Creative writing (and some quick updates!)

In reverse age order:
Aaron is doing beautifully, thank G-d! He now laughs when he thinks something is funny, or when we tickle him, he rolls over both ways, grabs for toys and scootches around on the floor. He is a smiley, happy baby (at least when he is being held, which is pretty much all the time) and while he doesn't even come close to "sleeping through the night" (what is this sleeping through the night anyway? Do kids really do that??) he really is just a joy to all of us. Favorite game of the week: Wiggling and rolling away while we try to change his diaper, and chortling away as he doe so.

Yaakov is as funny as always. Last Shabbos, we went to a friends house in the afternoon and Yaakov very happily helped himself (along with his friend and co-conspirator) to Popsicle after Popsicle (a low estimate would be 6) and sour twizzlers (along with a plate of salad to balance it out) all afternoon. As we walked home, I gave him a little talk about the evils of too much sugar. As we neared our house, we saw a man jogging and he asked me "Mommy, why is that man running?" I answered, for exercise, I would assume. He thought for a second, then said "Well, maybe he ate a lot of sugar." I laughed, and said, yes, maybe he did. He was quiet for another beat, then in a truly rueful voice said "Maybe I should run." I laughed so hard, I'm STILL laughing about it. He finishes Pre-K next week and that means, on to Kindergarten. Zoiks.

Amira is loving, and I mean LOVING softball. She has learned to throw (and aim and actually have the ball go a distance!) and catch with her (pink!) mitt, and hits like a pro! She has the lingo down, practices dutifully when on deck, and is really enjoying (as are we) the wonderful team spirit. Her team even made the championships, which is pretty exciting! The big championship game will G-d willing be this Sunday morning! She is finishing up second grade next week (how on earth did that happen, I want to know. I feel like *I* just finished second grade) and has done beautifully this year. She has grown in confidence and it is amazing to see her progress in every way. She is an incredible writer, really. Last week she had an assignment in class to write a story that was based on an event that actually happened, but turn it into fiction. Here is what she wrote (I have not changed the spelling, punctuation, or grammar at all):

The Flying Birthday Party

by Amira

One day Amira went to her cousin's birthday. There names were Chesi and Ahuva. Amira drove to the party with her family. The party was in Fair Lawn. When they parked in front of the house, Auntie Atara greeted them. They came in to the yummy smell of different foods. It made Amira's stomach grumble. A lot of people were there. Among them Amira saw Ahuva and Chesi. Amira walked to them and said hello. Amira sat down, Kayla sat down next to her. All of a sudden, Kayla's hair started flapping like wings. Kayla flew into the air! One of the girls shrieked. Amira laughed so hard that she didn't realize that Kayla had landed on top of Savta Doris's head. Then everyone except for Savta Doris started to laugh. "Get her off me me! Get her off me now!" Savta Doris shrieked. Finally Kayla flew back to her seat. While they ate the cake, Kayla tried to apologize, but they were too busy laughing. After that, Amira and her family went home. But then, Amira realized it was a dream! But Amira new it was a funny dream. The funniest dream ever.