Weekend Update; Our First Snow

I really need to be getting to bed so that I can trudge through the snow to the bus to the train to the bridge to the campus in the morning (none of this trudging is in fact an exagerration---I am a former New Yorker with a driver's license who doesn't drive and who thus does a fair share of trudging). Moreover, I will need to trudge through the SNOW. We actually got some this evening, but it happened too late in the day to bundle up Hallie and show it to her in person. But just so we have documentary evidence that it did indeed snow in Philly in 2007, here's my image, and I promise it isn't photoshopped:



I guess the good news is that I am finally going to get to wear my Merrell Primo Chill snowboots. The bad news is that this won't be much of a fashion statement.

Otherwise, I have be sorely remiss about uploading pictures to my computer and hence to this blog.

First off, I've got some lovely pictures of Hallie's visit with Uncle Greg (my brother) and Aunt Maria (his fiancee), who came for a visit last Sunday. They were amazed at Hallie (what can I say?) and had a great time with her. Here's one of the proud Uncle and Aunt:



Uncle Greg and Aunt Maria also brought Hallie some lovely Valentine's Day duds and we are looking forward to dressing her up in them. Hopefully, once summer gets here, the O2 will be a thing of the past and we can bring Hallie up to their house in Putnam County, New York to hang out in the swimming pool. That will be a lot of fun for all of us (especially since winter is now a reality in these here--and I suspect those there---parts).

Greg and Maria also took a rare picture of the three of us. Usually, either Sharon or I are designated photographers and hence only one of us at a time appear in a shot with our little pumpkin:



Finally, this weekend, not only did Hallie have another visit from her Grammy and her Grammy's friend Franny, who hung out with our girl but somehow managed to evade having their images captured digitally, but she also got to play dress up (and was subjected to yet another one of our interminable photoshoots) in a lovely new outfit that our neighbors Denise, Danny, and Gianna got for her. Here are a series of clever girl shots from this evening:



Now, of course, we all know that knuckles are DELICIOUS...



...but I had no idea that dresses could be so tasty!



And for those of you who remember how much Hallie loved to have a towel or blanket over her head in the ICN, this one's for you:



Anyway, that's all folks. It's really late and while my lesson plan for tomorrow is done, I need to get to bed before I turn into a total pumpkin, not of the cute Hallie-like variety, but of the very tired, pooped, and not-terribly-effective-professor variety!

Meanwhile, please wish us luck with our first ever developmental follow up appointment, which happens this Wednesday (also my birthday). We don't really know what to expect so we are having trouble 'teaching-for-testing' around here. Which is probably just as well! But whatever happens, you guys (also known as "Time Magazine People of the Year 2006" will be the firsts to know.