two girls on the town

As I mentioned yesterday, Evelyn is not terribly pleased that we left her brother behind in Missouri for another week of Camp Nana and Poppa. To try and make up for the loss of fishing/swimming/lounging on the floor getting to watch cable TV, I'm giving over the week to Things that Evie wants to do. Normally I try to balance what Briton wants to see with what she wants to do (and what I want to see) when we go places, but this week it's all her.
Yesterday we dressed up in our favorite dresses and fancy shoes and went to see the Maria Kalman exhibit at the Jewish Museum before it closes at the end of the week. We discovered her by accident during the Museum Mile Festival and I've been wanting to go back ever since with paper and crayons for some art fun.
Dog Reads Book - Maria Kalman
Dog Reads Book - Evelyn

Self Portrait (with Pete) - Maria Kalman
Self Portrait (with Nigella) - Evelyn (she's the one with the antenna sticking up out of her head - pigtails I guess)

The gallery was almost empty so we sat on the floor and the benches and Evie drew her version of her favorite pieces. We also visited the dress up room and tried to count all of the dogs that appeared in the paintings but gave up somewhere in the 40's.
I've never really been a go and look at art kind of person. I like art, I just don't really feel like I'm that knowledgeable about it. But it's funny how different looking at art can be with kids. Before we left we went down to the main gallery which is filled with French Impressionist paintings. There was one painting, a ocean scene by Renoir I think, that showed a sailboat and a rocky outcropping. I asked Evie where she thought the boat was going and she launched into a long story about the boat running away from the giant (the rocks looked a little like giants legs) and how the giant was wearing his pajamas and holding them over his knees so that they wouldn't get wet. I never would have seen that myself, looking at that painting. To me it was just a boat, sailing away. I think I like Evie's version better.

Today she has chosen the Natural History Museum so she can see the big whale and tomorrow she wants to go to a "playground that we've never been to" preferably with sand and water and also on a picnic. Will is on the hunt for some theatre tickets for a Saturday matinee to round off the Evie week.

I miss having Briton here but it's also nice to be able to focus just on Evelyn this week. When school starts it will be Briton and I off on adventures each day while Evie is in Kindergarten, so having this week of my girl is such a treat.