Central Park – The Mothners

Happy Easter!

We (or at least three of us) were very excited for Easter festivities this year. We had some friends over to help us decorate eggs and add some lovely blue splotches to our rug.

As eagerly anticipated, the Easter Bunny came by our apartment Sunday morning to hide some eggs. Both kids were really into finding eggs, though both stopped to open and eat the contents of plastic eggs and Julie took dance breaks with the beloved bunny Anna gave her in Atlanta.

Each egg had a letter or picture with it; together they said their baskets were in the shoe closet.

Max was excited about a book featuring his favorite planet, Saturn, but Julie was mostly interested in chocolate eggs, which she ate with one bite and now asks for every day though they have long all been eaten.

Then one of our favorite NYC traditions, the Easter Bonnet Parade. Julie was not that into wearing her hat, while Max wanted to borrow others’ creations.

She only wore it briefly while holding her basket to balance it out.

We saw some crazy hats. Julie liked one with rubber duckies, Brittney loved the Broadway-show inspired collection (can you find Chitty Chiity Bang Bang?).

A family from Max’s school hosted an awesome Easter Egg hunt in Central Park.

Julie had lots of fun with her egg-collector/necklace/purse and still wants to play with her ‘purple basket’ everyday.

After the egg hunt, the party went on with bbq and playground time.

That evening we had our eggs in oatmeal-carrot nests but Julie just wanted to eat her entire chocolate bunny.

Holidays are so much fun with these kids. Looking forward to celebrating Julie’s birthday this week,

Max’s Pirate Party

Max is 4 1/2, and we are officially 6-months behind on our blog posts. But Max’s 4th birthday party needs to be documented. For the first time since his first-birthday blowout, we had a full on party with friends, a pirate party in Central Park. With new-found post-weaning energy, Brittney turned into a Pinterest mom and made themed food including a watermelon ship, ‘squid dogs’ (hot dogs with noodle tentacles) and banana pirates.

The kids made hooks, eye patches and mustaches, and got tattoos.

Julie napped and chilled in the stroller looking cute.

When it was time for the cupcakes, we discovered they’d been stolen by Pirate Pete and hidden away with his treasure! The kids found pirate Pete behind a tree, then he trained them to be true pirates and gave them their first clue and a piece of the treasure map.

Each clue led to another one and a piece of the treasure map. The last clue was in Max’s pocket, which amused him very much. They put together the map and found the treasure!

And a treasure chest pinata & the stolen cupcakes.

Real pirates have chocolate mustaches.

Julie was very fussy during the singing of happy birthday, but then we realized she wanted her own chocolate mustache.

Pete turned out to be a very nice pirate and Max just wanted to snuggle with him at the end of the party.

It was so nice to celebrate with family, friends and buccaneers. A hearty thanks to Mark’s Aunt Ruthie and Uncle Stan for representing family at every one of Max’s celebrations.

Six months later, Max is still talking about the party and how he wants another pirate party next year. Ahoy to that!

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Summer: NYC Cousins

Though most of our family is far away, Max and Julie have some second cousins in the city. In July, we met Brittney’s very pregnant cousin Lauren and her son Oliver for a playdate at the Natural History museum. The kids liked watching a movie about global food in these cute fruit chairs (and we got to sample some pickles – almost as good as the Jensen/Boggess-canned pickles we grew up on) .

The splashing and playing with trucks n in the sprinklers outside the museum (even though we forgot our kids’ swimsuits).

A few months later, we got to meet Oliver’s adorable little sister Millie. Julie was very interested in the ‘ba-bee’ (and really wanted to poke her eyes , so we didn’t get so many photos).

We all visited the lovely Central Park Conservatory Gardens where we saw pretty flowers (and a wedding we did our best not to let the kids interrupt).

We found a beautiful butterfly.

The kids had lots of fun running in circles after each other and trying to get into a truck of gardening supplies. Max was a little traumatized when the gardener started hosing down some flowers and tried to stop her.

Running around Central Park's beautiful Conservatory Garden

Mark has a cousin in Brooklyn, so we headed out to Prospect Park for a picnic with his son Andy. The boys enjoyed the enchanted forest they found (or Brittney’s camera lens was dirty).

The kids love playing with cousins and we wish we had more close by. We just discovered that a long lost cousin of Mark’s lives in our building with her 3-year-old son…more details and pics of Max and Julie with another fun 2nd cousin coming soon.

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Summer: Normal Stuff

One summer day, one parent may have complained that the other parent was taking the kids to too many cultural events, putting too much sunscreen on them, and buying too many leafy greens. Uncut kale does take up a lot of space, sunscreen is hard to wash off, and there are other fun activities for kids besides museums and weird concerts. We did do plenty of more normal non-NYCish kid stuff this summer too, like going to playgrounds. Julie loves the swings and sprinklers.

We were really happy when she started walking by herself and we didn’t have to get wet.

The wild animals at the Hippo Playground.

A princess/prince birthday party. It was for Max’s 4-year-old friend but Julie thinks she’s one of the big kids.

Though occasionally Julie gets her own playdate. She and a fellow 2nd kid of a friend of Brittney’s who moved to California had so much fun talking about the travails of being the youngest – and not letting the other one take his or her toy.

Max took a few drop-in soccer classes, and we checked out a free sports clinic in Riverside Park where Julie got to play too.

Max showing me ‘tricks’ before soccer.

We try to do normal things like a storytime by the author of ‘Duck And Goose’ and other books.

But it’s at the Eloise Store at the Plaza Hotel which has a fabulous stage with a piano (and lots of mirrors).

And then we run into a rehearsal for a strange site-specific dance piece we came upon one afternoon at Lincoln Center and we have to eat kale chips and watch.

Max was enthralled by the final performance, and even became part of it when he accidentally spilled some of the water bottle props of a ‘dancer.’

Julie (and Mark) were more skeptical.

And then there’s the bagpiper…

Like it says in one of Max’s current favorite reads, Suess’s One Fish Two Fish, “From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere”- and maybe more so in NYC.

Max's favorite puppeteer. He giggles up a storm when we watch his show.

And also in Palo Alto…tomorrow Brittney is taking off on her first solo trip in a long time to the Bay Area for the Stanford Band’s 50th reunion. It will be a very entertaining, wacky time with old friends and pasttimes (look for her on the field during the second half of the Stanford-UCLA game). She will miss her silly kids but knows they will be having fun with Bubbe and Poppy who are here for the weekend.

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Dancing Machines

Still catching up on photos of all our adventures this summer. We really liked having more free time to do all our favorite things. I am happy our kids like music and dancing as much as I do (this is Brittney writing, not Mark’s inner artist). We had lots of fun during multiple visits to an exhibit on Latin music at the performing arts library that had a jukebox and dance floor with a disco ball (and air-conditioning!)

The kids’ impressive dance moves include walking on knees and flapping arms (Julie) and marching and spinning around until he falls down (Max).

So cute when they dance together.

Until this happens.

One of the best parts about being a mom means getting to explore all the diverse musical opportunities available in this city – I used to think I was too busy for free Korean concerts at Lincoln Center, now we he hang out (and dance) at them for hours (literally – Max always has to stay after and watch the stage hands break everything down) .