Central Park

It's been way too long since we've taken the boys to Manhattan, so we spent a day in Central Park this week. And then we were reminded of how crazy we've been for not bringing them sooner...

There's an express bus that zips between Bay Ridge and Manhattan, leaving us just a couple of blocks from the southern end of the park, our favorite area. Lucas loved having the view instead of riding in a dark subway tunnel.

It's still a good ways away from home, so the boys were glad to run around after all that sitting.

We were on the hunt for an amazing playground with lots of rustic, natural elements and the best thing ever...

...a really fast, curvy granite slide! This is classic Lucas: after a few warm-ups with Mama, he declares that he's ready to go alone...

Such a brave boy making his way up to the top...

Looking a little worried coming down the first time alone...

But after that, he was home free, sliding on his back, flipping around, having the time of his life. He must have done this for, what, an hour straight?

Maybe because they know how fast the slide can be (many kids sit on cardboard pieces dug out of the trash to go even faster), the children were surprisingly good about regulating themselves and making sure to wait until the way was clear before taking their turn! The parents just hung out at the bottom, laughing and ooh'ing and aah'ing.

This Mama couldn't resist going down a few times herself. I could hear Jesse squealing with joy each time we went down...

Jesse later hung out in the sand box while Lucas kept on at the slide. Papi says he picked up a large tree seed and was using it to talk on the phone:

On The Mall we watched this kid juggle all kinds of things for a few minutes. When Lucas got closer to put some change in his bucket, we heard Lucas say to him, "Thanks, you did a really great job there!"

Making the sign for "water."

We hung out at the fountain and boathouse to rest and have lunch.

Jesse couldn't get enough of this poor bird. At first we thought the bird was wounded but we quickly figured out that the bird has grown accustomed to being fed by people. That bird was fearless (and so was Jesse).

Lucas would go in the nude all day long if we let him.

Ducks and turtles:

Miniature sailboats on the lake:

At the zoo there was a large picture of a polar bear, and Jesse kept growling at it like this:

Don't you wish someone would carry you when you're feeling tired?

Our napless wonder loved walking up and down the lanes, dog watching, and picking up leaves. (He's making his sniffing sign for "flower" - I guess he's making the connection that they both come from trees?)

Central Park is MAGICAL. We promise to take you if you come to visit!

Little Zoo

The weather was incredible last week while Mema and Mempa were in town, so we took them to check out the Prospect Park Zoo, which we hadn't visited in almost a full year. We love this little zoo because it's small in size and relatively close to home, so it's manageable and kid-friendly and easy.

We arrived just in time to see the sea lions get fed and show off their tricks. Lucas was so impressed!

I wish you could see Lucas's beautiful green-hazel eyes in person. Sometimes they look yellow in the sun.

Since he started walking, Jesse has become a busy body, flitting between here and there and rarely stopping to rest. He was the same way at the zoo. This picture below is basically what he looks like when he walks. He waddles from side to side (those thick thighs must get in the way!) and his arms are bent and pulled up at chest level in a way that Mempa said reminded him of Bill Cosby dancing!

Last time we were here Lucas barely paid attention to the animals, so we were impressed at how engaged our 13-month old was with each exhibit, pointing and staring and laughing and searching!

Our fearless kid climbing the step and searching for the animals:

Lucas bocking and strutting like a chicken at the barn animals/petting area:

Subway ride home:

Every year on Mother's Day my big request is to take a family photo. Mempa took several shots with his lovely camera, and well, we can all guess what it's like getting two adults and two young children to look at the camera at the same time for a half-decent picture. Here's the little story about the ones that were taken:

We realized that Jesse was holding that ugly water bottle that we had purchased at the zoo because there were no public water fountains (what's up with that?!). But he was having so much fun that we didn't want to make him start crying and ruin the prospects of a family shot before Lucas became antsy.

So we plucked a little yellow flower (see two posts before) from the ground to distract him, and I'm not sure where it went, but I like the way his hands are sort of saying here, "Hey, where'd my toy go?!"

He started fussing again, so we gave him a dandelion instead, and...

... he ate it.

We took a few Mama 'n' Papi shots as well. We love this one of Jesse sauntering across the camera's view after finding that water bottle again.

Hey little family, we have so much fun, don't we?!

Prospect Park Zoo

Yesterday we spent the afternoon at this small local zoo, where Lucas had a grand 'ole time. He mostly gave a nod to the animals; he loved running around a street- and traffic-free area and being able to feel the changing textures (gravel, wood, sand, grass) under his feet. And his latest favorite -- fish -- were sparse, so we're off to the aquarium on the next hot day!