Sunday was an all day pants dance party at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Kate, Isabel, and their cousins all went and had a raucous good time singing and dancing along to Dan Zanes and Friends.

We all love DZ, of course - he lives 4 subway stops from us, sings about the F train and the park, and quite frankly doesn't stoop to playing "kids" music, he just plays music. Some is original, and a lot is old standards out of copyright that Dan zings back to life with fresh arrangements and an array of strong collaborating musicians. The result is an enormous fan following and a great time. At "BAM" they were playing in the Grand Opera Hall - the "Carnegie Hall" of Brooklyn, an impressive room that was rafter-full with families and friends.

The girls all went down to the front (with Jennifer) and danced and pogo-sticked like crazy for the whole show. I sat in our seat, watching my tow-headed pogo monster from across the room, and alternately holding a sleeping or crazily music-entranced Isabel. She was thrilled by the whole scene.

After we went into Fort Greene for BBQ at "The Smoke Joint" and were thrilled to find decent "Q" much closer to home than either Chelsea or Hamilton Heights - none of which compete with the home-grown kind, of course.

This week Isabel started scooting backwards! My sister reminded me over the weekend that I need to put Isabel down on her tummy more, so I did. Lo and behold, within a few minutes, she was scooting herself, albeit in the wrong direction, backwards away from the enticing toy I had placed in front of her. Go Isabel! She is also adeptly playing with her Incrediblock, and is able to support herself standing alone holding onto the block for a minute or so, until she gets distracted by the blocks and loses her balance. Thankfully Mom is never far away.

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