Hugs & kisses

Elliott loves giving hugs. Here, with bonus kiss, to his Japanese monster. And, said his babysitter at the gym yesterday, to all of the other children she's taking care of.

Romanesque fountain

Paddle pools are in short supply in downtown Philadelphia. Legitimate paddle pools, that is. Here's the before photo of Elliott at Philadelphia Museum of Art's Romanesque fountain.

Peg moose

Add to the list of Elliott's favourite things the moose at the Academy of Natural Sciences. He likes the dinosaur hall well enough but it is the moose diorama that has captured his fancy. Give him two of anything (spoons, blocks, bananas) and chances are he'll put them on his head and pretend he's a moose. Here, he's repurposing two pegs from his favourite puzzle game.

Police car

Elliott's obsession with emergency vehicles is such that he can spot a police car from six blocks away. To cheer him up when he was feeling poorly one day (Philadelphia: great museums, nasty stomach flus), H wheeled him over so he could touch a police car parked at the kerb. Now he insists that he touch every police car he sees, even if that means taking a considerable detour. Fortuitously, there's a police station next door to Whole Foods. We often time our visits to coincide with shift change at the station when many, many police vehicles are parked outside. That's where he is in the photo above.

Cranes

Healthy again after a malaise-affected February so regular transmissions will recommence. Elliott's fixation with emergency vehicles and heavy machinery continues. Dig Dig Digging is one of his favourite books as it features both. He likes to pretend to be whatever it is he sees on the page. Here we have Elliott the crane!

Prunes, yoghurt, sushi