If New York is a city of dreams then for Evan it is a city of dreams come true. With taxis, garbage trucks, police cars, ambulances and buses on every street - Evan was on overload. Not to mention the cool grates, and bulkhead doors that line the sidewalks that he got to walk and jump on. We had carefully planned our itinerary around activities that would interest Evan - The Natural History Museum, The Bronx Zoo, Central Park - but as far as Evan was concerned we could have just ridden the subway all day and had just as much fun. The excitement of riding the train was palpable and Evan could hardly contain himself. As soon as we descended the stairs from the street Evan would begin making choo-choo noises, as though we were about to board an old time trolley. Woo Woo!! Chug, chug, chug, chug! He caused many a New Yorker to turn and smile.
We arrived on Sunday afternoon. First stop: Tompkins Square Park, two blocks from Emily's apartment. It was a beautiful day and the playground was full of children and their hipster East Village parents. Very good people watching - and strangely lots of children in their underwear - we clearly weren't in NH anymore. Evan quickly found a slide he liked and formed a routine of climbing and sliding. He eventually adjusted to sharing his personal space with all of the other kids and politely tolerated kids who didn't wait their turn.
Monday we headed uptown to the American Museum of Natural History. Since Evan is currently infatuated with dinosaurs this was the place to go. The dinosaur bones were of course a huge hit. Sadly there was an incident in a
crowded elevator that resulted in a spectacular tantrum. Word to the wise: always, always let a two year old push the button in the elevator - even if someone else has already pushed it. A hard lesson learned, one that reduced both of us to tears. Barring that incident the museum was great, but we were quickly overwhelmed. It is a an incredible museum, and while Evan definitely enjoyed it, I think he'll enjoy it even more in years to come.
Tuesday we rode the subway to the Bronx to visit the zoo. The train ride was 45 minutes of pure joy for Evan. The zoo was great. We saw giraffes (my favorite), lions, monkeys, tigers, camels, peacocks, and ...ducks. Wouldn't you know the ducks were Evan's favorite - the same type of ducks we see at the park down the road. I guess there is something comfortable about the familiar. But the highlight of his day wasn't the animals, it was eating an ice cream and riding the aerial tram or "rocket ship" as we called it.
It was a very fun, but exhausting trip for all of us. After 3 days of a mixed up schedule and very short naps, Evan was tired. But, once we were back at home he slept like a champ. When I asked Evan what his favorite thing about New York was he told me "see big bridges" "see Emily" "see train". For Evan it's the simplest things that make a great adventure.
We arrived on Sunday afternoon. First stop: Tompkins Square Park, two blocks from Emily's apartment. It was a beautiful day and the playground was full of children and their hipster East Village parents. Very good people watching - and strangely lots of children in their underwear - we clearly weren't in NH anymore. Evan quickly found a slide he liked and formed a routine of climbing and sliding. He eventually adjusted to sharing his personal space with all of the other kids and politely tolerated kids who didn't wait their turn.
Monday we headed uptown to the American Museum of Natural History. Since Evan is currently infatuated with dinosaurs this was the place to go. The dinosaur bones were of course a huge hit. Sadly there was an incident in a
crowded elevator that resulted in a spectacular tantrum. Word to the wise: always, always let a two year old push the button in the elevator - even if someone else has already pushed it. A hard lesson learned, one that reduced both of us to tears. Barring that incident the museum was great, but we were quickly overwhelmed. It is a an incredible museum, and while Evan definitely enjoyed it, I think he'll enjoy it even more in years to come.Tuesday we rode the subway to the Bronx to visit the zoo. The train ride was 45 minutes of pure joy for Evan. The zoo was great. We saw giraffes (my favorite), lions, monkeys, tigers, camels, peacocks, and ...ducks. Wouldn't you know the ducks were Evan's favorite - the same type of ducks we see at the park down the road. I guess there is something comfortable about the familiar. But the highlight of his day wasn't the animals, it was eating an ice cream and riding the aerial tram or "rocket ship" as we called it.
It was a very fun, but exhausting trip for all of us. After 3 days of a mixed up schedule and very short naps, Evan was tired. But, once we were back at home he slept like a champ. When I asked Evan what his favorite thing about New York was he told me "see big bridges" "see Emily" "see train". For Evan it's the simplest things that make a great adventure.
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