Fun close to home

A few fun events happened close by our apartment. Kids had a blast without having to trek far. 

Animal fun at Solar One, a five minute walk from our apartment. Kids got to touch lizards and turtles, see a millipede, and make their own masks.

Kids also had their first NYC dentist visit (Mila's first ever!), and came home to a visit from our local fire department. Kids got to squirt water from a fire extinguisher and explore a fire engine. The day ended with a rainbow. 

 

More Summer 2013 fun

The weather has been pretty hot here; even when it cools down, it tends to be much muggier than California. So we are keeping busy and always looking for ways to stay cool!

All dressed up for a birthday party. Face painting & other fun in Brooklyn.

I was feeling brave & took the kids to SummerStage (free concerts!) at Central Park on my own. Luckily, we met a friend from our building at the event & the kids kept each other busy. 

Waiting for the bus:

Special Ed & Rock Steady Crew performed. Kids were chillin'.

In early August, I took Shay to my work picnic at Riverside Park. He had a blast & even found a fellow Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle lover!

The pool in our complex is closed for most of August, so we took one last summer opportunity to take the kids for a dip. Shay's getting braver in the water & Mila likes to splash around.

We also took a trip over the Long Island City. For a time, we were considering moving there, since it's right across the river from the city and accessible by subway and ferry. We've since decided to stay put, but we still wanted to check it out, especially after we heard about a fleas market featuring lots of yummy food stands. We sampled a bunch of foods, including a pork belly sandwich, conch fritter, and carnitas tacos (probably as close to LA tacos as we've found here so 

far). It was pretty quiet overall, which was a nice contrast to Manhattan.

 

Looking forward to a few more adventures before summer ends!

Mila's 2nd birthday

No big party for Mila, but she had lots of nice little celebrations. There was a party at school (she started at the same place as Shay this month!), then we went out to dinner, daddy brought home a giant 3-layer chocolate cake, and Grandpa Rob came to visit to bring presents & go out to dinner again! So I don't think she feels deprived.  

 

School party: the kids make cupcakes (she gets to choose the flavor & frosting color) and Shay got to come over for the fun (& ate 3 cupcakes!)

Green tea ice cream at dinner & concert that we came across on the way home:

Huge cake:

2nd birthday dinner with Ji-Rob (aka Grandpa Rob; they have the same birthday!):

Mila is loving her new school and new friends.  She also likes singing songs, dancing, and stealing rides on Shay's scooter. I'll try to post videos soon. She also has been sitting on the potty (no videos though), and her teachers say she may be ready for underwear soon (though I may not be!). Happy birthday, little mama!