Today was a really good day...

It seems like we hardly ever venture out of our neighborhood anymore. Everything we need is pretty much at our fingertips or within walking distance at least. Either that or I'm just way too exhausted from carrying laundry and groceries around town. But with Ella's school having a day off, Scott at his 2nd home (Mt. Sinai Hospital) and the beautiful weather, it was the perfect day to just GO somewhere. We had a lineup of activities with a few of Ella's school friends. The plan was a hit, all places visited were within walking distance to one another by coincidence! Hooray.

Central Park Zoo (Eastside and 6oth)

There was popsicle sharing

And Louis, from Ella's class and his mom Janet joined us! (We nickname them Ella Fitzgerald and Louie Armstrong when they are together...his parents are musicians)

The penguins were especially cuddly and lovey today.

But what just melted our little hearts were these monkeys.(I don't even know their proper name.) This baby. Oh this baby. I have never understood a Mommy ever in my life better, than I understood this one. What's that say about me?! She would let her youngin' take two small steps, look at him very nervously and scoop him up. And then 10 seconds later that baby would be squirming out of that mommy's arms, to learn and explore. She would hesitate and then let the babe have a minute, while the mama looked at all of the people watching, probably thinking "If you hurt my baby, I will hurt you." She would hold him down and wipe crust out of his eyes, or pick the bugs out of his hair...while he fought it. My favorite was when she got to the point that she was just tired of this little toddler wanting to be put DOWN! So she would scoop him up and nurse him to distract him, so she could at least sit on her rock without feeling like he was going to fall off or be taken away! We love watching any kind of mom with their babies! I'm guilty of nursing my girls to keep them from making noise or just being too tired to chase them around, just like an animal does!!

This Sea Lion Exhibit is the real one, that is characterized in Madagascar and several other movies, I think! Love this Zoo. It's small, it's clean, it has fabulous animals, reptiles and birds and now we live so close to it! So worth the scenic bus ride.

Next we headed to this art exhibit that I'd been really wanting to go to. We met our good friends, Rebecca, Madeline and Lillian. Look at Park Ave. Armory's Website for real pictures. Mine won't do their's justice. GO if you live here in the city...especially if you have kids. You see, touch, jump, lay, smell... It ends June 14th. My kids wouldn't leave, we all wanted to live there.

I love feeling like a child again.
Getting their OM on in the Lavender Room.

We stopped for a slice quickly before we finished the evening off by attending one of their classmates Piano Recital, where Ella hooped and hollered after every piece played on the Steinway Piano. Oh the "Joy" that child was blessed with. It was a ritzy joint.
Sitting pretty on someone's steps, waiting for the M66 Bus to get us back to the Westside!