Stoop

Alice & I have taken to sitting on our building's front stoop. Neither of us get enough time outside, and developments over the past several months have limited that time even more. My office's move from a lovely, lively downtown to a rather ugly neighborhood in Queens in April keeps me indoors much of the work week. In order to get home in time for family dinner - which been pretty committed to since Alice started eating real meals - we ride the train home rather than walking from daycare. We just can't seem to spend enough time outdoors.

So, we sit on our stoop. Thankfully, a lot goes on right outside our building. Alice loves watching the trains come and go. We have a lot of dog lovers in our neighborhood, so we almost always see a friendly pup. There are plenty of kids in the neighborhood for Alice to wave to. A few of our neighbors just love Alice, and occasionally we will all sit together outside, chatting about this and that. And we get some beautiful sunshine just outside our building. I've been surprised by how pleasant the experience can be.

This is just another way that Alice is growing up as a City baby. I find the differences in our upbringing so shocking sometimes. Alice knows how to wait for an elevator, how to hail a cab (the CUTEST thing ever), how to steal some sunshine and fresh air from just outside a building. Amazing.