I took a number of pictures of Eitan and Madeleine for our 2005 holiday card, which never did make it to a mailing (8/10/05). The aim was to catch the late evening light, which I missed by about 45 minutes. Still a number of shots I think are funny so I post another one here.
Madeleine carves the orange pumpkin in anticipation of trick 'o treating in our neighborhood. There is a sufficient ex-pat community to support a pillow case full of goods. While neither kid has any idea what the festivities are about (nor do I for the record) they know a good house (mini Mars bars, Hershey kisses) from bad (apples or any kind of fruit stuff).
A favourite weekend activity is a group outing at KeGardens, located next to the river and designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2003. The grounds offer plenty of room to explore including rose gardens, seasonal plants and flora and the Palm House which is the largest Victorian glasshouse in existence. Rainy days are spent inside at the Climbers & Creepers inter-active play area. This photograph taken on a (typically) grey January Sunday afternoon followed most likely by home-made pizza or spaghetti family style.
Sonnet's brother takes advantage of the snow and sun in the Colorado Rockies. During his visit from Kathmandu, our hero helps his parents move into their new home, searches for the next great NGO and visits Walnut Creek to support a friend in need.
I thought it would be useful to post a map of London showing where we live. Our burough is Richmond, located in Southwest London and south of the Thames river. We are aproximately one quarter mile from London's Richmond Park which is about the same size as Central Park in Manhattan or 7.2 miles in diameter for those runners amongst us - it also has a history dating back to 1272 and is where Charles I brought his Court to escape the plague in 1625. Otherwise the neighborhood is very English with a large American and European ex-patriot community; it is also the home of Mick Jagger and is where the Stones and The Who got their start http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond_upon_Thames.
Autumn pumkin and 
apple picking in Hertsfordshire turns into face painting (1/10/05). Fyi Madeleine is a duck, and Eitan a tiger (nb I'm sure that was obvious).
I entered this race in Hyde Park on a wing and a prayer, and crossed the finish line in one piece - barely. The five extra 5 kilograms on my mid-section resulted in a fairly unpleasant and painful experience the second half of the race. Middle age, also known as 'Masters' finishing line time of 40:28.
Eric during a visit to Boston while raising dough for BlueRun Ventures. My return flight delayed 24 hours due to the British Airways catering services, who strike for all they're worth making hundreds of thousands of us innocents miserable. Despite Eric's natural alliance with labour, he is sympathetic to my cause: "may they eat their own dog food". My photo here captures Eric's lizard-like stare when laying down the law to his two sons and daughter - his children being more disciplined then mine. 
There's a lot going on in this photo, taken during Grace and Moe's January '06 visit (27/1/06). Mom is reading before bed-time, the kids are 'amped' by the attention and of course I am taking the photo, which is not well received by Eitan in particular.
Eitan was spotted last weekend in Richmond Park (29/7/03) by a movie agent and asked to try-out for a centrol role in the re-make of Michael Caine's Alfie as Ruby's son (Marisa Tomei''s character). Happily the Boy refused to repeat a single memorised line, ran-amuck around the office studio and then had a tantrum (all on studio tape). For his efforts, he was rewarded with McDonald's - pictured. (Nb while we were all disappointed that Eitan did not get the part, none more so than our nanny Letty who had visions of Hollywood celebrity and chauffered limosines).
Madeleine and I spent a day together searching out ice cream parlors in Richmond - not an easy thing to do in England in January, by the way. Sonnet was off somewhere with Eitan, so we shared a bonding moment together eventually locating a Hagen Daaz
on the hight street. Madeleine's favorite: unquestionably strawberry. JO
Dulles Airport following a seven hour flight (July '04). Worse, our connecting flight to Ohio and Kelly's wedding delayed several hours, followed by another 3 hours in the air. 'Wiggy' does not quite describe the kids mental state, but pretty close. Eitan and Madeleine amuse themselves by running up and down the moving escalator while I run next to them apologising to passengers, who were generally amused by our wacked-out, jet-lagged children.
Sonnet plays her new role 'mother', while Eitan seems quite happy to be alive (Oct'01). The early days were quite a transition at Lauderdale Mansion, and many staples were abondoned - restaurants, books, our nerves - but of course the trade-offs have been well worth it especially for moments like these. On occassion, Eitan completely cried out, would fall asleep in my lap, or we would have a family nap together. This a precious time before the (mostly friendly) competition arrived 16 months later.
Sonnet and I were walking through St John's Wood in North London when I took this photograph around Halloween, 2001. I think we were both still in shock about parenthood - or at least, exhausted from lack of sleep. Katie flew over from NYC straight away to meet her nephew, while Sonnet's cousin Mora spent a month 
with us allowing Sonnet to get the hang of breast-feeding and some sleep. I do recall times when I watched the clock, appreciating for the first time the true length of a minute while my son screamed bloody murder.
These are my two favorite photos of the kids so far taken September 7, 2003. I was in the bathtub with my digital camera, while Sonnet blew bubbles overhead. I believe that it was the first time they had seen such a thing, which lends to their intense focus and then joyous reaction. There's nothing really I would change about this shot - even the bubbles floating down add to the story. (Nb the right was our holiday photograph 2003)
