"Easy" Bake Oven

Some months ago, the teenaged neighbor girl who lives upstairs brought down her pre-owned Easy Bake oven for Miranda to have. While we gratefully accepted the gift, for a long time we did not have any of the mixes to make anything. We tried using cookie dough from the refrigerated section of the local grocery store, but failed to produce anything... well... edible. That is until Santa came to the rescue.
Although we did manage to make cookies, I am mystified as to why this contraption is called "Easy" - there is nothing easy about cooking with a light bulb, with add water only mixes, in thimble-sized mixing bowls and pans. Whatever the case, as you can see from the photos below, Miranda thought it was an outstanding use of time, and quickly munched down both of the cookies that resulted from the two packets of cookie mix, one packet of frosting mix and one packet of sprinkles.

Random Powernap Picture

Christmas 2009

Random Bath Picture

Christmas in Manhattan

Panda Check-up

Yesterday I picked my little pumpkin up from school and took her for her annual doctor's visit. We had great fun fooling around on the train and playing follow-the-leader all through Brooklyn Heights. The check-up went well too - and the Panda-girl was pronounced to be in perfect health: 41 pounds, 43 inches and hitting all the right milestones. Miranda was very happy that she didn't have to get any shots, and even got a lollipop and three stickers for the effort. Not bad, methinks.

ShooFly

Here is another stunning performance by Miranda:

Dressed For A Ballet Class Party:

The Last Few

Here are the last few photos of our amazing Thanksgiving holiday. Can't wait to do it again!

The Dragon Park

It has become a holiday tradition to make the trip to a local park that we call "The Dragon Park" (partly because of the big half-buried dragon, partly because the real name keeps changing). This year we went on Black Friday, after all the food donation fun.

Black Friday

This year, instead of exchanging gifts, we decided it would be nice to have the kids learn about giving. To that end, Grandma Fredi sat all ten of them down and explained the concept of hunger and how food banks helped those in need. We divided the kids into two teams, gave them lists of needed items from the local food bank, gave them a budget and set them loose inside Harris Teeter - a local grocery chain. Here are some pics of the fun:

Family Photo - 2009

Omens, Signs And Portents

When I saw these photos, I got this "oooky" feeling, my stomach filled up with whim-whams - I had this massive preview of what it will be like when Miranda drives off with some boy on her first date. Chilling. At least I knew that in this case, Jessie is and excellent driver and no drinking was involved.

The Boy And I

Thanksgiving in Carolina - 2009

These are just photos - I'll try to get around to captioning them as soon as possible.