How was your weekend?
I enjoyed a nice, long hiatus from the blog over the holiday and it was honestly really nice to be free of technology for a few days. For today's Baby Talk Tuesday, I'm talking about some of the fun stuff we did with Penelope last week. P's school was closed for the Easter holiday on Thursday and Friday so I was home with her on Thursday and all of us were home together on Friday. We decided to stay in Jersey City and have some fun around town!
On Thursday, I knew this was my chance to get a lot of shopping and cooking out of the way for upcoming weekend festivities. P and I were up and out of the house early to hit the grocery store. Shaun and I had a lengthy list of items to prepare for the weekend, and Penelope was a champ in the store.
After we shopped til we were about to drop, I decided to stop at the park on the way home. It was just such a gorgeous day and Penelope was so excited to play on the slide and swings. She essentially did a circle of down the slide, up the stairs, down the slide, etc. Each time, she'd look at me and say 'One more time!' It was pretty adorable.
Pure joy. One of my favorite things about urban living is actually the playgrounds. They are mostly spectacular in Jersey City and there's just something about a beautiful park and playground smack in the middle of a city that feels very enchanting to me. It's also a great way to meet up with friends or meet new people. Penelope loves getting to run around and just play and I love watching her.
Eventually, I had to pull her away kicking and screaming, but we went home for a nice lunch and a long nap. My parents came over in the afternoon and we strolled over to Salumeria Ercolano for a very late (2nd) lunch before they headed into New York to see A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder --->they absolutely loved it, in case you are looking for a show to see.
On Friday, we were up bright and early and ready for a day at Liberty Science Center! LSC is a science museum right here in Jersey City. I remember going as a kid and have been really excited to take Penelope once she was old enough. They currently have an exhibit called Sesame Street The Body, which is recommended for ages 2 and up, so I was dying to get Penelope there while it was in town. Not only was I a super Sesame Street kid growing up, but if you recall, I also worked there when I first started my career, and so it has a very, very special place in my heart. I was really pumped to bring Penelope to her first museum exhibit at something close to home, and to see something really special to me.
The exhibit was nothing short of awesome. It was very hands on and perfect for P's age group and even a bit older.
We started at the mini mart, where P must've remembered her grocery shopping adventure (and apparently loved it more than I knew), because she was so into filling her basket with healthy fruits & veggies (fake) and ringing them up at the cash register.
The exhibit was set up into little stations for kids to participate. We visited the cafe counter where Penelope built herself a (wooden) sandwich.
P could measure her feet. Apparently they are about the size of Bert's.
There was a lung and heart station where kids could 'pump' the lungs with air, and 'beat' the heart.
She really loved the digestion station, especially the very end of the cycle ;)
We also dressed up Elmo for various weather conditions. Note she also wore her special Elmo sneakers for the occasion.
There was also a great animal exhibit that she absolutely loved. Turtles, reptiles, monkeys were there to see, and she also enjoyed viewing bugs through the microscope. Do we have a tiny scientist on our hands? That would be a new one for our family...
We had such a fun couple of days just finding fun things to do in Jersey City! It's great that Penelope is getting to an age where we can do these types of things and she loves them. We spent about 2 hours at LSC, which was plenty for her. Even P was ready to head home at this point. If you're in the area, it's open until May 3, so hurry up and get on over there!
What activities do you typically do with your kiddos?
Do you visit playgrounds with your kids? What's their favorite activity?