The Last Hurrahs...

 We have been inundated (blessed, of course;) with visitors this Spring. The Little Man has been a tourist touring champ.  When Grandpapa and Uncle Blaine visited (for Uncle B's big b-day), P was in heaven with all of the men around carrying him.  I'm not sure if he even took in most of the sites the first day, he was so busy using Grandpapa as a human jungle gym....

The kid  took a brief break from Grandpapa's arms when he spied an artist's dedication to the 9/11 downtown and was wooed by the size of the crystal.  (Crystals, gold and diamonds being three of his favorite things ;)  We had to go in for a few moments of ahhhhs:

After that fun-stravaganza, Aunt Marielle and Chris came for a visit.  The child drug them all over town and they were the best sports ever.

Aunt Marielle and P in Central Park...

Phoenix has a longstanding (and not fully explained) issue with police officers.  Chris, is a police officer.  He did more for P's bias in those few days than E and I have been able to manage in the last four years.  In short: the child adores Chris.  Just look at his face here...

He was also enamored with C's size.  At one point he looked adoringly up at Chris and said, "You're taller than the Empire State Building!"  And after the child was carried upon those cloud grazing shoulders, he was putty in Chris' hands.

And, really, what's not to love about someone who encourages you to fling yourself willy-nilly from high spots?

While on our walk in Central Park, P had a brainstorm....

The adoring Aunt and the hamming child...

So, so sweet, Aunt Marielle allowed herself to be pulled through the Museum of Natural History.   I couldn't get a meaningful shot of the two of them, as the child appeared to be giving a speed tour (notice the blur, below...)  Just his favorite highlights!  And she, sweetly, laughed and listened and did without lingering, the whole time.

The next morning brought us brunch with the fam, a rare and happy occurrence, and one of my favorite photos, eveh.  The child was fabulously happy to be surrounded by Uncles and their broad, babe carrying shoulders as we schlepped back from brunch. For some reason, when Bric took his turn, the child turned to hair pulling.  I am laughing now, remembering the sound my sweet brother made ;)  Of course, everyone's laughter just encouraged the child, who very well knows better than to pull someone's hair... and doggonit, if his ornery little face doesn't look like sheer bliss below:

The Torturer and the Torturee... Pleasure and Pain.... (Is it sick I giggle every time I see this pic?  (We love you Bric!!!))

 (And notice, the dear Bric is actually trying to tie the child's shoe while carrying him.  And how is he thanked?  Oy;)


Once to our flat the child somehow conned everyone into putting on his Harry Potter costume and running around with brooms between their legs.  Proof positive of why his Uncles and Aunts are the World's Best.

 (hehe, Ian reminds me of something out of The Dark Crystal here;)

And last but not least, we just had a dear, dear friend of ours visit before she heads back to Brussels to her amazing ministry work.  The child took to her and didn't let go for her entire stay.  She, too, was lovingly given the speed tour through the Natural History Museum.  And excitedly introduced to P's fave, Pinkberry.  And most excitedly taken to Dumbo for a sunset walk.  I was a bit disappointed that our big "ta-dah" was a wee bit underwhelming due to the enormous amount of construction occurring in the area (and all over the bridge), but our guest was gracious and said she prefers a little grit ;)  Ahhh, old friends :)

Of course, lots of home (recovery) time has been required between these marathon touring sessions.  P seems to need this to find balance.  During which time the child has been excitedly packaging his life as he knows it into cardboard boxes and playing, seemingly non-stop, with BB.  Not a half-bad send off to the city we love....

House guests and Star Wars

P had looked forward to the block party for a year. So when he asked, Friday, if we could sleep through Saturday(block party day) to skip to Sunday faster, I knew he was super excited to see Ella and Reed (our dear friends from Kansas). All day Sunday he asked when we could go to Grand Central. Even as he laid suspiciously still on the couch. Even as he covered his eyes with his flax seed pillow. Even as he eschewed food for the cool floor.

Fortunately, his fever was short lived and we were able to adventure with our friends the following morning. Our typical tourist trappings weren't at the top of the kids' lists, so we mapped the Empire State Building, Dylan's Candy Bar, Central Park, it's Zoo and FAO Schwartz in an attempt to minimize walking for short, midwestern legs.

While the kids were a bit underwhelmed by the mighty matron of the city, the candy shop didn't disappoint :) P handles the sweet shop with aplomb, and I'm always surprised ;) Two floors of brightly colored sugars, all of which he is allergic to, shine beneath bright lights and booming music. A childhood candy aficionado myself, P's allergies to fake foods have put an extra emphasis on my adult whole foods preferences, and my feelings about candy shops were summed up in this one shot: (The treat's name said it all :)

                                  P and Ella, wowed by the wonders of a candy filled floor:

Its not just my kid that likes to climb rocks in Central Park. After a couple of subway rides, our guest were giddy running into the rock strewn green for a snack.

                             Public art, en route to the zoo (cuz climbing rocks doesn't always do):

After climbing, we headed to the zoo. I had waxed poetic about seeing a polar bear in real life and hoped he wouldn't be holed up in the heat. But no disappointments there, we were all thrilled to see him bobbing in the water, watching us watching him. Mammals in captivity break my heart, especially when they make eye contact ;) P seems to have the same reaction, because after seeing the snow leopard glide past the glass, he demanded to know why the regal feline wasn't in his natural habitat.... Nevertheless, the zoo was a success, all three kids seemed pleased as pie with the lovely animals and the giant spiderweb.

At FAO, P very carefully picked his prize - a special occasion since friends were here. Yup, I said "special occasion." After years of constant toy purchases, we agreed to take a break. We're fully stocked, overflowing our space, in fact, due to toys (seriously, we own almost nothing other than toys, toy containers and the food making basics). And the child.... he doesn't play that much with them these days! He typically turns towards his rocks and sticks, a cardboard box, BB or a hammer and a board. And, of course, us. His favorite toys, the live robots that play endlessly, he can spend an hour on the floor with either of us and nothing else but sheer joy. He's finally starting to realize this and has decided to wait a while for new additions, (thank the holy freakin stars.) But there is a difference between taking a break from toy stores and actually leaving a live toy store empty handed :)

So, despite his total ignorance on all things Star Wars, the Little Man chose light sabers. His best buddy is all about Star Wars and has been talking up his lighted swords for a while now. Additionally, the older boy downstairs has spoken of Star Wars in hushed, reverential tones. This has made an impact. Nevertheless, P agrees he's nowhere near ready to watch the flick. But swords with lights, well, that sounded kinda cool :)

And honestly, they are. Our previous swords have been a tad short (read: hand injuries) for me to enjoy swordplay with P. And its a pursuit he loves. Now we can jab and dive together, in the dark, bouncing on the bed, illuminated by our sabers. Its ridiculously fun.

But there's one problem. P got a red one and a blue one. Then Reed told him the red one was the bad guy's. Well, P doesn't really want me to be the bad guy and he doesn't really like the idea of the bad guy going after me either - so after a few rounds, he was stuck. I let him sit with it and then suggested the colors were ours to interpret. No go. Damn defined toys. Sticks pose no such problem ;) Hmmm, I said, maybe I could be a good guy that had grabbed a bad guy's saber? (Don't even get me started on the good guy/bad guy delineation!) He liked this solution and we swung and bounced merrily, for a moment. Then he stopped. "But wait. If we're both good guys..... why are we fighting?" OMG. I love this child.

Day two had big plans for two museums and plenty of park play... and we just barely made it through the American Museum of Natural History. After our afternoon indoors with bunches of bones, we headed to Belvedere Castle before getting dinner. Travel with kids is an amazingly different beast that beats to its very own drum :)

                                                         The pic P took at he the AMNH:

P was sad to see his friends (and their mum!) leave the next morning. He, in all seriousness, invited them to be our flat-mates :) Unfortunately, I'd guess that a few more days of P inspired late nights and Reed inspired early mornings and the situation would have been less "Three's Company" and more "Star Wars," for real :)

The Scooter

Scooters are really popular for kids in Brooklyn. Expecting those short legs to walk everywhere (and at a decent clip) is a lot to ask, unless you're comfortable carrying those short legs a good portion of each errand. So kids scoot. P was hot to scoot and knew exactly what he wanted. A pink 3 wheel scooter.

The Micro Mini rocks. Its steered by leaning and is super stable. We live uphill from the scooter store, so P really worked his first ride. He then devoted the rest of the spring afternoon to focused practice in our park. The next morning he was on his scooter with Ethan before I was even dressed. They went down hill for 4 avenues and P mastered his steering. He was soooo pleased with himself :)

We all left the house at 9 am and spent the day in the city at museums and scooting around the Upper West Side. At 7 that evening P still wasn't quite ready to head home so we decided to do some scooting in Central Park. The last hill (its always the last hill isn't it?) on the way to the subway was excessively steep, but P'd had nary a bruise the entire weekend and understood how to use his brake. He rounded the bend, hit a bump and flipped, helmetless head over scooter, and skidded on his face. It looked horrendous. Granted, the goose egg that immediately formed looked formidable, but he really walked away pretty unscathed for as huge of a fall as it was. A gory black eye and a scratched elbow, both of which are healing very nicely, were his only battle wounds. While he has been much more alert going down hills, he apparently wasn't too traumatized because he asks for the thing first thing each a.m...

But when P and I joined E in the city to file our taxes Tuesday I realized P's speed was finally a cause for concern. With 3 days of practice he was now at the end of the block before I'd even locked our front door. He sweetly waited every other tree after I discussed my concern with him, but it was obvious this constant stopping ruined his fun. After all, the whole goal appears to be going fast enough to dramatically pick up the kicking heel and sway the handlebars side to side while coasting and saying "neeeee-ahhhhhm." All fun and games in the park but infinitely more dicey around NYC traffic. Ugh, now what? Take the thing away or keep up with him?

So E and I had to get scooters :) And there we were, in rush hour foot traffic heading from packed Union Square to Wash Square Park, following our three year old on his scooter while he shouted "neeeeee-aaahhhhm!!!" and weaved between surprised pedestrians. It was fabulously fun, and pretty funny too, but the amount of trust it required was pretty taxing. And there, in a nutshell, is the big parenting kicker for us lately. Trusting him and his abilities while making sure his inexperience (and occasional lack of reasoning : I'll cut that car with my magic sword!!!) doesn't get him killed. I had no idea parenting could be so exhilarating and scary all at the same time, or summed up by buying a scooter.