Happy new year!!

Climbing outside Lawrence hall of science

The brunch gang

Rikki and I with cousins Shoshana and Becca and Dana and Clare Davis (Maureen took the pic). 

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Begin forwarded message:

From: Mo Davis <modavis909@gmail.com>
Date: December 25, 2013 at 7:48:13 AM PST
To: Shoshana Finacom <sfinacom@yahoo.com>, Pam Burdman <pamelaburdman@gmail.com>
Subject: The brunch gang

Dressing up for a tea party!!

Today's play date

This just in from Matan's babysitter. Aren't they a sweet looking couple?

No day is too cold for ice cream...

Yum

Look what Rikki made at the Discovery Theatre. Rikki was exercising amazing restraint - then I realized she thought that the white stuff was glue!

And the Hanukkah presents begin...

Happy Thanksgivakah!!

On our way

. Yesterday we got to go to a menorah lighting on the White House ellipse with our friend Michael, who was representing the president, and his family.

We licked the snow!!

We braved the cold!!

Done with Chicago, on to DC!!

Clean at last!!

Bath time with Lily!

Clean at last!!

Bath time with Lily!!

"I'm so excited for our field trip"

We are off to Chicago as DC in about an hour. Rikki woke up very excited.

Ready for the rain!!

Performance of the day

Rikki and her friend Noa improvising!

Trick or treat!?

Who needs air conditioning??

Nap buddies

Rikki and friend Matan napping in the car while picking up his sister and brother from school.

Rikki playdate with Matan

Rikki notes that the farther kite is hers.

4 and a half today!!

And the balloon is half a year old, it has lasted since her birthday party!

Masterpiece

One of 39 nearly identical shots of Rikki's head and the light fixture.

Look what I made!!

Today we picked up the owl painting and clay wizard that Rikki made at her art camp the last week of summer!! Picture was taken in the "splatter room" where the work was created.

With Amitai at Fairyland...

Rikki and her friend Noa at art camp

The Day I Stopped Saying 'Hurry Up'

My lesson of the day....

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/3624798


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Today

She is a girl named Verenda. She lives near the Oakland zoo, but she came to my house with her dog Percy and her daughter Meimei and her key and they are going to have a sleepover.

A small sample of Rikki's rich pretend life.

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Onward!!

The demolition crew comes tomorrow. Rikki's closet will come down. That room will be a den, and the door to the hallway will move to the other end of the wall.

Half of my bedroom will be a breakfast nook for the kitchen. The other half will be steps to the upstairs.

Most of the existing kitchen walls will be gone, except for the wall behind the dining room built-ins.

Getting ready for demolition!!

42 inches of fun!!

Just getting to the Santa Cruz boardwalk.

Contemplating the emptiness ...

Hide and go seek!!

Here she is in our new abode while I work on unpacking ... A new adventure beginning a year to the day from when our "return to Berkeley" chapter began. Hopefully just six months or so before we are back in our new improved home.

Clutch

Sometimes when I check on Rikki at night, I take pictures to show her how peacefully she was sleeping. Here she is holding on to Percy, who lives in a purse.

Our latest fashion show - with Zoe and Lucia

Primping

This morning's construction project!

Identities revealed ...

For those of you who didn't recognize the yorkie pictured in the last post with Rikki, he is Manny Kvitka.

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Where Were We?

... Ah yes, our trip to Portland ... has it been a month? It was a great time with Manny, Manny's dad, and Manny's mom! Fun was had by all, and great pics were taken by one:

Still to come: Fourth of July and other fun with friends!

Catching up on the last three weeks ... (don't blame me if the site doesn't show the pics in the order I post them!) A fun trip to Fairyland with David from New York. Horseback riding at Lauren's birthday party (she and her friend Kira stayed on for nearly an hour!) First day of Shu Ren summer camp Our favorite Chinese restaurant FINALLY reopens!

Still to come: Our trip to Oregon and Fourth of July!!

What a day!! Two weeks ago we spent the afternoon at the Tilden Carousel with Kira and Lauren, two of Rikki's China buddies and then ... she had her first sleepover at Sylvie's. It was really scary ... for me. But she was pretty determined to do it .. and proud of herself afterwards ;-)

big week!

This week we had a lot to celebrate -- a four

and a quarter birthday, three years in America, a full year of pre-school under her belt, and one proud mama!

Three years later!

This weekend, we celebrated three years since Rikki Panrae became a Burdman!

We were both determined to don the outfits that we were wearing when the orphanage worker first placed little Panpan (remember it's pronounced like bread in Spanish, not like skillet in English) into my arms! But for one of us … the fit wasn't quite the same!


This weekend…

Pics from our Mother's Day hike ; )