St. Patrick's Day in NY

We went into NY this weekend to meet up with my parents to celebrate my dad's birthday.  Joe and I got to spend lots of time with my parents and had a wonderful time Saturday afternoon and evening, including an Afghan restaurant for dinner and seeing a hilarious show. 

Nicholas spent Saturday morning at the Natural History Museum with 3 of his 4 grandparents and an uncle.  When we first got there he was amazed by the dinosaur skeletons in the lobby.  And for the first 45 minutes he just loved seeing all the skeletons and stuffed animals.  And then we got to a section with video screens in exhibits, he started to go manic from being up way too late, and the skeletons lost his attention.

From 2013 March

We also went in the butterfly exhibit while we were there, which is an enclosed room where the butterflies fly around freely.  Nicholas' reaction was so typical for him.  He really wanted to go and he thought seeing the butterflies was cool, but he was freaked out by having them so close and free.  He clung to me for dear life the entire time.  I was fascinated watching the butterflies drink, but he was freaked out by it.  To be fair, the thing they stick into the flowers does actually look like a sharp needle and Nicholas was not convinced by my explanation that it was a straw, not a weapon.

He had a great time with Joe's parents Saturday evening and with my parents Sunday morning, but I have no pictures of those things, so moving on . . .

Sunday afternoon Grandma Claire came over for corned beef and cabbage before we got back in the car and she and Nicholas had a blast!

She taught him to play war, which they did for a really long time.

From 2013 March

And then she began to teach him Chopsticks.

From 2013 March

He gave up before very long, but they still had fun.

From 2013 March