The Children's Museum of Manhattan

On the first Friday of every month, the Children's Museum of Manhattan has free admission from 5 to 8 pm. As we had never been and Andy was due for a fun outing (and after some rather duplicitous "convincing" on the part of Julie*), Julie and I strapped Andy into the car seat and drove to the Upper West Side to meet some friends and see what this museum was all about. Miraculously, we were able to find some free parking on Central Park West, and walked a few blocks to our destination. I must say that Julie knows our son and his likes; as soon as we were through the doors he was frantically running back and forth between exhibits, stopping for a few seconds at each one before running to the next, only to return to his previous visits. Just watching him tired me out! He had a great time, though, and coupled with seeing his friends Bryn, Brody, and Eliza, as well as a hamburger, fries, and vanilla shake on the way back to the car, it made for a fantastic time. I must admit that I had a good time too. There's just something about the pure excitement of a two year old that brings a smile to my face.

You can tell he's 1/2 Idahoan. As soon as he saw this cow all he wanted to do was ride it!

After riding for a bit, he moved on to milking. The cow "mooed" when you pulled on its udder. His Grammie would be so proud!

This whiteboard glowed when written on with a light pen. I want one at home!

The highlight of the visit for Andy was this firetruck. He patiently waited his turn to drive, shared the fireman's helmet with other children, and ran in and out more times than I can count. Here he is checking out the interior flashing light. Absolutely fascinated.

Waving and sharing the excitement as he waited his turn to drive. Julie and I were pretty proud of him; he didn't fight or push once.

Finally in the driver's seat! It was impossible to get a non-blurry picture; he was constantly moving.

Another favorite was this MTA bus. Personally, I think he drives just as well as the real MTA drivers!

Anyone for a dragon ride? After I took this picture, he tried to get me to ride it as well. He was a bit disappointed when I said I was too big.

Andy's favorite cartoon character. He actually tried to pull Dora off the wall and take her home with us.

*For those of our readers wondering exactly what Julie's duplicitous convincing entailed, I shall remain silent, except to say that it involved copious amounts of guilt and protestations that other husbands were going. I also discovered that other wives used this tactic with their husbands that evening! In the end, the wives were right and we had a good time, but the question remains: do the ends justify the means?