Three cheers for Three-year-olds!

2: Cool for School went on its first outing of the Spring season this morning. It may have been cool in the shade, but the sunny haven of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden was the perfect place to soak up some vitamin D and burn up some pre-nap energy! As the garden's stewards made way for the crowds at 10:00 this morning, half of Brooklyn's schools seemed just as inspired by the weather as our Explorers were, as tot after tot lined up to see that a tree really does grow in Brooklyn after all!
Mia, Thelonius, Kiera, Jackson, Tommy, Anderson, Noon and Gaia provide entertainment and friendship enough for their own group, but as luck would have it, they bumped into yet another friend at the first fountain of the morning. Little Phillip, who frequent sour playspace in Prospect Heights, with mom Jill, was running around the fountain himself, and has grown so tall in the past few months that Amy almost didn't recognize him when he approached the group to join in their fun! Out of the biting stage, but still very much in the too-cute-for-words stage, a visit with Phillip was a welcome distraction from trying to dip little hands and feet in the fountain. Welcomed by Yamileth and Amy, in any case!
After peering at the giant goldfish in the garden's many ponds, walking through the rose garden and taking a voyeuristic peek at the building going on at the work-in-progress that is the new herb garden, it was time for a trip to the Visitors' Center. Amy may not have allowed the crew to splash in the garden's fountains and ponds, but she kept an open mind when it came tie for messy slurping from the center's water fountain. After all, following two hours of walking amongst the blooms the need for slurping was high indeed!
Spring is a time for growth, and although the plants of our wonderful city do indeed seem to be sprouting all around us, an even more exciting growth milestone has hit one of our very own Explorers: On Wednesday, while his peers were spending tie with play-dough and freeze dance, Tommy was ushering in 3! While we missed celebrating with him on Wednesday, many of the Explorers will be on hand for his home birthday party tomorrow afternoon. Happy Birthday, Little T! We wish you all of the happiness that comes with being three!