IZZY & BUD IN THE BIG APPLE

Bella (and her parents) had the rare treat of a visit to New York City by Izzy and Bud, who came up from Dalton to visit in early October. Izzy was in town for a week and a half, and Bud was here for a week. So they got lots of time with Bella to explore the city and see her school and visit Hippo Park.

The first day that Izzy was in town coincided with a school-wide picnic in the crabapple orchard of Riverside Park. She went with Bella and her dad and really enjoyed running around with her friends Colin and Jean Michael. Here's a snapshot of Bella and Jean Michael having a brief picnic on Bella's cat blanket. They soon got up, took their raisin boxes, and ran around snacking in different parts of the orchard.
















Bella also took her parents and Izzy and Bud to Central Park for a long walk there. Beforehand, they all got hamburgers and fries from The Shake Shack and ate lunch outside the Museum of Natural History. In the park, Bella had fun jumping high with her parents' help (see below), watching little motorized boats in a pool, picking berries and flowers and listening to some drummers. It was an unseasonably beautiful weekend, and we were all glad to enjoy the weather together.














Bella was out of school one day while Izzy and Bud were in town, so they took her to one her favorite spots: the Central Park Zoo. They had lunch there, and saw the polar bears and penguins and seals. And then Bella got to play in a large dinosaur egg and goof off with this rabbit statue.















All in all, it was a wonderful week and a half for all involved, and we're ready to do it again soon!

2 & 3/4

In addition to her name, Bella now tells people she meets that she is "two-and-three-quarters."

Actually, she tells people she meets on the street or in the building or in a restaurant or on a train or at the park a lot of things these days. Mostly, its a blow by blow recap of what's just happened to her, or it could be about what she is looking forward to doing after school or tomorrow, or it could be about her grandparents' whereabouts and when she'll visit them again. And honestly, most of these folks are kind enough to stop and listen as closely as they can and try to make sense of what she's telling them. They are also amazed usually by how social and conversational she is at such a young age.

So are we.

STORM KING!

On October 3, Bella and her parents loaded up in the family truckster and drove up the beautiful - and all too close to the city - Palisades Parkway to visit the Storm King Art Center an hour north of NYC. Storm King is a sprawling outdoor sculpture garden housing gigantic works and many smaller, more subtle pieces by well-known and obscure artists. It was worth it just to get out of the city for a few hours and enjoy the gorgeous fall weather and amazing views at every turn. It was also worth it because we met three other families there with small children. Bella's favorite though was Anna, who is a year older than her. But they had a blast running around the wide open spaces. Anna is an amazing frisbee thrower, and Bella thinks the philosophy behind frisbee is to get the disc and then run away with it. So there was a little friction from time to time, but they had a great day together and both girls want to hang out more often. Maybe Halloween?

Here's some shots from Storm King: one with Bella and Anna on a boulder, one of Maya Lin's "Wavefield" piece, one of a little impromptu picnic we all had, and one of some sculpture set against an amazing backdrop of clouds. We're ready to go back!

SCOOTERING SARAH SZE

October 2 was a big day for Bella. It was a Saturday, so we made pancakes for breakfast. We've got a good system down in which she helps measure and pour the pancake mix, milk and oil and then shakes in cinnamon. Then she mixes up the batter and sticks her finger in to taste. Then we make some pancakes and she gets the first one and takes it to the table to await syrup. Then we eat pancakes.

But on October 2, Bella's mom had promised to get her a Mini Kick push scooter. She had been asking for a scooter for months, and lots of kids around her have them - zipping along the sidewalks, criss-crossing the park, even riding them to school. So we all went to the toy store on Amerstdam Avenue that we like so much. Bella wanted a pink scooter, but they only had blue or orange available. We asked and she wanted a scooter that day, so she chose the orange one. $80 later, we were on the street taking the scooter out of the box, quickly assembling it, and strapping on Bella's helmet.

Having never ridden a scooter before, we weren't sure what we were getting into. But, remarkably, she never fell over or off. Bella had trouble steering the scooter - by leaning the handle bar one way or the other - but she quickly figured out the brake and really loved it. It was slow going though, since she wasn't steering she could only scoot for a few feet before she had to stop, pick up the scooter, move it over and start again.



















Her dad wanted to go down to Chelsea to see the new Sarah Sze show on 21st Street. He had waited nearly 10 years for another show by one of his favorite visual artists, and was hyped to get there. His friend, Adam, the Brooklyn dodger, was going to meet him there to check the show, too. So I offered to Bella that we hop on the choo choo and go downtown where the streets were more level and the scooting would be easier. She agreed and when we got out of the train, she started scooting through the West Village and Chelsea, eliciting fans at every other stoop we passed. When we finally got to the gallery district, Bella sensed something was up and said she didn't want to go see any art.

Fortunately, from the door of the gallery where the Sze show was, we could see one of her small installations: two fluorescent-colored bike frames and two small stacks of colored adhesive tape rolls. I pointed them out to Bella, and she was hooked. We went in, I explained that she couldn't touch anything, we found Adam, and then went into the first room of the exhibition. Bella was entranced by Sze's assemblage of tiny pebbles, some of which were painted at one end, and all laid on the floor in a meticulous pattern that barely hinted at the beehive of construction Sze had assembled as the main portion of the leaning piece that spread out throughout the room.




























Here are shots of two of Sze's installations at the gallery. Bella's grandmother, Izzy, visiting the show last week as well, and snapped these shots. Amazing, right?















Of particular pride for Bella's dad was that he set Bella's scooter and helmet in one corner of the first room of the exhibition so Bella and he could move about unencumbered. And when we went upstairs to see the rest of the show, we grabbed them and brought them with us. A man on the staircase saw us with them, and said he thought the items were part of Sze's first installation. Imagine! Me mistaken for a great artist!

After the Sze show, Bella and her dad and Adam walked around Chelsea a bit (well, Bella scooted) and we snapped these pics beside a cool street art covered wall. Bella actually requested the shot be taken of her next to the weird doggie face.

TRIP TO WASHINGTON

A few weeks ago - I'm behind! - Bella and her dad loaded up the car and drove down through New Jersey to Cape May where we very excitedly drove onto a big boat that then took us and about 100 other cars and passengers across the water to Delaware. Bella was very pumped up about being on the big boat and wanted to see every inch of it. But then she stumbled on a step and fell to her knees on the gritty surface of the ferry's deck. That ended the joyfulness of the boat ride, but we still managed to have fun seeing other big boats in the water, and talking about the round life preservers affixed every 20 feet along the railing. Bella wanted to jump in the water so she could use one like Curious George does in his first book. But her dad talked her out of it. The video of this conversation is a little to wind-blown to be worth posting here, and the only photos taken on that part of the trip were of her knees.

So we'll move on.

We spent the night in Rehobeth Beach, Delaware mainly so Bella's dad could go to the Dogfish Head Brewery and restaurant. The glass of 75 Minute Pale Ale made the whole drive. ferry mishap and weird hotel we picked to stay in worth it. Ah!

The next morning, we drove into Washington, D.C. to arrive at Uncle Reid and Aunt Claire's house. It was the weekend of Cousin Til's christening, and Bella's grandparents, Izzy & Bud, were already there along with some of Reid's old friends and their families. Among them were John and Stephanie and their girls, Graham and Sumner. Bella had a good time playing with the girls - one just older and one just younger than her. She also got to see Uncle Boo, the great dane, and stay up late to have dinner out with everyone.

The next day, we all went to church for the service, and Bella behaved herself very well, talking quietly and drawing on any piece of paper she could get her hands on. She refused to stay seated during the christening itself, so her dad held her up at the front of the church and she only dropped her crayon three times. Then it was back to Reid and Claire's for a brunch and running around before we got back in the car and drove back to NYC and mommy!

In the photos below, you see Bella with Graham, the older sister who was visiting. She and Bella had a love/hate thing going on, but when they were loving one another they had a blast running around the yard, sharing orange juice and eating snacks.

SCHOOL UNIFORMS

Bella's mommy has been taking a few snapshots of Bells before she goes off to school every morning. Here are a few choice selections. Keep in mind that Bella is usually picking her own outfits out. And her animal friend in the last two shots is Baby Sheep, who often accompanies Bella to school.