Autumn in New York: Toddler Paradise

Fletcher is large and in charge when he visits Grandma and Papa in White Plains.

He's a pretty good traveler and he's fairly content on the plane. He drew this on his magnadoodle and called  it "Lots of Jethros". If you've ever met Jethro, you'll see what he's getting at.

Wheeling his carseat around JFK? Very, very popular. Well, popular with Fletcher at least. I'm not sure how all the other passengers (some of whom were in his way) felt about it.

He was having such a good time that he called his friend Desmond on the remote control to tell him all about it. Our hotel had an elevator!

Why is Grandma and Papa's house so cool? Well...

...first of all, they have acres for a boy to roam.

And rock formations to jump off (and terrify Papa, offscreen)

When Papa recovers, he might be up for a rousing game of Poohsticks:

You get to strap Grandma's Freud action figure to your brand new monster truck!

And you can have a candle in your blueberry muffin, and everyone will sing "Happy Birthday", even though it is not only not your birthday, it isn't even the 11th of the month. However, it is a month with an 11th in it, so it's totally legit.

It's fun to swing while your grandpa pushes you.

And it's really fun to swing alongside your grandma.

But this might be most fun of all.

Sharing a pair of Freudian slippers. It's not oedipal if it's your grandma, right?

They let you eat coconut-fudge ice cream!

And you get to drag a garden cart all around the house - and no one minds!

As an East Austinite, Fletcher thought he had an obligation to check out the rival hipsters in Brooklyn, so we paid a call on Nancy, Olivia and Sophia.

 We're so grateful to Nancy for having twins just so our little boy could have his dream of pushing a massive double stroller fulfilled. It was really thoughtful of her.

Fletcher was actually quite taken with Sophia and Olivia, despite how it might appear from this photo. It's possible that he looks grumpy because was tired of his mother following him around with her camera. Not likely, but possible.

And then, on our last night there, this appeared in the street right outside my parents' house:

It's an asphalt-layer-downer and it's huge!

And seriously awesome.

But wait! It gets better...

What?!

Yes!!

It was a great trip, but sometimes it's just nice to be back home, pulling an empty suitcase around while wearing your pajamas and a bike helmet. You know.