Tonight I told the girls that I would read them four books. (We usually read two). M was in the midst of coloring, so I told her she could keep coloring upstairs on my bed while A and I read books. That worked well – she colored very nicely and heard the stories, looking up when she was intrigued.

We read two new books – one called the The Mitten, by Jan Brett. This was a new one for us – I think we must have inherited it from Sarah and Rachel. (A is very good at picking obscure books from the shelf). The second book is about Philippe Petit, the man who walked the tightrope between the Twin Towers in 1971. It is a fascinating book, with dramatic illustrations. I think the girls liked it. I was worried they would ask me about the towers, which of course they've never seen on their trips to NY. Luckily, they didn't, even when I told them it was a true story. I didn't read the second to last page out loud – the one that says "Now, the towers are gone." I don't know when is the right age to tell them – I wish I never had to.

Then we read a book called Belinda about a ballet dancer visiting Paris who loses her ballet skippers, a birthday gift for A from Grandma D and Grandpa R. The fourth book was another ballet book, with drawings of various poses that A did on the bed.

The best moment of my day was when M threw her arms around my neck and said "You are the best mommy in the whole world."