This year Jasper chose to be a ghost. Just a plain sheet ghost. I don't know why he went so minimal but it was a great relief to me. Of course, I had a little trouble with the scissors.

Our neighbors also dressed up and we went as pirates. That's our downstairs neighbor--no kids of his own, just a kid himself.

Meanwhile, Jasper is thriving in his new school. He loves learning, is excited about reading and figuring things out. It's so amazing to witness--I couldn't be more happy with his education. He's having a great year.

Jasper plastered his glarch on the top of his helmet, put on his cape, and requested a parade. Alas, none of the kids at the playground would join him. But he did looks smashing. Fortunately a few days later we joined friends to make musical instruments out of garbage and march in a parade at the High Line. Jasper continues to amaze me with his bold creativity--but then I remember he's Lane's son.

image shows larger than recommended amount of starch

Mix one 7.6-ounce bottle of glue with 3 ounces of liquid starch.

Add food coloring. Squash with your hands.

Smoosh into a ball and squeeze out extra liquid. Enjoy!

WARNING TO PARENTS: glarch sticks to fibers, so keep away from rugs and upholstery! We learned this the hard way. A few times.

We're off to a great start here. Yesterday Jasper found where I'd hidden the secret stash of candy and ate half of it. Today, at noon, we're both still in our pajamas, Jasper put his breakfast of pancakes in a drawer (don't ask) and ate marshmallows instead, and we're listening to the radio and watching TV at the same time while Jasper grinds moon sand and play dough into the table.

This Saturday we will be celebrating his birthday with a party. His birthday was in January, of course, but we wanted to have a party in the park in warm weather. Will he wear is crown?

True, you can corral all the tiny pieces of plastic into baskets etc., but the real problem is that when Jasper builds something he wants it to remain intact for a while so he can play with it. Because we are an artist family (and the over-indulgent parents of an only child), creations are sacred in our home. They are preserved and protected. And of course, Jasper wants to mix it all up together and keep it all out so he can return to his creations. It's especially difficult to manage in a tiny apartment--especially since his room comprises almost half of our total square footage! When I step into his room I can't help murmuring to myself "the horror...."

Where do you put it all?!?

I picked up a little inspiration from Simon's Room in Ohdeedoh. The little shelf holding the cars looked like just the thing for displaying Lego spaceships. I haven't found one exactly like it, but I did come across an even better solution at Target--a shoe organizer!

The compartments are just the right size to showcase the creations like the little Fabergé eggs that they are. Now his table looks like this: