Run Fox Run

Families have rituals.  Some are carefully nurtured (we began reading stories to Leda at bedtime long before she was interested even in turning the pages), some are just common sense (most hygiene-related rituals fall here), and others seem to arrive fully formed.  And so it was, for us, with Movie Night.  We have not been big promoters of television, though we have not been as firm about this as some principled blowhards, but soon after Leda turned 3, we introduced her to The Rescuers and said that in the future, we could watch movies on “S” nights, contingent of course on good weekend behavior.  For a long time that meant a whole lot of Bernard and Bianca, until The Great Muppet Caper came onto the scene.  On extra-special “S” nights like this particular Sunday, Daddy pops popcorn while Mommy does the dinner dishes, and we all snuggle up together.  Latest photos are up in the third, yes third, album of the month.

Cleo is adventurous, fearless, and compassionate — she offers hugs to friends and siblings whenever they seem upset.  Her vocabulary is at the “growing exponentially” stage, and somehow we’ve managed to make one of those words “Please.”  Go us.  Latest photos in October Part Two!

Today Leda’s Pre-K class, and the Preschoolers too, visited a local farm for a hayride and a few autumnal activities.  It was a blast, as you’ll see in the Pumpkin Patch photo album.  With the other parents who attended, I gained new appreciation for the patience of their teachers who somehow conjure coherence out of chaos every day.

Over the weekend we also picked apples with Grandma at a farm a little closer to home, and took a few photos there as well (n.b. October Part One album).  On the drive to and from Lafayette, Leda rhaspodizes about the beautiful colors the leaves are turning; Cleo seconds, “trees” and “yellow.”  Yay for autumn!

For the fourth consecutive year, Leda celebrated her birthday with her good friend Jack who was born two days earlier, just down the hall at Overlook Hospital.  This year, they also celebrated with Jack’s little brother Daniel, who was born soon after Jack and Leda’s pirate-themed third birthday party.  This year’s party had an airplane theme, and Jack’s mom prepared a fleet of flight-inspired activities.  When they play together, Jack and Leda often announce that the couch is an airplane about to fly them to California or Sicily or the city, load it with “baggage,” perform boarding announcements for each other, and change planes several times.  Connecting flights were never so much fun.

At their party, their guests received small personalized carry-on bags to decorate and fill with party favors.  They decorated their own wings for test piloting on the obstacle course, and constructed gliders to race.  They dined on airplane food served in plastic trays (thank-you, Lunchables, for making this easy), stowed their gifts in the baggage check (no TSA agents in sight), and ate cupcakes topped with adorable airplane favors (Jack’s mom) and scrawled icing airplanes and clouds (yours truly).  Grandma Lynn and Papa even FLEW in an actual airplane to enjoy the party. A small selection of the enormous number of photos documenting our fun are in the 4th Birthday Party album.  We all had a fantastic time and are grateful to Jack and his family for sharing the festive occasion with us once again.

In the second half of September, we spent some time down the shore and in New York — which Leda calls “my city.”  Leda also started her new, serious ballet class, and enjoyed playing with her friends.  Cleo’s vocabulary expands each day, though she seems to think that saying “Please” while yanking toys out of other kids’ hands counts as asking nicely.  Today she pointed to the MacBook and said, “No-no, that’s Mommy’s,” woke up from nap wanting only to “Hug Yehda” and exulted, “Sushi!” when we pulled into the parking lot of our favorite neighborhood restaurant.  The latest photos are in the September 2008 Part Deux album.