This weekend

we had nothing big planned, so just walked about a lot. On Saturday we went to Central Park, but it was mostly shut so that Neil Young and the Foo Fighters could make poverty history (although if you have to listen to the Foo Fighters to make poverty history, I might not bother). So instead we went downtown to where you get the ferry to Staten Island and walked around a bit. Bluet was happy as she could play in the dirt. If you squint you can even see the Statue of Liberty in the background of some of these photos.

Today, I took Bluet to play football in the park - she is very good and I am very proud, as you can see from this video of Bluet dribbling better than many adults I know (NB this is not a pun).

After that (and Bluet's nap), we went shopping to get some smart clothes for Bluet for a Wedding  we are going to next week, so I expect there will be some photos of that too.

On the way home, Saturday

This is the lawn where they tried to make poverty history (afterwards, on Sunday AM). The stage is in the background

Bluet was allowed to walk free down Park Avenue.

(BTW the audio of Bluet saying 'no way' has been added to the last post here: http://bluet2011.blogspot.com/2012/09/highly-recommended-things-to-watch-and.html
Well worth checking out)

Highly recommended things to watch and listen to

A few odds and ends from the last week. First, last Sunday Bluet got to meet a real life horse in the park, part of some public safety patrol. He was called Monty, and although Bluet wanted to stick her fingers up his nose, she did get to pat him gently on the side and was very impressed. As long as this doesn't make her want to have a pony when she is older, I'm happy, as she was rapt.

Then in the last couple of days Bluet has started to say 'no way' which is by far the cutest of all her tricks. To be honest, she seems to be over it this evening, but I captured it this morning - highly recommended for your listening pleasure:



Then there is also this video from last weekend, of Bluet feeding the goats at the central park zoo - also marvellous:

Finally, a slighly older video of Bluet (i.e. a couple of weeks forgotten about on the phone). Here, she plays music - some of the playgrounds have these musical bells incorporated into the climbing machinery. It is possible to use them to play 'twinkle twinkle little star' (or 'ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXY and Zed' or 'Baa Baa Black Sheep' as all 3 are the same song) if you are an accomplished musician. Bluet prefers improvisation to these cliched tunes.

Today

We did a lot of walking. First thing, we talked to Gran Helen over Skype, until the computer became too distracting for Bluet, so we had to head out to the park. There we played football, and did some swinging. After a nap, we headed out again, a 2 1/2 mile walk to pier 84, where bluet played with some water features and climbed steps. On our way back we stopped for ice cream. Then a little more playing and we headed home. On the way they were selling mango smoothies for $1, so I bought one to share, but Bluet had other ideas and drank almost the whole thing. Almost all these events are pictured below.

And then we went to the zoo

Bluet as usual enjoyed feeding the goats, and then climbing up and down stairs. I liked the snow leopard but she wanted to return to climbing things. Two hours well spent.

Slide day

This weekend I am looking after Bluet whilst Emily visits Houston - I am joining her on Monday. So far we have done the washing and been to the ancient playground, where Bluet went down all the slides about 27 times each. After this she was exhausted and is now napping. I also discovered that she does not really like pain au chocolat, except for the chocolate bit, although they were not Tesco's finest, but a pale imitation. Uh oh, I hear Bluet calling from her bed.

I guess I'd better go.

lessons in English

every morning when Bluet gets up, we first of all go through all the words she has learned. We start with the easy ones - mouth, eyes, ears, nose, she points to them all, no problem (although whether it will be my or her appendage she points to, only she can tell). Hair, she pulls. Knee, she knows (although sometimes points closer to the thigh). Foot she does fine with. I thought tongue would be a good one to teach next, as she laughs when I stick mine out, but the word is apparently too close to 'toes' as she tends to point to those instead. So, all in all, a work in progress.

Sounds

Bluet is still working on the talking thing. Here are some of her more recent noises. Also, a photo of her lying on the pavement, another recently discovered pleasure for her. It doesn't even matter how clean the pavement is, it is always fun.

Imagination

This Sunday we returned to the imagination playground. After eating a delicious ice cream, Bluet was free to play to her heart's content. This time, the water was off, so instead she played in the sandpit. After that, she went down a big slide, which went fast, and appeared to be the most fun she has ever had (see video). It was still fun for her the 10th time. This baby has no fear.

Last Week's News Today

I guess we are really busy these days as I haven't caught up with last weeks activities yet. On Saturday we went to Imagination Playground, some kind of hippy utopian playground where children are encouraged to explore their imaginations through play with giant blocks and water features independent of adult interference. Bluet got so wet and we were so unprepared that Emily had to go round the corner and buy new clothes for the journey home. Bluet loved every minute. We are going back on Sunday morning.

On Sunday we spent some time in the park, where Bluet looked at the flowers, and ran around. Then  we went out for Emily's birthday where Bluet was extremely well behaved for 3 hours, entertained by drawing, and throwing things on the floor of the establishment we frequented.

Proof

That Bluet is now trained to go fetch a ball if and when required

Fetch

There is a new fun game you can play with Bluet, where you ask her to bring you stuff, and she does! It is amazing. Here are some of the things she will bring if you ask (and she doesn't get distracted on the way):

Elmo
A shoe (not necessarily yours)
A nappy (v. useful in an emergency)
A book (random)
books (specific if you start to recite them from memory:
Where the Wild Things Are
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
The Monster at the End of this Book
Green Eggs and Ham (although she sometimes gets confused between this and Red Fish Blue Fish as they are both Dr Seuss).
A ball (of various sizes, which ever she finds first)

There are probably others, but these are the ones I have tried and know work (mostly)