nekominimode

Milk - it does the body good:

Neko is four (she will tell you this at every opportunity)- amazing how memories are formed so quickly, while so many of our moments together already fading and time seems to stand still all at once.  She’s no longer a baby, not even a toddler, but truly a luminous personality - a cherished kid.  I love her more all the time…

To celebrate this huge happening we orchestrated a surprise awakening.  Neko ran into our room at 6:45am yelling excitedly: guys, guys, you have to wake up and see this, i have balloons and presents in my room…

That afternoon we gathered the girls only, as per her highness’s request (and one lone boy since we can’t celebrate his birthday this year) for some afternoon sugar highs at the local ice cream soda fountain joint:

Next we celebrated at Open House - we brought (pre-purchased pink cupcakes) as snack to neko’s class - where all the kids were so sweet and cute (well maybe one was really terrible but at least not ours) and sang to her….i think they all wanted to devour sugar:

But wait, there’s more…stay tuned for Part 2…wait - that’s Part 4

One Year Ago: Turning 3 and School Party and Not 1/2 Anymore

Two Years Ago: Thinking about Neko and Sweetart and Vilde Chaye

Three Years Ago: The day our lives changed and Gremlin Party

This was Peter’s mass email announcement - he wrote it just like it was - so why change it?  I thought Snow and Neko would like to read this this in a few years (many many):

Another extraordinary girl required another extraordinary name. Say hello to Snow Bernard-Mannes - born 9:31pm on Jan 21, 2012. She weighed 6 lbs and a little over 13 ounces. The good news is that mother and child are healthy and happy. However, this birth almost played out like a scene from a movie as we almost didn’t make it to the hospital in time. After realizing we needed to leave home in a hurry, Keren rode in the taxi on her knees, nearly squeezing my fingers off as she suffered through the contractions. I called the doctor on our way, and he yelled at me that we should have left earlier. Oh well. When we arrived, she barely could walk and had to dig her nails into me for a few minutes before we could make it inside. Naturally, Keren refused a wheelchair at this point. So, after walking a short way across the lobby, she dropped to all fours and filled the space with some monk-like deep moans. The baby was ready to come out. The wheelchair was now the only option. We whisked her upstairs to the maternity ward where the staff was waiting for us. She entered the delivery room at 9:25p, immediately leaning over the bed to manage the pain. The doctor pulled down her pants and realized the baby’s head was right there. It was time to push. As fast as I could, I wrestled off Keren’s winter boots. She got up on the bed, and 2 pushes later, Snow was born. As the dust settled, we realized Keren delivered the baby with one sock on. A nice touch, I thought. As with delivering our older daughter Neko, Keren was strong, brave, and unstoppable. Our new baby seems to be cut from the same cloth, already alert and full of energy. Here are some pics of my incredible, unique, and beautiful women. Snow, welcome to the family! Peter

This weekend was the last visit for us upstate as we getting into nesting mode (that basically means 80 loads of onesie washes and me bossing peter around as to where to put stuff and then move it). We said goodbye to Saunder’s Kill, the playground, exploring in the woods and welcomed winter into our lives.  Kinda looking forward to hot chocolates with my neko, reading and lounging in Red Hook  - whose joining?

One Year Ago: Funny Girl

Two Years Ago: Bubbles

Three Years Ago: Ice Storm

We made a count down chart and eagerly awaited the arrival of the older cousins.

Neko adores these girls and the excitement for Thanksgiving weekend mounted - and she was not let down.

It’s amazing to watch neko fit in with these much older girls - their sense of humor (they all think doodie fart jokes are hilarious), their silliness (note pajama dancing), sense of adventure (talk about pulling poison ivy off trees), creativity (lots of art work and pretend play involving badly behaved babies) and their capability to all sleep (almost soundlessly) in the same room (and bed) together is inspiring….imagine we could all have so much pure fun together:

Did I mention how perfect the autumn weather was too?  Here is to many more weekend with the cousins!!

One Year Ago: Three Cousins in One Bath

Two Years Ago:  Down South

Three Years Ago: Water Effect