Out of this World Halloween

Petra had a great Halloween, as always. This year she was Saturn (well, OK, with some last minute accessorizing, she was "Princess Saturn"). Petra had Jenna (Tinkerbell) over to carve pumpkins and trick or treat with her. We gathered at a neighbors house to get pictures of all the kids, then started the invasion. One block down, one block up, and all the kids were done for the night.

Jenna and Petra spent the rest of the evening handing out huge handfuls of candy to trick or treaters coming to the house. By 9 we were all out, Petra was bathed and in bed, and out without a peep. Can you ask for a better Halloween?

And then she was FOUR!

Happy Birthday Petra!

I can't believe she's already four years old!!

Petra had a great party at home with dozens of friends yesterday, then today she went to Disneyland with her friend Jenna. The girls had a great time, with no meltdowns until just after we walked out the exit gate. We were all just stunned that they didn't fall asleep in the van on the way home (au contraire! They had dinner together and played for an hour before we could drag them apart and get Petra to bed).

Next year, we're outsourcing the birthday thing! The party went super smoothly, but the cleanup before hand was not fun. I miss Felicia, who used to come and clean once a week for us!

Ephemera, part 2

While picking up a cup of water following her first fun run "Phew! I'm evaporating!"

While riding the pony at the Farmer's Market, in between "Giddyup Pony" and "Yahoo!": "You know how you say Pony in French? Pona!"

Friday morning she woke up asking to see the pictures of the LCROSS satellite crashing into the moon. She was a little disappointed that the Hubble space telescope was not pointed at the moon to observe the impact. She also felt a little sad for Luna getting whacked, and had me sing a "poor poor Luna" song for her.

Ephemera

Mind like a steel trap: In March when we were in Mexico, Petra noticed (but never had) the mini boxes of cereal at breakfast. One of those happened to be Froot Loops. Just a couple of weeks ago, at the grocery store, Petra saw Froot Loops on the shelf. "Look!" she said, "It's the cereal from Mexico!" That girl does not miss a thing!

At school, they have reading stations, where they read a book while a CD plays telling the story. There is a "ding" every time the page should be turned. While Petra was in Mama's lap for books before bed, she had a whistle, and tweeted it each time Mama finished reading a page.

And on the rack at some store, "Look! It's Barack Obama!" Yes, it was an Obama action figure. Reader, or very good likeness for an action figure. You decide! Petra still claims she cannot read, but you tell me how "Rental Car Center" comes out of her mouth without her reading it on the shuttle bus signage!

Spaced

Coming home the other day, she looked out the window and saw a Red Bull advertising car. She asked "Look! Is that car carrying the Hubble space telescope?" There is certainly a significant resemblance! Petra's fascination with space continues. Not only does she know the planets (and everything about them), now she is learning all the moons as well (Ganymede is "large and in charge"). Ask her how she knows we're on Earth and not Mars, and she'll tell you "because there is a plentiful supply of surface water."

The last few days she and I have played "Skateboarding Saturn," in which I am a clueless Jupiter, and Saturn skates past and bumps me. She also has me tell her stories about the planets (playing baseball with meteors, going on picnics, whatever), and sing her a song about "Poor poor Jupiter" getting whacked by comets every night before bed. We will also sometimes play "gravity well" in which one of us runs past and the other tries to grab them in their "gravity well."

She is still a girly girl though (pink is her favorite color), and her grandma has been loading her up on her favorite princess gear recently (thanks Mom, really).

The princess has landed

After a visit to Grandma Kate in Eugene, we returned home and found a Cinderella tiara waiting for Petra. She was thrilled, but not as thrilled as she was when a Cinderella dress arrived today. She was so excited to put it on and, thanks to the miracle of iChat, was able to show Grandma that it fit and tell her how much she loved it.



We spent a week in Oregon around Labor Day. We arrived in Portland, and headed out to Art in the Pearl, which had art for us to look at, art stations for Petra to make art (she made a marionette and a fish print), and she got to paint a car for charity. The art show was in a park with a fun playground for her to run around in. She had fun on the monkey bars and only banged her head once.



We stayed at the Hotel Monaco, which did wine tasting in the early evenings, and also had an easel and paints set up. Naturally, Petra made a beeline for the easel and did a painting every evening.

Grandma Kate joined us on Sunday afternoon, and we also hung out for a while with our friend Patti and her son Noah. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to visit Patti & Andy’s café , but maybe next time.




We also visited the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry . Petra loved their Science Playground, but the Planetarium show was a bust. It was way too much for Petra and Alison carried her out after only a few minutes.

On Tuesday, we drove down to Grandma Kate’s house in Eugene. Petra had a blast playing with Grandma Kate, Janice, and Olivia, and even warmed up to their dog Sasha. After a few encounters with over-affectionate dogs in the past, she had taken to screaming and hiding behind the closest available parent whenever she saw a dog, but after a day or so, she was quite comfortable with Sasha, and even gave her hugs and kisses before going to bed.

As of tomorrow (the 18th), it will be 1 month till Petra’s 4th birthday. Wow! For months, she’s been talking about her “four-year-old birthday” and planning what she wants to do for her party. She’s very consistent about wanting a “strawberry heart cake”, but most of the other details change from day to day.

Cuddly

I was in my winter weight robe this morning (summer weight in the laundry). Petra asked why I had it on, and I told her. Then she said she had "some very important information" for me. She said she still liked my "old" robe, and then said (as she did it) she would climb in my lap and cuddle up and be cozy.

Such a sweetie!