Merry Christmas

Rosemary attending the office Christmas party.

The kids love this wonderful advent calendar sewn by our friend Carolyn Coffee, who also made Rosemary's quilts.

Hanging the ornaments, somewhat precariously.

Graffiti

It will probably take a second to notice Silas.

This graffiti -- by a well-known artist, Phetus -- just went up at Broadway and 215.

"Smile"

Fog

Socked in, Sunday morning.

Seeing Lucy

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, we got to see Kate, David, and their daughter Lucy, who is one month older than Rosemary.

The girls have no idea that they see one another every few months, but they are always happy to hang out.

Fall Photos

More fall pictures are here. 

Tough Girl

What ever happened to Silas's birthday balloons?

Vote!

Meredith and I brought this kids into the voting booths this morning.

Below is a helpful guide to the presidential candidates from Silas's kindergarten.

Happy Halloween!

More Halloween pictures are here.

Aftermath

The storm hit New York City pretty hard, but the worst damage was to the boroughs and lower Manhattan.

Inwood fared quite well -- we never even lost power.

Local businesses in our neighborhood are all open today, though schools are closed and Meredith and I were told not to report to work.

Many trees fell here, but as far as I know, no one's home was hit and there are no injuries reported so far in Inwood.

The tree pictured at bottom is from the back yard of our apartment building. We are glad it fell across 214th Street instead of the other way (into our building).

More pictures from the storm are here.

Frankenstorm

Pictures from this morning -- winds around 20-25 mph at this point.  We were in the park for a bit until the rangers drove up and asked us to leave.

10/30 update, 12:01 a.m.:  Unlike lower Manhattan, we still have power.  The wind is loud and we've heard three times what sounds like trees cracking apart. But the kids are sleeping through it and our apartment is cozy.

Grandparents - Part Two

Grandpa Ray and Grandma Charlotte spent a week with us and were here for Silas's fifth birthday.

Grandpa Ray taught Silas how to fix Ikea chairs with a screwdriver.

Rosemary kept sharing a bunch of Silas's birthday balloons with Grandma Charlotte.

The kids had a great time and were thrilled to see all four grandparents in the same month.  

Silas is 5!

Silas turned five today!

Here are a few pictures from his birthday party.  More are here.

And here is a picture of Silas five years ago.

I'm sure most people think five-year-olds are little kids, but to us, today, five seems incredibly old.

Communication

How many words can you recognize?

Grandparents - Part One

We're fortunate to be seeing both sets of grandparents this month.

My folks worked the first shift, logging many hours in Inwood's parks.

Rosemary only has about ten words, but her list now includes "Grandpa" and "Grandma."

Superkids

Time to break out the long-sleeved pajamas.

Lions Game

With Rowan and Quinn, we saw Columbia's football team get crushed by Princeton today.  The kids didn't mind.

 

Inwood, Sunday Morning

Pictures from last Sunday morning in Inwood Hill Park.

Homework

Apparently there is homework in kindergarten these days.  That's nuts. 

So far Silas has been a good sport, although he needs some coaxing.  As for Rosemary, she can barely wait to have homework of her own.

9/17 update: This evening I was trying to get Silas to complete a worksheet where he had to count candles on a series of cupcakes.  Silas said, "This homework doesn't seem very important."

10/1 update:
Silas:  Thanks for having my homework take up all my play time.
Me:  Okay, but why are you thanking me?
Silas:  That was sarcasm!

Kindergarten

Thursday was the first day of kindergarten!

Here is Silas wearing his school uniform (which in cooler months will include a green sweater) in front of the school.

We cannot yet report that Silas likes kindergarten.  He says that it's too long (he's right -- 8:00 a.m. to 2:20 p.m.) and that there's not enough play time (probably right about this, too).

We expect that he'll warm up to it, just like he warmed up to pre-K and nursery school.

Rosemary, on the other hand, was thrilled to be at kindergarten.  We all attended the first day, and Rosemary waltzed into the center of the room while Silas hung back with us.

Silas eventually sat on the carpet to listen to Ms. Paynter read a story. Partway through the book, Rosemary started squirming, so I put her down for a second.

She made a break for it. She darted between the other parents and before I could get past them to catch her, she was on the carpet. She plopped herself down and listened to the teacher read for a bit. Then she got up, walked over to Silas, and gave him a big hug. He kissed her on the cheek. All the other parents said "Awwww...."

Silas is attending our local public school.  The list of required supplies appears to be a not-too-subtle attempt to stock the school's cupboards in budget-conscious times.  Here is a picture of everything he had to bring.  A roll of paper towels.  Three (count 'em) sets of watercolor paints. A container of hand soap -- and -- a container of Purell.  Thirty-six pencils!  And more...  (My mom said: What's he going to do, go through a pencil a week?  Meredith said:  At least they didn't ask us to bring toilet paper.)  

Labor Day

We spent a lot of time at the beach over the Labor Day weekend.

Above, Rosemary reunited with Lucy, daughter of our friends Kate and David, at Atlantic Beach.

Below, photos from Long Beach Island.

Rheanna and Andy, who hosted us on the Jersey Shore, are shown here helping Silas with one of his inventions. This may look like a sand castle but it is designed to trap incoming waves and to create little waterfalls in the sand.

More pictures from the Labor Day weekend are here.

In the Driver's Seat

Silas and I stopped to watch this BMW take off. Its owner (standing rear left) saw Silas's interest and offered him a seat. (The engine is running!)

Below, Silas with a backseat driver at Jason's place in Tribeca.

Storefront Science

Silas began a morning camp today at Storefront Science. He met the resident tarantula, who has a charming name -- Rosie.

Domestic Disturbances

I was trying to film Silas and Meredith making brownies. I wound up with footage of Rosemary's general attempts to dismantle our apartment.

Martha's Vineyard

We spent a week on Martha's Vineyard with Dodie, Alison, Kelley, and families.

Way more pictures are here.

Silas and Rosemary loved being around the big kids -- Owen, Maggie, Franklin, and Solly.

These photos are all from Oak Bluffs, the town where we stayed. Alison's place is just a few blocks from the beach and a block from Circuit Avenue, the main drag.

The carousel photos are from the Flying Horses.  Just like the old days, riders can grab rings as they go around the ride.  All the rings are iron except for one, the brass ring, which Owen snagged -- earning a free ride.