Francesca from 4 to 4.5

Click here for an mp3 of Francesca singing The Itsy Bitsy Spider in Spanish followed by two holiday songs and wrapping up with a butterfly song in Italian.

Music, music, music ~ we can't get enough! Francesca practiced the pogo in the mosh pit and was an adoring fan, literally hanging on to the edge of the stage as she gazed at the band, at the Dan Zanes concert at the San Francisco Herbst Theater over the Thanksgiving weekend. Then came the Berkeley Ballet's Nutcracker over the winter holidays during which Francesca exclaimed how 'sparkly' everything was and had only two complaints - that we couldn't immediately see the performance again and that she herself was not in the performance. Also over the winter holidays, we all saw and enjoyed bluegrass legend Joe Craven performing at Lawrence Hall of Science. Finally, in February it was time for the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, during which Francesca singled herself out by incredulously - and loudly - proclaiming "beer bong?!" in imitation of a parent muttering 'beer bong' as a person on stage demonstrated how a funnel and rubber hose can be an instrument (thanks, Mark).

Perhaps all the music has fed a strong desire to perform. Despite a high fever, she also insisted on singing at her school's winter show and took the deepest bow. (At the top of this page click to here Francesca singing a few songs ~ the second one is the one her class did at the performance) Since being a single threat is not enough, Francesca recently insisted that we go out, buy a ballet outfit (which according to her had to be white tights, pink ballet shoes, and a pink leotard with a built-in skirt) and get her enrolled in a dance class. Needless to say, we obliged and she's enjoying it immensely. To start on the acting prong, Francesca has been practicing angry and grumpy and happy and sad (actually, triste and feliz) and surprised faces. And in the spirit of "you never know who you'll meet," she has taken to introducing herself to complete strangers with her hand stuck out for a handshake and a "Hi! my name is Francesca!"

The winter holidays were great this year. For the first time, Francesca was interested in trick or treating and ventured forth with her dear friend Mia. The girls insisted on going up to the doors by themselves, saying trick or treat, and then engaging in endless dialogues about their outfits, candy, etc. with unsuspecting homeowners. The pictures at the top are of Francesca heading into her school's Halloween festivities.

The week before Christmas, Matthew's mother "Nonna" Karen spent the week with us and they and Francesca braved the endless rains to venture everywhere from the SF Aquarium and a restored old-fashioned carousel to Barnes & Noble and a pizza dinner. For Christmas, we had Ioana's brother David and father with us for some mellow festivities. The day after, the rain broke and we went to Redwood Regional Park where we came upon millions of ladybugs being born (you can see one on Francesca's finger). During this time, Matthew took Francesca to SF's Union Square to see the holiday decorations and Christmas tree. The tree was assessed and dismissed as 'too big,' but then Francesca enjoyed exploring Saks Fifth Avenue and, in particular, enjoyed dancing before the huge mirrors (to the dismay of the Armani personnel).

Francesca continues to enjoy school a great deal. She has started sounding out words, is learning Spanish and doing 'drama' at school (not much of a stretch for her), and loves taking home the class pet rat, Mr. Chip, for the weekend. You can see Mr. Chip with Francesca, thick as thieves, in the tub.

In January, Francesca got her first paid-for haircut after numerous haircuts at the hands of Ioana. While highly skeptical of the process, she was happy with the final result. She's also been trying lipstick, but sees no reason to limit the scope of its application. Likewise with eye shadow.

At the bottom, you can see pictures of Francesca and Matthew in Winter Park, Colorado. This was Francesca's first airplane trip since being a baby and she had a splendid time. She chatted up everyone in the airport, admonished the van driver to 'be safety!,' flung herself in the snow, and generally had a splendid time marred only by a bad cold. Our friends the Bairds foolishly invited us to come back anytime and so tickets have been bought to return in March.

On the less fun side, the last couple of months have been a series of nasty colds and flus and her first ever ear infection, which proved resistant to antibiotics and full of pain. We're hoping that this is just the first year of group care, and that spring will bring back the bloom of health and thaw the pestilential tundra. Meanwhile, being at home resting has given Francesca time to perfect the lexicon of a 4-year old who doesn't think she wants to wait for puberty to be done with her parents. Phrases she has been practicing include a very world weary/my parents are dullards 'I knooooooow' or 'I know that already.' And when we're trying to cramp her style too much, Francesca responds with a terse 'Worry about yourself.'

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