We had a lot to do! Hang out with our family. Visit the
aquarium for Eko’s birthday. And meet up with our long-time Argentinian friend, Martin
who was visiting the United States for the first time. 
We didn’t get to see our many
NYC friends and their many babies, but the trip went so well that we know we’ll
be back to visit before winter sets in.
We didn’t get to see our many
NYC friends and their many babies, but the trip went so well that we know we’ll
be back to visit before winter sets in.
Nick and Gabe, Eko’s 6-year-old cousins, have a blast
every time they’re with him. The big boys are doting and sweet, crawling all
over the floor after him and reading him stories. 
Eko watched their football
practice, but was probably more excited by the constant stream of airplanes
taking off nearby and the bats that circled the stadium lights. It was so good
to have a lot of time to just loll around with our family and watch the kids
play.
Eko watched their football
practice, but was probably more excited by the constant stream of airplanes
taking off nearby and the bats that circled the stadium lights. It was so good
to have a lot of time to just loll around with our family and watch the kids
play.
Rather than celebrate birthdays with cake and gifts, our
birthdays focus on new experiences. For Eko's first birthday, we took him to the
New York Aquarium. We all ooh’ed and ahh’ed at the beautiful fish, sting rays,
seahorses, and funny little penguins, but the best attraction by far was the
fur seals. They could be observed from above or below the water. 
The
two seals seemed to enjoy interacting with the people, swimming and spinning in
a graceful arc right up to the glass in front of us, then swooping away. To our
joy, they did this over and over, their whiskery noses brushing the glass in
front of our faces. We were just as awed as Eko.
We were a little worried about how Eko would handle napping on the go—it takes a lot for him to give in to sleep.
He managed to stay awake
for six-and-a-half hours, his longest yet, but instead of getting cranky,
he became ridiculous and goofy. He nearly nodded off under the aquarium's wave simulator, and
finally passed out in the car on our way to Flushing Meadow Park, his half-chewed
pizza crust dangling from his mouth.
Few tourists head right for Flushing Meadows-Corona
Park in Queens, but it’s a special place for us with a lot of history. Eko had
a great time crawling around in the pool that surrounds the giant Unisphere,
which had its fountains spraying water straight up into the air. Next we showed
him the site of his daddy's first job, Queens Theatre in the Park. But what
motivated us to visit the park was the panorama model of New York City on
permanent display at the Queens Museum of Art. Sadly, Martin had missed his
flight and wasn’t able to meet us here, so we met Imani in the huge hall where the scale model resides. 
(Imani told me that working on that model was his new dream job!) We walked up the sloping glass ramp that circled the exhibit trying to find familiar
places. Eko enjoyed hearing how the hall amplified his manic, over-tired
giggle. Afterward, we went by Jay’s old neighborhood in Jackson Heights and
finished our day at a great Indian restaurant where the lassi came in tall
fluted glasses and the saag was so spicy it made Jade cry.
The next day we took the Staten Island ferry, another
favorite, past the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island to lower Manhattan. Eko
was wide-eyed on his first ride in the subway, but promptly nodded off. He
slept for the whole noisy half-hour ride uptown to the Museum of Natural
History. We were so happy to finally meet Martin outside, and the
three-and-a-half of us strolled the museum's halls, past the elephants
stampeding through the Hall of African Mammals, 
around the Tyrannosaurus Rex
poised ready to bite, and under the big blue whale suspended above our heads as
if it was swimming through the air.
Afterward, we walked downtown through Central Park, exiting at 59th Street, only a block away from one of the sites Martin wanted to visit—F.A.O. Swartz.
Inside this immense toy store, we had the Muppet Workshop build our boy
his very own whatnot (a Muppet extra), which we named Boobert. We finished our
big day in the city with Eko finally crashing on Jade for an hour in the middle
of Times Square (relaxing, right?). He got half the naps he should have for the
day, but our little guy was all smiles and giggles... until we attempted to put
him to bed... then it was all manic...
The next day, after a few last hours with Jay's family,
Martin met us at the ferry and we surprised him with a stop at the Unisphere, dramatically lit in the dark. On the late drive back to New Hampshire, he
summed up a century of Argentinian politics for us. We had a lot of fun
introducing Martin to sites and experiences he wouldn't have had otherwise and
Eko rapidly befriended him in his sweet way. I think it's pretty safe to say
that Eko will be visiting Argentina at some point in his youth...
The
two seals seemed to enjoy interacting with the people, swimming and spinning in
a graceful arc right up to the glass in front of us, then swooping away. To our
joy, they did this over and over, their whiskery noses brushing the glass in
front of our faces. We were just as awed as Eko.We were a little worried about how Eko would handle napping on the go—it takes a lot for him to give in to sleep.
He managed to stay awake
for six-and-a-half hours, his longest yet, but instead of getting cranky,
he became ridiculous and goofy. He nearly nodded off under the aquarium's wave simulator, and
finally passed out in the car on our way to Flushing Meadow Park, his half-chewed
pizza crust dangling from his mouth.
Few tourists head right for Flushing Meadows-Corona
Park in Queens, but it’s a special place for us with a lot of history. Eko had
a great time crawling around in the pool that surrounds the giant Unisphere,
which had its fountains spraying water straight up into the air. Next we showed
him the site of his daddy's first job, Queens Theatre in the Park. But what
motivated us to visit the park was the panorama model of New York City on
permanent display at the Queens Museum of Art. Sadly, Martin had missed his
flight and wasn’t able to meet us here, so we met Imani in the huge hall where the scale model resides. 
(Imani told me that working on that model was his new dream job!) We walked up the sloping glass ramp that circled the exhibit trying to find familiar
places. Eko enjoyed hearing how the hall amplified his manic, over-tired
giggle. Afterward, we went by Jay’s old neighborhood in Jackson Heights and
finished our day at a great Indian restaurant where the lassi came in tall
fluted glasses and the saag was so spicy it made Jade cry.
The next day we took the Staten Island ferry, another
favorite, past the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island to lower Manhattan. Eko
was wide-eyed on his first ride in the subway, but promptly nodded off. He
slept for the whole noisy half-hour ride uptown to the Museum of Natural
History. We were so happy to finally meet Martin outside, and the
three-and-a-half of us strolled the museum's halls, past the elephants
stampeding through the Hall of African Mammals, 
around the Tyrannosaurus Rex
poised ready to bite, and under the big blue whale suspended above our heads as
if it was swimming through the air.Afterward, we walked downtown through Central Park, exiting at 59th Street, only a block away from one of the sites Martin wanted to visit—F.A.O. Swartz.
Inside this immense toy store, we had the Muppet Workshop build our boy
his very own whatnot (a Muppet extra), which we named Boobert. We finished our
big day in the city with Eko finally crashing on Jade for an hour in the middle
of Times Square (relaxing, right?). He got half the naps he should have for the
day, but our little guy was all smiles and giggles... until we attempted to put
him to bed... then it was all manic...
The next day, after a few last hours with Jay's family,
Martin met us at the ferry and we surprised him with a stop at the Unisphere, dramatically lit in the dark. On the late drive back to New Hampshire, he
summed up a century of Argentinian politics for us. We had a lot of fun
introducing Martin to sites and experiences he wouldn't have had otherwise and
Eko rapidly befriended him in his sweet way. I think it's pretty safe to say
that Eko will be visiting Argentina at some point in his youth...
Happy Birthday little man.
