Anissa has been giving me a serious run for the money this past week and a half. I've been battling non-stop defiance when it comes to just about everything: getting dressed, eating, getting out of the house, holding my hand to cross the street, etc etc ETC!!!! I should have known what was to come when she warned me last Monday, on the way to the grocery store, that she was in "a mood" (which surprised me since that is my usual way of telling Mehdi, thinking she didn't understand, that she was being difficult). I'm exhausted. But thankfully those trying moments are always interspersed with sweet, funny moments that make me want to scoop her up and smother her in kisses. Her constant dialogue with her baby brother/sister (aka. my ever-expanding belly), for example, is so adorable it keeps me smiling. She tells the baby things like, "Don't worry, little baby, everything is going to be OK. There's nothing in the whole world that's scarey. I will take care of you, " and, "Don't be scared, baby! Monsters can't come into our house, because we don't give them keys."

Yesterday I decided to bring her along to my midwife's appointment. I told her only what a midwife does, and that we would be listening to the baby's heartbeat. Just before we went into the waiting room, she put her two hands on my belly and whispered, "It's OK, baby, don't worry. You're just going to have a little check-up."

Today, though, she displayed an obvious attachment for all round bellies. While I was browsing in a maternity store, she went from headless mannequin to mannequin, clutching the belly, and talking to each "baby" in turn. I tried to explain that there weren't any real babies in those bellies, but she only shot me dirty look and kept on making the rounds. Goof ball.

We've been having all kinds of New England type fun lately, and I have photos to share but no brain power to write anything intelligible. So I'll let the pics do most of the talking...

We spent last weekend hanging out at Newmarket's one and only yearly event, the Heritage Festival. It was fabulous: kayak rides, giant puppet shows, kiddy crafts and face painting, and plenty of tasty treats. Anissa joined Mehdi on a kayak ride on the river, where they saw ducks, geese, herons, and what he claims was a stork. (Who am I to question him? I am no water fowl expert.)



Anissa sat very patiently as an artist from the local Buddhist colony transformed her into a rabbit. By the time we sat down to take in a French-Canadian folk performance, she was one sleepy little bunny.



And today, Anissa had her first field trip with her preschool class. Parents were invited to go apple picking with the group at a local orchard, so of course I joined the fun on this perfectly chilly fall day.

Yesterday, my little girl became a Little Acorn. It was her first morning of preschool, and along with 11 other 3-year-olds, she decorated a lovely Acorn crown and officially joined the Acorn class. (Next year, she'll be a Mighty Oak.) I was fighting quite the case of jitters from the moment I woke up in the morning (My little baby! Already in preschool!), but Anissa barely blinked an eye. She looked a little serious, clutching onto her bear Trudeau, when Mehdi and I left the school, but thankfully I had an ultrasound appointment to distract me from any worries. And when Mehdi picked her up, she was happily playing outside with her classmates.

Mehdi, Anissa and I went out for lunch afterwards, and Anissa told us all about the fun things they had done at school: the bell the teacher uses to get them to stop and listen, the books they read, the Sharing Shell they passed around, the Acorn song they learned ("I'm a little Acorn", to the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot") and how one little girl cried for her Mommy. Anissa told us very calmly that she hadn't missed us all morning. I'm so very happy for her, but my mind couldn't help racing forward 15 years or so to that day when she's off to college. Gulp.

We finally made it to New York to visit our pal Lucy. It was a quick three day trip, but we had such a great time. We hung out in Brooklyn, took the subway into Manhattan to check out the Central Park Zoo, Times Square and a seriously gigantic Toys R Us (with a ferris wheel, a mechanical dinosaur and a three story Barbie house!). Even though we now live in a town of 7,000 people, Anissa must still have a taste for the city, because she loved the tall buildings and hustle of bustle of the Big Apple. In fact, when it was time to leave she kept saying goodbye to Mehdi and I and insisted that she was going to stay in New York with Lucy. "But what about school (which she starts tomorrow)?" we asked. "We'll miss you!" we said. We could just drive to New York to pick her up for school, she suggested. In the end, we lured her into the Jeep by saying it was our coccinelle and with promises of listening to Annie Brocoli...which of course we did most of the way home.

Besides being the 5th anniversary of September 11th, it was also Fashion Week in New York. That must explain Anissa's pucker and pose while out for brunch.

Times Square



Oh, do I have something on my chin?

Riding the subway in Lucy's lap: one of the most exciting parts of the weekend!

Moi, c'est Annie, Annie Annie, Annie Brocoli, et j'adore les tout petits...

Ma coccinelle, c'est mon cheval, belle, belle, belle, ma coccinelle...

Now repeat, a thousand times over and over for a week or so. Welcome to our world.

Anissa has a new heroine, and her name is Annie Brocoli. She's a popular children's singer in Quebec, and Mama Jo kindly brought Anissa a CD of her music and a DVD of her adventures "in space" (a very thougtful gift from Alia). I had requested the Annie Brocoli materials, since Anissa had heard Clara and Leo's CD and I thought it might be good to get a little more French in Anissa's life. And boy are we getting it now! While Mama Jo was here, Anissa wanted to listen to the CD over and over in the car. I could live with that. But things have escalated.

Now, when we get home, she insists I bring the CD in the house and put in on the stereo. She asks me to put it on first thing in the morning, and it basically plays all day when we're home. She wants to watch the video every afternoon. She's obsessed wih Annie and her coccinelle (a Volkswagon bug that flies), and sits and stares at the CD case and DVD photos for ages. She pretends she has a flying coccinelle, and talks constantly about Annie: how they both have blue eyes, how maybe she will give her a ride in her coccinelle if she meets her someday.

It's a little tiring, yes. I could probably put my foot down and insist on less Annie playing time, but I would likely break my little girl's heart. So for now I'll let her dream about flying in a yellow bug with Ms. Brocoli, and hope the novelty wears off, soon. Until then, maybe I'll invest in some ear plugs.