Dressed for dinner (New York)

We've developed a routine which includes showering each evening, and getting dressed for dinner. Astrid's like a New York socialite. =)

Back to Sara D. Roosevelt Park (New York)

This time when we went back to Sara D. Roosevelt Park there were lots of kids to play with. Astrid introduced herself to the other kids by announcing, "My name is Astrid. Aaaastrid."

ABC Playground (New York)

We first saw this playground on the way to the East River, and Astrid was excited to play there with all the other children. We tried to enter it, but found out the local elementary school was using it for their recess, and it was closed to the public until 1:30. That was so disappointing.

So when we came back down Houston towards Soho, we passed by it again, and this time were allowed to enter the playground.It had a handful of small children there, and some High School kids hanging out, but was not nearly as busy as when we passed by it earlier in the day.Having fun on the larger slides.Playing in the toddler section, on the small slide.Astrid met this little boy who was the same age and she struck up a friendship with him. Not knowing that he was Autistic she held his hand. The boy's special education tutor who was there him said that was the first time she'd seen him hold another child's hand.Playing on the elephant.

With the long walk and adventure today (plus we have one more playground we will pass on the way home) I ruled out the daily nap. Once we get home we'll have just enough time to get ready for dinner, and then Astrid should be exhausted from the day's activities, and ready for a long night's sleep.

Hamilton Fish Park (New York)

This park looked intriguing. What is a fish park? Apparently a park with 2 drained pools. Astrid kept thinking they were full because the bottoms were painted blue.There was a preschool class playing there for recess. When it was time to go, the teacher asked everyone to stand in line, and Astrid lined right up with the class.Each kid was required to hold onto a loop in a kid's rope, to make sure everyone stayed together.

The one teacher's aide laughed and remarked that her colleague almost gave Astrid one of the loops to hold onto, confusing her with being a student in the class since she was right there in the mix with the others.

I guess it won't be long until Astrid's ready for school. She's already fascinated by "school" because she's seen all the kids playing at the elementary school playground and wants to play with the kids, and go inside. Or as she says, "Go in dare (there)."

Dinner in New York with Mommy

Astrid and I went to a Cuban restaurant for dinner tonight. It's funny how some restaurants/waiters/waitresses get the whole kid thing and some don't. Here they definitely didn't. They gave Astrid a really tall, skinny glass of water at first, that was just asking for a disaster. There was no way she could hold it without tipping it over. In the photo you see the smaller glass I requested, that's more suitable for a toddler.

Being a parent, when you dine at a restaurant with your toddler, you have to be prepared to ask for:
1) Another menu for the kid (b/c yes, she does want to look at her own menu)
2) Water for the kid, preferably in a kid friendly cup, or a small glass. (Lots of places completely ignore the kid and just bring 1 glass of water to the table.)
3) A separate set of silverware. (Some places just assume you'll be feeding the kid, so you only need 1 set. But as a toddler, she wants to/and can feed herself with utensils.)
4) Silverware that can fit into the baby's mouth. (Several times when I've asked for a spoon for the baby I've been given gargantuan serving spoons that will not do. Others will give her a plastic spoon and fork without prompting.)
5) A separate small plate for the baby. (Lots of places just assume she'll be eating off my plate. Something which I don't allow.)
6) Extra napkins. (I'm always prepared for the mishap, spill, or mess).

From experience I've learned to ask for all of this upfront so I don't have to wait or have to flag down a lone waitress. And now that Astrid's old enough, she too asks for these things.

Our waitress stared at us and seemed to be in awe when as soon as she brought out my frozen pear mojito - Astrid raised her water glass up to mine to toast and said "Cheers!"

First Park (New York)

After Astrid's nap we went to yet another park, this one called First Park on the corner of Houston St. and 1 Ave.It's across the street from Sara D. Roosevelt Park, and there were lots of kids to play with.And swings! Astrid's favorite.It seems we got there right when all the parents take their kids to the park, after work.Crossing the bridge.Playing on the drawbridge.A small slide.A little boy Astrid's age who also wears Crocs, and wanted to play with her.Astrid spotted this bicycle in the park and wanted to ride it.A local parent told me the bike has been sitting in the park for a few weeks and didn't know who it belonged it. So I let Astrid sit on it while I pushed her around.Is it just me, or is a Barbie doll head on a bike a bit freaky?Now that she's got the hang of it and conquered her fear, she loves jumping up and down on the drawbridge.

When we used to go to the park it used to be such a struggle to get her to leave - major tantrums and all. Now it's a whole lot easier since I started giving her little prompts that we would be leaving in 15 minutes, 10 minutes, 5 minutes, etc. Occasionally I still get the "No mom. I want to play!" but it's no where close to the power struggles we used to have.

Sara D. Roosevelt Park (New York)

Walking down Houston St. (pronounced "House-ton", not like the city in Texas) we found yet another park/playground in Soho called Sara D. Roosevelt Park, located on the corner of Houston and Christie.I guess they call it a park because it has a basketball court, but it also has a very nice playground with 3 different levels for all ages.The playground also has rubber floor mats.We purchased this bubble machine gun and solution from a street vendor for $5, and he threw in the batteries for free. How could we resist a guy on a street shooting thousands of bubbles in the air? Astrid shouted, "Bubbles!" Great marketing and the guy said that even adults get excited when they see the bubbles (including policemen and firemen).

It was well worth the afternoon of bubble fun at the playground.Happy little girl jumping amidst the bubbles.Our battery operated bubble machine gun makes tons of bubbles with a simple pull of the trigger. Much easier than blowing them by hand, and MANY more to play with.Trying to catch the bubbles.Like I said, even adults like bubbles as evident by this lady who saw the bubbles floating through to the other side of the locked gate and couldn't resist playing with them as well.

Bubbles floating all around her. Taking a break from the bubbles to play on the slide.The playground also had this toy barn house that Astrid had fun playing with.

I had to explain to Astrid that it's pretend play and it doesn't matter if we don't have toys that go with the barn house (like people or animals). That we can pretend play with other objects.

So we played with her toy camera, Starbucks mints, the cap to the bubble solution, some twigs, and leaves. She started getting the hang of it and called one item Mama, another Papa, another Astrid, and yet another our dog's name.

I want to get her a hand crafted toy dollhouse with miniature pieces of furniture, but she's still too young to appreciate it yet. I'll have to wait until she's a bit older.

Astrid caught a bubble in her mouth (to my shock). I quickly read the contents - and luckily it's nontoxic, but after that I tried to keep her from standing right in front of the bubble machine.

More bubbles!Being a good Samaritan and picking up after the litterbugs.

One thing Astrid notices and keeps pointing out to me is all the trash lying on the ground. I feel bad just walking away and not doing anything about it, so this time I let her pick up a discarded Styrofoam food container on the ground (that was clean) and place it in the garbage can. Checking out the set of playground mirrors.

I see you Mommy!

This was a nice find. Unlike the other neighborhood playground that's close by, this one is cleaner and there's more stuff to do. Unfortunately there weren't any kids to play with. Maybe we'll come back at a different time and see if that makes a difference.

Breakfast @ an all natural restaurant

Below are some photos of Astrid snacking on grapes while we're waiting for our food. Lots of organic an "all natural" items on the menu.

She kept commenting "Loud Mama! Too loud!" on the sounds from the New York streets (i.e., construction/jackhammer, honking horns, people yelling). She was born and raised in Los Angeles, and definitely has an LA disposition, preferring the hustle and bustle of a big city, but no noise pollution please!

Desalvio Playground (New York)

This was the first concrete jungle playground we visited in New York (located on the corner of Mulberry & Spring St.).

It was much different than what we're used to in LA. There's graffiti art on the walls, the stench of garbage that seems to permeate New York, trash on the ground, a tar black top (vs. wood chips or grass), and lots of people without kids just hanging out there. It was a bit sketchy when we first got there with a homeless element to it, but after about 20 minutes the parents and kids started to arrive.

If we ever lived in New York, I wouldn't feel comfortable letting Astrid play there without supervision. There was one clearly insane man sitting on a bench, constantly tearing off piece of bread to feed to the pigeons, but no pigeons were coming to him. Instead he was surrounded by crumbs and had a blank stare. The playground itself had lots for kids to do, (and there seems to be a playground every few blocks).Check out the colorful graffiti art on the wall.Astrid conquering the NY playground bridge with separate, moving planks. She befriended this 3 year old girl, Eugenie, who was the first kid to show up after us, and they had a lot of fun playing together. It was so sweet to see them holding hands and running around together.

Astrid's at the age now where she wants to play with other kids and I've been wanting to get her involved in a play group. Her toddler gymnastics class had a great group of kids, but they all left for one reason or another (they started preschool or daycare, and several moms had another baby and it was too difficult to bring both the infant and toddler to class). I'm also very selective about who Astrid plays with, because she picks up on behaviors very quickly and I don't want any bad influences. I want her to be around other well behaved kids who eat their fruits and vegetables and say "please" and "thank you."

Another mom that I met at the park gave me a tip about a nice park in China Town, on Mulberry Street, by the Chrysler building. I plan on checking it out after Astrid's nap today.