WIN IT!

On Friday my little man and I took the train up to New York. He was very very very very excited about the train. The commuters in our car were all giggling at his excitement. He waved to people on the platform at every station – and you would be amazed how many people waved back!

Then we were in NYC! We got there a little early, so we decided to head a few blocks north to Times Square before catching a cab up to the event.

After a cab ride that was much too short for Colin’s taste, we arrived to find Cookie Monster waiting to greet us!! We went upstairs to a kid’s paradise! I love Sesame Street: its like every one who works there has channeled their preschool self and knows exactly what preschoolers love! Colin hardly knew where to look first – Balloon animals? Decorate cookies? Color? See Abby? Play with stickers?  Personally, I loved the balloon animals. I’ve never seen  balloon animals like this. Check out how realistic: Cookie must have felt like he was looking in a mirror.

After a yummy lunch, we headed over to watch the “Birthdays” episode of Elmo’s World. The kids were all giggling and singing along – and then… then… ELMO WAS THERE!

I almost died. It was really the REAL Elmo. Colin was literally shaking with excitement. He had a birthday cake (with 3½ candles) and then – we sang. Colin and I sang with Elmo. An old song that I grew up singing along with on Sesame Street – I am now singing along with my son . It was incredible. I love that a huge part of my childhood is now a part of his.

Then, we met Elmo. I was starstruck to meet Kevin Clash. Such a talented man! Colin was chatting with Elmo, Elmo gave him hugs and kisses… I was practically in tears. What a moment. We will never forget it.

We came home with a copy of Elmo’s new DVD, Elmo’s World: Elmo’s Favorite Things. It has eight episodes of Elmo’s World – including the birthday episode we saw at the event and Colin’s favorite episode ever, dinosaurs!!  We’ve already watched it – and by ‘we’ I include my older kids as well. You know, despite being “too big for Sesame Street,” I know that my girls still love it. They sat and enjoyed the DVD, laughing right along with their little brother. And I can tell you that at Busch Gardens this summer, those ‘big girls’ were the ones running to get their picture taken with Big Bird. I think Sesame Street is one of those things that we never outgrow!!

By the way, check out SesameStreet.org – it is an amazing resource for parents! We recently viewed the section about  helping kids deal with grief, who are dealing with the first death of a family member in their memory. I’m so thankful for organizations like Sesame Street who are helping us talk to our kids about subjects that are so hard to explain.

disclosure: we received a gift bag for attending this event, including an elmo’s world dvd.