Visit from Nana!

Shay has been talking a LOT about his Nana (my mom).  He has periodically been asking for her and mentioning her in various contexts.  If we see a bee, he says, "You know who doesn't like bees?  Nana."  Or he asks if she's coming over or going to meet us at the park.  I know he is expressing that he misses her - I do too!

Shay spent a lot of time with Nana in California.  In addition to taking him on fun outings, she picked him up every week for months so I could go to my Anatomy & Physiology class.  She was definitely a stable presence in his life.  She must have a lot of time of her hands now that we are gone, though I know she keeps busy. 

We have been talking about the fact that Nana is coming to visit for a while.  I actually waited to tell him that she was actually in New York until the morning that we were going to see her; I thought that he would be too excited to sleep if I told him any earlier.  That morning, there was a flurry of texts about how to get to our place.  There are only certain streets that cross FDR drive to our complex, and there's some construction going on that limits the options even further.  But she figured it out and the doorman buzzed her up.  Shay was adorable when I told him that Nana was here; he said "I'm so excited!!" while jumping up and down.   After the apartment tour, we showed her around the complex, including the sprinkler park, of course!

All day, he was checking to see where she was and asking if she was staying.  He asked if she was staying at the Disneyland Hotel (they stayed there together previously).  Jermaine was on call that night, so we had to go to Hane Sushi without him.

The weather didn't exactly cooperate.  Nana's flight was delayed due to rain, and the air was kind of muggy during her visit.  Rain threatened on Saturday, so we stayed close to home.  Luckily, there was a puppet show on the plaza.  Nana took Shay down, and Mila and I joined after Mila's morning nap.

 



Making his own puppets after the show


On Sunday, we were determined to see more of the city.  We ventured via the East River Ferry to Roosevelt Island, which one lady had described to me as "the backyard for New Yorkers who don't have a backyard."  No one lives there, but apparently there are big open spaces to bike, run, and play.  Sounded perfect, as long as it didn't rain. 

On the ferry ride over.  It took an hour, so Shay got a little antsy. Luckily, Mila was asleep.

Due to the weather, there weren't many people on the island.  I think we and a couple of bike rides were the only ones who rode all the way to the island (the last stop on the ferry).  We gathered some information from a couple of friendly girls posted at a table near the dock, and kind of wandered around aimlessly.  There were nice views of the city and a wide bike path seemed to encircle the whole island.  People were riding around on what Jermaine called "family bikes"; the kind that you can rent at the beach, with two bench seats that seat about 4 people.  Maybe next time.

The information girls had mentioned a place to eat next to the "beach", which we finally found.  Mila hasn't had her feet in the sand for awhile, and thought it was pretty weird at first.  Of course, she was soon running around with Shay and working up an appetite.  After lunch, we planned to catch the ferry back before the kids got too exhausted; they seemed to be fading fast.  We didn't get to the bikes or the children's museum, and the glass blowing demonstration didn't look too kid-friendly.  The hour-long ride had eaten up a lot of the morning.  So we visited the gift shop, where Shay got a coloring book with the Statue of Liberty in it, detailing the history of the island (I think).  Then ice cream before hopping back on the ferry.  We're hoping to come back for more summer fun soon!





On the way back with ice cream, of course.  Seems like this is getting to be a trend....