Mercer observing the river

Mercer observes the Tappan Zee Bridge, Metro-North railroad tracks, and a distant passing cargo ship on the Hudson River. Good-bye, summer.

Mercer cheat sheet

Pop found this old cheat sheet we made up for a friend of ours who babysat a 15-month old Mercer. The process is pretty much the same, except no creams/diapers and Mercer now requires the reading of 10,987 books before bedtime.

Mercer and Julianna

Mercer hung out with his cute little friend Julianna yesterday. They went for a stroll along the North County Trailway and had lunch at the local diner.

Mercer gets a tattoo

It was difficult to explain to Mercer that Anakin Skywalker grows up to be Darth Vader.

At the Yorktown Grange Fair

To finish up the weekend, Mercer and Co. made an appearance at the Yorktown Grange Fair, an event self-described as "Westchester County's Only True Country Fair Since 1923." We met up with our friend Fern and her delightful 8-year old daughter, Austyn. There was plenty of livestock to pet, a vegetable contest, food, games, rides, and even a "Woodstock-era" cover band, who were actually pretty good. They managed to provide what sounded like 3 female back-ups during "With a Little Help From My Friends" (Cocker, not Ringo), despite having only one female member in the band.

Anyway, Mercer was a bit feisty from not having his afternoon nap, but plenty of fun was had. Plus, it took 5 zeppoles to remind Pop of how good they are. They're pretty good.

Hitting the bike trail

We hit the North County Trailway this morning for some biking and crippling allergies. We stopped off for a rest near a UPS center and a more bucolic lake near Tarrytown.

Mercer's first baseball game.

Mom scored some free tickets to the Mets-Phillies game at CitiField yesterday afternoon. We saw it as a great opportunity to introduce Mercer to the game of baseball. Dad didn't think Mercer would last 3 innings, but in the end, the only reason we left in the 8th inning was to beat traffic. Mercer was great, but he probably thinks a baseball stadium is just a place where thousands of people go to be outside and eat candy. It's kind of true. Also, Mercer wanted to be down on the field pretty badly. It's hard to resist that green grass.


His first turnstile.

Up the escalator to our seats.

We got to our seats one minute before the first pitch was thrown. Where are all those diehard Mets fans? It eventually filled up, but Phillies fans were more visible all afternoon and not just because of their cursing.

Great seats. Being blocked from the sun was a huge plus.

Ready to catch any foul balls with his glove and Daddy's boyhood cap.

Chase Utley ready to hit into a pop out.

Coming back from the concession stand.


Cotton candy in a bag. Apparently, they don't serve it on a stick anymore. But they still charge you for it.

Trying to check out the score of the Roger Federer-Novak Djokovic match at the US Open.

Thanks to the traffic on the Whitestone Bridge, we had some great views of Manhattan on the way home. Can't wait to go again.

Playing at the park

About four or five times a week, Mercer and Pop find themselves at the local park. We're really spoiled to have such a cool place to explore so close to our house, and it's upsetting to think that we'll eventually have to move away.

In the meantime, Mercer and Pop get to do all sorts of cool things together, like:

> race at full speed down the street to the park
> play soccer
> flip over giant rocks to look at ants, worms, and other bugs
> climb up big hills, using tree roots and rocks as footholds
> jump on and over old benches made of brick and slate
> watch the commuter trains from New York and upstate roar by
> play with all of the local dogs that pass through
> jump off of stone walls
> race
> play hide-and-seek, using trees, giant rocks, and bushes as cover
> throw rocks over the railroad tracks and into the Hudson
> kick the soccer ball up the jagged hill and try to guess where it will come down (a la "Plinko")
> throw Mercer high into the air, hoping Pop's back doesn't give out
> twist our ankles doing helicopter spins off of rocks
> race up and down the big stairs
> throw rocks into pools of rainwater
> explore mysterious caves
> relax on benches while watching the sun set

Mercer looks forward to haircuts now. (Updated)

A new man.

UPDATED > some new photos from the salon: