Madison Square Park

Madison Square Park is one of my favorite in the city and has a number of events for kids throughout the year, as well as an outstanding playground. The Moira Ann Smith Playground at Madison Square Park has a circus theme and appeals to a wide age range. The waterwheel and alphabet block sprinklers were quite popular this Memorial Day weekend. During the summer, the park has Arts and Crafts in the playground on Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10am-12:30pm and 2pm-4:30pm. The park also has a kids concert series running from June through August on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 10:30am. To view the schedule, click here.

Food Recommendations -

The original Shake Shack is housed in Madison Square Park and is a convenient and delicious pick for burgers, hot dogs, fries, and frozen custard.

Blue Smoke, another great Danny Meyer restaurant is located at 116 East 27th Street (between Park and Lexington) and an extremely kid-friendly restaurant. Upon arrival, children are presented with Wikki Stix and a pig shaped cookie to decorate with sprinkles (the cooked cookie is given at the end of the meal). They also have a pretty large kids menu.

The New York Baby Show

Who knew there was a baby show in New York? On Sunday we headed down to Pier 92 to investigate. The show featured a number of speakers, classes, stroller cleaning and tune-ups, a stroller test drive area, Clifford the Big Red Dog, a toddler play area (with toys provided by Tinker Tree, www.underthetinkertree.com) and lots of exhibitors with great new products.

The 2013 Baby Show will be held at Pier 92 on May 18 and 19.

Below I have listed a few of my favorite exhibitors and products:

Stroller Spa - http://www.strollerspa.com/.  Provides stroller cleaning, tune-ups and repairs, as well as stroller rentals.  After the free cleaning and tune-up at the Baby Show, it feels like a new stroller!

Wexy - http://www.wexybags.com/ - Monster snack bags that are biodegradable, BPA free, and made in the USA. Check them out on Amazon.

Sensible Sitters - http://www.sensiblesitters.com/ - Provides babysitting services. Locations include New York, Brooklyn, Hamptons, Los Angeles, Palm Beach, San Francisco, and Atlanta.

Bitsy's Brainfood - http://www.bitsysbrainfood.com/ - Alphabet snack crackers packed with nutrients. They come in four flavors - Lemon Broccoli, Sweet Potato Oatmeal Raisin, Orange Chocolate Beet, and Zucchini Gingerbread Carrot. They are a great source of Omega-3 DHA, Vitamin A, Folic Acid, Calcium, and Iron. The company also has an interactive website for kids. These were a big hit in my house!

NurturMe - http://www.nurturme.com/ - Packaged organic fruits and vegetables for infants and toddlers. Available in six flavors: crisp apple, scrumptious squash, hearty sweet potatoes, sweet bananas, plump peas, and crunchy carrots. These can be added to milk or water to introduce fruit and vegetables to your infant, or added to other foods to add a nutritional boost for a toddler.

Basic Grey - http://www.basicgrey.com/ - Designs iron-on ties and collars in a variety of fun patterns for onesies and shirts. They also have a line of whimsical swaddling cloths.






Mabel's Labels - http://www.mabelslabels.com/ - Customizable labels that allow you to choose your color palette and icon for baby labels, allergy labels, clothing and iron-on labels. The labels are dishwasher safe and machine washable.

Storytime at FAO Schwarz

This weekend we went to storytime at FAO Schwarz. This has to be one of the best kept secrets in NYC as it is never very crowded! All of the books read are Barefoot Books. Around 4-5 books are read and they lead the children in song between each. This is held on the second floor and the elevator can be accessed by the side door on 58th Street. During the week, there is an 11am and 3pm storytime and on the weekend they have an additional one at 1pm.

Afterwards, a quick detour to the big piano from "Big" down the hall will be in order!

Food Recommendation - In the summer, Rouge Tomate operates a very tasty food cart on 64th Street and Fifth Avenue.

Welcome To Mom About The City

As a native New Yorker, I love my city and try to take advantage of all that the city has to offer.   I have a eight year old daughter.  We spend lots of time traveling around the city and sometimes to other destinations visiting museums, playgrounds, playspaces, and more. I often share these experiences with my friends and thought this would be a great way to share them with a wider audience.