Take a hike!

I had a difficult time putting Greta to bed Monday night. She lost Tueday's zoo privileges, library privileges, and playground privileges over the course of 30 minutes. (Rob wonders if she is too young for my "consequences" approach to discipline. I don't know...but hopefully the new book I ordered last week, Dr. Harvey Karp's "Happiest Toddler On The Block," will help me out. I swear by Dr. Karp's "Happiest Baby" book, as his techniques worked for both Greta and Lincoln, and am eager to learn how to end the sudden battles for control we've been having with Greta.) Anyway, before what proved to be the final tuck in, I reminded her of the "privileges" she had already lost due to her failure to stay in bed and go to sleep, and said that if she didn't stay in bed after this tuck in, she wouldn't see any friends tomorrow. Apparently that did the trick, because she told me goodnight, curled up, rolled on her side, and went to sleep. AT LAST. When I told our playgroup of Greta's limited options, we agreed to meet at South Mountain Reservation for a picnic lunch and hike through the forest, something we haven't done before. Turns out Greta's bad behavior was the best thing that could have happened, since we had a perfect autumn afternoon!

Emma, Greta, Emma, and Duncan

Only Charlotte didn't look at the camera!

Enjoying a post-hike swirl Saf-T-Pop Sucker

"Just the girls"

Trendsetter

Inspired by either her Grandma Vickie or Daddy's backstage questions for the models and designers during New York Fashion Week, Greta rocked this wide headband last week.

Wow, what a day!

We really felt like New Yorkers today, taking advantage of two enormous freebies -- the premiere of Sleeping Beauty's Platinum Edition at Chelsea Cinemas, followed by an extravagant Princess Party at the Plaza Hotel PLUS front-row seats to the Gazillion Bubble Show off-Broadway. Carey and Greta screened the 50th anniversary DVD while Lincoln and I took in the bubble show. Then we met up for the party at the hotel home of Eloise.

All of the pictures are pretty poor, sadly. Blame it on a relentless rain, a laser show and ballroom lighting. Still, it was without a doubt one of the most memorable days of Greta's life. I was just pleased to be part of it.

A bright bipedal future

Well, that took 10 days, maybe a little less. We just got back from the Short Hills mall and Lincoln pretty much walked the whole thing. We didn't have a stroller, so he had no choice. He never chose to crawl, just toddled around like a zombie, grabbing on to benches occasionally, smudging his hands against the glass storefronts.

So as for our contest that most of you lame readers refused to play, I'm calling it a tie. I think Halloween is a week or two before 16 months, 2 weeks, but Ryan & Lici both get props for playing at all.

The way of the walker

Greta enjoyed Imagine That with friends Emma and Duncan today. It was a rainy, cold day in New Jersey and the play space was just what we needed. While I have cute shots of the three-year-olds from this visit, the real treat for me was watching Lincoln enjoy his new-found mobility and explore the various exhibits. His favorites were the VW Beetle and the globe ball used to demonstrate Bernoulli's principle next to the Piper airplane. Once we moved on to other exhibits, he would look at me and declare "Ball!" or "Car!" and start to toddle back down the hall to enjoy them again. He also didn't hesitate to scale the firetruck or try to climb the motorcycle. I shouldn't be surprised, since he loves any book with the theme of "Things That Go." That, of course, means Mommy is on the go, now, too. Imagine that!

Helping parent

Carey can share more if she likes, but I thought I'd post a couple photos from her turn as "helping parent" at Morrow Memorial Preschool yesterday. They take the co-op thing very seriously, with one parent committed to being in the classroom daily and one weekend day per month spent doing community clean-up of the classroom. Carey reports that it's a highly social, but fairly unstructured environment. She doesn't think Greta will master her ABCs or numbers there, but she already has a dozen new friends. Of course, Duncan is Friend No. 1 and she spent a fair bit of time paling around with him while mommy was there. Carey also asks me to boast that Greta was one of two kids who correctly identified their names on cards that the teacher holds up to line the kids up for going outside. Red-headed Henry , in photo No. 2, was the other.

Follow that ant!

Yesterday, Lincoln was busy playing next to a tree at the playground around the corner when he suddenly screeched "BUG!!!!! BUUUUUUUUUG! Bugbugbugbug!" He pointed his little finger at the bark and followed a frantic ant as it scrambled up and down and around the nooks and crannies in the old oak tree. (Actually, I don't know what kind of tree it is, but "oak" had a nice ring to it.)

It was very amusing to watch him enjoy his discovery. He was so focused, leaning in for a closer look as the desperate ant tried to avoid his finger jabs. Apparently the ant did well with his scurrying, because Linc momentarily diverted his attention to find a big stick. He then really went to town banging on the bark, belting out "BUUUUUG! Bug! Buhbuhbuhbug!"

Although the ant survived, Linc still appeared victorious when he abandoned his quest. Enjoy the slide show and pretend you were there giggling along with me!

Turtleback

Just a cute photo of Greta lounging on a wooden sculpture at a little urban park on South Orange Avenue. Naturally, she calls it Turtle Park.

Viva la South Orange

Our humble abode hosted a couple of real live French people last week. Roger and Vitelia. Friends of my fathers and his snow-sculpting partner, who spent nearly 3 weeks in Jefferson County, N.Y., and environs, finally had enough of small town life and hopped on a train in Syracuse bound for the Big Apple. I'd never met them before in my life, but my Dad called Carey on Tuesday and vouched for them (they met while he was in France a few years ago), so we said, sure, they can stay at our place at night while touring NYC by day.

Well, long story short, it turns out my wife, among her many other talents, could easily be a B&B proprietor. Home-cooked meals every night, a (relatively with two kids) spotless kitchen, dining and family room, and even assistance buying Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building and Broadway tickets! In return, Greta and Lincoln got a pair of exotic new playmates and I downloaded 94 photos from Roger's Canon EOS XTi, bought at that Jewish mecca of electronics, B&H. Some fabulous shots of the kids and Manhattan from above.

For Grandma Pat, with love

My mom bought this outfit a while back and Greta didn't want to wear it until today. As the weather gets cooler, she likes to wear less clothes. Go figure. This morning she told Carey she wanted to look like Velveteen Rabbit, and this red gingham, brown skort outfit was chosen as the most Velveteen Rabbit-ish.

Toddling

Carey thinks the blog post broke the hex and Lincoln will walk this weekend. He certainly seemed eager to give it a try this evening before bed.

Walkin' man, sorta

My former NBC News colleague Alicia won our "when will Lincoln crawl contest," but she was still off by more than a month. (She guessed April 11 and he crawled May 19.) So I doubt any of you regular readers have the crystal ball to see when it is he will eschew crawling and walk. But have at it in the comments. Closest gets my eternal respect.

Background: He pulls himself up on anything, pushes everything from strollers to laundry baskets, and has taken up to about 7 or 8 unassisted steps. But he always squats back down and when he wants to get somewhere fast, it's hands and knees, baby. Oh, and if it matters, he's 15 months old one week from today.

Asian, she's not

Every four years we get badminton fever here at the Merrills. The Olympics just brings it out in us. So imagine our joy when we attended the McVetys College Ave. block party on Sunday and someone had erected a temporary badminton net in the street! Greta had a blast chasing the, ahem, shuttlecock around, while failing at every effort to hit it. You think it has anything to do with the way she holds the racket? Eventually she took to throwing it over the net, which was only about 3 1/2 feet high. If Daddy couldn't return it, she would applaud herself and talk a little smack.

Butterfly girl

Just another photo from Saturday's Kids' Day at our local Whole Foods. Really a well-run affair. Face painting, play your own instruments with the Music Together people and the actress who voices Emily Elizabeth from Clifford the Big Red Dog! Greta had her face painted like a butterfly and got a tattoo of a purple rose on her forearm. Three hours later, however, she was scrubbing like Lady Macbeth in the bath to remove the tat. Good girl.

DJ Linc

Our boy scratched the turntable at the West Orange Whole Foods Kids' Day. Look out, Moby.

There's hope...

Like every kid I've ever met, Greta prefers ketchup to mustard. But she's aware that her father is an aficionado of God's yellow condiment. A couple nights ago it was time to try Plochman's Chicago Fire mustard. But I was already in my favorite chair, so it was up to Greta to open the fridge, find the mustard, and help me squeeze it on the kielbasa. Job well done, daughter!

Apologies...

... for not posting. Linc's been running a fever for a few days, Greta's getting into the pre-school routine, and yours truly has been busy busy busy with New York Fashion Week and movie premieres.

Here's a photo from earlier in the week of our friend Nicole with her son Duncan and Greta. She and Carey are trying to figure out why Greta clings to Nicole when she visits and Duncan is so enamored of Carey. I say it's pretty simple -- they're fun and they're not always around, like parents.

And so it begins

Greta started preschool today. She was very excited to go, especially since her teacher sent her a letter last week that said she was "tickled pink" that Greta would be in her class. Donning a silky pink blouse for the special occasion, she beamed from ear to ear when her friend (and now classmate) Duncan's first words when he saw her were "Greta! You look like a princess!" Indeed she did:
She is very excited that there is an aquarium with three fish, a dress up corner with many princess outfits, arts and crafts, and tasty snacks. When I asked her if she had fun, she answered, "Yes, but there was so much to do, I didn't have time to dress up!" Today's session was simply a one-hour orientation, so the real test will be later this week when she is there for the afternoon. Will keep you posted on how it goes!

Say "Cheese" for cheesecake!

We had the McVetys over for dinner Saturday night. Carey's lasagna and Greta's strawberry cheesecake. It's an easy mix she and Mommy picked up at the New York State Fair. Strawberry flavoring, lots of cream cheese, lots more Cool Whip and a graham cracker crust. Greta's friend Duncan left the table after the main course and Greta had to go get him in the playroom: "Duncan, time for dessert! Strawberry cheesecake!" He came dutifully back and enjoyed it, along with the rest of us.

First home haircut

Settle down, Grandmas... just about 1 1/2" straight across the back. And Dad, she still has both ears!

First dill pickle

Courtesy of our friends the McVetys. Homegrown and pickled right here in South Orange.

In appreciation

Lincoln is at a great age. He communicates mostly with grunts and finger points and enjoys nothing more than pulling himself up on solid -- or sometimes not so solid -- objects. He smiles when he sees me and reaches out for hugs when I walk in the door. He sleeps through the night and naps like a champ. He adores his sister and his cat and likes to push anything that slides around on a hardwood floor. But most of all, he fits perfectly on my shoulders -- not too heavy, not too squirmy. Just perfect, son.

Take that, Jack London

Turns out we have a budding pyromaniac on our hands. Or at least someone who appreciates a good burn. Greta helped me build a fire last week at camp. We bundled up newspapers, placed small twigs on top, then built a teepee out of larger sticks. Once it was roaring, she really enjoyed throwing sticks and leaves on top, then watching them conflagrate. Monday night, as I tucked her in, she asked if we could build a fire in New Jersey sometime. I told her we would just drive through Newark after dark instead.

"Fair" to say, Syracuse was a blast!

Greta and Lincoln had a great time in Syracuse last week. Since we didn't see much of Grandma Vickie and Grandpa Larry when we were home last month (they were on vacation in Cape Cod), it was nice to spend a few days with them, and play with the seashells they brought back.

Some highlights:

Grandma Vickie's coy had babies a few weeks ago, which are now darting among the rocks and lily pads. This made feeding the fish 11 times more fun for Greta. Yellow squash were ready to pick. So were gladiolas.

Since Lincoln is now a year old, he got to join his big sister for a quick dip in the hot tub!

Great Grandma Manguno just moved back to Syracuse. Lincoln was happy to help her unpack and Greta enjoyed playing on her couch and sharing her stash of twinkies.

But the best part of the trip was attending The Great New York State Fair with the Santillanes cousins, Aunt Colleen, and Grandma Vickie. We arrived just after lunch, decided to stay for dinner, and before we knew it, the sun had set and the midway was shining in all its glory. From riding the unlimited rides, to spending 20 minutes watching a quail hatch from its egg, to eating cotton candy and ice cream and deep fried oreos and funnel cake, to petting bunnies and calves and piglets and baby chicks, to viewing dahlias the size of Lincoln's head, the kids had an amazing time. We didn't get home until (gasp!) 10:30, with Lincoln tucked in at 10:45 and Greta nodding off at 11. But, as everyone who has ever been to the state fair knows, that is what it is all about!