Heavy is the Head, and all that. .

Christmas dinner a few nights late was a blast.
BTW, the Dauphin rocks!

Christmas Presents Galore!

Sadie and Uncle Preston Top The Tree

This morning Sadie and Uncle Preston set out to make a star to go atop the tree. As you can see,  it went really well. 

Additional Holiday Adventure photos

Holiday Adventure!

On Sunday morning Sadie and I decided we needed a little more adventure in our lives (and that mommy needed a little break in hers) so we headed out early for Manhattan. We emerged from the subway at 59th and Fifth, just across from the Plaza. Sadie was delighted to see all the horses pulling carriages.
Our first stop was the huge Picasso bronze beside the Paris theatre and then down the block to the windows at Bergdorf. They were lovely - this year's theme is "the Arts". They did a great job.
Then we strolled down Fifth Ave. and stopped for a giant pretzel. After that it was on to Saks where we went inside to see the crazy sparkly winter wonderland hanging from the first floor ceiling and then back outside to saunter along the front windows which are fairytale themed this year. Sadie especially liked the big doggie lying in bed wearing a bonnet and reading the newspaper (much to the dismay of Ms. Red Ridinghood).
After that, we crossed the street to Rockefeller Center and braved the crowds to get a better view of the very very big tree.
Finally we walked back up Fifth through the crowds which were, by then, pretty overwhelming and Sadie got a free bonbon at Lindt.
It was a pretty terrific morning.

Little Helper

The surest way to make sure `Little Miss Independent doesn't drive me nuts these days is to enlist her help. Sometimes she is actually helpful! Witness:

Sweeping Leaves

Kicking leaves back into place

Screaming at leaves

Mixing granola

Making banana bread

Vacuuming!

Mixing cookies

Stamping cookie bags

Tada!

Our Bumblebee!

It has been a busy couple weeks since Halloween,  but it must not go unmentioned here. Sadie was a bumblebee as you can plainly see. And Grandma Vicki was here to help get her into her stripes.
There wasn't much trick or treating,  but Sadie hung out with her friend Gabriel who was a pumpkin.
So there it is.

It's cold and funny out.

Just a quick post to show y'all what your granddaughter is looking like on this cold cold morning.

Fall Routine

We are all settling into our new routines, with Papa at his new job and Sadie in school 2 days a week (thought we might bump it up to three).

Sadie loves school. She names all the friends she sees there, and I hear reports of mellow but engaging activities like making purple stamps out of raw beets or pouring water over a bucket of pebbles. They eat things like soba noodles and roasted turnips, and Sadie naps like a champ with all the other kids. It seems like they are much more inclined to try new things when they see other toddlers doing it.

I don't have pictures of school (although there is a private facebook page - if you are on facebook and want access, let me know), but here are some pics of Sadie's general goings-on. These include soccer practice and playdates with Gabriel, who is back from Mexico. One nice side effect of school is that we are part of the whole wave of people getting their kids at 3:30. It can be chaotic, but also nice to run into friends regularly in the afternoons or to schedule regular after-school playdates.

Sadie has been a real gem lately. She is so articulate and fun to be around. She takes a lot of pleasure in friends (hers and ours) and is happy to try new things. What a sweetie.

Water break!

Playdate in the park with Gabriel. His mommy Lena had heard about making paint out of mud and turmeric. 

Tasting the first apples of fall at the farmer's market with our friend Cailin.

Husking corn for Gabriel's dinner.

Walking to soccer.

Hugging the lady with the hair.

Third Cancun Post

Here is Mommy's batch of photos from our trip. 

Watching airplanes at the airport!

Just chatting away.

Ready to party, bro.

Here are Maddie and Sadie in the little kiddie pool. Maddie was one of the Petit Club counselors, and she was awesome. Sadie adored her.

Every day at 4:30, the Petit Club did a group activity somewhere out in the "village" so that parents could come watch or participate. There was a pinata, finger painting, and even a little pageant in the theater. Each segment was a dance celebrating a different country or region. I honestly can't remember which one this is. The boy is wearing leopard so maybe... Kenya? I don't know, but here is Sadie all dressed up. At first she was pretty dumbstruck by the lights, but then she danced a little and then totally lost it when she saw us in the audience. But it was still pretty much the cutest thing ever. She was mostly interested in Amanda's bare belly.

I know you will all let me know if these videos don't load properly.

Still in makeup.

With her new friend Ingrid after a long week of Petit Club

Watching pelicans go "boom!" into the water.