On Our Street

A day after watching all those marathon runners go up and down 1st Avenue and 5th Avenue Harper shows good form and lots of potential for a race in her future.

Harper prefers to push her toys in the swing these days unless someone she idolizes is getting a push. Then she either cries hysterically because there isn't a swing for her to sit in or she rides happily alongside. Then after her idol tires of the swing she'll go for another 30 minutes and I'll workout.

She was pretty pleased with this new move.

And I was pretty pleased to have found a canvas for a great family photo.

By lucky chance we ran into the Castros as they finished loading their moving truck. These kids had so much fun climbing the stairs and jumping down, twirling around in circles while passersby patiently moved around them, and screaming at the top of their lungs as the street cleaner roared by.

Halloween

We had a happy Halloween dressed as Little Red Riding Hood, the Big Bad Wolf, and Granny. We started the day off with trips to three thrift stores and a fabric store for costumes, then to the church Halloween party, then out for trick-or-treating with a gorilla, an octopus, a flapper, and a middle schooler, and finished the day off at our new neighbors' annual Halloween party.

A little pre-trick-or-treat candy to get us in the mood.

The octopus, the middle schooler, the flapper, Little Red, and the wolf did not tire from walking up and down 15 steep stairs to get miniature chocolate bars.

Granny's feet did tire from walking around in slippers with no arch support.

My, what a very believable granny hunchback you have.

Harper may or may not have liked trick-or-treating but we know she liked eating candy at every door.

A Friday Outing

I haven't taken a picture since we went camping three weeks ago because our memory card is corrupted. I finally marched down to Best Buy and bought one yesterday. And then we marched over to the Met because Marc signed me up again for his Art Apprecreation 501 class and I have a paper due on Sunday and I needed to see Robert Frank's exhibit "The Americans" before I can write it. Harper liked playing with her shadow and laying on the floor while we wandered through the exhibit, but she agreed that he is a good photographer.

She asked if she could get out and run in the leaves once we reached the edge of the park. I thought this was interesting since neither of us has taught Harper that running through leaves is what a person does in the fall.

Another first: climbing a brick wall by herself.

Harper has graduated to the twisty slide. She had to watch Adelaide do it a few times before she thought she could do it herself. She'll even do it lying on her stomach. But she had to watch Adelaide do that first, too.

Found Object Sculpture by Harper

Harper has been carrying candles around since her birthday. She wants to hold them in her hand, take them to bed, and keep some in her pocket for emergencies. After our breakfast this morning I found this sculpture on the waffle iron.

Happy Birthday Sunny

Marc pedaled over to the bakery for some pastries and baguettes at 6 AM and cooked up some delicious omelettes that we ate together before he had to go to work. And then there was a surprise salade nicoise in the refrigerator that I enjoyed with surprise guests Mehrsa and Rebecca at lunch time. And then there was Jessica who offered to hang out with Harper so we could go see The Informant and eat burgers at Burger Joint. And then there wasn't a cake. But there was ice cream and some of Marc's homemade chocolate sauce that we enjoyed with Jessica and Bruno at 10:30 PM. And then there were presents. And now I am 31.

Harper's best smile

And a birthday kiss

Some of that ice cream without cake

At a 2-year check-up

With a second birthday comes a trip to the doctor for more shots and a weigh-in. Harper had three needles stuck into her and didn't cry. Instead she yelped and said "it hurts." Since she loves band-aids so much, even plain ones, she was pretty pleased to leave wearing three.

Harper is in the 25th percentile for weight and the 50th for height. Just your average skinny kid.

As a big kid she's now eligible to wear a paper gown. And as a big kid Harper is no longer eligible to use a pacifier. Doctor's orders. Marc's orders did not carry the same punch because I have been brushing them off since spring.

Harper found all of the chocolate chips in the trail mix during our long wait to see the doctor.

Sarah in the City

My old friend and college roommate, Sarah, came to visit on Friday. She landed in Chinatown so we started our day with pork dumplings and taro, lychee, and black sesame ice cream.

This carrot was $1. It weighed 2 lbs. I made it into carrot soup. Which was delicious.

After a few wrong turns we finally marched across the Brooklyn Bridge. In fact, we marched a lot on Friday. All around Chinatown. To Doughnut Plant for a carrot cake doughnut. To the Tenement Museum for a tour we didn't take. Up and down stairs and through streets to the bridge. To the front of the subway so we could sit down all the way home. To Patsy's for a slice. To the car for a drive to an Afghani restaurant in the East Village. To the yogurt shop next door. To the Strand from the restaurant. To the rear of the subway so we could sit down all the way home. Our feet were sore. And we slept well that night.