were in heaven.
You have been taking weekly ballet classes for the past few terms, and it is the highlight of your week. You love dressing up in your tights, leotard, ballet slippers, and pink flowy skirt. You spend hours standing in front of the mirror in your room practicing your moves. First position, second position, first position, second position. You are going to be in a dance recital in June, and I'm sure you will be the cutest lion ever. You also love to dance to more contemporary music. We have dance parties all the time, and you are definitely the best dancer in the family.
Ada, you are becoming so brave. In the past year, you have learned to ride a scooter, climb halfway up the rock wall, swim across the pool, and ride a balance bike. You are still somewhat apprehensive of new people and situations, but after you warm up you are the life of the party. You are always listening to the conversations around you, and you'll often interject with a hilarious comment or question.
You like to sleep late (like your mom) and you are very grumpy in the morning if you are woken up before you are ready (like your mom). Some days, you'll sleep in until after 10am. It's nice for mom to have someone else in the family who is not a morning person! You still love your milk, and I think you would drink it all day long if we let you. Other favorite foods are bacon, carrots, nuts, and cheese. You are tall for your age, and you're wearing mostly 4T and 5T clothes at this point. Your torso is very narrow, so you can still fit into your favorite 3T dresses - they are just short dresses instead of knee-length. You have beautiful blond hair that is a complete bear to comb. Every morning you wake up with a head full of tangles. We've started cutting it very short in the back to avoid the 30 minutes of screaming every morning, and it looks adorable.
You have been trying really hard to be potty trained, but it is difficult for you. Most days are accident-free at this point, but we still have a long way to go before we can stop buying diapers. As my childhood pediatrician Dr. Pagano used to say, "I've never seen anyone walk down the aisle in a diaper." You'll get there.
Ada, you are full of joy and laughter and sunshine. We are so happy to have you in our family.
Love,
Mama
Monday, March 31, 2014
Day 18
For our last day in Costa Rica, we went to the Ecotermales Thermal Pools. 
The pools are heated by the volcano.
It's pretty weird sitting under a hot waterfall!
Somehow we were the only five people at the pools today. Pretty nice!
Ada didn't really love the hot pools, but she did swim in the cold pool for a while.
Ada did love the bag of chips that we opened once we got to the Hotel Pura Vida tonight. She takes after her mom and grandmother; a bag of chips is not safe anywhere near Ada!
Day 17
Our adventure for today was a visit to the Arenal Hanging Bridges. 
We walked through all levels of the rainforest and only lost Ada and Ama once!
Afterwards, we drove over to the hammock store where we bought some Costa Rican art.
The kids loved swinging in the hammock chairs and learning about rebar.
We swam for the rest of the day and had a nice dinner poolside.
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Day 16
Jude rode a horse for the first time today. 
Ada didn't want to go, and E Ben doesn't like riding, so Ama and I took Jude for a nice trail ride.
We rode for a hour, then spent some time at the La Fortuna waterfall.
We had to walk down 487 steps into a deep ravine, then we were able to swim in the pools at the bottom.
On the ride home, Jude asked me how old he has to be before he can get a horse.
We all had dinner in the restaurant tonight, and the girls stayed late dancing to the live music. It was way past Ada's bedtime, but she said the music was so good that she could dance all night.
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Day 15
We went hiking today in El Silencio. There were paths through the rainforest at the base of the volcano. 
We stopped for a snack at the mirador (view).
The grassy paths reminded us of The Sound of Music.
There were many fig trees. Jude climbed one to pick some fruit for us.
The volcano was unusually visible today.
Carlotta the Scarlett Macaw joined us for kids dinner at the pool.
She agreed to jump on my arm for a few minutes, but that didn't last long.
The kids had a sleepover in Ama's room, and we went out for a nice sushi dinner.
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