Home

I was so relieved when Freddie decided he'd rather stay home than ice skate on Sunday.  The temperature was 26 degrees with a bitter cold wind!  And it wasn't going to warm up much at all during the day.

We've actually been home a lot when the boys aren't in school, and I am really enjoying it.  Something tells me that come February I'll be over this feeling, but for now I love hearing them play with their trains in the bedroom, walking past their room and seeing them sitting in a pile of books reading, baking and cooking together, and just generally enjoying each other and our home.  

They're at a sweet spot right now.  It's good to be Mama these days.

Mama Rides

Watch out!  Coming through!

The passenger in the rear kept putting on his breaks and telling me to slow down.  The passenger in the front kept shouting for the turbo button.

It's a long load that requires lots of pedaling to keep moving.  We all got used to it within a few minutes, with the exceptions of my thighs which were screaming the entire time.

Fun times ahead with this rig.

Growing

As our family grows I am trying to find *simple* ways to make events special.  Marking the boys' height is our newest birthday tradition.  The other is brownies for breakfast.  I try for a special dinner, but Freddie really doesn't appreciate food enough yet for that to be very special to him, but maybe one day we'll have a favorite resturaunt to visit.  This year we spent some time looking at pictures from his first few weeks and I think we'll have to call that a birthday tradition as well. 

Recovering

The holidays are over.  And we're home.  We're finding our routine, catching up on sleep, and trying to shake the runny noses, coughs, and fever. 

We're slowly opening packages and presents and cards.  We're thankful for the generosity of family and friends. 

The decorations will slowly come down this week but I think I'll leave the cards up a bit longer before binding them in a book to toss into Freddie's book bin.  I like seeing everyone's notes and faces hanging in the living room. 

It's a new year and I'm not thinking of doing much different.  2011 was good to us, and who wants to mess with a good thing.

New York Botanical Garden Train Show

The Brooklyn Bridge

This weekend we headed to the Bronx to visit the New York Botanical Garden.

It was the opening weekend of the Holiday Train Show.  I assumed since it had just opened and we aren't technically into the holiday season yet it wouldn't be too crowded.  I forget with so many people in NYC that *everything* is *always* crowded.  There's just no escaping it.

Models of New York landmarks made from bits and pieces gathered from nature are set up in the conservatory with model trains running through.  The landmarks are quite intricate and are built from gourds, acorns, bark, leaves, and twigs. 

Freddie did a great job, as always, getting himself into prime viewing location.  It was difficult to take many pictures because there were just so many people.

The conservatory is beautiful, humid, and filled with tropical plants reminding me of NOLA gardens.  I hear there's another botanical garden in in Brooklyn that we'll have to check out one day.  Actually we'll have to head back to the New York Botanical Garden to see more of the garden since we didn't make it around to see much other than the conservatory and the children's garden area. 

Notes in case you visit:

• $20 for adults, $10 for kids
• $13 round trip in tolls and $12 to park.  We opted to drive since the subway was a 1 hour 15 minute ride along with a 15 minute walk to the gardens as compared to a 25 minute drive. Having two young children makes a long commute difficult.
• There's a cafe at the gardens that gets pretty good reviews, but we skipped this in favor of getting some pizza in the Bronx just a few blocks from the garden.

Yo Gabba Gabba: It's Time to Dance

DJ Lance was in New York City this weekend and we *had* to be there.  I made certain to get in on the presale tickets several months ago because that's just what you do when your favorite group comes to town, right?  This Mama's not sleeping in line for any tickets, but stalking the tickemaster sight waiting for 10.00am sales to make sure her boy has big smiles was well worth it.  I could have done without the hefty price tag of seeing shows in the city but what ya gonna do.

We told Freddie midweek about the weekend plans and evidently the kid has got this show thing down pat because he flat out said he was having popcorn and a Coke, and wanted a balloon.

Off to the Beacon Theatre we went Saturday morning.  It is an amazing old theatre. 

There weren't any balloons, but what's a concert with out glow stick?  He also got the official tour shirt.

We all donned out DJ Lance glasses and waited for the show to begin.

Hans was very impressed with the colors as we waited for the show to begin.  Freddie was impressed with the popcorn.

When the house lights dimmed and DJ Lance's face appeared on a screen and his voice boomed, Hans poked out his lower lip and screamed.  It was *very* loud and very much like a concert.  

But after a little dancing in the back with Mama, Hans was set for the rest of the show in our seats in the first row of the loge.  The Beacon is tiny and the experience was much different than seeing Elmo at Madison Square Garden.  They performed all of the songs from the album loaded on Freddie's iPod, so he was more than familiar with all of them and the dances associated with each song.  You can catch he and Charlie dancing around in their pajamas in Freddie's a few times a week at least, so he's had lots of practice.

With Leslie Hall

The show, one of seven this weekend, looked just about sold out with the exception of the first two rows reserved for the "party package" patrons.  Lots of Mamas and Dadas were decked in their Gabba gear dancing next to their little fans.  It was about 90 minutes with a short intermission. 

Freddie stayed in his seat for the first half of the show.  I think he was a little overwhelmed, but more than anything he wasn't giving up the popcorn.  It was a lot to take in.  When Charlie would dance, he'd furrow his brow as if to say, "Daaaaaad....You're emabarrassing me."

Biz Markie had everyone beatboxing

He loosened up some after intermission, but still was not interested in Charlie dancing with him.  There were "big boys" there and he has an image to maintain.

We continued the fun with burgers, beers and Shirley Temples afterwards at P.J. Clarke's and a crosstown walk to the petting zoo.  A perfect day.

Staten Island Ferry

This weekend we took the train down to Battery Park for a ferry ride.  The ferry ride to The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island depart from here along the water taxi for sightseeing rides.  We were here to hop in the Staten Island Ferry, the free option of the group.

The Staten Island Ferry connects Manhattan and Staten Island and is used daily for commuters.  It's also a popular tourist attraction since it gives some great, free views of Lady Liberty and Ellis Island.  It departs every half hour from Whitehall Terminal, South Ferry.  It's easily accessed via the subway and as to be expected we ran into some subway delays and transfers due to construction.  Such is the adventure when relying on public transportation.

Waiting for the train

The trip across takes about 20 minutes.  People pack into line to be sure to get a prime viewing locations, the right of the boat traveling to Staten Island and the left returning to Manhattan.

Tourists, mostly European, getting their photos

There's the orange ferry heading in the opposite direction.

It's a nice way to spend an hour, round trip, on a sunny afternoon.  There didn't seem to be much to do on the Staten Island side which surprises me considering the number of tourists arriving daily.  We thought we could have a coffee and a pastry, but really couldn't find even that. 

My view from inside the ferry.

Freddie was most impressed by the buoys and other boats on the water, especially the sailboats.  And he liked the idea that we were on a big boat. 

The ferries have outside decks and a snack bar with pretzels, popcorn, sodas and beers.  I imagine the view of the city in the evening is something to be seen.  I'm sure one day we'll get around to taking an evening ride.  We enjoyed the ride, as did Freddie, and that's who we really did it for, so it was a successful morning, free of charge.

The Bunny Visits

Freddie doesn't have an Easter basket.  Up until the flooding after Katrina in 2005 I had my childhood basket, but it was one of the many items shoveled into a wheelbarrow and hauled out to the big pile in our front yard.  I would really like to get Freddie a basket to hold on to for the next thirty years, but honetly can't even think of where we'd store it here in NYC!

This candy necklace could would him busy for hours, but I usually only supply it for 5 minute stints.

This year the backpack the bunny brought also doubled as his basket.  We talked a little about the Easter Bunny, but not much.  Next year I may have to find some books about Easter.  Freddie just knew the bunny brought some treats.  His backpack was filled with some chocolates and candy, a "digger" book, bubbles, a bell shaker, and a mini nerf basketball set.

The basketball goal was a big hit.  He talks about shooting baskets quite a bit and he likes to watch the "big kids" play basketball.  I'm sure they love it when he shouts "almost" when they miss a shot. 

The Bunny also hid a few eggs around the living room filled with jelly beans and chocolates and coins.  Jelly Beans might be his all time favorite candy these days.

 
The rest of the afternoon was spent eating candy, napping, and we did go out to see a movie.  Happy, Happy Easter!

Take me out to the ballgame

This apple made an impression on Freddie.  There's another inside the stadium.  He's still talking about these apples.

Recently we were able to take in a little fresh air, sunshine, and a double header at Citifield, Mets v. Rockies.

We hopped on the train, made a relatively easy transfer, and were to Citifield in about 30-40 minutes.  Thankfully the transfer is handicapped accessible, that is, there is an elevator for the stroller.  Unfortunately the subway stop for Citifield has quite a few stairs and no elevator.  There are Thursday afternoon games throughout the season and I would love to take both boys to games, but I need to figure out how to make that happen sans stroller.

Freddie liked checking out the field between games.

We opted for a Mets game over a Yankees game mostly because the Mets aren't as in high demand as Yankees.  I figured it was a good way for us to warm up before making our way to Yankee Stadium.

Freddie has done his share of footballl viewing and lately has been interested in "shooting baskets" but he hasn't really had any baseball exposure.  Our seats in the "family section" did not allow for viewing conducive to teaching anything about the sport.  But true to all of our other adventures, from Jazzfest to zoo trips to ferris wheel riding, there was lots for Freddie to observe and learn from.

We had a middle school baseball team sitting in front of us so there was *lots* to watch.  A couple of boys introduced Freddie cotton candy....yummy.  He also picked up the "Let's Go Mets" chant rather quickly, and then Charlie had a long talk with him about booing... and we especially don't boo our own team, no matter how pathetic they are....poor, poor Mets.

 It was a nice way to spend the afternoon, especially with the spring weather.  I can see many games in our future as Freddie gets more experience with baseball/t-ball.

Next big adventure:  A Yankees Game!

Some details I learned for future trips:

• Family seating area tickets are $20 adults, $10 kids.  Mr. Met visits.  Rows 6 through the back row are covered by the terrace and provide good protection from the sun/rain.  There was a family restroom in the area.
• Freddie doesn't weigh enough to sit in his own seat.  It folds up on him.
• The terrace seats range from $12-15.  The top 5 rows seem to be protected from the weather.