The Bronx Zoo

The kids were so excited about the zoo trip. They were troopers in the very long train trip and hit the ground running when we got there. It was very exciting for them to see animals they had been talking about so much.

Their eyes were wide open taking it all in. The tigers, bears, birds, baboons, and giraffes were favorites. By the time we got to the gorillas they were pretty much done. Both kids napped the whole way home.

March Family Time

Family time was the usual mix of hanging out indoors to keep warm and braving the cold to have adventures.

Playground visits are always a good thing. Everyone feels better, even the grown ups.

March is Dan's birthday and he never wants to celebrate but the kids made him cupcakes and signs, bought and wrapped a gift, and sang him happy birthday. Pretty sweet little celebration.

We headed to Tribeca to an Easter egg hunt. It was a little intense and crowded, as one expects in Manhattan. The kids filled their baskets, even if Ellie was a little bewildered by the whole thing.

We went to the history museum for a fun little visit to the dinosaurs. That museum is amazing. We had lunch at Chirping Chicken afterwards, just a little lunch spot (the greek salad is not bad at all).

Good times were had.

March School Time & Jungle and Zoo Month

For March our school theme was jungle animals and zoos. We did lots of reading, art time, and math work. Ellie participated more this month and the activities that she wasn't ready for Jaime did during her naptime. They loved this theme and all of our activities. They declared that elephants were their favorite when the month came to an end. And I use the term month loosely, we went more like 6 weeks on this one as we put off the zoo field trip till it was a bit warmer.

We checked out a ton of books. I was more prepared with some on hold ahead of time and we were able to find more on this theme during our visits.

We also checked out books on other themes; you can have a lot of kids books checked out at once from the library. The kids are readers and take in so much from their books. They retain a surprising amount and we read throughout the day.

Art time was a little bit of crazy time. I learned to let go and let them explore. While it is stressful to have your living and play space all the same - washable paint really does clean up very easy. We made so many animals.

We also did things like make binoculars, size difference, number sequencing, matching, size sorting, etc. I got them little animals to play with and all kinds of stories were made up by Jaime - Ellie just loved to call them by name and dig them out of play dough.

We visited our neighborhood peacock, Jim, at an exotic animal hospital and the birds and turtles that were arriving in the park.

The first part of March was still very snowy. After a fairly decent snow storm I took the kids sledding. Jaime carried the sled in the stroller on the way there. It was pretty cute. We walked to the little hill near 81st that is a picnic area in the summer.

The park started to thaw mid-month so we were able to get out and run and play outside more and more.

I also took the kids out to various drop in classes and the Children's Museum for fun week day adventures.

The drop in art class at the Children's Museum of the Arts was lots of fun. They could run around to all the stations creating to their hearts content.

Then they had a song and drum playing part of the class towards the end. Good stuff. Jaime would ask Ellie play drums with him, it was very cute.

The Children's Museum was also lots of fun for the kids and little stressful for me. They were all over that place checking everything out. We stopped for grilled cheese at Hampton Chutney and it snowed like crazy. I was so happy to have dual naptime that afternoon.

We also did a trip to the City Treehouse in Chelsea. OMG, the kids had a blast playing in the giant water table and tree house structure. It was very cold that day so the indoor activity was needed to burn off energy.

It was so amazing to have the playground time start to be more regular. After having them closed most of February and early March due to the heavy snow, we needed the free play space and were really feeling the lack of a backyard.

The last day of March we did an outdoor nature class. It was very cold but the kids had a great time making their potions.

It was a good month for the three of us. We covered a lot during our school time and had lots of adventures to shake off the winter cabin fever.

February Winter Family Fun

We had so much fun sledding after a big February snowstorm. The kids had been on fresh snow watch duty. They were beyond excited about getting to go sledding and make snowballs.

Central Park is amazingly beautiful during and after a snowstorm. It is not necessarily easy for the little ones though. Our kids were serious troupers. We headed out with the sled and the stroller and snacks (always snacks) to little hill. It was worth it to see these faces.

Jaime was loving every minute. Ellie had a blast but sometimes thought her snowsuit meant she lost the ability to move or sit or stand.

It was warming up as we sledded and though the kids were frozen and ready to warm up the snow was not lasting.

We headed out in the slush one afternoon that was just too beautiful to miss. Riverside Park is also a dream in the fresh snow, even if it is already melting.

Happy kids make for a happy home. (read: exercised kids make a happy home!) It is fun to see these two explore the snow and love winter outdoor activities so much. I hope they keep that enthusiasm and spirit.

February Weekday Fun

February was a cold month with lots of snow. So we spent a lot of time indoors doing tot school activities and just playing.

The kiddos were learning to play together and realizing that they could have fun together. Like most siblings, they have their moments of getting upset with each other but they can also be so sweet together and very loving.

We did make it out as much as possible. We headed to the South Street Seaport for weekly events and to the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian in addition to our regular library trips.

I had to seriously bundle these guys up to be out. And it was a work out to push the stroller through the massive slush puddles. The playgrounds were locked due to the snow but we did just plain old walks in the park if it was decent enough.

Cabin fever is an issue for me and so I was grateful for my yoga studio a block away. Those morning workouts were great for my sanity. And the afternoon cookie breaks were great for Jaime's sanity. We both enjoyed making mini pies while Ellie napped.

We did a little Valentines day celebrating by making valentines for cousins and grandparents. And of course they made one for Dad.

Forts were made very frequently. These guys love their forts.

We did pretty good at keeping ourselves going through those long winter days. I know I probaby yelled way too much and had way too little patience but we had lots of fun so it wasn't all bad! :)