October: visiting family and friends, starting school (!)

We were too busy to attend the shows in New York last month but hear tortoise will be big next year. Here's hipster CJ in her Carter's.



Of course, a girl can't always shop for bling. One must eat, but oh the choices...



But when confronted with the ultimate in style and taste, CJ was completely unimpressed.



This month, Aunt Annie came to visit. CJ's friend Tomoki and his family joined us on a visit to nearby Brookside Gardens.







Despite the tranquility, the paparazzi were out with a vengeance and we didn't know which camera to say "Cheese" to.





CJ and Mommy also took Aunt Annie to the National Mall on an exceptionally picturesque day.







The big news this month is that CJ began attending a cooperative pre-school. She loves playing there, and especially enjoys sensing and exploring the water table and the sandbox. She also likes to create. This day, she was having fun with red.



Now that she's in school, one pair of sunglasses simply won't do.



One weekend, we drove up to New York. Our whirlwind visit began with a glorious fall day watching cousin Jay play defense for Manchester United. Here's the king of the pitch:



CJ and Grace scored great sideline seats. Way to go, gals!



The match got a little intense, so we took a break from the action.



Then, as luck would have it, it began raining in broad daylight.



Fortunately, the day cleared, and we attended Mommy's high school reunion. While Mommy got to schmooze...





...CJ caught up on gossip with her pal Blythe:



Paparazzi and shutterbugs were out in full force, leaving no attending alumnus undocumented. This early photograph by CJ displays her fine motor skills as well her budding social grace; what she now calls "conceptual" was the deliberate obscuring of an otherwise dull moment.



For those of you not in the know, note the fetching Arlene Kirstein CJ is wearing.



The next morning, CJ awoke early and was ready for action. She and Grace took the train uptown to a little hole-in-the-wall they know to do a little shopping.



Later that afternoon, we met in Chinatown with two of the families with whom we travelled to China for the adoption.



Although still full from a lunch of wondrous soup dumplings, we could not resist the allure of CJ's milkshake stand. Boy, can she make a mean shake!



All that pretend gulping made us thirsty, so we stopped for some bubble tea...



...and a snack. Known for her esoteric tastes, CJ found the turnip cake a bit lacking.