I'm a bad parent! So, the good parent has thoughtfully provided the blog update that I have been too busy/lazy to write! Thanks Alison!
It's been a busy month—sorry for not posting more frequently!
Grandpa and Grandma Judy came down for a visit during the second week in January. Petra, as always, was thrilled to see them, and we had a delicious dinner at our favorite local restaurant,
Bella Roma SPQR. Petra ate most of a dish of olive tapenade and sat on Grandpa's knee and helped him eat his pasta. The last time Grandpa & Grandma Judy were in town, they got her a cool pair of blinky shoes, which she has since outgrown, so they got her a new pair, which she loves.
Grandma Kate also came down from Oregon for a visit. Over the 3-day weekend, we did a quick getaway up to Lake Arrowhead. I had a conference at the
UCLA Conference Center last June and thought it would be a fun place for all of us to go, so when we found out they were offering special rates during their off-season, we decided to give it a try.
Petra was excited about going to the snow, until she actually experienced it. There hadn't been any snow for a couple of weeks up in the mountains, so it was more ice and slush than powder. "It's cold and wet," was her opinion, though she did enjoy smushing snowballs with her toes. Sledding only ran about 4 runs, then Petra told us "I want to go to
Peet's Coffee!" and wouldn't sled any more.
There were lots of kids staying at the center, and Petra had a lot of fun going up to different children and saying, "Hi, my name's Petra. Let's play a game!" After dinner one evening, all the kids found themselves in the library at the lodge and started running around in circles and playing together.
She also had fun with the fruit bowl at the lodge. She ate bananas, pears, and red and green apples with gusto. She also plunked at the piano in the lodge, and said "The pinano is my favorite instrument!"
On Sunday night and Monday morning, it was snowing! Petra was excited, but still didn't want to touch the snow or play in it very much, though she giggled when Dada made a snow angel and pretended to throw snowballs at her.
Once we were back home, she had fun with Grandma Kate at the
Zimmer Children's Museum. They ended up going two days in a row, and both times, Petra didn't want to leave!
Back home, Petra had lots of play dates, with Jenna and Katie coming over on different days, and staying until everyone was tuckered and melting down. Lots of fun!
This morning, while watching YouTube kitten videos Petra started singing "hundreds of books, thousands of books, millions and billions and trillions of books!" I suppose she is mixing up two of her favorite memes- cats and books, which come together in "Millions of Cats."
