Here I am chillin with my dental dam, soaking up some rays? No big deal.

I will sum up this experience with one word--ouch.

While in the waiting room I read an article about the family in Oregon who survived in the wild for a week, keeping warm by burning their car tires. I was sad about it before but then I saw that the man who died was a young, handsome asian man. Oh, man. Many of you know that I have a soft spot in my heart for Asian men and well, it just made me sadder.

One more dentist visit to go.

I don't know how you're feeling but here, it just doesn't feel like Christmas. Despite the fact that we're flying to Denver on Friday and that the calendar says December 16, it doesn't feel all that Christmassy.

Perhaps it's the barrage of familial losgistical phone conversations. Each one I have with Shane feels like a huddle at a football game (Mahalia being the football.) Maybe it's the undending visits to the dentist, 2 more this week bringing the total to 7 since October. Then again, it could be the mystery of figuring out Mahalia's sleep situation--should we let her cry or what?

We did have a little sunny spot this week when we received a Christmas package from Ohio. We couldn't help ourselves and ripped into the package. Here are some photos of our favorite presents.


A Yogurt Maker. Delicious!

A tool to help correct Shane's merging tingers





























Mahalia received her first doll. She held it, smiled and shoved it in her mouth to learn more.

The dreaded 1st session of my ENDODONTIC THERAPY has come and gone. I was scared out of my mind for this procedure. It was slightly uncomfortable but really not that bad. I got to wear a dental dam and some fun eye protectors. I didn't have the nerve to ask the Dr. to photograph me with my root canal costume on. I've made a promise to myself to ask for it next week. It's the week before Christmas after all and it tends to make people a little more goofy than usual.

I noticed a foul smell and the Dr. let me know that the pungent odor was caused by the removal of my NECROTIC TISSUE. ick. I was astounded to learn that there are dentists that only perform root canals the whole day long. I took some photos of some neat dentist items.




In other news, Mahalia really,really loves to swing. Global warming has provided us with another stretch of 55-degree days and we've been heading to the park every day for some swinging time.


Her unstoppable sitting technique means that she likes to sit totally upright in her stroller as well, even while sleeping. I'm sure people think that I'm neglecting her but pushing her back into what I'd consider a comfortable position leads to nothing but trouble.


And lastly, I save the story of Mahalia's first boyfriend. This is Benjamin. He's exactly two months older that Malo and appears to be head over heels for the little lady. Her father and I approve whole heartedly. I mean, can you blame the guy?

I have a bad tooth but a really cool dentist. Dr. Oliphant (Dr. Elephant for you childish readers out there) is also an amateur musician and likes to listen to jazz while drilling holes into my teeth. During the great freeze-out I mentioned in the last entry, I was also nursing a bad tooth. It turns out that I'm in need of emergency ENDONTIC THERAPY. That's a root canal to you and me. In just a couple of days I'll have $1200 less dollars and one less absess to obsess about.

Dr. Oliphant likes to take fun, close-up photos of your bad teeth. I tried to take some photos to share with you but wasn't able to recreate the magic of Oliphant. This is what I came up with:

When it rains it *!@!s



After a record-breaking couple of 70-degree days last week, it finally got cold here in NYC. Mahalia wore her teddy bear bunting en route to Auntie Michele's house for Shabat dinner.




For those of you who don't know, Michele was at Mahalia's birth. She is a stupendous person and talked me through the hardest part of my delivery. She is also a stupendous cook and we enjoy eating her food as much as possible. Tonight's meal was served on her new wedding china.


My buddy, Heather O'Connor, is in from Denver. She came to dinner too. She spent the day with Mahalia and they seemed to thoroughly enjoy each other's company.

I'll interrupt the narrative to show you an irresistably cute photo of Mahalia.
My friend calls this an execusaucer.


While at dinner my landlord, Tom, called to let me know that on this, the coldest day yet this winter, there will be no heat in the house and he would like to know if we need any extra blanket to get thru the night. I say no thank you. Here are some pics of what happened when we got home.


Our brains got a little chilled and we went bonkers temporarily. Heather and I took many photos with Mahalia's sunglasses on.

We went out on a limb by purchasing inexpensive tickets from Allentown, PA. And, oh boy! was it a good idea. It was nothing but smooth sailing in downtown Manhattan, barely a brake light in sight and no traffic thru the Holland tunnel. We made it to Easton, PA, home of the Crayola Crayons, in one hour and had oodles of time before our scheduled departure. I purchased a tin of brand new crayons in every hue of purple for my niece, Sasha, who just celebrated her 3rd birthday and has an affinity for all things purple.

You really wouldn't believe the scene at the Allentown airport, unnerving for a couple of cynical New Yorkers-- friendly conversation, no waiting at security, easy-going travelers and rocking chairs at the gate. You're probably asking yourself, "okay, when does tragedy hit? when does kali forget her ID? when does shane lose his trumpet?" But, ladies and gentlemen, the day went without a hitch. It was a completely enjoyable day of travel. It was Mahalia's first flight and she slept, as perfect babies do, the whole time.

Our trip was amazing. It was the best Thanksgiving in recent memory. Why? Having a baby, a little family of my own is changing me, making me mushy all the time. I love being with my brothers and sisters, playing scrabble, sharing belly laughs over a card game. I love their children and seeing them with their children. I love Shane and am amazed at his gentle way with Mahalia. Family, family, family!! I mean really, could I be any luckier? It just warms the cockles of my heart know that these people are out there somewhere, silently cheering me on. Here are a few photos. There are so many more......

Lilli's resemblence to Dora the explorer is uncanny! Check out the new teeth!!





Sophia giving mealtime thanks.



Sasha-bo-basha (aka Farty McFartson)
post-meal snoozarama

baby Olivia

Shane works all day on Saturday. His job takes him to the fine borough of Queens where he teaches jazz loving high schoolers how to swing and such. On many a Saturday our good friend, Beth, comes out to Brooklyn. Beth and I share a love of shopping and we often call each other to go and "touch things" in expensive shops. A typical Saturday usually ends with an episode or two of various home and gardening shows, or a house-flipping show. If we're lucky, we might catch an episode of The Barefoot Contessa or maybe even that program about the dreamer dwarf and his grumpy dwarf wife.



Today we changed it up a bit. Mahalia and I walked and walked thru Brooklyn. We cruised down Flatbush Ave. up to Prospect Park and thru the Botanic Gardens. We stopped to look at the Japanese Pond.



We stopped and looked at some funny pointy plants in the herb garden.



We admired seasonal fruits and vegetables at the Farmers Market at Grand Army Plaza.








We stopped at the Brooklyn Museum and I saw one very disturbing piece of art called Baby Girl by an Australian artist that creates gigantic, extremely lifelike sculptures. I couldn't find a picture of the Baby Girl. I found this one though called Big Man. It gives you an idea. It's extremely large in real life. The baby was fresh out of the womb with the umbilical cord and everything. It's around 20 feet long. Beth was with me but was too disturbed to look.















I splurged on a new lovely pair of striped socks.

get a load of these wrists. we've been working hard on them
Mahalia Earhart