Tonight while I was helping Chiara get ready for bed, she asked me: Oma, can I tell you a joke?

Sure, I said.

An onion and a pear are dancing.

And?

An onion and a pear are dancing.

Is that the joke? What’s so funny?

Vegetables dancing!

[Me, cracking up]

See! Oma, I told you it was funny.

Chiara turned 4 last Thursday! We celebrated at the beach with three of her friends and their parents. It was a beautiful day (although I didn’t take any photos. I am so delinquent. The photo above was taken a week before Chiara’s birthday, when Luke invited the NY office of weplay.com to join us at the beach and work from the kitchen in our rental house, the only room that got a wireless signal). I sound like every other parent on the planet but I honestly cannot believe how much and how fast she has grown. It is an absolute privilege to be a parent and to witness a human life in development. I try to enjoy each moment!