Gruntle's Adventures

The Mirror

2010-05-28T14:09:00.000-07:00

Lucy and Susan chat with their mirror selves. "Good bye Susan human"

Susan Towers High

2009-12-03T10:14:00.001-08:00

Daddy's Girls

2009-09-15T17:14:00.000-07:00

Two Minutes: An Evening with the Alexanders

One Year Old Today

2009-08-13T11:43:00.001-07:00

Lucy's Happy Feet

2009-05-01T12:04:00.000-07:00

Listen Closely, Susan Says "Ba..."

2009-05-01T12:03:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: No Baby Was Injured in the Filming of this Video

2009-05-01T11:38:00.000-07:00

Playgrounds and Playrooms

2009-04-21T12:43:00.000-07:00

Girls at the Playground

Girls in the Playroom

Put your hands together for...

2009-04-07T12:28:00.000-07:00

Susan spent most of March clapping. March Madness may have had something to do with it. Go heels!

Our Maudlin Three Year Old (No Nap)

2009-03-10T14:56:00.001-07:00

And Our Experimenting Almost Seven Month Old

More of Susan's New Exploits

2009-03-02T09:53:00.000-08:00

Susan meets the piano

2009-02-05T16:02:00.001-08:00

A Return to Technology from Ludite Land

2009-01-30T12:32:00.000-08:00

Lucy is growing up! She has become a wonderful big sister to Susan, born August 13, 2008. Here are the girls a few mornings ago in their footie pajamas.

And a little view into Lucy's world:

And into Susan's:

A Big Girl, Winter 2008

2008-03-30T09:59:00.000-07:00

A Cultured Toddler

2007-12-16T12:17:00.000-08:00

Lucy does still exist! In fact, she is thriving. Our blogging has been impaired by several factors:
(1) Our digital camera can only be convinced to take a picture once every four weeks
(2) Harvard Medical School may be Pass/Fail but Lucy's Mama isn't taking any risks
(3) First year law associates have a lot in common with medical interns

Despite these challenges, we think Lucy's toddlerhood is enviable. Here are some photos of Lucy in her extravagant playroom, working on becoming a true Renaissance woman.

Tate and True Love

2007-07-19T05:08:00.001-07:00

Lucy fell in love on our vacation to Tate. She rode her first horse, Brubeck, and hasn't stopped talking about him since.

The little metal frog sitting in the center of the bird bath was another delight. Lucy brought him tokens of affection such as nut shells, berries, rocks and leaves collected from our walks around the lake.
Another beloved Tate activity: running in the meadow. She disrupted the cocktail hour(s) with shouts of "outside meadow run!"

About Lucy: Enjoys Short Runs on the Beach

2007-07-11T14:52:00.000-07:00

A Summer Night, A Summer Dress

2007-06-08T19:59:00.000-07:00

Lucy romped in Sarah and Josh's garden last night and learned the word "mulch." She also delighted in fireflies for the first time.

Spring Comes to Brooklyn

2007-05-01T04:28:00.000-07:00

A new hat from Aunt Susy for walks about town...
Cherry blossoms at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens...
Bubbles in Prospect Park...

And airplanes overhead - could some one be coming to see us?

Lucy Phones Gaston

2007-04-14T04:20:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Victoria we have a little footage of Lucy making a very special call to Gaston Kitty Cat, her true love.

Easter Basket

2007-04-07T13:20:00.000-07:00

Grandpa Daddy and Grandma Chris have developed a reputation for giving memorable gifts. When we heard that we should expect a package this weekend, we couldn't help but be filled with anticipation. At 9am Saturday morning the postman rang. We hurriedly cut away the tape and pawed through the peanuts and egg cartons to discover an Easter basket full of delightful yellow and orange tissue paper pouches tied with blue ribbon.
Inside the pouches we found handcrafted magnetic characters from Lucy's life - first out of the basket was a miniature wooden Grumpy bear in perfect detail, next came a replica of Little Joe...
And a fish and a sheep and a star and the moon...
And a cardinal and a cow (just like the one Lucy so admires at Prentiss Place) and a turtle too...
and then Mickey the naughty kitty to boot.
Lucy and Daddy set right to work organizing her new friends on the derelict dishwasher. We look forward to many hours of magnet fun and are so grateful for this thoughtful gift.

Cousins Bond

2007-03-24T05:55:00.001-07:00

Aunt April and Cousin James came for a visit! At first Lucy and James eyed each other suspiciously...

...but in the end they sealed their friendship with big hugs, a bond that was cemented by enduring an embarrassing bath time serenade from their parents.

March Sledding

2007-03-21T05:02:00.000-07:00

Prospect Park on a snowy day in late March calls into question our plans to move south...

Bear On Board

2007-03-10T06:51:00.000-08:00

Lucy has two current passions, both represented in this photo. Grumpy bear continues to be the number one candidate for "lovey." Although Lucy often hugs her other stuffed animals (and indeed even hugs Mommy and Daddy's old Harvard IDs to show affection), it is Grumpy bear who MUST be present for bedtime and dancetime and anytime Lucy is sad. The toy stroller is just one of Lucy's many strollers and she makes no distinctions based on size. She insists on squeezing herself into the rickety doll stroller for rides around the apartment and then pushes her own stroller around piled high with Grumpy and Curious George and other toys. She also enjoys climbing in and out of her big stroller over and over again. We think she has formulated some sort of fitness routine which also involves flopping backward on the bed and trying to sit up again (10-15 reps) and squatting in place and then standing up quickly (15-20 reps). She'll be looking great on the beach this summer no doubt.

Lucy and Max vs. Kapla Blocks

2007-02-12T18:42:00.000-08:00

Victoria and Mommy knew that putting a ball on top of our Kapla block dome was pure hubris, but we couldn't resist. And neither could Lucy and Max.

Little Bear with Ball, Big Birthday Boy with Blocks

2007-02-12T07:35:00.000-08:00

When Josh and Sarah gave Lucy a cozy Carolina blue bunting with ears, I doubt they knew just how perfect their gift was. Not only does the bunting keep Lucy warm and garner "how CUTE" from every person we pass on the street, it transforms Lucy into a lifesize version of her longstanding lovey (attachment object) Grumpy bear, pictured below. When we hold Lucy in front of the mirror in her bunting she squeals with delight and holds out Grumpy bear to facilitate the comparison. She definitely appreciates the resemblance and it cracks us up.

Another perfect gift also came into our lives recently: 1000 Kapla blocks. In celebration of Daddy's big 30th birthday, family members far and wide chipped in to give him the coolest set of blocks on the planet. Here are some photos of Daddy hard at work frantically creating towers while Lucy sleeps. Lucy mostly likes to throw the blocks into or out of their wooden crate, and she seems to consider towers or other arrangements of blocks to be invitations to practice her demolition skills.

A Morning with Lucy: Photojournal by Franklin Golden

2007-01-07T18:14:00.000-08:00

One year down!

2007-01-02T20:14:00.000-08:00

Lucy Perry Alexander has reached the one year mark! Of course, Lucy didn't much notice this event on the heels of an all-day two-family Christmas extravaganza. But her parents are deeply indebted to the godparents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends that made Lucy's first birthday (and first Christmas) such a wonderful time.

On Christmas morning Lucy unwrapped a tiny piano from Uncle Steve. She was so overcome by delight that after touching a key she would drop her jaw and beam at everyone in the room as if to say "did you hear that? did you see me do that? have you ever seen anything so wonderful?"

At Grandma Chris's and Grand Pa Daddy's house Lucy took her favorite toy for a stroll while sporting an adorable velvet dress that Mommy found for FREE on the Park Slope Parents listserv.
At Lolly and Grandham's, Lucy enjoyed a true Christmas feast at the fancy dining room table. Happily, she managed not to break any of the special Twelve Days of Christmas plates while demonstrating her enthusiasm for the delicious meal.
At Aunt Caroline and Uncle Jeff's, Lucy received a beautiful hanging made by Lolly to help her learn what other wonderful people and things have names that being with the letter "L." Thank you to all the HOSTS! We realize that hosting our little family these days is something akin to inviting a tornado into your home. We are so grateful.

Jump Jump Around

2006-12-17T16:41:00.000-08:00

Lucy couldn't let Max have all the fun.

Champion Eater

2006-12-13T05:51:00.000-08:00

Lucy polished off quite a dinner last night - a half cup of steamed broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and zucchini plus a quarter of an avocado and a quarter of a whole wheat pita dipped in homemade hummus. And she had a multigrain sweet potato, black bean, red pepper and cheddar cheese quesadilla for lunch. Mommy is starting to feel less panicked about Lucy's non-eating, though she seems to have plateaued at 23 pounds.

Here she is demonstrating her chowdown technique, as well as a newly discovered ability to snort.

So Long and Thanks for all the Turkey

2006-11-29T04:27:00.000-08:00

Lucy had the best Thanksgiving holiday in the history of all time. Not only did she get to start celebrating almost a week early, she got to eat her new favorite food, turkey, for ten days straight. At Grand Pa Daddy and Grandma Chris's house she was so pleased with the fare that she lead the entire family in a rousing, lenthy clap-a-thon. With Lucy independently shoveling turkey and avocado into her mouth, Mommy was able to enjoy her OWN meal for the first time in about 10 months. Plus the tryptophan in the turkey was a real boon and Lucy slept better than ever.

After a few lovely days with the Perry family - during which Lucy honed both her spinning (DJ style) and dancing skills with the "Pop Goes the Weasel" soundtrack of her new musical push/ride toy - we piled into the Alexander van and headed to the South Carolina coast. There Lucy fell in love with basketball and made great progess on bounce passing, dribbling and slam dunking with coaches Uncle Jeff and Bart.

And Mommy even got a chance to be a kid again while Lucy was entertained by her extended family!

A Hat a Day

2006-11-09T11:21:00.000-08:00

To contribute an utterly trivial observation:

Lucy has quite an odd assortment of winter hats.

Here she is riding on Mommy's back in the Ergo carrier, looking trey nordic and sporting a yellow sweater that her Daddy himself once wore.

And on the Brooklyn Bridge in her stylish handmade knit that puts to shame the $70 knit hats found in the Park Slope baby boutiques (for non-New Yorkers, I am absolutely serious about the price).

And here, the $10 ice queen hat that Mommy, in desperation, purchased on 7th Avenue immediately after leaving the store with the $70 hat.

A Secret Garden

2006-11-04T14:35:00.000-08:00

Lucy loves the Discovery Garden at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. In this photo she is exploring a little nook under a pint-sized arbor of morning glories. Over the winter we'll have to satisfy our plantlust in the steamy Steinhardt Conservatory full to the brim with tropicals and aquatics. But we can't wait for spring's grape hyacinths and cherry blossoms and lilacs. And Lucy will be able to run up to her favorite flowers on her own two feet!

Aunt Susan and Uncle Pat Visit!

2006-11-02T10:58:00.000-08:00

Aunt Susan and Uncle Pat finally came for a visit! On Friday we made a bee line for the federal courthouse to see Daddy and then to sample both the "classic" and the "wicked" hot chocolate offerings at JT in DUMBO. Afterwards, we took advantage of the sunny (though windy and nippy) weather and struck out across the Brooklyn Bridge into Lower Manhattan. Lucy missed the view this time while working hard to get a vicarious taste of the hot chocolate Mommy was drinking.

On Saturday we took our ritual walk through Prospect Park to the Botanic Gardens. Lucy snuggled tight under Daddy's fleece for a little extra warmth.

Sweet Fall at Last

2006-10-31T06:05:00.000-08:00

Lucy loves fall. Everytime we hit JJ Byrne she spends at least five minutes wading through the new piles of fallen leaves. Mommy thought she'd share these videos of Lucy rustling, though she swears her voice can't actually be as high pitched and cloying as it sounds - viewers beware!

Lucy is becoming increasingly independent and crawls or cruises off on her own at every opportunity. Thanks to intensive training at the tot lot she scales stairs, slides and bystanders' legs with ease.

Two Ciocias and One Wujek

2006-10-28T17:44:00.000-07:00

Last week Lucy was thrilled to host two of her ciocias and one of her wujeks. On Friday, we made our weekly pilgrimage to the federal courthouse to see Daddy at work and to admire the superb view from the 13th floor. Although Lucy has made this trek four weeks in a row she still exclaims every time we round the corner from the elevator and the Manhattan skyline comes into view.

We managed to drag Daddy away from the courthouse for an hour or so to eat lunch with us at Grimaldi's, a super local pizzeria. Victoria and Max joined us for lunch and then suffered an extended visit from our entire crew at their comfy DUMBO pad. Lucy was especially pleased for this extra opportunity to play with all of Max's toys and to crawl around after Gaston, the cat. Inevitably, the afternoon in DUMBO ended with hot chocolate and ice cream cookie sandwhiches from Jacques Torres.

The next day we went for another great walk in Prospect Park and visited the zoo again. This time Lucy formed a special bond with one of the baboons.

That night we tried to film Lucy clapping while singing Happy Birthday to Lolly (ever since Lucy started clapping she claps whenever someone sings). Apparently she was too confused by the other clappers to clap herself...

Bring Back the Grandparents (Days 2 and 3), Ancient Post Revisited

2006-10-25T10:49:00.000-07:00

Never deterred by foul weather, Lucy led her grandparents on a grand tour of her beloved Prospect Park on chilly Saturday morning. She started, of course, with the Garfield Tot Lot where she showed off her totting skills on the microslide and tiny platforms. We then wandered over to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and Grandham took amazing photos of the waterlillies and ducks. Afterwards, we worked our way through the greenmarket at Grand Army Plaza, munching on Concord grapes and fresh nuts-and-bolts bread while procuring baby greens, Macoun apples, turkey sausage and butternut squash for our dinner.

On Sunday, we awoke to a beautiful sunny day and decided to explore more of Prospect Park. At the Ninth Street Playground Lucy demonstrated how to hold on to your hat while enjoying a good swing.

We then took a long and rewarding walk to the Audobon house via the Peninsula and Lullwater trails, enjoying lovely fall views of bridges spanning lilly-covered ponds framed by small trees with newly red and yellow leaves. Grandham took lots of pictures and Lolly read placards about phragmites. Meanwhile, Lucy shunned her stroller, preferring a higher perch...

Before Lolly and Grandham headed to the airport, we all went to brunch at Belleville, the bistro on our corner. As you can see, a good time was had by all, especially Lucy.

Blogging Blues

2006-10-15T13:50:00.000-07:00

After working on the second installment of Gruntle's adventures with Lolly and Grandham for an hour and then losing it all (for the second time!), Mommy is officially angry with blogger.com. Or maybe it is just our internet service provider. In any case, Lucy's nap is over and there is no time to try to recreate the post! But to tide you over, here is a photo of Lucy Bear and her Daddy, resting after a full day of fun with Aunt Susan and Uncle Pat (notice the excellent new Pony Girl outfit from Aunt Susan!).

Bring Back the Grandparents! (Days 1 and 2)

2006-10-12T05:13:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Lucy, Mommy and Daddy had the great privilege of hosting Lolly and Grandham in Brooklyn. Lucy pulled out all the stops and took her grandparents on a very thorough tour of her new neighborhood. The first day, she showed them her literary side at the "Babies and Books" hour of the Park Slope Public Library. As soon as the reading started, Lucy sat bolt upright and listened intently for the appropriate places to punctuate Karen Katz's "Ten Tiny Tickles" with her own ad lib of "duh-da, uh." Afterwards, having plied Lolly with an almond croissant at one of the neighborhood's many excellent patisseries, we strategically visited several baby boutiques. In a blink Miss Lucy was outfitted with a very zen organic cotton pajama that brings out her Buddha qualities. Thanks to her grandparents' generosity, Lucy also gained some very practical footwear and thick, cheerful tights for the cold months ahead.

Soon we were off to see Daddy's office at the Federal Courthouse and to walk on the Brooklyn Bridge. The cold, windy day made the bridge feel even wilder and Lolly's stomach was doing flips. Lucy meanwhile tried to prove that she is a hardened New Englander by removing her warm hat at every opportunity and attempting to send it down the East River.

We followed the bridge expedition with hot chocolate at the famous Jacques Torres in DUMBO and then headed back to Park Slope so Mommy could get ready for a NIGHT OUT! with Daddy and his co-clerks.

Lolly and Grandham bravely started out the long night in charge of Lucy with a trip to Stone Park Cafe, where Lolly and Lucy spent most of the time at the bar watching the Yankees game. In fact, by the time Mommy and Daddy came home, Lolly had still only managed to take about two bites of the hamburger she had boxed up. It seems that little Lucy kept her grandparents very busy that night. From the looks of this bathtime photo, Lucy had no idea that she was giving anyone a hard time :) If only we had a pre and post photo of the heroic grandparents!

My House Too

2006-10-04T15:46:00.000-07:00

Now that she is physically capable, Lucy has decided to do a little rearranging in the apartment. She chose to start with her books. It remains to be seen whether she prefers to order them by size (like her Daddy) or subject (like her Mommy).

Little Girl, Big City

2006-10-04T15:08:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Mommy, Daddy and Lucy hopped on the train to Manhattan - well, make that 4 or 5 five trains. As it turns out, getting from Brooklyn to Manhattan on the weekend is no small feat. G trains mascarade as F trains and F trains run on C tracks, but only between certain stops. And, just so you know, the 6 train only goes downtown at Bleeker Street, so go ahead and ride it to the very end where you will then be able to get back on going in the right direction.

To make matters worse, Mommy forgot to bring the camera on this Big City adventure, so little Lucy's trip to the Met and Central Park went undocumented - almost. Somewhere out there a Japanse tourist has a delightful photo of Mommy and Lucy beaming outside of the men's restroom near the European Sculpture Garden. The photographer had come to our rescue after Mommy (a stroller novice) unseated Lucy and then watched in horror as the weight of the baby bag hanging on its handles caused the stroller to flip over. He spoke very little English: "baby cute, baby photo?" Afterwards he showed us the photo and even let Lucy taste the screen of his excellent little camera.

Though we have no photos to illustrate, the highlights were watching an outrageous rollerskate/rollerblade dance party in the Park and hearing Lucy exclaim about the view from the Met's roof terrace. The lowpoint was getting trampled by Manhattanites at Dean and Deluca while trying to buy a red pear for Lucy ($1.20).

The Dance of Two Spoons

2006-09-28T17:29:00.000-07:00

Lucy's creative juices began flowing at an early age. The fact that Mommy could not figure out how to rotate the video 90 degrees should only add to the artistic merit of her interpretive piece: "Dance of Two Spoons"

Lucy speaks

2006-09-24T13:02:00.000-07:00

A little video action...

Out to Play

2006-09-24T05:38:00.000-07:00

Last week Lucy and her Mommy got tired of the computer and went out to play. (Mommy took it as a sign to change scenes when Lucy secretly removed and ate a key from Mommy's laptop).

The first chilly morning of fall had arrived, so we pulled out Lucy's warm Andean garb.
At first, Lucy was most delighted with her cheerful yellow poncho, but when she realized the poncho was limiting her lightning-fast grab, she started to become suspicious.

So for her outing to JJByrne park, Lucy instead donned her beautiful blue hoodie from Ecuador. In addition to freeing Lucy's grabbers, her blue sweater helped preserve the widespread belief in Park Slope that Lucy is in fact a bouncing baby boy...

All this playing worked up our appetites, so Mommy and Daddy decided to take advantage of a neighborhood restaurant's two-for-one entree night. Daddy strapped on little Lu's Bjorn and Mommy packed a bag full of Veggie Bootie and toys. Our friendly waiter saw us coming a block away and promptly set up a table and high chair for us...outside. Good thing we brought the poncho! Lucy was not at all offended and graciously shared her new favorite snack - Concord grapes - with our waiter as he thanked us for our flexibility.

In other news, Lucy has been making tracks! She crawls around after her giant blue ball, though not quickly. Mommy estimates that at Lucy's current rate it would take her three days to crawl from one side of the apartment to the other.

Let's Blog!

2006-09-12T16:26:00.000-07:00

Lucy Perry Alexander is growing up fast. We realized that we need a way to keep up with our family and friends since Mommy and Daddy are pretty terrible corresponders. We also fear that we will have nothing to show Lucy from her first year except medical school application essays and draft opinions from the second circuit. So, welcome to Lucy's blog! We hope to populate this space weekly with pictures and stories from Gruntle's adventures in Park Slope and beyond.

Currently Miss Lucy is recovering from a double ear infection, but as you can see that didn't keep her from working on her blog...