Welcome to The Nassau Dad Drop, the free weekly guide to Nassau County family life - written by a dad who got tired of missing stuff.
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🧔🏽♂️ Dad Thoughts: You Forget
My daughter turns 2-months old today 👶🏼. What they say is true - eventually you forget what having a newborn is like. And now you’re wondering, “Yeah…what WAS that like?” Let me help you:
Burping: Remember this nonsense? After every feed. Hold them upright. Pat them. Not so hard! Try rocking them around. Has it been 5 minutes or 50?
Diapers: Bye bye money but also make sure to change out of that nice t-shirt. Would be a real shame if she peed everywhere while getting changed.
The first smiles: What’s more meaningful at this age? It’s the only positive emotion she can show and you bet I’m chasing that every minute she’s not crying. 🙃
Burping: She’s awake again; needed a fourth burp.
All the sh*t: Leaving the house with a toddler, once they’ve got their shoes on, is infinitely easier than trying to leave with a newborn. It’s not their fault; everybody knows you need a backup white noise machine in case your original white noise machine dies and you’re using your cell phone to doom scroll IG reels wondering why the algorithm thinks you’re a big Hilary Duff fan.
Once you’re where you need to be, however, newborns are the easiest. They just lie there. And have no opinions on what music to listen to for the fifth time. I credit my wife for pushing me to travel with our first as soon as we could and, if you’re hesitant to do so, let this be a sign. Go.
Formula: Smells so gross. What is in this stuff. I’ve never tried it. Refuse to. Smells worse than left over whey protein shakes.
Sleeping: When she does finally drift off into her slumber, she’s usually weightless on me. And it’s then that I feel most like her dad. Holding and protecting her. Makes me feel like a superhero.
Burping: Haha, I hate myself. Brb.
🚗 FAMILY FUN FIELD TRIPS
Dad-approved outings.
Long Island Ducks ⚾ Three nights of Atlantic League baseball at Fairfield Properties Ballpark. Real pro ball, free parking, a Kids Fun Zone behind the outfield to burn off the late innings. Pick your night - Tuesday's the home opener, Wednesday's Waddle In Wednesday (team-shop voucher promo), Thursday's Thirsty Thursday.
💰 Seats from $18 | Free parking
📅 Tue May 26, Wed May 27, Thu May 28 | First pitch 6:35 PM (gates 5:35 PM)
🔗 liducks.com
Sean Kenney's Nature Connects: Made with LEGO Bricks 🧱 17 life-size sculptures made with over 300,000 LEGO bricks, displayed along two miles of trail at Old Westbury Gardens. Foxes, butterflies, flowers - all tucked along garden paths so the kids basically run a built-in scavenger hunt.
💰 Included with admission: $22 adult | $12 ages 7-17 | FREE under 6
📅 Open daily except Tuesdays through Sept 7. | 10 AM - 6 PM
🔗 oldwestburygardens.org
Massapequa Philharmonic 🎻 The InsideOut concert (not the Pixar film) puts you and the kids literally inside the orchestra - seated among the musicians. Great pick for curious kids who never sat through a concert before. Seating is limited (you're sitting where the violinists usually sit), so grab tickets early.
💰 Tickets start at $68
📅 Sat May 30 | 1 PM
🔗 tillescenter.org
Hempstead House Tours at Sands Point Preserve 🏰 Walk through the massive 50,000-square-foot Tudor-style mansion. Tickets sold day-of only at Castle Gould Welcome Center, so arrive early.
💰 Tour admission (purchase day-of in Welcome Center)
📅 Sun May 31 | Tours at 12:00 PM and 1:30 PM
🔗 sandspointpreserveconservancy.org
🇺🇸 Memorial Day Weekend
It’s here: the unofficial start of summer!
Levittown, Merrick, and Westbury Carnivals 🎢 Dreamland's Long Island carnival tour rolls right back into Nassau the week after Hicksville wraps.
Levittown - behind P.C. Richard & Son, Merrick - LIRR Station, Westbury - Samanea Mall by Dave & Buster’s.
💰 Free admission, paid rides (~$42 wristbands on-site)
📅 Thu May 21 - Sun May 25
🔗 dreamlandamusements.com
Jones Beach Revolutionary War Village - America250 Kickoff 🇺🇸 Memorial Day weekend kickoff at Field 3½: reenactors playing George Washington, Ben Franklin, and the four NY signers of the Declaration. Plus Revolutionary War encampments, fife and drum band, colonial cooking demos, inflatable play areas for the little ones, and a patriotic drone show.
💰 Free ($10 parking fee)
📅 Sat May 23
🔗 parks.ny.gov
Nassau Memorial Day Parades 🇺🇸 Just about every Nassau town honors the day with a Monday morning parade and ceremony. Show up, pay respects, let the kids see what Memorial Day is actually about. Quick rundown of some of the Nassau parades with confirmed step-off times:
Bethpage 10:00 AM | JFK Middle School to LIRR parking lot
East Meadow 10:00 AM | East Meadow HS to Veterans Memorial Park
Hicksville 9:00 AM | Barclay Street at Bay Avenue
Levittown 10:00 AM | Steps off Island Trees Middle School
Long Beach 10:00 AM | Ohio Ave/W. Beech St to City Hall
Massapequa Park 10:00 AM | Broadway and Commonwealth Ave to Brady Park
Mineola 11:00 AM | Union Street and Westbury Avenue
Syosset 10:00 AM | Jackson Avenue, Between Dawes Ave. and Underhill Blvd.
Wantagh 10:00 AM | Wantagh Avenue and Beltagh Avenue
✏️ PENCIL IT IN
Future you will be glad you read this.
SUMMERFEST at Baiting Hollow Farm Vineyard 🎶 A high-energy summer kickoff from We Are Live - DJs, vendors, games, and a portion of proceeds going to Tunnel to Towers. Use promo code: NASSAUDADDROP for $5 off your ticket!
💰 Tickets from $24 with $5 off code NASSAUDADDROP
📅 Sat June 27 | 12 PM - 7 PM
🔗 posh.vip/e/summerfest
FourLeaf Air Show and Fireworks at Jones Beach ✈️ The U.S. Navy Blue Angels are joined by the Royal Air Force Red Arrows (performing at the FourLeaf Air Show for the very first time) and the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team.
💰 $10 vehicle use fee | Chalet upgrades available
📅 Sun July 5 - Mon July 6
🔗 fourleafairshow.com
🔥 Worth the Scroll
The good stuff buried in the feed.
Niam got the game ball at tee-ball yesterday ⚾ so in honor of my star athlete, here's the gear that (apparently) gets the job done:
Franklin Teeball Bat 🏏 Lightweight, the right size for little hands, and durable enough to survive a 4-year-old's swing mechanics.
🔗 amzn.to/4fw15Nl (affiliate link)
Baseball Cleats 👟 Because nothing says "I'm serious about this" like a 4-year-old in real cleats. He also uses these for soccer!
🔗 amzn.to/4wNggIu (affiliate link)
LI Athletic Supply 🏟️ Where Niam's jersey and full uniform came from - our league uses them and yours should too. Worth bookmarking once your kid is in any local league.
🔗 liathletic.com
Two Things:
Forward this to Nassau County parents you think would appreciate it.
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See you next Thursday,
Akash