Give me your tired, your poor...

(I promise you that Mommy didn't put me up to this picture - I volunteered!)

My third trip to New York was fantastic. I saw lots of friends that I didn't remember meeting before, and met lots of new ones. For the most part, we did lots of things we usually do at home: go to the park, see friends, and buy in food. But we did it with a New York flare.

Here are some of the fun things we did:

Bryant Park - I was so excited to ride this cool old French-styled carousel! The carousel manager picked me up and strapped me on a horse. He probably wanted to help Mommy since she was alone with Sebastian in a sling. But I almost cried from it; luckily Mommy showed up quickly by my side. I usually prefer sitting on the bench (I didn't like the horse going up and down at TDL), but I was just so joyful on this carousel ride. Adjacent to the carousel was an open air children's reading room. Although I liked reading the books, I spent more time organizing the kids' tables and chairs by color. We also went to the New York Public Library where the kids' books were in the gift shop (library is research only), so Mommy read them to Sebastian and I while we all sat on the floor. Before that we were at Grand Central Station eating at Oyster Bar. Lots of good people watching, a clock tower, stars on the ceiling, and trains - what more could you want?

Battery Park - I learned about the Statue of Liberty from a friend's globe toy that talked about world famous sites when you touched the globe. And once I learned about it, I couldn't wait to see the real thing because I saw the Liberty face everywhere! So my parents took me to Battery Park hoping that would satisfy me. But I couldn't see her face! So Mommy took me on the Staten Island Ferry, hoping that would suffice. Well, we sailed by it, but I still couldn't really see her face! In the meantime, I got obsessed with getting a styrofoam liberty crown. So after the ferry ride, we returned to Battery Park in search of one to buy. There we saw Liberty Man! (street performer dressed up like Statue of Liberty). So I got to see Liberty's face!!! I beelined up to him so I could dress up like Liberty and take a picture with him. Mommy was laughing too hard inside to mind having to pay the man $5 for it. Before hopping on the 1, we stopped by the playground. I followed around this older boy who challenged me to do all sorts of climbing, much to Mommy's surprise. It was super fun!

Transit Museum - in Brooklyn; I LOVED IT!! I got to "drive" real buses! Wheeee!

Central Park - We walked from our hotel to the playground, then had a picnic with Zoe and her family at Sheep Meadow. We played lots of games on the grass in the hot weather. (The zoo and water park are supposed to be fun, but we didn't make it on this trip.)

Madison Square Park - I played in the playground while waiting for delicious Shake Shack hamburgers and frozen custard

In the middle of all this, we visited Joseph and his parents in Connecticut. Having a little companion, playing with his stash of great toys, and running around his beautiful home were a breath of fresh air on our New York vacation!

See pictures from the trip here.