Lions and Hippos and Giraffes, oh my!

When we went to the zoo last week, we wore these awesome t-shirts that Daddy's sister Auntie Tracey sent us from her visit to South Africa last year. Mine has a giraffe on it. I don't know how she knew that the giraffe is my favourite animal!


Here are some giraffes that Auntie Tracey saw on safari.


Alexander's t-shirt has a hippo on it. He says that lions are his favourite animal, but he really likes hippos and zebras too. It's appropriate that he prefers wild animals!


Here is a lion that Auntie Tracey saw on safari. Really, she took the photo herself.


We love Auntie Tracey, but we don't see her very often because she lives in England. She is a teacher and sometimes she sends us new books. Most recently she introduced us to books by Julia Donaldson. We think the best ones are: The Gruffalo, The Gruffalo's Child, and The Snail and the Whale. Mummy says that she enjoys reading the stories too.

And here is Auntie Tracey in Africa.

Snacktime is sacred

Parents sometimes take too many pictures.


I don't really mind the occasional pose. I've actually been working on my smile. But please leave me alone when I'm trying to eat my granola bar!

Promises, promises

We went to the San Francisco Zoo this Saturday. I had promised Charlotte that we would go one more time before school started. We wanted to check out the new Grizzly Gulch. Unfortunately, we arrived towards the end of the day and found the bears hiding in a corner waiting to be fed. Now I've had to promise Charlotte that we will arrive in the morning next time.

Welcome to Kindergarten

Charlotte started Kindergarten on Monday.

Last week her emotions ranged from very excited to very scared. This week the transition has been more difficult than we expected. Today she dressed herself in pink trousers and a flowered t-shirt. When I asked where her uniform was, she said that she didn't need it because she wasn't going to school today.

Charlotte likes her teachers and has made some friends. She has enjoyed the crafts they have made, especially the rainbow they made today. Her teacher Mrs. Lee told me that Charlotte is very observant and follows directions well.


I think the long days are very tiring for her. Her biggest complaint is that she doesn't like having recess three times a day because it's too tiring. It's also a long time to be away from her family. She enters and leaves the school with a smile on her face (though a tentative one), but each day has an "I miss Mummy" meltdown about halfway through.


Each day does seem to be getting better. The promise of a family outing to the beach this weekend seemed to help as well. We hope that in a few weeks she'll be used to the routine, and will enter and leave with a genuine smile that lasts throughout the day.

Partying on

On Monday we went to the Party Playhouse with our friends Sarndra and Ethan. This is the last week before Ethan and Charlotte start Kindergarten, so we wanted to do something fun. It sure was!

Alexander was initially overwhelmed by the size of the playhouse and spent much time in the rocking musical school bus.


They all had fun jumping into the pool of balls.


And by the end of our hour we even got Alexander up to the top of the playhouse. In fact, I had to chase him down when our time was up because he would not come willingly!

So much fun, birthdays are

My preschool friend Pemberley invited us to her birthday party on Saturday. It was on the grounds of the Lucas Center in the Presidio. It was a beautiful sunny day and we really enjoyed the view. We saw a Yoda statue by the building entrance, but didn't go in to see Darth Vader because he's scary.

It was fun to see my preschool friends again. We played games and had pizza. Then the Presidio Fire Department came and brought us each a firefighter's hat. They let us sit in the fire truck and showed us how the ladder goes up very high. We also learned to Stop, Drop, and Roll if our clothes ever catch on fire.













Then Pemberley's dad gave the firemen the leftover pizza and we had cupcakes. What a fun party!

MagnaFun

I love my MagnaLogs. I received my first set last Christmas, but always ran out of blocks before I finished what I was building.

Najm and Najp (a.k.a. Nagymama and Nagypapa, my grandparents) sent me more sets for my birthday. Mummy thought it was too much, so she initially held back on one set. We were still running out of blocks because Jaja (a.k.a. Charlotte, my sister) and I each wanted to build our own buildings.

Mummy gave in and we now have enough MagnaLogs. Just look at what we can build! With Daddy's help, we made this skyscraper.

We also built this great big lodge. Thanks, Najm and Najp!