Start Your Engines, It's Party Time

With Mason on the brink of being a 2-year-old (officially) we threw him a little party this past weekend at the daycare. Mommy did lots of work to prep for the shin-dig, but it was well worth the effort when Mason walked in, looked around in awe and said "My birthday party? Thank you for my party, Mama!" It was also well-worth the effort to catch up with some old friends, some new friends and some kid friends we don't get to see as much as we'd like.

Without further ado, here are some of the sites from the day. If anyone has pictures they'd like to share, feel free to send them my way. I was too busy partying to actually take many!

Mason is currently obsessed with the movie Cars, so it was only fitting we adopt that as his party-theme...complete with a Lightning McQueen customized cake. Kaaa-Chow!

The birthday boy was a gracious host, taking time to help Mommy and Dado greet his guests and he even wore his customized "2" hat for a time. After getting his fill of cheese sticks, mini pizzas, booty and even a little bit of broccoli, Mason decided to take dessert serving into his own hands -- by climbing up on to a chair adjoining the dessert table and promptly licking one of the cupcakes stacked there.

We took the hint, and started serving after a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday for him and his secret twin Malka.

One slice of McQueen cake, two cupcakes and some ice cream later, he wore off his sugar high and hit the floor. Literally...

After spending the afternoon and evening recovering from our party hangovers (you can see all the fun here), Mason had some unexpected guests arrive to wish him happy birthday as Grandpa and Auntie Ro arrived after a L-O-N-G day of travel with smiles on their faces and a present in-hand.

What we've been up to...

Dumping a few pics from last weekend in here:





Mason and Kellyn do the American Museum of Natural History. They got a kick out of growling at the lions and yelling at the zebras, but, as always, the dinosaurs stole the show.

Mason... Santa, Santa... Mason

Well, 'tis the season, ho ho ho and all that other good stuff. It's Christmas time and we had to let Mason get a taste of the holiday season. While I was shopping for Christmas presents at Macy's on Wednesday, December 12th, I noticed the line for Santa Claus was pretty short. After talking to the attendants, they let me know that on weeknights there are not as many people that visit “Santaland” and if you did want to visit Santa Claus it was the best time to do it. I told Jody about this and we both thought it would be great to get Mason in front of Santa, especially if it wouldn't take half the day.

So, the very next evening, we hoofed it down to 34th street. Jody, Macey and I met at "The World's Largest Department Store." Before going into the store, we had a chance to look at the window displays they had facing the Broadway side of the building. There was one of a sled going along a roller coaster, an aerial view of Macy's, Santa Workshop and some other cool dioramas. Macey loved them all! Afterwards, it was time to head on up to meet the Big Man himself. When we got up to the 8th floor, there was a short line, but nothing too bad. What made it better is that there were all kinds of interesting things to look at:
talking trees, polar bears and Macey's favorite... trains.

When we finally got the front of the line, I've got to admit we were a little nervous. You see, for a while we've been talking up Santa to Mason, however as recent history suggest Mason and certain characters have not seen eye to eye. He wasn't very friendly when he met Elmo, didn't even want to meet with the kids in caveman outfits and bumped his head trying to get away from Curious George at the museum. So, as we got close we didn't know how he'd react. But when he turned the corner and saw Santa, he smiled and gave him a huge hug. He was excited and could hardily get his words out. After visiting, Santa gave him some crayons and we were on our way. However, before we headed home, we got a chance to see some more displays on the 34th side on the building and saw an interesting one. The diorama had a courthouse, bearded old man and a bunch of letters... "A Miracle On 34th Street" how apropos.

Macy's with Macey

OK, so we're averaging one post every 25 days this month. Forgive us, but we've been busy. Grammy and Papa came for a visit. Then, Uncle Clint was here. Now, the holidays are upon us. Without further ado, Macey would like to wish you (a belated) Happy Thanksgiving. Here's how we spent the time:

Wednesday afternoon, Macy's Big Balloon Inflation:

We made the pilgrimage to the Museum of Natural History which is bordered by 77th and 81st Streets and it was here that all of the Macy's balloons were blown up the night before the big show. The only one we actually got to see measurable progress on was the Energizer Bunny. It was also the first one we saw and for some reason or another, Mason adopted it as his favorite.

Dado and Mason say cheese (literally) in front of Pikachu, while we swapped cameras with another family to capture all of us in one shot before heading home for the night. After all, we had to be up awful early on Thanksgiving Day!

6:30 a.m. to be exact. We drug ourselves out of bed and awoke Mason with promises of seeing the big balloons again. BUNNNY!?! He says. Yes we say. He's happy to come along. We take the train to Columbus Circle, and wander down Broadway until we find a perfect viewing locale. And we wait. And wait and wait. A good two hours before the balloons arrive. Mason is antsy, but happy as can be when the parade starts.

He spent most of it perched on Dado's shoulders. Over and over we here "Look!" as he points out some balloon or float passing along. He LOVED it. It was well-worth the lost sleep to see how happy he was watching everything pass by.

The biggest reaction to the parade may have come to the Sesame Street float ("Look Mama! A Big Bird!) or the array of horses who passed by ("Neighhhhhh! A horse!") It was definitely an experience we won't soon forget -- and hope he won't either.

The weather was beautiful. We had a great group of families around us (save the one dad who tried to use his kids to cut in front of everyone. We had some words with him). So, with that, we'll leave you with some pictures. My personal favorite (always has been, always will be) is Santa Claus. I especially love the shot of the tail-end of the parade snaking down Broadway in front of us once it had passed.

We closed out the day by wandering the streets with all the other parade goers. We ended up at Bryant Park where we grabbed a table and relaxed in between chasin' Mason. He loved watching the ice skaters there -- and tried to hop onto the ice more than once. I guess we need to practice up so we can take him soon. After that, we wandered over to the restaurant where we had reservations only to discover it was closed, and was not, in fact, the right one. Luckily we were only a couple of blocks away. We stuffed ourselves with food and then went home to watch Dado's Cowboys pick up another win.

All in all, it was a great Thanksgiving!

Boo! Happy Halloween from the City

Our day started off with daycare drop off, and let me tell you the surprise I got when Spider Man opened the door for us. Mason was sans-costume at this point. Instead, wearing a shirt that said "I love my mummy" and jeans. That didn't last long. After he found Nemo in the kitchen and saw Madeline eating breakfast, there was no denying Mason's inner-cow anymore. The Devil was the next to arrive.

I left Mason with the wild bunch and went back home to work from there for the day so that I could partake in festivities with him later on. Our brave friend, and daycare provider extraordinaire, Melissa, had them all herded up and out on the sidewalk in front of our apartment a couple of hours later, ready for their daily walk. I joined them, and we brought our neighbor, Chris, and his son, Emilio (a.k.a. the Giraffe) along for the fun. It's an adventure making the 10-block round with a double stroller, single stroller and four loose toddlers souped up on holiday fun. See:

Alas, we all survived to tell about it, and had many smiles and laughs along the way.

After a few more hours of work for me, some lunch and a nap for the kids, we met up with all the parents and headed down to the American Museum of Natural History for their Halloween party. Daddo found us amid the sea of party goers and we all headed inside. You have to get a little creative when a) your kids are too young to trick-or-treat and b) you live in New York City. So off we went. The dinosaurs were a big hit, as were the treat stations along the way. Mason is no dummy. At the first treat station, he had the system figured out and he was working it. He got a candy bar from each of the three people handing them out at that station. He'd get one, drop it in his bag; get another one, drop it in his bag; and then on to get a third one. It was pretty funny.

After the Dinosaur Hall, we checked out the whale in the Great Hall and then witnessed simultaneous toddler meltdowns fueled by lots of sugar and lack of dinner and decided to call it a night. We headed back up town and hung out with the neighbors for a bit before we took our little cow home and laid him in his stall...I mean crib, for the night. Halloween bag (sans candy) included.

One last question: Is that what Mad Cow disease looks like?

The Zoo Crew

So Aimee, Rob, Nick, Maddy, Mom, Dad-do, special-guest Kellyn and I all headed to the Central Park Zoo. I know by now you are probably saying to yourself "Central Park Zoo... that sounds familiar" Well, if you've ever seen the movie Madagascar, then it is. You know Madagascar, the animated movie about the Lion, Zebra, Hippo and Elephant that breakout out of the... Central Park Zoo and find themselves off the coast of Africa; THAT'S the zoo we went to. Surprisingly the zoo was identical to the movie - well minus any Lions, Zebras, Hippos and Elephants. But, a great time was had by all. Kellyn spent the night at our apartment and early in the morning we headed to the Central Park. We took the "A" Train to Columbus Circle and walked along Central Park South. There we got to see horse after horse after horse and a couple of dogs. Kellyn and I had a great time saying "horse!" After getting to the park we met up with Aimee, Rob, Nick and Maddy. It was only my second time meeting Maddy, and boy is she cute. Every time I see her; I scream, "baby!" When we actually got into the zoo, the first thing we did was go to the seal lion pool. It was feeding time and they put on quite a show. They climbed on the rocks, dove into the water and ate lots and lots of fish. They were happy and made lots of sounds. Afterwards, it was on the polar bear pool. It was fantastic. The bear was exercising and swimming back and forth in the pool. Wow, that is bear big! He would come to the side of the wall and push off the glass and we got to see him from underwater going back and forth. Next, were the penguins; they were small and cute. They would dive in the water and swim very fast. After the penguins, we went to the petting zoo. There were cows and llamas and sheep. I got to feed the sheep. They were hungry! And they drooled a lot! But I got to pet them and they were friendly. After feeding the animals, it was about time to feed ourselves, so we traveled over to the East Side planned on going to Burger Heaven, but... a day at the zoo can take a lot out of a kid and I was pooped. So, I went to sleep, but I heard everyone liked the food. The zoo was fun and a good time was had by all and I can wait to go again.

Accessories: The Spice of Life

So, everyone insists toddler's need choices and Mason is asserting that himself lately.

The kid has discovered his shoe basket, and been insistent on picking out his shoes each morning this week. Yesterday was a gem. Nice little play-clothes outfit and his black leather penny loafers (see photo at right...different day, but same insistence on the shoes). He waltzed into daycare, where jazz music was playing, and commenced a little dance. I guess he knew he'd need the loafers...er, dancing shoes!

Today, it's 60 degrees outside. It's gray. It's hazy. It's overcast. It's rainy. Mason is wearing sunglasses. No less than five people giggled at him as he splashed through puddles in the half-block between our door and Melissa's, where, I might add, he continued to wear them inside.

Another gem: After coming home from daycare on Thursday night and trying on Mom's shoes. He was pretty successful walking down the hall in them, despite their humongous size compared to his feet!