On Wednesday night, we celebrated with butternut squash soup, grilled cheese sandwiches and green beans at Cora's request. The strawberry birthday cake was supposed to be a highlight, but both Cora and Peter found it too sweet. I went out of my way to avoid fake stuff (jello, artificial strawberry extract, a box mix or canned frosting), but alas, it probably wasn't worth the effort - note the curdled frosting below. Sounds like I should have tried adding more sugar instead of assuming it was the acid in the strawberry puree. The cake theme [space/monkey/Hello Kitty], however? NAILED IT! The best part of the birthday night was probably a surprise visit from Helen (our old nanny) and new rain boots, both of whom/which Cora asks for with regularity.
The next day, I had parent-teacher conferences with the girls' teachers. Mrs. Douglas, Cora's awesome 4K teacher, had wonderful things to say about Cora, including her "academic" progress and love of art and science. Louisa also had Mrs. Douglas for 4K, and in September, after only knowing Cora for 2 weeks, she commented on how different she is from Louisa. I didn't get to ask her to elaborate on her observations then, so I asked her on Thursday. She explained that while Cora doesn't do this so much anymore, she tested the limits in the beginning of the school year. She also mentioned that Cora is more apt to play with boys and be more physical (in a playful way) than Lou.
When Cora was in 3K, we laughed about how often we heard of boys in her class competing for her attention. Mrs. Douglas didn't mention that this year. Whew!
Bean Bean, we love you. Your love for make-believe, your family and art is awesome. We're excited to continue to watch you be you. Hang tight - those bangs will grown out soon enough!
