Our neighbours (and friends) were over for dinner on Saturday, and while Anissa and Aubrey were scribbling away with felt markers at the easel Amy asked, "How long has Anissa been able to write her name?" I answered that she couldn't, that she just signs an A for her name, but Amy replied with a smile, "Well, she just wrote it." I looked over and sure enough, all on her own Anissa had written her name for the very first time.

When, later that night, I was hugging her and telling her how proud I was, and asked her when she learned to do that, she shrugged and said, "Well, Mom, I'm big now you know."

Some recent Anissa moments:

Last week, she walked into our room in the middle of the night, and said, "Hi Mama. I just wanted to say something. I love you. I'm going back to sleep now." She slipped back into the darkness.

Today while I was cooking dinner, she loudly proclaimed, "I am Anissa and I am the most beautiful girl in the whole world!" Hmmm, maybe it's time to soften those compliments we shower her with.

She told me a few weeks ago that's she going to get married someday, and when I asked her who the lucky man would be, she of course answered, "Papa." I explained she would have to pick someone else, later ( much much later!), and teasingly asked her if there were any little boys she knows that might be a good husband. She told me that William, a boy at her school, was nice. When I shared this information with William's mom the next day, William overheard and she had to carry him to the car as he cried and wailed that he didn't want to get married. The poor kid was traumatized...and thankfully Anissa is too young to understand her first romantic rejection.

Last week was party week. Saturday, all three of us attended a very impressive Halloween/dinner party - the food! the decorations! kid's games! wow!- to which Anissa finally wore her rabbit costume. The ears didn't stay on for long, but she had a great time decorating ghost cookies and playing pin the nose on the jack-o-lantern.

Here's out little bunny getting cozy with pals Camilla and Jocelyn. (Unfortunately, we didn't get a shot of her with the hostess, Alexis.)

Sunday, we walked over to the other side of our cul-de-sac for our first neighbourhood Block Party. There was a nasty, bitter wind whipping around outside, but that didn't stop the hardy folks of Newmarket from hanging out and socializing in a double car garage filled with drinks and food. And while the adults hovered as close to possible to the heater, the kids didn't seem to notice the cold and tore up the backyard.

Here's Anissa hangin' with some of her favorite neighbourhood buddies...



But the fun still wasn't over, because Monday we hosted a neighbourhood playgroup. There were nine kiddos total playing up a storm in the family room, but we only managed to get these four to pose for us:



That night, we formed a posse of five little girls (or, I should say, a bunny, fairy, frog, spider, and princess) and made the rounds of the neighborhood, pounding on doors and politely asking for candy. Well, mostly politey, but what can you expect from 2 and 3 year olds? By the end of the evening, Anissa was one partied-out little bunny.

Today was Anissa's school Halloween party, and though she has a fuzzy bunny outfit for trick-or-treating she wore her Little Red Riding Hood costume (recycled from a party at Lala's when she was only 1) to avoid overheating indoors. Parents were invited to the party, and when I got there Anissa was parked at the snack table - and there she stayed for almost the entire hour and a half! She sat happily nibbling on the goodies, taking it all in, and I could not entice her for all the candy in the world to try out any of the Halloweeny-type games and crafts. I couldn't believe it. Who can resist taking bites out of donuts dangling from strings, tossing bean bags into a giant pumpkin, fishing for ghosts and goblins? Only my daughter, apparently. She finally did get off her chair, though, to join in the performance of a story with the teacher. They had been practicing it for weeks, and Anissa took her role as the dog very seriously.



Now for a retroactive update:
Fall is in the air, and we've been keeping busy with plenty of play-dates, dance class, school and the ongoing unpacking process (yes, still!). Anissa even went for her very first haircut at a beauty salon. The very same little girl that I have to chase around the house every morning in a futile attempt to sneak in a quick brush sat perfectly still the entire time she was in the chair, and didn't make a peep when the hairdresser tugged on her tresses to make a half French braid.



The highlight, though, of these past few weeks was a weekend visit from Mama Jo to celebrate Aid (the end of Ramadan). In true Tunisian fashion, Anissa got a gorgeous outfit to wear and cash to spend on an outing to the mall. She picked out a unicorn at the Teddy Bear Factory and outfitted her with a ballerina outfit. Since Aid is all about the kids, Anissa got to pick where we ate lunch (McDonalds) and rode on the kiddy rides at the mall to her heart's content.

I have some very sweet pictures of the weekend that Jo sent me, but for some reason I can't upload them to my blog! I'll try again tomorrow...

Aid Mabrouk everyone!