In early October we went to the Palo Alto Children's Museum and Zoo. I used to go there when I was about 5 years old. It's so fun to bring Makena to places that I went as a kid. It's just so fun to bring her anywhere. We could go spend 2 hours at DMV and I'd enjoy it. True story. That actually happened last month after we returned from our trip and I couldn't find my drivers license. I made an appointment to get a replacement at the DMV, and their computer system was down and Makena and I waited in line for almost 2 hours. She had fun entertaining everyone. I tried to not be annoyed that it was taking forever and worrying we'd be late and instead delighted in the fact that Makena can make the most of any situation. She had no idea we were in a grumpy place with angry people and everything was taking much longer than normal. She was eating snacks and reading books and smiling at people and excitedly pointing out the Halloween decorations.
Anyway, only one photo from the museum. Makena on a "tur tur tur tur" statue.
She had this purple and yellow plaid dress hanging up and I kept thinking it was too big for her. I'm glad I spotted it because it was actually too small by the time I tried it on her, so she only wore it this once. We went to the civic center and played like we were in the Mickey Mousekercise episode where Pluto's ball gets stuck in a tree and Mickey tells you to "Hop, hop, hop! Hop hop hop! Now stomp, stomp, stomp! Get down low and pretend you're a cat that's small, and crawl crawl crawl. Now jump up high and touch the sky!" (which is when you jump up and grab the ball, lol.) We hid the ball in a tree and acted it out a bunch of times.
Now, for a huge amount of photos from our TRIP TO NEW YORK!!! My dear friend Bev was getting married, and we were determined to be there. New York is a very special city for both of us. It's where we fell in love, first of all. Some of our greatest moments are from our years spent living there. When we moved away in hopes of settling down and starting our family we assumed we'd go back to visit yearly. To see the latest Broadway shows, eat at our favorite restaurants, catch up with friends. Unfortunately we never settled as well off as we assumed we would. The job/apartment shuffle and never-ending financial stress left no room for cross country getaways. After I donated my eggs and we got married we considered making the trip, but then I decided I wanted to use that money solely on trying for a baby. I'd say it was a smart trade-off. ;)
So when Bev moved to NY to peruse her acting career, I was so excited. We'd finally get back to New York as soon as she landed her Broadway role! Who knew she'd happen to meet her husband on the night she arrived! The wedding invitation came and I just had to be there for her special day. But the cost of plane tickets and hotel and food... it all seemed so far out of our reach. Luckily for us we have some amazing people who swooped in to make this dream trip a reality! We are eternally grateful!!!!
Okay there's the back story. Now about the trip.
I was really anxious about the plane ride, I was so worried about 6 hours of having her on my lap. Airplane seats are small and uncomfortable enough as it is. But add a wiggly toddler on top of you?? I was DREADING IT. I read a million different tips and tricks, and we booked the bulkhead row to give us extra leg room. I made surprise packs for each hour of the flight. A big baggie stuffed with a toy/book/activity/snack. Most things were borrowed, some were items of hers that I'd stashed away a long time ago, and there were a couple little brand new things. And throughout the flight we never once needed any of it. LOL! The toys and books in the diaper bag were enough to keep her happy. And we did break out the DVD player for about an hour of Toy Story. Oh and she napped for about 30 minutes!
The plane landed and we got our luggage then took the air train to the Newark train station then took the New Jersey Transit train to Penn Station in NYC. Then we lugged all our luggage through the station and got on the subway. During rush hour. It was intense. I wasn't going to take a taxi for 2 reasons. The expense, but also because we didn't travel with a car seat and I wasn't willing to take that risk. So the two hours of travel time with a tired toddler were not easy, but Makena was such a trooper. And the Ergo is by far the best thing we brought with us. (And my boobs. The Ergo and my boobs are the most magical things.) Despite all the shuffling around and the raised tension of extremely crowded traveling, it was an exciting day for her with all those modes of transportation and new sights and sounds. We stayed in a hotel in Brooklyn, and there was a great real NY pizza place across the street!
Makena loved the hotel, especially the ice maker in the hallway. And she had so many new toys to play with once I opened up that suitcase of all her airplane distractions. We all loved the huge king sized bed, and continental breakfast!! After we checked in I basically had to change and head back out to attend Bev's bachelorette party in the city. Off I went, and let me tell you, walking around Union Square, past all the stores I used to shop in and sidewalks I traveled over many times... well it was an indescribable feeling. I felt instantly at home, like I never left at all, and the tears welled up in my eyes. Cheesy, yes. But there is definitely a piece of my heart in that magical city!!
I got back to the hotel and we all went to sleep.
We woke up on Friday the 7th and met up with Julie and M at their apartment and then we all went to the Aquarium! Makena was so excited. We'd been talking about the aquarium for weeks!
Time for PIZZA!! Yum. I miss delicious NY pizza.
The next day was Saturday, and we had the whole day free to spend in NY. We started with crossing off something we meant to do while we lived there and never got around to doing... Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge!
Then we hopped on the subway and went to the Lower East Side, our old neighborhood. We put our name on the list at Clinton Street Baking Co. our favorite brunch place with insanely long yet well deserved wait times, and then sat at a park nearby trying to get Makena to nap. She wouldn't sleep, so we let her play at the playground. All that magic I felt from my evening alone in the city? Gone as I watched Makena play in an urban playground. No grass, heavy traffic, suspicious people wandering around... and we were in a pretty nice large park! I reconfirmed how happy I was with our decision to not raise our family in NYC. I think it would be great for older kids though. I was born in New York and I think my family moving to California was one of the best parenting decisions my parents made. My childhood here was awesome, and that's what I wanted for my kids.
As we waited for our table to be ready Makena was about to have a meltdown. She was overdue a nap and hungry and tired and we had to squeeze into the tiny table. I sat her next to me on the booth and she promptly fell out of her booster. She was okay, and hey, we got an AMAZING brownie out of it!! lol. Our meal was fantastic. I wish we could've eaten there every day! We went to look at our old apartment on Allen Street, and wow things have changed so much. There is a Starbucks on the corner! Makena fell asleep as I wore her in the Ergo, but my hip started to hurt so badly that I could barely walk. We got to the subway and headed up to Times Square.
As we exited at Bryant Park we spotted Elmo and Cookie Monster, and Makena woke up just in time! You can't tell in the photo, but she really was happy to see them!
Costumed characters must be a fairly new addition. They were never around 6 years ago when we lived there! We walked down the street and saw Mickey and Minnie up ahead. Makena couldn't believe her eyes, though she was a bit apprehensive when Mickey practically grabbed her out of my arms for the photo.
We went to the Toys R Us and rode the Ferris Wheel. Makena got a huge kick out of the Toy Story car, but we were in the fire truck car. She had fun browsing all the toys but the crowds were too much to handle so we went to the next busiest place... The Disney Store, where there was a little Mickey Mouse Clubhouse filled with all of Makena's favorites!
My mom had sent us with some money for Makena to spend, and she picked out an adorable Mickey stuffed doll with an "I <3 NY" shirt and a Minnie Mouse t-shirt for herself that she changed in to. We stopped in the Times Square Visitors Center, and they had a re-enactment of the New Years Eve countdown ball dropping.
Time for dinner! Back to Union Square for a meal at Chat 'N Chew, another favorite of ours. Man, that macaroni and cheese and those mashed potatoes were just as I remembered!
The next say was Sunday, wedding day! I woke up not feeling very well so Pam took Makena on a walk while I took a bath and then we all got ready. The ceremony was in a church, and we sat at the very back. We had a slew of toys and books and snacks to keep Makena occupied and quiet. All was going well, and the wedding had just started when Makena made a lion noise while looking at a book. Pam tried to hush her, and Makena flipped out and started to cry, so she whisked her away and they spent the rest of the time in the little vestibule behind closed glass paned doors.
Then it was time for the walk to the reception site! My shoes were killllllllling my feet. I had blisters starting so we stopped at Duane Reade and got some blister heel treatments, but that walk was so painful! Luckily it was an absolutely gorgeous day and we had beautiful views of Central Park.
During the party Makena had a complete blast dancing the night away! She couldn't get enough, and it was so cute watching her have so much fun!
After having such a great time, it got late so we had to leave and made the most unbelievably difficult trek back to the hotel. We walked forever to get to the subway, only to have it out of service and walked forever to the next one where our train wasn't running at that time. Oy. What a nightmare!! Pre-baby Pam and I would've hailed a cab ASAP. But darn me and my safety mindedness. ;-) We eventually made it, and promptly passed out in bed.
The next morning we all felt like this:
But while Makena got to lounge around and nurse her post-wedding hangover, Pam and I were busy packing. We checked out of the hotel and headed to Bev's apartment, which she graciously offered us to use during the rest of our trip while she was away in newlywed bliss! In exchange we took care of their pets, but we definitely got the better end of the deal!
We had brunch with a bunch of other wedding guests, then walked around our new temporary neighborhood. The next day, on the 11th, we went to the Central Park Zoo with my aunt and cousins.
And we saw Tango!! The famous penguin who was raised by two daddy penguins!
Afterwards we spent a little time in the playground at Central Park, but Makena hated this slide and cried. :( She was tired and hungry, so we went to lunch then found a Geocache.
We said goodbye to family and went back to Times Square to meet up with Jessie! She gave Makena 2 books and we ate cupcakes and wandered around. Then we headed back uptown and got pizza for dinner. Makena fell asleep on Jessie on the subway. Poor baby was beyond exhausted!!
On Wednesday went to Times Square again to see our friends and play in the M&M store. Look at our adorably scrumptious little M&M's!!
That was our last night in New York. We saw Jessie again, ate more cupcakes, and said goodbye.
Dinner that night was at a friends house near by where we were staying. We walked over and it was sprinkling rain. It was great to catch up with the family of a little girl I babysat when I lived in NY! She's all grown up now, and Makena was just enamored with her! It was so sweet. They gave Makena the cutest book all about New York. We love it!
The next morning it was time to leave New York. Makena helped to walk Max one last time. She was in love with him, and now calls all dogs "Max!" It rained as we left the city. :(
Our long awaited trip was over so quickly. We had such a great time and can't wait to go back. Hopefully Bev lands her Broadway role soon. ;)
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