Animal adventures

We had a weekend filled with friends furry, feathered and frisky. Mommy and Mason spent Saturday at one of our favorite spots, the Bronx Zoo, and then we followed that up with a Sunday at a National Geographic Family Day at Chelsea Piers.

At the zoo, we got our first peek at Moxie, the lion cub. He's the smallish one lying in the back.



And played at the new park put up near the giraffe exhibit by Tiki Barber -- who was in attendance, though Mason couldn't have cared less (like the good Cowboys fan his Dad-O is raising him to be).



We also got a look at some of Macey's other favorites, including the zebras. This trip, the kiddo was WAY into hearing all the info that the signs at each exhibit provided. It was really cute.



After an ice cream break, we headed to the children's zoo to feed the sheep, goats and all their friends and to climb the spider web. Mason climbed way above Mommy's head, but got blocked in, so I had to give him a hand getting down!

Sunday, we hit Chelsea Piers for the Nat Geo day. First, Mason was obsessed with playing in the airplane, but he perked up and got a bit more adventurous after lunch, working with Dad-O to unearth some dinosaur bones in a plaster cast.



Then, he got REALLY up close and personal with some exotic animal friends. He got to touch a boa constrictor, another snake, and a chinchilla.





We also saw a tree frog, iguana and alligator, but didn't get to touch those.






I thought it was cool when the handler demonstrated the tree frog's sticking ability by placing him on a nearby window.



All in all, we had a great time and left with a bag full of freebies, including some cool, new blocks.

Opening Day

With (the new and old!) Yankee Stadium nearly in the shadow of our apartment building, it seems we're raising a budding Yankees' fan. Here's the view we see coming down the hill on 155th Street from the subway, and looking directly across the river into the Bronx.



On the left is the new Yankee Stadium. On the right, the House that Ruth Built. In the middle of the foreground is one of the Polo Grounds Towers -- a housing project built on the site where the old Giants' digs once stood.

And here is the budding Yankees' fan as he headed off to daycare the day the new stadium was christened, thanks to Mommy's friend and Yankees' fan extraordinare, Nicki, who outfitted him with a CC Sabathia jersey for the occasion. He thrilled subway riders in the evening (many of whom were coming home from the Yankees-Indians' game) by telling them he PLAYED for the Yankees and referring to the Indians as the "girls" team. Too funny...

Let's Go *Ankees!*

For those of you who don't know, or haven't had the pleasure of visiting us, our apartment is just across the river from the South Bronx, and thus Yankee Stadium. If you walk three blocks up, to the corner, you can see the Stadium in all it's glory, so Mason has become well-acquainted with it, and will point out Yankee Stadium when we come home from the subway, or head to the park. So, imagine his joy when he was told we were actually going to go to Yankee Stadium. He's been before, but not in a year, and the last time we were there, he spent most of the game bundled close to Mommy, and napping on her chest.

After Dad-O called to tell us he'd snagged some free tickets to the Yankees-Tigers game, Mommy gathered Mason (and bundled him up ... it always seems to be cold when we go) and we made the trek across the bridge to the Stadium to meet Dad-O.

Unfortunately, the Yankees lost ... or should I say *Ankees* as that is what Mason kept referring to the team as. Curious that he can say *Yankee Stadium* but on this night -- and the following day -- he could only talk about watching the *Ankees* play. At one point, he looks toward the scoreboard and proclaims "Oh no, mama! The Ankees are wooooosing!" They were, they did 6-2 but the night was a memorable one.

As this is the final season at the Stadium, we thought we better commemorate the moment, and had the friendly couple behind us snap this photo, just in case we don't get an opportunity (read: free tickets) to go again.



Another highlight: spending the whole walk there, and much of the game singing "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" with him, only to have him proclaim that he didn't like the song, and would we please stop singing -- smack dab in the middle of the seventh-inning stretch. He recovered, however, to serenade Melissa with the song the following morning at daycare and has been singing it ever since.