NYC baby!!

If you follow us on Facebook or Instagram, you already know that we were in NYC this past weekend.  When Lindsay moved to New York back in January it didn't take me long to decide that we were going to visit her and Erin.  Erin has been living in NYC ever since she graduated from college and I'd never been there to see her either.  I boldly pronounced that I was going to go to New York this summer to visit them both whether Ryan was going to go with me or not.  That's not to say that Ryan wouldn't have wanted to go see is sister and Lindsay, but he's such a busy guy these days it's hard to say where he will be, and if he could go.  

He instantly said that he waned to go to and that he'd make it work no matter what, so I booked us two tickets and decided that we'd figure the rest out when the time came.  Let me start by saying that I was probably too bold in saying that I was going to go alone.  I don't know how I would have done this trip without him.  He was amazing with Abby (he always is), but he was the official baby schlepper this whole trip.  Whether we were pushing her in a stroller, or wearing her in the Bjorn, he was always the one doing the heavy lifting.  And for that, he is my hero!

We figured that a little bloody would help get us ready for the flight with a baby.  Abby did pretty well on the way there.  When I booked the tickets the best I could get were two seats across the aisle in the back of the plane.  Once we'd gotten through security and were sitting at the gate, I plead my case to the nice attendant about having a baby etc.  She was the sweetest.  She took a look at her computer and said "how about the first row?".  We took it of course!  We were in the first row after First Class which meant that we had tons of leg room.  It was great for Abby because she was not interested in sleeping one bit.  I put her down by our feet and let her entertain herself with the magazine rack for most of the flight.  I just had to keep the paper out of her mouth.  This kid loves her some paper!

She FINALLY fell asleep about 15 minutes before we landed.  Wah...wah.  Oh well, she was good and didn't cry the entire flight.

Once we landed and got our bags, we grabbed a car to Lindsay's house.  She lives right downtown Manhattan.  Just  a few blocks from where the twin towers once stood.  Lindsay was the sweetest and gave up her bed to let Ryan and Abby and I stay in her room.  She took the couch for 4 days and I'm sure she was glad when we finally cleared out and gave her back her space (smile!).

Wednesday night Lindsay had signed up to run in a 5k through Central Park so Ryan decided to pirate the race and run along too.  Erin and Abby and I found a nice grassy area in the park and let Abby out to stretch her legs and play.  Man, was it a great chance to do some people watching!  We saw a guy wearing a Speedo (he really shouldn't have), a guy doing some very complicated yoga, what appeared to be some crazy horrible Boot Camp class, and two guys sleeping in the grass that looked exactly like Matthew McConaughey.

After the race we went back to Lindsay's and had our first taste of NY style pizza.  It was amazing!!

Thursday it was cool and rainy so we thought we'd go to the NBC studio tour since that was an inside activity.  We took a train and a little bit of walking and we were there.  Sadly though, it was booked til 6pm that night so we didn't end up doing it.  Instead we walked over to FAO Schwartz (which, by the way, is owned by Toys R Us...somehow that made it less special to me....oh well) which was on our list to do anyways.  We walked around there and looked at all the fun toys and dolls. Luckily Abby is still too little to really understand and know how to ask for things, so we got off cheap!  We left with a little hedgehog animals that we've named Heidi (or Hilda...not sure yet).  She's cute.

Oh!  And, we did go on the Big piano.  That was really fun.  Abby was too light to push the keys but she had fun following the lights when I stepped on them.  Then Lindsay pulled her across the keys quickly.  She wasn't such a big fan of that one.  Next time :O)

Excuse this crazy blurry picture.  Thursday night we went to a really cool show called Sleep No More.  Lindsay's sister, Sarah, stayed with Abby so the four of us could go out for an adult evening.  We had so much fun.  The show is crazy.  You have to wear these mask, and you can't talk to anyone.  Pictures aren't allowed, so we were lucky to even get this one.  It's really hard to explain so you should probably go check out the website.  But imagine a haunted house type atmosphere with a play going on at the same time.  You essentially walk around this 5 story hotel building.  You can't talk to anyone and you have to wear a mask.  If the characters think you are exploring in a group they will actively break you up.  It's cool...but very different.    Check it out online.  

Friday morning Lindsay had to work so we decided to explore on our own for the morning.  We grabbed NY style bagels (another check on the list) and went to check out the memorial at the World Trade Center.  It was rainy and cool again and Abby was pretty tired so we didn't stick around long.  There was quite a rigmarole to get into the park, including needed "free" tickets from one spot, having the walk 4 blocks to get to the line to get in, going through airport like security all to get inside the park.  It was pretty small actually once we got in, but these fountains were pretty cool.  Along the ledge (you can't see it here) were all the names of the people that had died.  Ryan thinks the second hole there is actually where the old elevator shafts were.  There were two fountains like this, one for each building.

Once Lindsay got off work, we went to this brewery that was pretty close to Lindsay's house.  The beer was good, the food was great too.  Gourmet Grilled Cheese sandwiches...can't go wrong there!

Funny story:  Abby was getting a little rowdy at the restaurant so once our food got there, I gave her one of my pickles and let her have at it.  She was pretty happy for about 3-4 minutes and then she started to fuss.  She was sitting on my lap so I couldn't see but Ry said her nose was running and her eyes were watering.  I asked him to try his pickle and see if it was spicy.  At first he shook his head saying "Nope" but about 2 seconds later he changed his tune.  Poor Abby!  How could I have known that I'd given her a nuclear pickle??

Slow mornings are what vacation is made of!  Of course, with Abby sleeping inches from us in her pack and play, we were up long before we normally would be.  Each morning, she'd pop her little head up over the edge of the crib to see us laying there.  As soon as she saw us open our eyes or move even an inch.she thought it was time to play!  Oh well, at least we got lots of snuggles.

Saturday we were headed home, but not until we did one more day full of NYC.  We went to breakfast with Lindsay at the cutest little restaurant.  While we were there this group of ladies were setting up for a baby shower for one of their friends.  She was having a girl.  It was funny to think back that a year ago, that was us!  

After breakfast we laid Abby down for a quick nap and then we left to travel to Astoria to see Erin's house.  It's so cute and it's crazy that she can fit everything she needs into such a small space but it's beautifully decorated and felt like home!

Of course by the time we finally got to Erin's house we were already running a little late for our next activity, the Cubs/Mets game.  Luckily none of us are huge baseball fans so it was OK that we didn't make it to the game until about the 4th inning.  It worked out perfect.  We had just enough time to see a few plays, eat some yummy stadium food and drink some good, albeit expensive, stadium beers.  Our seats were right in the sun so it didn't take me long to decide that walking around near the food vendors (in the shade) was the place to be with Abby.  She's like a 20 lb hot water bottle sitting on your lap.  Great in the winter, not so great in 90 degree sunshine!

After about the 8th inning Ry, Abby and I left to get back to Erin's and grab our stuff.  See, I told you we were there just long enough to eat and drink to our hearts content!  Our flight left at 7:30 Saturday night so we needed to get our butts to the airport.  Again, the attendant was super sweet to us and gave us an entire row all to ourselves.  The flight was a lot less crowded on the way home which was good because Abby was overly tired at this point and just generally a grump.  She'd done well for getting less sleep than normal for 4 days, but by Saturday she was over it.  We was cranky and wouldn't settle down for the first 45 minutes or so of the flight but then she FINALLY fell asleep and was good the rest of the way home.  We got home around 10pm that night and Abby was so tired that she slept all the way til 9 am the next morning! She's NEVER slept through the night that long....it was amazing!!  I was actually up before her and got some stuff done before I heard her peeping up in her room.

And that, ladies and gents, was our trip to NYC.  This post is a little light on the pictures but we opted to leave the big camera at home and just used our iPhones.  I'm so sad that I forgot to get our monthly family photo while were were there, but there's still my Mom's retirement party this weekend!!

Anybody else tried flying with a baby yet?  It sure is different traveling with a little one.  But, I have to say, we did pretty good.  And Abbers, she was a trooper!