Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, everyone! 

We're on bit too much of a sugar high to recount all our Halloween adventures tonight, but wanted to at least post a picture of this year's costumes.

I think that Jasper's is pretty self explanatory, but who can guess what mine is? And no, I'm "not just a penguin" (as I kept telling everyone while trick or treating...) Obviously, I'm Peso Penguin, from my favorite show, The Octonauts!

What, doesn't everyone watch obscure British kids cartoons?

One more hurricane day activity - video

Practicing counting - in English and Polish - and singing (just in English, for now...)

Hurricane Sandy

How is everyone coping with the Hurricane (everyone in the Northeast, that is)? We hope everyone is safe.

For us it's so far so good. The wind is really blowing now, and we know that much of New York City, including the subways, tunnels and airports are flooded, but our neighborhood seems to be holding up so far, knock on wood.

Of course, Mommy is stuck in Raleigh, North Carolina. She was at a wedding in St. Kitt's over the weekend, then her flight back on Sunday was diverted to Miami. The earliest she could get a flight back to NYC from there was Sunday, so instead, Mommy rented a car in Miami and is now driving home with a friend, chasing the storm from behind. Hopefully she makes it home tomorrow.

As for us, as soon as we found out yesterday that schools would be closed today, we immediately set about planning our day at home with Daddy.

And I must say, we managed to follow the schedule I wrote up pretty closely, starting with "reading workshop" and setting up a library...

Then, as you can see on my schedule, it was time to make jewelry (beads jewelry, to be exact...)

Then - play, play, play!  Me played choo-choos...

And cars - Everett decided to catalogue his entire collection... 

Especially his "cars with eyes"...

We even built an obstacle course in the house, and we guess that because of the unique circumstances, Daddy didn't even object...

After lunch and nap, it was time to carve our pumpkin!

We think we did pretty well - what do you think?

Boo!

Then more play time, some TV, and a healthy dinner...

And finally, one unschedules activity - barricading our bedroom window just in case the hurricane wind gets strong enough to blow it out while we sleep...

Boy, that was a super busy, but fun, day! But we would really prefer for the hurricane to go away already so that we can go back to school to see our friends (unfortunately, that won't happen until at least Wednesday, since school was already canceled for tomorrow.) But we at least hope that Mommy makes it home safely and quickly tomorrow.

Stay safe, everyone!

Happy Birthday, Carys!

Guess who turned one year old a few days ago? Carys Biu-Mui! And since she's one of the very few East Coast cousins, of course we had to go to her birthday party.

As soon as we arrived at her house out on Long Island, Jasper and I gave Carys her birthday gift and hand-made card.

Then, as soon as we spied our opportunity, we dug right into hers and Nathan Biu-Dee's toys. I quickly zeroed in on the types of toys I love the most...

And Jasper did the same...

But the real fun didn't begin until I discovered these - 

Balloons! It all started out innocently enough, with everyone getting their fair share of balloons...

But from then quickly proceeded to what will from now on be known as the "balloon frenzy"...

Everyone, including Nathan, got in on the fun.

Jasper even helped Nathan launch some balloons from the upper level, where he was too little to reach over the railing on his own.

Once the balloon frenzy subsided, it was time for the birthday cake -

Nathan did his job as a good big brother, and helped Carys blow out her candles -

And then we all dug into the treats!

Happy Birthday, Carys! Thanks for inviting us to your birthday - we had a blast! 

Hansel and Gretel

Now that I'm in my second year of preschool, and me and my friends are all a bit older, we're venturing out of our classroom more often, sometimes for neighborhood walks, sometimes to "the big yard" to see demonstrations by visitors (like the farmers who brought an apple press for us to try out), and most recently, to see our first puppet show - in this case, Hansel and Gretel.

Though I have to admit that I don't think I was quite ready to see a show about a "young brother and sister threatened by a cannibalistic witch living deep in the forest in a house constructed of cake and confectionery"...

Yes, that's me, snuggled into one of my teacher's lap, facing away from the stage, while the other kids enjoyed the show... it was definitely more than a bit scary!

But my teacher did assure Mommy and Daddy that by about half-way through the show, I warmed up to the action, and faced the stage to watch (though still from the safety of her lap), and when I came home, I even told Mommy and Daddy that I loved the puppet show and want to see more. Though maybe next time, something not involving a "cannibalistic witch"...

Heeeeeee's back!

Did you know that for the past six weeks, Dziadek has been on a solo hike though Spain? Yes - solo hike. Yes - six weeks.

Specifically, Dziadek completed the full length of the Camino de Santiago, which means he essentially *walked* the full width of Spain, starting on the very Eastern border (actually, in Bayonne, France, across the border), and ending in Santiago de Compostela on the other side of the country...

Everett and I were able to follow Dziedek's every step via the many post cards he sent us from along his route. 40 post cards to be exact (I guess you have to do something to stay busy in the downtime while hiking solo for six weeks...)

Anyway, today was finally the day Dziadek came home. I was super excited to go pick him up at the airport - both because I missed Dziadek, and also because, well - it's the AIRPORT!!!

(Everett decided not to join us so that he could finish his mid-afternoon nap and be well rested upon Dziadek's return...)

As soon as Daddy and I got to JFK airport, I checked Dzidek's flight status.

It turned out we were a bit early, so had some spare time. I'm not one to waste free time, and no time at all convinced Daddy to go for a ride on the airport choo-choo...

And around and around the airport we went...

Until I spotted Dziadek's Air Iberia plane at the gate!

Once back in the terminal, I waited patiently for Dziadek to get through passport control and claim his luggage...

But once he exited customs, I just couldn't contain myself anymore, and to the surprise the other exiting passengers and those waiting at the terminal, I broke through the security cordon and ran straight for Dziadek!

Welcome back, Dziadek!