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)."

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.

Columbus Park (China Town - NY)

I promised Astrid that we would go to another playground after her nap, so when she woke up from her nap the first thing she asked was, "Mommy? We go playground?"

Then she gave me a laundry list of things we had to do to get ready for the playground:
1) "Change clothes."
2) "Do hair."
3) "Put shoes on."
Coming from Soho, we had to walk through Little Italy to get to China Town. There's an Italian festival going on with lots of lights and decorations up. We took the stroller with us so we could walk the 13 or so blocks there. Astrid was sitting in her stroller entertained by looking at everything that was going on around her. All the Italian restaurants on either side of Mulberry Street were packed. She sees the playground and shouts, "Playground!" while running towards it.She was the only white kid there, surrounded by Asian kids. Usually I'm the lone Asian person, so this was a change with me blending in and Astrid standing out with her blond hair.She might have stood out and gotten some looks from others, but she seemed right at home.

When I told my mom about it, she said maybe Astrid perceives herself as looking Asian. I don't know about that. I just think she was oblivious to any differences. It'll be interesting when she's older and starts asking me why we don't look alike. Even the playground equipment has a Chinese design to it and is painted red.
She loves climbing ladders of all kinds. In the beginning I forbid her from going up the slide, ("We go up the stairs and down the slide") and I still protest when there are kids around, but I let her when she has the slide to herself. She's able to climb up the slide all by herself now.The smaller playgrounds here don't have swings, but this one does.Having fun on the "swing swing".She loved her aquarium swing as an infant, and the swing is still her favorite thing to do at the playground. Now she tells me, "Higher Mommy! Higher!"One last time on the slide before we head out.The park also has a large soccer field.They were playing a game there and Astrid asked, "Baseball?" I had to laugh because her first guess is always "baseball" (her dad is a big Dodgers fan) and then "football" is the second guess, but soccer doesn't register yet.There was a random marching band walking through the park, and then marching down the streets of New York. Astrid loved the music commenting on all the instruments and sounds "Horn Mommy! Drum! Music!"Jumping up and down, all excited about seeing and hearing the marching band.

What a treat for Astrid - one playground in the morning and a different playground in the evening. So many new sights and sounds and kids to play with at each stop along the way. She loves it here in New York.