We went to New York City to celebrate the birth of Santa Claus and his magic everlasting oil!
Such is my understanding of these events, at any rate. (By the way, uncle Eric took this photo. Not bad, eh? Click all these photos to see bigger versions.)
Grandpa Ira was very happy to see me.
So was Grandma Annette.
She let me teach her how to play the piano, which is surprisingly easy.
While I was there, I cooked farfalle for my new doll.
Mi piacciono le farfalle! (Ma non mi piacciono
le farfalle vive!)
Grandma Annette and Grandpa Les took me for a walk on the streets of Manhattan. Mom hosed me off with bleach later.
This is my cousin Alec. He really likes my cash register.
He's pretty good about looking straight into the camera.
So is his big sister, Mia, who's really old. She's about 45 or something.
Dad said she could take me home, but she checked with her own parents and they said it wasn't a good idea.
She draws really well.
This is my friend Cameron with his dad.
And this is my new friend Connor with grandpa Les.
Here's my friend Ethan with his dad, Edgar.
Here's Edgar trying to choke down one of Zia Mary's vegan cookies.
And here's Ethan chomping on some honeydew. Like father, like son!
I learned to play with light switches while staying with grandpa Ira and grandma Marianne!
They also let me paint and use markers at the same time.
Ooooooh.
This stuff is "washable."
We also went to mom's friend Jenn's house to celebrate Santa's potato latkes. I'm showing off my one-sock technique for scooter riding.
My friend Emma was there.
She's Ethan's big sister.
I like this scooter!
They tried to put nice things in my hair, but I put up a fight.
The hair things are pretty cute, though.
Emma and I played together while the grownups sat around drinking homemade vermouth, or whatever it is that grownups do.
Here they are!
I got this nifty stethoscope from Emma and Ethan when I was in New York.
Hooray for medical devices!
I also got this cool tent. Here I am camping with Kermit the Frog and my new bear, Osa.
Then we went to uncle Eric's house so that dad could take photos of his kitty, Jake.
This is Jake!
They said that Jake would try to eat me, but we got along great.
After some Jake photos, Eric and Emily showed mom and dad where the Long Island Children's Museum is. (Hint: The location is in the name.)
This must be a historical exhibit. They had this "corded tele-phone" there.
I found its implementation counterintuitive.
They also have this room full of flashing lights with sound.
This was an exhibit called "rescue dog." I misunderstood the title.
There's an entire room with nothing but blocks!
I love blocks!
The next day, I went to the Museum of Natural History. I was kind of in a mood, so we didn't see everything, but I did really like their tree with origami dinos.
Aunt Ellen showed me her collection of vintage blocks. It goes without saying that I liked them.
Then she put me in a basket for reasons I don't entirely understand.
This light fixture was designed to commemorate Santa's everlasting oil.
Go, Santa, go!
On my last day, grandma Marianne took me to a very, very cool place.
A locksmith shop!
Aunt Judy runs the show there. She let me use all the heavy machinery.
She taught me that if a machine doesn't work quite right, you hit it with a hammer.
Joseph and I looked out the door at the snow.
And then he gave me my very own set of keys! That's the best way to cap off a trip to New York.
