Museums – Page 2 – The Mothners

Dreaming of Summer

As we suffer through snow storms and record cold, it’s fun to remember outdoor fun in July. We miss the playground! Especially this platform that moves.

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Max did a week of camp at Pelham Arts Center – which meant more chances to run through the beloved pink art installation.

One sunny day we met up with old neighbors at the Madeleine exhibits & storytime at the New-York Historical Society. We made our own cardboard tea sets and tried on Madeline accessories.

Then we hung out on benches and sang on stoops around the UWS.

At honey day on the High Line, we completed a flower scavenger hunt, met a hipster beekeeper with crazy hair and of course sampled some sweet nectar.

They wanted to thank the bees for the honey we bought.

Admiring a wet foot in the fountain.

We are very much looking forward to at least a little February sunshine when we head to Florida this Wednesday to see Mark’s parents.

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It’s about an 8 minute walk to the train station from our house, then under 30 minutes to Grand Central. Brittney found lots of excuses to go back to Manhattan in June, starting with a doctor appointment for Max at NYU. Waiting for the train which is so much nicer/less smelly than the subway.

The doctor’s office was conveniently located close to fabulous pizza. Max wanted a slice with crab, one of his current favorite foods.

The next day Julie and I were back at Grand Central enjoying NYC treats like overpriced green juice & fancy dark chocolate (btw, the bandaid is for fashion not function).

We went to a storytime in the MoMA art lab which included a book on Frank Lloyd Wright, building a city with books and blocks, and time to play with her favorite giant mobile.

Then she made some art in the galleries. This girl loves to create.

Guess what her favorite piece in the exhibit was? And she always loves making wishes in the sculpture garden.

The next week we went to storytime in the Discovery Room at The Natural History Museum, where Max put together a dinosaur fossil and Julie dove right in with older boys she didn’t know to dig.

The class went to the Hall of Ocean Life where Max was very intent on filling out his worksheet and we met up with one of his best friends from his old school, then to our favorite UWS juice bar where Julie did ‘yoga’ by the free samples.

The next day we caught a jazz concert at the Performing Arts Library at Lincoln Center. I used to take Max to these all the time but this year it conflicted with his physical therapy schedule. Max and Julie were by far the youngest in the audience and some of the most enthusiastic. Max played along on his invisible guitar. Afterwards we went to say thank you to the musicians and got a private concert form the ‘penano’ player (as Max calls it). Julie requested ‘Happy Birthday’ and she and Max were very entertained when he sang the ‘you look like a monkey…’ verse.

We visited our old apartment and neighbors admired the Central Park/Hudson River view from the balcony one last time. We will miss this vista in the fall but we look forward to watching the giant old trees in our yards change colors.

We’ve had so many amazing experiences in NYC and I hope they continue. Coming in is fairly easy depending on the location and time of day, though it takes about an hour to get to the UWS via public transportation and the kids are going to be busy with school soon (Max 5 days a week 8:45 am – 3:30 pm, Julie 3 days 9-11:45 am). Hoping to get a few more city excursions in before school starts on Sept 10.

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Back in September…

We think these photos are too cute not too share, even if we are six months late. Highlights of late September included Julie posing outside Fashion Week at Lincoln Center.

Milking cows at a ‘country fair’ on Riverside drive (which also had a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse bounce house that Max did not want to leave).

Julie also enjoyed balancing a cup on her foot, trying to steal Ernie, Elmo and Dora dolls from any book or toy store we entered, admiring giant naked statues, helping fold laundry, and building her immune system in Times Square.

This vibrant little lady makes us laugh. She is so happy just walking down the street after picking up Max, pointing out trees, doggies and demanding multiple verses of Wheels On The Bus.

Some (pretty good) photos from Max.

At the Bryant Park square dance (Max is saying yee-haw).

Lounging around town. So cute together.

Holding hands in Riverside Park. They are so friendly. Maybe a little too friendly…

They also like listening to music at museums, sitting on a strangely appealing mini blue bench outside music class, finding art on trucks, wearing sweaters from Bubbe and making huge messes (when I ask them to clean up, Max will say “I have an idea. Daddy cleans up when he gets home”). From mutton at the Medieval Festival to revisiting one of our favorite shows at the Guggenheim (we got to lie on the ground and watch the ceiling change colors!), we sure have fun with these funny kids.

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Summer: Museums

In addition to dancing and music, this summer we indulged in another of my favorite pastimes – many visits to museums, most of which have great kids programs, like the Portrait Lab at MoMA that has the coolest blocks.

Julie is so curious, wanting to touch – and eat – everything.

Julie liked playing with - and trying to eat- the cool blocks

Max loved the shadow puppets, especially the umbrella. He made stories with other kids, protecting a house, car and man from the rain.

‘Max With Guitar and Kite’ Max Mothner, 2013.

Chocolate gelato in the lovely sculpture garden.

You know you’re a messy eater when gelato ends up on your ear.

Mesmerized by this Dada Duchamp piece.

The Natural History Museum is another favorite. One day we got ambushed by a thunder storm at a playground a mile away from our apartment and had fun waiting it out in a ‘Whales: Giants Of The Deep’ exhibit. (In the suburbs we would have just hopped in a car, but it was a pretty awesome place to be stranded. Sorry Mark, still not convinced we should move.) Lots of cool life-size models, like this blue whale vertebrae. And a touch screen matching game Max didn’t want to leave. I got my workout for the day climbing inside a model of a blue whale heart to drag out two wrestling kids.

Of course museums are a whole different experience now that Julie’s walking. But she hasn’t broken anything yet…

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Fourth Of July

A belated happy Fourth of July (or happy birthday America as Max likes to say). We celebrated with Benjamin Franklin and his wife at the New York Historical Society.

Julie loved the children’s section – lots to cruise on.

President Max (Did you know George Washington was inaugurated in NYC?).

Making friends on a mock train.

Both kids loved hanging out on this train

Finding items on a pictorial scavenger hunt.

Max did an Ispy hunt - he found he 'house'!

Making orange blossom ice cream colonial times style.

Mark was really sad he missed these stories and songs about eighteenth-century life – ‘we won’t take your 3-penny tax.’

Hearing recolutionary songs and stories - 'we won't take your 3-penny tax'

If you can’t tell, Brittney’s a little more into holidays and histories and dressing up – Mark is just happy to have a day with the kids.

In the evening, Max and Brittney went to a bbq on the amazing roof deck of one of his classmates – though he was back home in bed before the fireworks.