Francesca at 6.5

The top row of photos were taken in October 2007 - Francesca in a Half Moon Bay pumpkin patch, sitting outside a cafe with Nora, and with Alexandra on her lap. Francesca continues to love - and be loved by - pretty much every small person that comes her way and we are now used to being in airports and turning around to find Francesca with an infant on her lap or being the human jungle gym for a couple of twin 11-month olds.

For Halloween last year, Francesca was a pink kitty and she wore the costume time and again, not only to trick or treat with a whole posse of her friends but also to participate in her school's annual fundraising walkathon. This year, Francesca clocked in at 18 laps - 4.5 miles, with her kitty ears on at all times. As you can see, Matthew got into the Halloween spirit and wore the gladiator costume Francesca picked out for him to the walkathon (and would doubtless have worn his costume time and time again if he thought he could get away with it).

Speaking of Halloween and trick or treating, recently we were driving across the Bay Bridge and - apropos of nothing obvious - Francesca declared that "this year I want to go trick or treating alone." When reminded of how much fun she had going with a big group of friends (including her friend Fiona - in the hugging picture) and asked why she would want to go alone, Francesca replied "oh - I'm going with my friends but I want to go ALONE, without any adults!" We struck a bargain and agreed that while she could not go without adults, the adult or adults would stand further away so she can feel like she's alone. No, she's not even 7 yet.

Fall 2007 was Francesca's inauguration into team sports when she joined the fearsomely named Rainbow Dolphins (yes, the girls chose their team name) and she continues to play on the team this spring. Soccer has been a really great experience for Francesca (including the frustrating parts) and she has thrown herself into it with her usual 110% commitment, giving it her all no matter how the game is going or whether she is tired, and supporting her teammates all the way. This year also saw Francesca's love of skiing continue and we plan on taking a longer winter wonderland vacation next season. Bicycling is also fun but screaming around town on her Razor scooter (with pink accents, thank you very much) has taken center stage. Francesca has also been taking a circus class which is basically gymnastics plus pre-stilt walking, juggling, etc. Her current favorite move is doing a front flip into a foam pit.

When her muscles are sore from 'building stamina' as she likes to say, Francesca is often found with a book - these days Pokemon and Junie B. Jones are among the chapter books of choice. Francesca can - and does - read just about anything but we all love reading together and every day finds us curled up readings books. And we have all tremendously enjoyed the Cal Performances (UC Berkeley) season the last few months - we have seen her long-standing favorite musician Dan Zanes, the Circus Oz (aka bunch of crazy Aussies) Laughing at Gravity Tour, Mark Morris' modern twist on the Nutcraker - The Hard Nut, the mind blowing Peking Acrobats, and we are finishing the season this Sunday with the San Francisco Opera's production of The Little Prince. Making it even better, Francesca's very good and very old (for 6-year olds) friend Mia has gone to all the shows with us.

The last few months have also been a lot about Francesca's grandparents. A few days after seeing her Papu for this 74th birthday (we were all in San Diego, including her uncle David) he died after having fought off congestive heart failure and strokes for a decade. Francesca had a hard time with his dying but we've been having a lot of good conversations about her grandfather and about the cycle of life.

Francesca spent time with her grandmother, Nonna Karen, recently when Karen came to visit for a week and was able to see Francesca play soccer and do gymnastics/soccer. They also shared a lot of fun meals and went to eat popcorn and see the new film classic Horton Hears a Who. Over the winter holiday, we all went to Connecticut, where we saw her grandfather, Pop-pop David and his wife Sharon, and Francesca got to ride his lawn mower (the 'tractor') and ice skate. We also went to New York to see zia Morfo (Papu's sister) and her daughter Eliana - that's the four of us sitting on the couch. Of course no Manhattan sojourn is complete without late night diners most nights and some shopping - the pictures are of Francesca cavorting in Saks and sporting her newly purchased, and self-selected, paparazzi ready sunglasses. She also got to see her Pop-pop more recently for his 70th birthday bash in Palm Springs, where we rode a huge aerial tram, spent many hours in the pool, and Francesca swung a tennis racket for the first time.

All in all, these have been a very interesting few months that have resulted in a Francesca much more aware of the world at large and of other's points of views. Recently we were having a big snuggle and I told her "Francesca, you are the cutest kid in the world!" After a suitable pause, Francesca looked me in the eye and deadpanned "Mama, I think other parents might have a different opinion about that."

If you would like to communicate directly with Francesca about anything above - or anything else - you can email her at francesca.levett@gmail.com

After our upcoming grand summer tour, we will post a special summer 2008 edition featuring Francesca and her new bangs!

Previous

Return

Next