Halloween--4 phases, 4 faces

We had four Halloween events this year (2 Friday and 2 Saturday). We never really nailed down a specific costume before hand, even though they had been "designing" monster costumes for a month. So they ended up with some mood-dressing, choosing a costume as we were running out the door to each event (with about 5 costume changes in between). We had really cool homemade full-body skunk and lizard costumes from the cousins, but those were rejected before each event for being too hot and itchy. So here is what they came up with out of our dress-up clothes:

#1 School party and parade. Arthur- pirate. Adaline- witch.#2 School dance (yes, dance)...DJ, soul train line, the whole bit. Arthur- super hero. Adaline- "fairy princess ballerina Thumbelina."
#3 Costume-themed birthday party. Arthur- clown. Adaline- "little red riding hood swimming in the sea." (Don't ask me. She has a mind of her own. She won most original costume with that one. More like most random.)

I had to put this one in here. He's just too cute. Arthur had a major wipe-out on his scooter on the way to the party. He was a very sad clown, but OK after I cleaned the asphalt off his face. The red nose is face paint, not blood :)#4 Trick or treating. Arthur- pirate, part 2. Adaline- princess fairy, part 2 sort of.
Gigi came in town to join us with Uncle Marshall. We had a great night in the new neighborhood.

Field Trip

The kids went on their first field trip this week. (I tagged along.) We went to a farm in Queens, the only farm in the city from what I was told. I would describe it as less of a farm and more of an assembly line forcing hundreds of kids through various stations of viewing/riding/feeding animals. Sometimes I felt like we were being treated like animals more than the actual farm animals. They were constantly being fed and petted and groomed, while we were shoved around and corralled like sheep.
It was chaotic and torturous for the adults, but fun for the kids.

The kids were very excited about their first school bus ride. Arthur and his partner started out happy (pictured here) but were flicking and punching each other the whole way home...I finally separated them. I'm not sure what would have happened if I wasn't there because the kids are all too short to see what's going on in the seats. The majority of the kids fell asleep on the way home. Not mine.

Adaline and Arthur were the only kids in the class who would hold a chicken. Their teacher saw them and said, "So the Galts are brave." Their classmates were very impressed. City kids.

Apple Pickin'

Adaline has added a new impersonation to her repertoire: a Southern accent. She enjoys imitating her new Southern friend at school (who just moved here this fall). This would not be odd if Adaline's own mother was not from Mississippi and recognized immediately as being Southern by every person she meets in the city. It is surreal to hear your daughter speak like everyone you grew up with, but she is merely trying it on for fun.

I never really thought about whether or not my children would have a southern accent--being raised in Brooklyn by one parent of southern speak and one of a...? neutral? variety. They hear every accent imaginable in their little worlds. Their current teacher is Puerto Rican from Spanish Harlem. Adaline's teacher last year was from Trinidad and Arthur's had a stereotypical Brooklyn accent. Who knew what kind of accent they would have? I do know for sure now, though, that it is not Southern...at least not, Southern Southern. (I qualify in case some Northeasterners disagree.)

Arthur has a vibrant imagination himself. He doesn't stop at just imitating accents. He loves to "speak" other languages for fun. Usually this is just silly talk, but he has had his convincing moments. Last school year he tricked us into thinking that he could count to ten in Arabic and Chinese. This wasn't a huge stretch because one of his teachers and classmates spoke Arabic. (The Chinese was random.) He made each "number" distinct with different syllables that sounded authentic to the language in question. It wasn't until we asked him to repeat the numbers that we figured out his creativity.

He hears a lot of Spanish in class now, so he walks around the neighborhood speaking to his sister in "Spanish." Of course in this city, people hear foreign languages constantly. I'm just not sure how "foreign" they think we are--some unidentified nation with a Southern/British-accent English-speaking girl and a Spanish/Arabic/Chinese-speaking boy. Honestly, it doesn't turn any heads in our neighborhood--I'm not sure anyone has even noticed :)

Planting a Tree

We benefited from one of Mayor Bloomberg's million trees donated across NYC. The kids and Jamison planted it in our backyard (with our landlord's blessings). Hopefully we live here for a long time and get to watch it grow.
Also, here are a few pictures from a street fair that occurred every Sunday in September a block from our place. This is where the free trees came from. I wish I had captured the random trees floating down the middle of the street on skateboards, carts, any wheeled device...it would have made a beautiful image.

Hula hoops for everyone!
There were several live bands playing at various stages. Arthur was serious about checking out the different bands. He got his groove on on more than one occasion :) Video forthcoming?
The kids also got to participate in painting a mural. A building collapsed a block from us and they decided to beautify the barricade that covers the empty lot.
The street fair also had a roller skating "rink" that the kids used for scooting/biking. There was chalk drawing, block building, food and clothing vendors...lots of fun in the street!

Barber Shop

Arthur had his first barber shop experience. Dad had to take him to 3 shops before they found someone who would cut with scissors. Arthur was apparently very persistent and said he would "walk forever" to find a place that accepts his hair. He has been brushing his hair out of his eyes for a while, and now he looks like such a big boy. Why do haircuts add 2 years to a little boy? I guess I'm just sad that my little ones are in school and officially big kids.
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A couple Adaline anecdotes for the week--

Praying at the dinner table: "Thank you for Dad. Thank you for Mom. Thank you for my brother. Thank you for our house. Thank you for school. Thank you for food. Thank you for the world. [Pause] [Deep breath] I am NOT thankful that I don't have a kitty. I am NOT thankful that Daddy is sick of kitties (translation: allergic to cats, which is our excuse why we won't get her one). Amen."

Adaline loves to pretend to read our books. This week she picked up a Bible book and began to read (in her British accent, mind you): "A soft answer turns away wrath. Hmm. We'll see... I don't think so. I think a hard answer turns away wrath." The written text doesn't begin to give you the sense of how it sounded with her accent and intonation. But you get the idea :)

Kindergarten

The kids started school this week. Today is their first full-day after two half-days. They were understandably a little overwhelmed when we arrived to a school yard full of noisy "big" kids and much chaos. But they were fine and quickly adjusted to the classroom. Their teacher has 25 years of elementary teaching experience in Brooklyn and has requested kindergarten for the last few years. I'm guessing he's the most qualified kindergarten teacher in NYC :) I am very excited about him--very energetic and fun, but also in control of his class...something that my daughter could especially benefit from. (I think she did the controlling last year.) They also have a special education teacher in the class with the same years of experience. The other fun thing is that I can say "they" and "their." The principal let me put them in the same classroom which is very exciting for them and me (and a little scary for the teachers). Lastly, all of the public schools in our area require uniforms. They look pretty cute, I must say.

Photo shoot the day before:
Walking to school:
Feeling shy...a first for them:
In line waiting to go to class room:
This shows part of their class--so far only 19 kids, which is great for NYC:

Vacation highlights

We went on a 3 week vacation this summer--one week on the west coast of Washington State, one week east of the mountains in Washington, and one week in the mountains of North Carolina--all to see various family groups. I deliberately picked (mostly) pictures with no family members, because it would be impossible to illustrate the fun we had reconnecting with everyone. It was such a privilege to be able to travel in some of the most beautiful parts of the country and to enjoy it all with those who we love.

Week 1:
The kids were re-acquainted with various forms of wildlife. Low tide always brought new discoveries.

Adaline constructed a beach-front home for herself.Arthur's rope swing wasn't far away...
Week 2:
Swimming in the lake surrounded by mountains was absolutely spectacular. Pictured is the kids going further out than they probably should have.
The kids were exposed to many new vehicles...



We enjoyed cherries (and all sorts of fruits and veggies) grown by family.
And especially enjoyed the grass-fed beef raised in the backyard.

Week 3:

The kids were fearless in their cave climbing in NC...they made all of the adults nervous on many occasions.

There were many natural slides made out of rocks. Arthur never tired of riding them over and over again.

This overview only skims the surface of our experience. I wanted to at least get a little taste of our adventures on here. We're staying busy in our new place and neighborhood, and I've had many failed attempts at uploading these pictures. So this is the best I can do for now...

5th Birthday Party

In our new back yard!

Friends pitched in to do music:

and dancing:
and face painting:Aunt Glenda did the cakes for the 4th time:
Lots of silliness:

And also a picture of Pre-K graduation!

These are pictures at Pratt Institute, an art school in our new neighborhood. Yes, we're moving this week to Clinton Hill! We're busy stoop selling, planning, packing, etc. Maybe we'll find time to post pictures somewhere in there...

Weekend away

Last weekend Jamison preached at a church in Rye, NY, and we took the opportunity to have a family weekend out of the city. We were able to stay in the home of church members who are out of the country. It was wonderful! The house is on a small island with beach access. Here are some pictures...





We already have plans for another night or two away. Jamison is preaching at a church in the Hamptons in a few weeks. I am especially thankful for these opportunities because the kids and I haven't been out of the city since November. It's been a long winter here and Jamison was away a few weeks in February/March. These are much needed nights away as a family. I'm very happy about these trips and about our first days of spring weather. New life is here!

Debuts

A friend of ours is a writer and producer in children's media. She has worked on projects such as Blue's Room and Sesame Street and now a Mother Goose Club series. She particularly likes Arthur's raspy "airy" voice, so she asked our kids to record for her. We went today to a recording studio in a basement in our neighborhood. A friend from Scotland was recording nursery rhymes in his lovely voice when we arrived, so the kids had some time to ask questions and figure out what they would be doing. Since they don't read, our friend read the rhymes, line by line, and the kids repeated. It was really fun to hear their sweet voices over the speaker. They did a great job! I'll keep you updated on their burgeoning careers as animation voice-overs :)

I also had my television debut recently. Last week my friend got tickets to the Letterman show and kindly invited me. We were VIP friends and family of CBS, which meant we were respectfully escorted to the front rows of the balcony (because we were all boring New Yorkers as opposed to the rowdy fans in the bottom section). We had a great view of Letterman--it's a tiny theater--and had lots of fun watching the whole production. It's interesting to see what goes on behind the scenes. Our show aired last week on Wednesday (sorry I haven't blogged in a while). I was the one on the second row of the balcony with the distinguished black turtle-neck (next to my friend with the red turtle-neck). We are waving happily at the camera during the one audience scan. Our one chance to shine...

Actually, I have another potential television debut. I stumbled upon a Gossip Girl filming by Central Park last week (just before the Letterman show). In case you watch the show (and I am NOT admitting whether I do or not), it will be the episode where Blair is in a bright green coat and Chuck Bass is leaning against a limo. I am the girl in the same color green coat strolling behind them along Central Park. (That is, if they happen to keep the take when I was walking past...)

Don't be jealous. The Galts were meant for fame! (Hopefully you are all picking up on my sarcasm.)