Wrapping paper

Next year, Elliott's Christmas gift will be a large roll of wrapping paper.

Trains

This is the book Elliott chose when let loose in the Barnes & Noble children's department last Saturday. He carefully packs it in his stroller before outings. On Monday morning, he insisted on reading it mid-babycino.

Weekend exploits

We forgot the camera but had G's phone on hand to capture the action. Saturday, post dinosaur museum, we stopped in at gelataria Capogiro and earlier today Elliott ran amok in Headhouse Square with his new best friend the gingerbread man.

Chocolate-covered pretzel

This is what happens when, heading out of the building for nap time, someone gives Elliott a dark-chocolate-covered pretzel.

Poached Elliott

To a large pasta pot insert add two wooden dinosaurs, a dozen magazine subscription cards and most of the water in a child-sized drink bottle. Whisk so vigorously that you lose your balance and fall in.

At the library

The magnificent-looking Free Library of Philadelphia hosts children's storytime every Tuesday morning. Elliott attended for the first time this week but paid scant attention to the stories, preferring instead to offer dollar bills to pretty ladies and lassoo other children with a hula hoop. His disinterest in all things literary continued when, storytime over, H tried to entice him to choose some books to borrow. Books? Who wants books when there are computer keyboards (just keyboards, ingeniously placed on tiny desks) to play with! Or, understandably, when the books have titles like Hands are not for Hitting and Mommy's New Boyfriend.

Patting tortoises

The Academy of Natural Sciences' live animal centre has, among its many exotic residents (pythons, parrots, Madagascan hissing cockroaches), a large leopard tortoise who has been there for more than 30 years. He was rescued from owners who drilled a hole in the back of his shell, presumably to tie a leash to. On quiet afternoons (seemingly every weekday afternoon once the dozens of raucous school groups have left and Elliott has the place almost to himself) the keeper takes the tortoise out of his tank and he trundles around on the floor. Yesterday (Sunday) afternoon packs of Boy Scouts were running rampant so the tortoise stayed in his tank. Elliott seemed content to pat this one instead.

Stacking blocks

Building a tower with these UNICEF stacking blocks has been Elliott's second favourite indoor pursuit today. His favourite? Demolishing the tower, of course! For those of you in the market for Christmas gifts for small people, a similar sea-themed set can be purchased online at UNICEF's Australian website.

Chef Dave

Just a few years ago, America's domestic goddess Martha Stewart was jailed for white-collar crime. She's back in a big way. A very big way. The homewares department at Macy's is like a shrine, plastered as it is with larger-than-life posters of a smiling Martha spruiking all manner of merchandise, much of it in her trademark shade of duck-egg blue. Her popularity and influence is such that Kitchen Aid has added "Martha blue" to its colour range. There was but one Martha-free corner, appropriated by this dishy chef spruiking his 14-piece pot set. Dave Lieberman is a Food Network celebrity. He's also a friend of one of Elliott's favourite Tasmanian chefs. This one's for Luke!

Baguette obsession

It's raining, it's pouring and Elliott is snoring... for now. But how to wear him out this afternoon without braving the elements? I'm hoping indoor football will do the job. We stopped at a sporting goods shop during the very wet morning outing (these photos were taken last week) and purchased two balls -- one for soccer, the other for gridiron -- and four cones to use as goal posts/touchdown markers. If that fails to amuse Capogiro and its Cioccolato Scuro is but one block away.

18 degrees Celsius!

After Sunday's morning bitterly cold outing, H was waiting for her fingers to turn black and drop off. Today is a humid and ever so welcome 18C but wet enough that Elliott was content to scare the Rittenhouse Square squirrels while lounging in his plastic-wrapped stroller. This photo shows him squirrel watching last week.

The ever-present baguette

Alas, no chocolate friandes or pineapple upside-down cake at Elliott's favourite Philadelphia babycino stop but Parc, across the road from Rittenhouse Square, does bake a fine baguette.

Squirrel scaring

Rittenhouse Square is the prettiest park in Philadelphia's Center (American for centre) City district. Elliott insists that we visit it every day so he can scare the squirrels.