it's HOT

it has been incredibly hot in new york this past week, and poor penny just melts in the heat.  i wish i could blame that on alex, but she definitely gets it from me, and when the two of us are near each other we are like two sweaty cranky radiators.  penny's camp went on a trip to the painted pot this week, and i got word that the counselors spent the whole walk encouraging her to drink water and spraying her down.  as soon as she gets into the air conditioning she perks right back up, but this child cannot handle the heat.
she took a mini vacation to her grandparents' on long island this weekend, and spent most of her time in the pool (when i dropped her off at camp on friday, she was having a really rough time saying goodbye to me.i was hanging out and snuggling with her for a while, and one of her friends came up to us and started chatting.  once penny was ready to be social, she climbed off my lap, looked her friend dead in the eye and said "you are not going to see me tomorrow because i am going to be at the manorhaven pool.").  apparently, she can swim!  this is amazing news, and i can't wait to see it for myself.
she's also been producing art at an amazing clip.  on wednesday she brought home this self portrait:

 i asked her to tell me about it, and she pointed out her arms and legs, head and features.  i asked her about the red circles and brown line.  she told me that was her facepaint.  i asked her where she was in the picture.  she looked at me like i was a complete imbecile and said, very slowly and clearly, "these are my arms.  these are my legs..."  i explained what i actually meant and she told me she was in the yard at camp.  i think she was a bit relieved.

on thursday, she brought home this picture of me:

i asked her to tell me about IT, and she pointed out all of my parts.  i asked her where i am in this picture, and i am out in her camp yard, drawing with chalk.  i can totally see it!  i do kind of love that i only have eyeballs - possibly glasses.
today we woke up, went out for breakfast, and then went to ikea! penny is now toilet trained, and tall enough, to go to the children's play area (smaland, because it's ikea), and it's FREE.  since it was her first time, i spent the first couple of minutes watching her and making sure she was alright, but i will absolutely leave her there for half an hour next time we go - she had the best time!  i joined the loyalty club and now i get a free cup of coffee every time we visit - this cannot be a coincidence.  if you ever need to find me when alex is out of town and being outdoors is out of the question, just check red hook.  once we got off of the (FREE!) shuttle bus and started our trek home, penny pretty much shut down.  i tried to carry her the whole way, but this required frequent breaks - girlfriend is heavy.  one such break put us on a stoop covered in maple noses.  i was unsure how sticky they would be in the 90 degree weather, but never doubt a three and a half year old on a mission:

we got home at about 4:15, i read her 4 stories, she thrashed around in bed  protesting that she wan't tired, and literally 5 seconds later was passed out asleep.  she has not woken up yet and it's now 9:30.  i'm guessing we're skipping dinner & bath tonight, but i think she'll be a happier camper tomorrow.