Ethan Says Hello

Hello,  my name is Ethan:

My mother says I have cute dimples.

This is my big sister, Emma (at least that is what her shirt says):

Sometimes, my big sister makes me feel like this:

But, my mom says that I have to be nice to her, and that she has to be nice to me.  Oh well.

My Darling Little Girl

My little Emma turned two on Sunday.  It sounds so cliche, but I cannot believe how quickly the time passed.  One of my friends reiterated the old parent saying that with raising kids, the days are long, but the years are short.  How true.

My in laws and great grandmother in law came up to San Francisco for a quiet birthday celebration.  We went out for a birthday dinner at Mayflower on Saturday, had cake on Saturday night, then opened presents on Sunday morning.

Just look at her eyeing that piece of birthday cake! 

She doesn't really get to eat sweets very much, so anytime there is cake, Emma gets super exicted and starts to sing Happy Birthday, no matter whether it is anyone's birthday or not!

Here is my darling first baby on her actual birthday  (ignore the smudges around  her  mouth, which is probably leftover from breakfast-oops!).

She took in quite the birthday gift haul - she got a puzzle set, hair ribbons (two of which she is wearing in her picture above), a cute ladybug bag, books, lots and lots of stickers (her current obsession), a Hello Kitty doll and coloring book, a lunch box set for preschool and birthday money from her grandmothers, grandfather, great grandmother, aunts and uncles and cousins. 

From us and Baby Ethan, she got a play kitchen and play pots, pans and cooking utensils.  She played with the kitchen, cooking and making thing all morning long on Sunday.  I love her bed head look in the picture.

Emma also starts preschool tomorrow.  She will be going two full days a week - Tuesdays and Thursdays.  She had two trial run visits to the preschool last week, and she loved it.  The preschool is one of the "right" preschools in San Francisco (one that is a feeder preschool for desirable San Francisco private kindergartens), and we were surprised that we were able to get in without having to wait over a year to be pulled off the waitlist.  We just got lucky one day when we called the school and they told us that there was an immediate opening, and would we like to take it, since we just happened to be calling that day?  I will never understand the San Francisco preschool admission process.  The funny thing is that the opening happens to be in the preschool's Jewish traditions class (the preschool does have other non-Jewish classes).  Hee hee.  So each morning, Emma will participate in a Shalom circle.  She will also learn about Jewish holidays and sing and learn some Jewish children's songs.  Since she won't attend on Fridays, she will miss the school's Shabbat, where all of the preschool's children partake in challah bread and grape juice, and someone comes in to say a blessing.  I think her preschool and special class will be interesting for Emma, and she will also learn some great communal values!