"Raise kids in NYC? No way!" Despite this reputation, I love, love the City, and I think it's great for raising kiddos. Museums, plays, restaurants, culture, parks, and zoos just a couple subway stop away. And for skiing, hiking, and rock/ice climbing, you can rent a car and be hitting the slopes in just a few hours.
I just found out that the Children's Museum of Arts is just a few blocks from our house. Bryson was so excited that he had to bite Daddy's nose (he probably gets this biting fetish from me).
"Gentle, gentle," we tell the Bear. In response, he gives me this look, "I'd never be anything but gentle."
We head to the 2 years and under arts room. Daddy tries to explain what play-doh is to the Bear. The Bear is doubtful.
Daddy builds the bear a car. It looks like Bubblicious bubble gum. Yum. Mommy is tempted to put a bite-sized bit in her mouth.
Mr. Bear begins to warm up to the idea that pink play-doh is actually a fun thing.
Father and son hard at work on a project.
Bryson zones out and does nice hands (he probably gets that from me, the zoning out I mean).
Daddy of course is not zoning out and continues focusing on the job at hand. Daddy lures the Bear in with a giraffe. Mr. Bear helps out with the head.
They later shift to building an airplane. The Bear adds stick after stick to the wings.
Daddy heads to the loo, and Mommy and the Bear head to another station. Mr. Bear is quite the builder.
The bigger, the better.
After building his mini-skyscraper, the Bear, being the versatile Bear that he is, transitions to miniature size.
Can you see Daddy's focus genes rubbing off on the Bear?
Mr. Bear counts in Spanish with each block. I should probably teach him past ten. Poor kid just repeats back to one.
Somehow the Bear figures out that if he keeps building, his mini-Freedom Tower is going to fall (Mommy on the other hand would have just kept on keeping on until wreckage awaited). He splits the pieces into two stacks and grins. I think he would give me a knowing wink too, if he knew how to wink.
Daddy comes back from the loo, and we head to see the bird exhibit.
This month is Asian American History Month, and the museum has a special dragon performance by one of the local schools. I set my expectations low. Daddy hoists the Bear up on to his shoulders for a bird's eye view.
The performance starts off with a purple little dragon (two little Asian pig-tailed girls, one in the front moving the jaw, and one in the back moving the dragon behind). I try to look engaged. Another dragon comes in, this time pink, and with yet two more little Asian pig-tailed girls. I am about to head to the bathroom for my own loo break, but then the action begins and these two dragons roar in.
They even got the Bear's attention.
The dragons do a routine, and it's clear that the biggest headed one (this one has an adult man in it - no pig-tailed girls) is the Mama (or Dada) and rules the four little ones. This dragon feels like a dragon - blinking, moving its ears, dancing, diving, swooping, rolling over. Then all of a sudden, the drumbeat picks up and Big Mama Dragon is out hunting. Before I know it, she is heading toward us.
And from way high up on Daddy's shoulders, the Bear gets a full on greeting by the Mama Dragon.
The Bear is freaked out (as is I) and waves his hand frantically to shoo Big Mama away.
The rest of the performance is awesome, and I am impressed that this is almost all kid-performed (minus the adult in the Big Mama dragon outfit).
After this highlight, we head to the Ball Exhibit. I am sure there is a fancy name for it, but from my Chuck-E-Cheese days, this is exactly what it is. Except this is NYC and I don't think they have a Chuck-E-Cheese in Manhattan. So here's how the exhibit starts.
So this may be called the Ball Pond. It's basically a bunch of cool pilates gym balls where kids can dive into. There are 6-8 year olds when we arrive who seem like bohemoths. Thank goodness for Daddy who shoos them all away by reminding them that the first twenty minutes of every hour are for 2-4 years. And no, the Bear isn't two yet, but we figure his chunky thighs qualify.
At first, the Bear is doubtful.
But five seconds later, he gets into it.
One amongst the Balls.
Ball bliss - that's why I love NYC!
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