p.s. I can't stand the picture upload function in Blogger. Impossible to get pictures in the order you want them...so in spite of my best efforts, these pictures are NOT in chronological order. Alas! She's still darn cute. 
If you ask Yumi these days who or what she is, she'll say: "I ballerina fairy princess!" She has only recently conceded that she is ALSO Mayumi.
I wanted to do something different for Thanksgiving this year, to challenge myself. So, when my old roommate and dear friend Amber invited us to come up to New York for the weekend and stay in her neighbor's flat who was travelling--I felt we had to say yes. And so we went! Now--the travel to/from NYC was horrendous. Six hours each way, with Emi crying much of that time (and throwing up on the way back). Not fun. But many many aspects of the trip were great. For example: Thanksgiving Dinner, hosted by Amber and attended by 16 friends. This dinner was no ordinary Thanksgiving meal. Amber has a recipe testing project going on (learn more at 
her blog: http://www.recipetestnest.blogspot.com/ ) and this meal was one of her famous twice-monthly 'Test Nests.' We all were asked to SERIOUSLY contemplate our taste buds and rate each dish. I contributed a dish of baklava, the score of which I do not yet know--but judge for yourselves from the photo. Delish. Nate graciously carved the SAGE INFUSED turkey. Emi and Yumi entertained the guests--every last one a saavy single New Yorker who probably hadn't been around a child in several years--but were very kind and cute with the girls.
the elevator to the 8th floor and home of Santa Land. In spite of the fact that there were millions of people crammed into that elevator on Black Friday, Mayumi still found a way to lie down and throw a fit. Amazing. I could not actually get Mayumi to approach Santa Claus (a little overawed, I suppose). Not for lack of encourage by the extremely enthusiastic Elf.
Good times were had, however, when we went to the Central Park Carousel. And Times Square. And on a jog through Central Park. And on the Staten Island Ferry (make sure to look in the background of this photo of Emi and me).
Definitely a highlight of the weekend was getting together with my dearest old friends Amber, Sally, Mala, and Mala's roommate (and new friend, Beth), to see a show! Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. Not the most amazing show, but featured some of our most favorite Broadway performers and we had a GREAT time. Thank you, Nate, for indulging me--and making this trip possible. Thank you Amber, Sally, and Mala for being excellent hostesses and great friends.
Big sister is making it difficult for Emi the Good to practice her new moves:
I could care less about televisions, but I have to brag about how cool this is--seemingly wireless! He fed all the cords/wires through the wall behind the television and connected them with the DVD player, etc. Also, if you go back to the previous picture of the computer nook, notice: NO CORDS. They, too, are fed through the wall. Amazing.
Emi the Good, sucking so hard on this bottle that it has caved in.
It is a beautiful time of year in Northern Virginia. The whole family enjoyed a trip to the National Zoo on Veteran's Day. Emi was too busy checking out the animals to look at the camera.
With the fall comes the leaves. Nate and Mayumi have worked out a neat little system; she rides in the wheelbarrrow and helps Nate rake the leaves. Of course, no matter how often or how much we rake, the whole lawn is always covered again by the next day. Alas! And the garden: winterized. Goodbye, basil. Goodbye, tomatoes. Goodbye, pumpkins that never grew to maturity. We had a good season.
Well, it was bound to happen: Mayumi may be joining a dance class. My dear friend Stephanie (who helped me make the onesie quilt and the quiet books) is ALSO a professional dancer and dance teacher! She just opened her own dance studio and invited us to try it out free for a week. I decided to get my 'money's worth' and come to THREE classes in one week: adult ballet, adult jazz, and toddler dance. LOVED it. Stephanie is amazing! Here are a few photos of her class. The thing is (and I realize this is very selfish of me, but I'll be honest): it wasn't as fun for ME as I had hoped, because I had to chase Emi down the entire time. 
No real chance to chat with the other moms or even take pictures...Emi was INTENT on participating (yes, that is her in one of the pictures below). So--not sure if I will enrole Mayumi, but we're going to give it one more go this week.
It was an ambitious project and I am not sure I'll ever do it again. But the applesauce sure is tasty!
Now, for Halloween:
Mayumi was a "Ballerina Fairy." She grabbed her frog two seconds before the photo was taken-an absolutely perfect touch. Emi was The Littlest Pumpkin. Thank you to Stephanie for Mayumi's costume (she made the wings for Yumi's participation in a Christmas nativity last year and gave Mayumi the leotard and ballet shoes). Thank you to Grandma Rosalie for Emi's costume (the oneside and hat--gifts to Mayumi in previous years).
Of course, no Halloween would be complete without some pumpkin carving. I did not take any photos of the event this year, but we had a great time doing it with Mayumi's BFF Juliette and her family. Here are the resulting Jack-O-Lanterns:
From right to left: Nate, Hilary, Mayumi (who was cranky when hers was being carved), and Emiko.
And finally, a bit of nostalgia:
Halloween 2007:
Halloween 2008:
Halloween 2009:
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in the double stroller, and took off up the mountain to pick peaches with Nicolina (Ethan's mom) while Emi and I picked blackberries.
