80 degrees!

Only this smile makes the Yankees/Red Sox hurt go away. That and the realization that it's only April 25th.


We had a hell of a day, and I mean that in the most favorable way. Took the 10:04 train into the city for an 11:30 concert at the Sirius/XM studio with The Lauri Berkner Band. AP's music editor passed on the invite to me, knowing we have two kids. Turns out the lead guitarist/co-vocalist from our all-time favorite band Eddie from Ohio was there, too! Robbie Schaefer hosts Kids Place Live for the satellite radio conglom and came up from D.C. to kick it off with Berkner. So Carey chatted him up for awhile, letting drop that we got turned on to EFO in 1995 when they played an Arlington bar called Bad Habits Grill. He offered us his latest solo CD, which we gladly paid $15 for.

Anyway, the concert was swell, except Greta fell asleep on my lap halfway through. We transferred her to the stroller and perambulated 10 blocks north to Central Park with a few hundred thousand other New Yorkers. It gave me a chance to practice landscapes, this week's photography class assignment.

We had lunch at the Central Park Zoo and then steeled ourselves with ice cream for the 30-block stroll south back to Penn Station.

We arrived just in time for the 4:11 back to South Orange, only to find out it was canceled because of a fire in Newark. So we went on a tour of mid-town playgrounds that I had seen during workday drives through the city. The kids were great throughout, rarely complaining and even walking quite a bit. At 6 we checked in at Penn again only to find out NJ Transit had no idea when trains would be running. So we hoofed it to The Port Authority and took the kids on their first bus ride through the Lincoln Tunnel. We were home by 7:30 and Lincoln was fast asleep by 815. Greta took a little longer to settle down, but finally nodded off around 9.

All in all, a very New York family day.

Come again, soon!

Is there a better way to start the day?

Bubble babies

Bronx Zoo

The day after the Yankees historic 22-4 beatdown in the Bronx, we went there to try and recruit some gibbons to pitch for the pinstripes. Didn't have much luck, but did take some good shots.

Four-year-old fun

We spent Saturday afternoon in Mahwah, N.J., celebrating the fourth year of Alexandria Asterita's life. She's the oldest daughter of a former msnbc.com colleague. And she's a very lucky girl! She shared her super duper playground, her princess moon bounce and her mommy and daddy rented the Fun Bus for a couple hours so the kids could, well, have fun in it! I took about 120 photos, trying to practice shutter speed and portraits and got about 10 good ones.

Full slide show here.

Special dance

We haven't ponied up for dance lessons yet, but Greta did get a new leotard the other day. She put it on and proceeded to put on a show for Carey, who had the video camera ready.

Take a hike

Greta's good friend Emma joined us today for a great hike through South Mountain Reservation. We varied our usual route and scaled a rocky path to get to the top of the waterfall. The girls did a great job navigating while Lincoln was perched in the backpack. At the top, the kids enjoyed tossing rocks into the stream and sending leaves down the current until Lincoln decided stomping in the water would be more fun. Greta confessed that she was "very nervous" descending down the rocks, and I told her how very brave she had been. She really is turning into quite a good hiker (albeit a diva-ish one...she dressed herself today and insisted on carrying her bunny in its fluffy pearl-handled purse)!

A highlight of the trip occurred during the return journey: a butterfly kept circling us! It had apparently just emerged from its chrysalis: unsteady in flight, then landing and flapping its wings. It performed this cycle over and over, and we had fun trying to spot it in the leaves. Greta was so excited to see it finally take off and soar through the air!

After finding "treasure rocks," giant leaves, and big sticks, we headed to the park for a yummy picnic lunch and some chalk-doodling time on the giant rocks. It was a fantastic outing! If you have the patience, enjoy the long slide show below.

Dancing queen

Greta entertained me today with a special dance in a cute leotard we picked up at Other Mothers. Before she performed, she decorated her tights with stickers of her favorite Disney fairies: Tinkerbell, Silvermist, Fawn, and Iridessa. She then requested classical music (I picked Andrea Boccelli). She directed that as her "audience" I sit in the chair in the corner. She then danced around and across the living room, spinning, bending, stretching, and finally curtsying. Our little prima ballerina!

Helping Parent VII

Greta and I enjoyed helping friend/parent duties last Thursday, her last class before Easter/Spring Break. I didn't realize when I signed up for the 9th that it meant Easter Party responsibilities, so I was caught off-guard when Mrs. Hicks requested on Wednesday that I bring Easter cookies with frosting for decorating and extra hard-boiled eggs. Having barely recovered from the party on Tuesday, I baked another three dozen...which meant eight dozen cookies in three days!

The afternoon was a blast. In addition to the cookies and egg decorating, Greta and I enjoyed playing farm as "Mama Pig", "Baby Pig", and "Goose" with girlfriend Madison, with the occasional interruption from fierce tigers and lions (utilized by the boys, of course). The kids loved singing "Little Bunny Foo-Foo" and "I'm A Fat Brown Rabbit," and I couldn't help but laugh at their giggles. On the playground, Greta impressed me with her latest trick on the corkscrew, and then I got to play Easter Bunny and hide eggs for their class hunt in the garden. We had a fun snack time with carrot sticks, cheese, and, of course, the cookies the kids decorated. On the way to pick up Lincoln, Greta thanked me for a special afternoon, "just the girls." No, sweetness, thank you!

Easter lessons

• One chocolate bunny for each kid -- anything more than that tends to facilitate sibling fights and endless cravings.
• No bunny ears for Lincoln until high school.
• Greta already knows how to peel hard-boiled eggs with a spoon.
• Global warming is indeed a hoax, and until that's scientifically proven, Jona Michelle will continue to design sun dresses entirely inappropriate for the outside temperature.
• Macy's Flower Show and FAO Schwarz are not unpopular holiday weekend destinations, even in a steady rain.
• Given enough time, Carey can cook anything from Relaxed Cooking with Curtis Stone. (Who Rob just happened to interview last week)
  
• Aaron & Amy Reid should visit us more often.

4-day lull

Apologies, constant readers, for the post break. No good excuse, just lazy. Carey got some great shots on Thursday while she was Helping Parent at Greta's school. And I shot a bunch yesterday at the zoo. Our friends Aaron & Amy are visiting from New Hampshire this weekend. We'll wrap it all up Sunday night or Monday. Happy Easter to those of you who dig the resurrection.

The never-ending party

We had a great time today hosting 13 of Greta and Lincoln's buddies for an Easter party, which was supposed to be from 10:30 to 1-ish. The usual number swelled because Greta wanted to invite the boys from her preschool class (in the past, only buddy Duncan made the cut...Rob and I are not sure what to make of the fact that Greta wanted the boys here, and that she wanted to sit next to Marshall specifically).

In standard Merrill party fashion, the kids decorated cards, enjoyed lunch, and frosted cookies. In between the planned activities the kids had free range of the house, playing with nearly every toy in every room, and on every dad present. Lincoln loved having four "big" boys to play with, throwing balls, crashing trucks, and making music. Post-party, Lincoln napped while Greta crashed with girlfriends Olivia, Emma, and (other) Emma in front of Tinkerbell, The Movie. As soon as Linc woke up, the 9 of us headed to the playground for some much-needed run-around time. Got home around 5:30 and the kids warmed up with hot cocoa and marshmallows. We said our final farewell to friends at 6 pm! It was a long, exhausting day, but one of the nicest we've recently had. Definitely shaping up to be an egg-stra special Easter week!

Shoes, too

While Carey bakes sugar cookies for tomorrow's annual Easter Party at the Merrills, she's asked me to blog. It helps that the NCAA men's championship is a snoozer. Today's photo, taken while I was at work, natch, features Lincoln once again dressed like a girl. I'm told Greta was contentedly playing by herself when Lincoln came over to check out what she was doing. He was given his usual tutu and then noticed Greta's feet. "Shoes, too," he said. So now the boy wears heels. I'd like to take this opportunity to add that while I don't have any photos of it, he throws both left- and right-handed.

A lovely end to the week

It was 67 degrees in the tri-state area today and everyone took advantage. The parks were packed, the rakes were whistling and the air smelled like cookouts. Naturally I didn't take a single picture. But we packed a lot in on Sunday -- a long walk in the morning, a picnic at South Orange Reservation, yard work, a bike ride to get ice cream, and hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill for dinner.

I had the camera with me on Saturday, when the best shot ended up not even being my kid. That's Greta's pal Emma running from some kind of monster embodied by her Dad. With a longer lens, it's almost award-winning. Does the Easter Bunny bring gifts?

I also took a couple good shots of the Merrill brood while they were decorating what I still find an amusing tradition -- the Easter Tree.

Hop, skip, and jump

Splish splash! Greta and Lincoln enjoyed a brief break in the rainfall yesterday afternoon. Donning rubber boots and raincoats we headed out for a walk around the block. After enjoying many puddles and ceremonially burying one drowned earthworm, we headed to Grove Park per Greta's request. There, Lincoln enjoyed the biggest mud puddle I have ever seen. He ran, splashed, twirled, and eventually plopped down in the middle of it, laughing and giggling the entire time. He was having so much fun he stood up and plopped down again. I know, probably not the best thing to do after a week of illness, but I figure there are times when laughter really is the best medicine. Enjoy the slide show here!

On the mend

Lincoln and Greta are both feeling much better. They still have runny noses and coughs, but are fever free and full of energy. Yesterday we enjoyed a trip to the zoo, where the one of the roaming peacocks put on quite a show for us. The kids were in no rush to see other sights as they watched him strut, crow, and fluff his feathers.

They also had fun riding the carousel, dancing around the turtle statue, and howling with the wolves. Best of all, the train was finally running, and we scored the caboose! After a picnic lunch next to the pumas and a quick trip to the gift shop, it was time to return home for naps. It was a really nice day. Hopefully the worst of the colds is over and a nice weekend awaits.

Sunshine after rain

It's a deluge here in Jersey, but the metaphor applies to our family's health. Since we got 3 calls from family concerned about Greta, I thought I'd post an update. We won't tell Lincoln that the post about HIM being sick two days prior didn't garner a single call. Anyway, the kids are all right, as Pete Townsend sang. Carey and I are a little sniffly, but much better. I'll take some photos this weekend of everyone feeling better, promise.

Sick girl

Naturally the day Lincoln started to feel better Greta spiked a fever. She had an awful Tuesday night, snuggled up against Mommy and just radiating heat. It's been almost two years since she's been truly sick, so she had lots of questions: "Why am I hot? Why am I so thirsty?" A Motrin/Tylenol cocktail took her temp down most of today, but she wasn't up for much. Mommy tells me the television menu included Toot & Puddle, Miss Spider's Sunnypatch Friends, Wow Wow Wubzy and Ni Hao, Kai-lan complemented by the Little Tikes Land DVD to accommodate Lincoln. I checked in around lunchtime and when Greta learned it was me on the phone she said to Mommy, "take a picture of me and send it to him." So here's the pic, snapped with Carey's cell phone. It might be my favorite of the year, simply because she asked for it to be taken and she knew it was going to me.

Daddy? Daddy? Daddy!

Carey continues to learn how to create a children's book with Duncan Ewald and the South Orange Maplewood Adult School on Tuesdays from 7:30-9:30 p.m., so I get to play Mr. Mom, something I've done much less of with Lincoln than Greta. Chalk it up to odd work hours and Carey being so incredibly good at it now that she's staying at home. Anyway, Lincoln was bathing when I got home, so Carey finished that up and kissed the kids goodnight. We played hide-under-the-covers for a bit, then I convinced Greta to hit the potty and brush her teeth. She opts out about twice a week these days to "skip bath," as she puts it. Personal hygiene out of the way, I attempted to put Lincoln down first. We read a couple books and he pointed to the crib and said, "Bed." I laid him in and he happily murmured to himself, index and pointer fingers of his right-hand jammed in his mouth (his typical "I"m tired" signal since the day he was born).

So on to Greta. We read Too Many Toys and Where Do You Sleep, Little One? then swap butterfly kisses. (She's getting very good at them... tickled my nose and ear last night).

7:49 p.m. and I'm downstairs wondering what's on TiVo. At about 8, Lincoln stands bolt upright in his crib and says, "Daddy?" Just one word, but what I hear is: "Did Daddy just try to tuck me in? Where the hell's Mommy?" I run upstairs, much faster than safe, and scoop him out of the crib. "Book," he says. So we read Good Night, Washington, D.C., a horrible riff on Goodnight Moon. But he likes to ID the animals on the first page as the National Zoo wakes up. Repeat the lay down and tuck him in. Fast forward to 8:15, dinner finally warming in the microwave. Cries this time of "Daddy? Daddy? Daddy!" Just like that -- inquiring at first, then plaintive. I pick him up, pat him on the back and tell him all the people who love him, led by yours truly and ending with the neighbor's dog. That does the trick and he goes down for the rest of the night.

Not as seamless as Carey's bedtime routine, but as my 67-year-old father always reminds me, "It's nice to be needed." (Happy Birthday, by the way, Dad!)