Gallery hopping

Papà Frank, Nonna Karen, and Mommy (Daddy had to stay home and work) take Kemper out for his very first art day in New York, gallery-hopping and visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art (www.metmuseum.org).

Kemper puts on his way-cool gallery hopping suit and gives the thumbs-up: he's ready to roll:


Nonna Karen and her grandson contemplate Butler Street while Papà Frank and Mommy install the car seat:


Kemper and his Papà Frank hit the galleries of Chelsea, peeking into windows to see which shows are worth popping into (this one, apparently, not):


A big part of gallery hopping in New York involves riding rickety of elevators…


…and walking down creepy blank hallways in old industrial buildings:


Papà Frank and Kemper sign the guest book at Donna Nelson's show:


Papà Frank shares artistic secrets with his grandson:


Kemper shares his kung-fu grip with Papa Frank:


Sometimes the art isn't nearly as interesting as that person holding the camera:


Kemper and his Papà pause in the shadows"


Mommy takes Kemper on his first stroll around the Metropolitan Museum of Art:


They zip past all that old stuff because, with Papà Frank in charge, they've come to see the temporary exhibits:


Kemper decides to wander on his own through the show on Jasper Johns, one of his Papà's favorite painters:


Thinking ahead, Kemper brought along his book about colors so he could engage in some field studies on the subject:


Finally, art made for babies! Kemper and his Papà examine Jeff Koons' giant "balloon dog" on the roof of the Met:


Kemper and Mommy cuddle by the Koons rooftop art:


Kemper doesn't seem to find Courbet all that scary:


Damien Hirst's shark, on the other hand, is downright frightening:

Kemper's day at the beach

There's sand 'tween his toes

And sand up his nose

And sand in his crannies where sand shouldn't goes



Kemper spent the day at Coney Island today. It was quite an adventure.

Kemper boards the F-train to Coney Island:



Kemper likes riding in an elevated train--so much to see from the windows!:



Kemper decides against riding the rickety old Cyclone roller coaster:



Kemper hangs out on the beach:



Kemper and daddy play on the beach. Boy that sand sure feels good on his toes:



Kemper learns that the ground can be made up of really fun things, like this sand stuff:



Kemper gets sand EVERYWHERE:



Kemper gets his hat adjusted by daddy:



Kemper goes wading in the Atlantic Ocean for the very first time. First impressions: it's COOOOLLLLD!:



Kemper strolls the boardwalk at Coney Island:



Kemper debates whether to go on the Wonder Wheel ferris wheel on the Coney Island boardwalk:



Kemper stops at Nathan's so daddy can get a chilicheese dog and some french fries:



Kemper plays in the grass while daddy eats his Nathan's french fries:



Kemper plays with his new friend Toby on the train ride back home:

A stroll down Fifth Avenue

After Kemper's dermatologist's appointment, he and Daddy decided to stroll the 40 blocks down to see Mommy at work. Kemper got to play tourist in his own hometown!

Kemper holds his own against Lee Lawrie's seven-ton Titan Atlas at 5630 Fifth Avenue:



Kemper demonstrates the traditional method of attending mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral:



Kemper relaxes at Rockefeller Center:



Kemper waits patiently for the ice rink to open again at Rock Center:



Kemper hangs with Patience, one of the lions guarding the New York Public Library:



Kemper arrives (finally!) at Mommy's building, the Flatiron:



The family enjoys a well-deserved lunch at the Shake Shack on Madison Square Park (Mommy and Daddy have burgers, fries, and milkshakes; to keep in the spirit of things, Daddy makes sure to shake up the bottle of milk before Kemper gets it):

Tax time

Daddy has spent a bunch of boring days ignoring Kemper shamelessly and instead sitting around playing with piles upon piles of paper scraps, and adding machine, and thick booklets filled with itsy-bitsy print (apparently, the way you play with these things is to frown at them for long periods of time, poke at the calculator sporadically, occasionally write something down, and frequently call them all really bad names under your breath). Finally, today he has finished his game and is about to send it along to some mean relative named "Uncle Sam" to play with.

While Kemper's cats help his Daddy finish his taxes…


…Kemper gets himself into trouble repeatedly in his new, Big Boy crib:




Since Daddy's so busy, Kemper decides to catch up on some reading:


Finally, after spending an hour waiting in line at the post office with other Mommies and Daddies who have been, apparently, playing the same game, Daddy takes Kemper to Bar Tabac for a celebratory platter of charcuterie and a giant beer (Kemper prefers to wait until he gets home for some milk):


Mommy comes home and Kemper graciously offers to help her catch up on some of her reading, too: