Back to Books

I've finally found time to start reading real books again (I've put down the child-how-to books for now). I just finished Jonathan Lethem's Fortress of Solitude, recommended to me by our friend Mikael Wood. It's a coming of age story about a boy growing up in Brooklyn in the 1970s. I thought the writing was quite good; you really only have to read the first page or two to get a glimpse of how well written it is. The author was occasionally trying too hard to be profound, but most of his attempts were successful. Overall, I thought it was quite good, though I would have enjoyed it more if I had understood more of the numerous references to music of the 70s, 80s and 90s.

Now I am reading Barbara Kingsolver's newest, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. I'm a huge fan of her fiction (Poisonwood Bible, notwithstanding), so I thought I'd give her non-fiction a try. Plus, I heard a story on NPR about it that piqued my interest. The book is about the year her family spent trying to eat only foods that were grown locally. I am interested in the "local food movement" (it just makes sense to eat food that is grown near where you live, intstead of eating food that was hauled across the country in a truck), and the book is very informative (so far). I frequent the local farmer's market in Prospect Park weekly and have been trying to buy much of our food there, which means that we ate an awful lot of asparagus in April and May, and that now we are eating tons of zucchini, yellow squash, string beans and wax beans. And last week they had okra for the first time. Sounds delicious, right? Tomatoes should be right around the corner... In fact, after Carter's music class this morning, we're headed to the market!

Next up, I'll be re-reading Harry Potter 6 in preparation for the final installment. I made the mistake of thinking that I had book 6 all figured out from early on, and I refused to believe what was happening for a good 50% of the book. So I need to go back and re-read it!

Article

There was an interesting article about our neighborhood the NY Times last week. We do, in fact, frequent most of the places mentioned in the article, and I would agree with most of what the author says about the 'hood. However, while she praises the neighborhood's "Sesame Street" feel, it's always been a little more "Cosby" to me.

Kirstin's Shower

This past weekend, we had a bridal shower for Kirstin in our garden. Patrick was there at the beginning, but otherwise, Carter was the only boy allowed to attend. He seemed to enjoy himself!

(and - can you believe that man is my baby brother? and - doesn't Kirstin look hot?!)

 

 

 

 

Camera Shy?

I don't think so. He loves to pose for the camera!

 

 

 

 

Dunked

Carter was having fun playing with a pen this afternoon. One look away, and the pen was lost in my beer. I'm not sure who was more sad - Carter for having lost his pen, or me for having my beer tainted.

 

 

 

 

Pool Fun

It's been a while since we posted a video, so here's a little one of Carter playing in his pool today. It was a cool day, so we filled the pool with warm water and Carter climbed in with his clothes on!

Garden Growth

My parents are in town visiting this week. Per Carter and Donna's request, here's a picture of us in the blossoming garden!

Good Picture

Patrick and Kir took this one in Central Park a couple of weeks ago.

New Chairs!

Hey, look at me. I have some chairs that are just my size.

And they're red!


Maybe you'd like to come and sit beside me?

No?
Fine then. I'll use both chairs myself.

I've been practicing walking all day. My feet could use a break!

Big Boy: Forward Sitter

Carter has recently moved into a forward facing car seat. He seems to enjoy it, and we love that his car seat has wheels (thanks for the sit-n-stroll recommendation, Rob and Rachel!). The wheels on the car seat come in particularly handy when you just barely make it back in time to return your rental car, so you have to walk home from the garage with your baby, car seat and all your purchases!

Last weekend we took Carter (forward-facing) to Ikea. It was the first trip to Ikea for both Carter and me. He enjoyed the slide, the rocking reindeer and the kid sized furniture. But mostly, he liked the 50 cent hot dogs!