Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!
It's been a zooey summer for the little one. We've explored, we've safaried, we've petted. From camel rides to train rides, Olivia's seen just about everything a zoo has to offer--and she even has the mountain of gift shop paraphernalia to prove it.
This summer's best zoos:
1. The Bronx Zoo
2. The Toledo Zoo
3. The Central Park Zoo
4. The Beardsley Zoo
And I'll also mention the Butterfly House in Whitehouse, OH. It couldn't be a more out-of-the-way location, but their indoor butterfly garden is simply spectacular. I'd even go so far as to say that it's better than the butterfly garden at the Bronx Zoo. Now that's wild.
Showing posts with label outdoor fun. Show all posts
Showing posts with label outdoor fun. Show all posts
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Olivia's Pick--20 July 2009
There's no question that Olivia's pick this week was her backyard, Pooh Bear, pool-side, bouncy-house birthday party! Friends, sun, cake and hours of bouncing made it an afternoon to remember.
We borrowed a bounce house with a water slide from a generous Mama friend; let me tell you, it made the party. The kids bounced around the yard like a pack of Tiggers, stopping only to shove handfuls of cake into their mouths. It was a perfect summer party for my special little birthday girl, one that she likely won't remember and one that I will surely never forget.
We borrowed a bounce house with a water slide from a generous Mama friend; let me tell you, it made the party. The kids bounced around the yard like a pack of Tiggers, stopping only to shove handfuls of cake into their mouths. It was a perfect summer party for my special little birthday girl, one that she likely won't remember and one that I will surely never forget.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Olivia's Pick--21 June 2001
Our lucky little girl attended not one but two birthday parties this weekend. Both were the very best kind of summer party; both were POOL PARTIES!
We had so much fun splashing around while the pads of our fingers shriveled up like our dried fruit snacks. It wouldn't be a stretch to assert that this weekend was one of the best of her life.
It was also a nice reminder that safety and summer fun are inseparable. For kids as young as mine, life jackets are a great accessory for a pool party--or a lakeside or beachside vacation. There's some helpful "Life Jackets 101" information out there, like this from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Pool toys, floaters and rafts are all fun for young swimmers, too. Of course, the most important accessory for any waterside fun is simply a parent's vigilance. Whether they can swim or not, children are drawn to water like 'tween girls to a Jonas Brothers show. In either case, a parent's watchful eye is recommended.
And of course, if you're planning on more than just a little fun under the sun, don't forget the sunscreen.
We had so much fun splashing around while the pads of our fingers shriveled up like our dried fruit snacks. It wouldn't be a stretch to assert that this weekend was one of the best of her life.
It was also a nice reminder that safety and summer fun are inseparable. For kids as young as mine, life jackets are a great accessory for a pool party--or a lakeside or beachside vacation. There's some helpful "Life Jackets 101" information out there, like this from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Pool toys, floaters and rafts are all fun for young swimmers, too. Of course, the most important accessory for any waterside fun is simply a parent's vigilance. Whether they can swim or not, children are drawn to water like 'tween girls to a Jonas Brothers show. In either case, a parent's watchful eye is recommended.
And of course, if you're planning on more than just a little fun under the sun, don't forget the sunscreen.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Olivia's Pick--14 June 2009
"Mama, Mama! I see a bunny! I see a bunny!" Olivia was standing at the back door off the kitchen, gazing into our yard.
I looked out the window over our sink and, sure enough, there was the sweetest, smallest baby rabbit nibbling at our lawn.
"Mama, can we go out and see him?"
"Sure, angel."
So we opened the door as noiselessly as we could. And we tiptoed out, as noiselessly as a 3-year-old in close proximity to a baby bunny can tiptoe.
Before too long, the bunny caught on that he was being stalked and bounced away to safety under our hedge.
"Bunny, come back," Olivia was on the move after him when, all of a sudden, she fell down. Except, from where I was standing, it didn't look like she had actually fallen. She was on the ground, one leg out to the side, but...where was her other leg?
It was, as it turns out, stuck up to the knee in a groundhog hole in the back of our yard. She started crying while I tried very hard not to laugh. I rushed over and pulled her out. But when her foot came out of the hole, I saw only her little pink sock; the hole had kept her sneaker. Once discovered, this prompted a round fresh tears at increased volume.
"MwaaaalssshhhhMySHOOOOOO!"
I brought her inside, dried her tears and offered up a second pair of shoes. (I had peeked down that hole and it was pretty deep. I wasn't about to stick my hand down there after a well-used sneaker from Target.)
Despite the lost shoe, she was calm and smiling within minutes. She's also had considerable fun recounting her harrowing adventure to friends and family.
She hasn't even soured on the bunny in our back yard, or rabbits in general. As I type this, in fact, she has recruited her Papa to go out and look for our backyard bunny. But this time, she's doing it barefoot.
I looked out the window over our sink and, sure enough, there was the sweetest, smallest baby rabbit nibbling at our lawn.
"Mama, can we go out and see him?"
"Sure, angel."
So we opened the door as noiselessly as we could. And we tiptoed out, as noiselessly as a 3-year-old in close proximity to a baby bunny can tiptoe.
Before too long, the bunny caught on that he was being stalked and bounced away to safety under our hedge.
"Bunny, come back," Olivia was on the move after him when, all of a sudden, she fell down. Except, from where I was standing, it didn't look like she had actually fallen. She was on the ground, one leg out to the side, but...where was her other leg?
It was, as it turns out, stuck up to the knee in a groundhog hole in the back of our yard. She started crying while I tried very hard not to laugh. I rushed over and pulled her out. But when her foot came out of the hole, I saw only her little pink sock; the hole had kept her sneaker. Once discovered, this prompted a round fresh tears at increased volume.
"MwaaaalssshhhhMySHOOOOOO!"
I brought her inside, dried her tears and offered up a second pair of shoes. (I had peeked down that hole and it was pretty deep. I wasn't about to stick my hand down there after a well-used sneaker from Target.)
Despite the lost shoe, she was calm and smiling within minutes. She's also had considerable fun recounting her harrowing adventure to friends and family.
She hasn't even soured on the bunny in our back yard, or rabbits in general. As I type this, in fact, she has recruited her Papa to go out and look for our backyard bunny. But this time, she's doing it barefoot.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Olivia's Pick--8 June 2009
Central Park has always been one of my favorite things about New York City. It's an oasis, a sea of life surrounded on all sides by the steel and concrete on which New Yorkers build their dreams. The park makes the noise and the pace of the city a bit more bearable; inside its lush greenery, you can come up for air.
Yesterday, Olivia and I spent the day (the perfect, glorious, sunshine-y day) exploring the park. After poking around the flea market on the Upper West Side and stowing our treasures in canvas bags hanging off the stroller handles, we made our way east into Central Park.We entered at Strawberry Fields and watched the tourists snapping photos. We saw penguins, puffins and polar bears. We snooped on one of Manhattan's most famous residents with a high powered telescope. (It's someone we've enjoyed reading about recently.) We admired sailboats as they glided silently past. We joined a mad tea party, already in progress.I
t was one of those days when the universe conspires to spread smiles on the faces and joy in the hearts of Mamas and little ones everywhere. It was as perfect a day as any in my memory. And I got to share it with her.
Lucky, lucky me.
Yesterday, Olivia and I spent the day (the perfect, glorious, sunshine-y day) exploring the park. After poking around the flea market on the Upper West Side and stowing our treasures in canvas bags hanging off the stroller handles, we made our way east into Central Park.We entered at Strawberry Fields and watched the tourists snapping photos. We saw penguins, puffins and polar bears. We snooped on one of Manhattan's most famous residents with a high powered telescope. (It's someone we've enjoyed reading about recently.) We admired sailboats as they glided silently past. We joined a mad tea party, already in progress.I
t was one of those days when the universe conspires to spread smiles on the faces and joy in the hearts of Mamas and little ones everywhere. It was as perfect a day as any in my memory. And I got to share it with her.
Lucky, lucky me.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Olivia's Pick--31 May 2009
Writing! W-R-I-T-I-N-G! Olivia has burst through the initial barrier of literacy! This weekend (with a fair amount of assistance from me, I'll admit it) she wrote her name! In hot pink sidewalk chalk on our slate patio, the letters O-L-I-V-I-A are clearly and gloriously legible.
I felt like throwing a party.
She made calls, told the grandparents and reveled in the general hooplah Mama and Papa were making. But despite all that, her memory of The First Time She Wrote Her Name will doubtless fade into the mists of childhood experience.
But not for me. I'll never forget it: The bright pink color of the chalk and how she had it smeared on her forehead. The navy batik shirt she was wearing, and how it tied in the back. The way she went running, yelling "Papa! Papa! I wrote my name!" The hug I gave her and the way her skin smelled like sunshine, sunscreen and the ocean.
These things, I will not forget. Not for the rest of my life.
This is how it was, the day that she wrote her name for the first time.
I felt like throwing a party.
She made calls, told the grandparents and reveled in the general hooplah Mama and Papa were making. But despite all that, her memory of The First Time She Wrote Her Name will doubtless fade into the mists of childhood experience.
But not for me. I'll never forget it: The bright pink color of the chalk and how she had it smeared on her forehead. The navy batik shirt she was wearing, and how it tied in the back. The way she went running, yelling "Papa! Papa! I wrote my name!" The hug I gave her and the way her skin smelled like sunshine, sunscreen and the ocean.
These things, I will not forget. Not for the rest of my life.
This is how it was, the day that she wrote her name for the first time.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Olivia's Pick--8 March 2009
It was a glorious, whopping 64 degrees here over the weekend, complete with warm rays of sunshine and gentle, caressing breezes. The temperate weather melted away the remaining snow to reveal small green shoots pushing their way up through the thawed earth. Glorious, I tell you!
And Olivia reveled in every minute of it.
"Is this spring, Mama?"
"Yes, sweet one, it sure feels like it."
"I love spring. It's my favorite."
So, in a kind of G-rated bacchanal, we exhausted ourselves yesterday morning, swinging, sliding, spinning our way over every inch of the playground at our beach. It was decadent, exhilarating and liberating.
Then, after returning home, emptying the sand from our shoes, and eating a delicious lunch, the smallest of us indulged in a post-bacchanal three hour nap.
Nothing like that fresh, spring air.
And Olivia reveled in every minute of it.
"Is this spring, Mama?"
"Yes, sweet one, it sure feels like it."
"I love spring. It's my favorite."
So, in a kind of G-rated bacchanal, we exhausted ourselves yesterday morning, swinging, sliding, spinning our way over every inch of the playground at our beach. It was decadent, exhilarating and liberating.
Then, after returning home, emptying the sand from our shoes, and eating a delicious lunch, the smallest of us indulged in a post-bacchanal three hour nap.
Nothing like that fresh, spring air.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Olivia's Pick--20 December 2008
There's a little hill just down the street from our house that, when blanketed with 10 inches of snow, transforms into a peak of sledding perfection. Neighborhood kids, bundled up to their eyes, can be seen tugging their brightly colored, plastic discs and toboggans toward the hill, long before the snow stops falling.
Of course, we took Olivia last year. We pulled her through the snow, avoiding the steepest part of the hill.
But this year, she was ready for the real deal. Layered in Thinsulate and making that "swish swish" noise as she walked, we trudged down the block. We could hear the laughter before we even arrived. She was mesmerized, watching the other, older kids go zooming down. I had thought she might be scared or slightly intimidated but now, she just looked excited.
We climbed onto our two-seater, no frills, red, plastic sled. "Let's go, Mama!" she yelled.
"Hang on," I said.
A small push and we were off! Her laughter rang out as we bumped and bounced down the slope. Giggling and cold, we skidded to a stop at the bottom of the hill.
She turned back, looked at me from behind layers of pink outerwear and said, "Again?"
Of course, we took Olivia last year. We pulled her through the snow, avoiding the steepest part of the hill.
But this year, she was ready for the real deal. Layered in Thinsulate and making that "swish swish" noise as she walked, we trudged down the block. We could hear the laughter before we even arrived. She was mesmerized, watching the other, older kids go zooming down. I had thought she might be scared or slightly intimidated but now, she just looked excited.
We climbed onto our two-seater, no frills, red, plastic sled. "Let's go, Mama!" she yelled.
"Hang on," I said.
A small push and we were off! Her laughter rang out as we bumped and bounced down the slope. Giggling and cold, we skidded to a stop at the bottom of the hill.
She turned back, looked at me from behind layers of pink outerwear and said, "Again?"
Monday, December 8, 2008
Olivia's Pick--30 November 2008
Horses. Ponies. And more horses.
What can I say? During our week-long, Midwestern, family-filled, Thanksgiving Odessey we managed to get in a visit to a cousin's farm where they had--you guessed it--horses! Olivia took her very first pony ride on Bonnie, a patient brown and white little pony.
Since then, she's talked of little else and I have a sneaking suspicion that her little, plastic, toy horses at home will simply not measure up to her latest experience.
We might have to start an "Olivia's Pony" fund. In the meantime, maybe I'll pick up a copy of Anna Sewell's Black Beauty.
What can I say? During our week-long, Midwestern, family-filled, Thanksgiving Odessey we managed to get in a visit to a cousin's farm where they had--you guessed it--horses! Olivia took her very first pony ride on Bonnie, a patient brown and white little pony.
Since then, she's talked of little else and I have a sneaking suspicion that her little, plastic, toy horses at home will simply not measure up to her latest experience.
We might have to start an "Olivia's Pony" fund. In the meantime, maybe I'll pick up a copy of Anna Sewell's Black Beauty.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Olivia's Pick--12 October 2008
This weekend, we revelled in cool, cloudless days that can only mean autumn in the northeast. Blessed with such weather, we experimented with having some "free fun." We packed our weekend with outdoor adventures that didn't cost a dime.
We took in some sun on the swings at our lovely beachside playground. We visited a nearby farm and "baa-ed" at the sheep and "moo-ed" at the cows, and even made friends with the affectionate barn cat. We invited over some friends to share dinner and were treated to a scooter stunt show, while the littler ones pushed wagons and collected leaves. Olivia assembled a beautiful bouquet of Maple and Dogwood leaves just for her Papa.I
t was a lovely weekend and Olivia had more than her share of fun. As for us parents, we were reminded of something Olivia knows intrinsically: The best fun, the richest experiences don't cost a penny. And the memories are priceless.
We took in some sun on the swings at our lovely beachside playground. We visited a nearby farm and "baa-ed" at the sheep and "moo-ed" at the cows, and even made friends with the affectionate barn cat. We invited over some friends to share dinner and were treated to a scooter stunt show, while the littler ones pushed wagons and collected leaves. Olivia assembled a beautiful bouquet of Maple and Dogwood leaves just for her Papa.I
t was a lovely weekend and Olivia had more than her share of fun. As for us parents, we were reminded of something Olivia knows intrinsically: The best fun, the richest experiences don't cost a penny. And the memories are priceless.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Olivia's Pick--5 October 2008
In a moment of respite from the rain and wind this weekend, we were blessed with a sunny afternoon. We took the opportunity to drive to a nearby farm for some good old-fashioned pumpkin picking. Olivia was in her glory! After struggling with a few "big ones" she decided the "small, tiny ones" were more easily managed. Together, we filled the wheelbarrow with our harvested treasures and went in search of further adventures.
We discovered a wonderful hayride over the picturesque grounds. We lost ourselves in an authentic corn maze. And we giggled at the cute, but decidedly "stinky," pigs. Finally, we purchased a bag of the freshest and most delicious apples we've had all year.
Olivia's joy over experiencing autumn on a real farm was infectious. And as we were piling into the car, sharing an apple, she said "Can we do it again?"
We discovered a wonderful hayride over the picturesque grounds. We lost ourselves in an authentic corn maze. And we giggled at the cute, but decidedly "stinky," pigs. Finally, we purchased a bag of the freshest and most delicious apples we've had all year.
Olivia's joy over experiencing autumn on a real farm was infectious. And as we were piling into the car, sharing an apple, she said "Can we do it again?"
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Olivia's Pick--31 August 2008
This week marks the symbolic passing of summer and launches us, feet first, into the promise and adventure of autumn. I anticipate that, this autumn, some of Olivia's favorite picks will be:
-Heading to an apple orchard to pick some of her favorite snacks.
-Running through the pumpkin patch, choosing all the pumpkins--big and small--that we will use to decorate our yard.-
Taking our dog to the beach, once the summer people have gone home and we have our piece of shoreline back to ourselves again.
-Going trick-or-treating for the very first time!
-Running and playing in the brisk autumn air, smiling through ruddy cheeks.
-Warming up with warm apple cider, from a nearby farm.
-Heading to an apple orchard to pick some of her favorite snacks.
-Running through the pumpkin patch, choosing all the pumpkins--big and small--that we will use to decorate our yard.-
Taking our dog to the beach, once the summer people have gone home and we have our piece of shoreline back to ourselves again.
-Going trick-or-treating for the very first time!
-Running and playing in the brisk autumn air, smiling through ruddy cheeks.
-Warming up with warm apple cider, from a nearby farm.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Olivia's Pick--27 July 2008
Without a doubt, Olivia's pick for this week--maybe for the whole year--is Birthday Parties. Specifically those held in her honor. This weekend, the backyard was packed with kids indulging in our Messy Art Party. By the end of the afternoon, children were wandering around in sugar-induced hazes, caked with frosting and paint, diapers sagging from splashing in the pool. From the sunshine to the pinata to the cupcakes to the Pollock-rivaling masterpiece the kids created, the day was simply perfect. And everytime I caught Olivia's eye, she would meet my gaze with that smile that makes me melt.
A couple of months ago, we were considering not throwing a birthday party at all. She's young and won't remember, we rationalized. But then I spoke to a wise and wonderful Mama I know and she reminded me how few moments there are in life for us to truly celebrate, and that we should take advantage of each one.
Boy, am I glad we did.
A couple of months ago, we were considering not throwing a birthday party at all. She's young and won't remember, we rationalized. But then I spoke to a wise and wonderful Mama I know and she reminded me how few moments there are in life for us to truly celebrate, and that we should take advantage of each one.
Boy, am I glad we did.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Olivia's Pick--6 July 2008
It's summertime for sure and that means a lot of running through sprinklers! Olivia has been running mini marathons in the backyard, splashing her way through the afternoons. It's a fun, healthy activity for kids. And the bonus for Mamas is the great sleep the little ones get after a day of outdoor play. Splash on!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Olivia Pick--1 June 2008
Beach, beach, beach! She can't get enough of our pretty little piece of coastal heaven, and truthfully, I'm loving it too. But Girls of Summer need gear, right? Shade on the shore is a must, but you don't need to break the bank on a good beach umbrella. Castle building goes green with this Sand Play Set by Green Toys. Made from recycled plastic, this playset is manufactured, assembled and tested in the USA and is BPA and Pthalate-free. And no day at the beach is complete without snacks. This summer, skip the hot dogs and nachos and freeze some fresh fruit the night before, to keep it cooler, longer. Cut up watermelon, mango, pineapple or whatever your little one loves and freeze it. Then, pack it on ice for your day of fun in the sun! And Mamas, don't forget the sunscreen!
Monday, June 2, 2008
Olivia's Pick--25 May 2008
The sunshine is here, even if summer doesn't officially begin for a few more weeks. And Olivia can't get enough of just being outside. We spend hours sketching masterpieces, sculpting great works or just blowing bubbles. Before I know it, she'll be ready to ride with the big girls.
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