Our NYC Adventure 2012

Dear Em,
Last year you traveled to NYC for the very first time. It was a fun & crazy girls day. I vowed not to take a child in diapers to NYC during the holidays ever again. We weren't really planning to make a trip again this year, but we were missing two of our best friends who live in the city. So, it's become kind of an annual thing (or at lest in the past two years) to take a trip to the big apple, & this year your daddy joined us too.

The weather was calling for rain, & we were bummed out. "Oh no, this is a disaster," you dramatically gasped as you looked out the window & saw the rain drops coming down. Luckily, your Godfather had a great idea: to enjoy the Museum of Natural History. You know, as many times as I've visited the city, I don't think I've gone to a museum. We were excited to visit our friends & explore something new.

We met at a hotel, exchanged gifts, & took pictures in front of the Christmas tree. In New York City, there's beautiful Christmas trees up everywhere during the holidays. It may be crazy crowded, but I love the beautiful holiday decorations throughout the city. While the guys brought our gifts back to the car, you had a blast sitting in every single one of the couches in the hotel lobby. There were A LOT. It really doesn't take much to entertain you.

The streets were even more crowded than I remember from last year. It's not very easy to manuver with a stroller (we learned to have one person from our party walk directly in front of the stroller to help make a stroller path through the crowds), & we were happy to get onto the subway. I think the subway is your favorite part of any city. You make sure to hold on tight, & you make sure we're all holding on tight too.

We went by the Statue of Liberty, at least the one outside of a store. It totally reminded me of your favorite movie, Despicable Me.

After lunch, we headed to the museum. Maybe it's because we were tourists. Maybe it was just an off day, but your daddy & I couldn't figure out the layout of the museum. I'm not sure how many entrances there are, but we kept walking out of them, thinking that we were going into an exhibit. I think it took us 30 minutes at one point just to find an actual exhibit. Luckily, our dear friends came to the rescue, & took us the to dinosaurs. It was the most extensive dinosaur exhibit I've ever been to. Truly amazing.

It was an amazing museum, but it too was crowded. Crowds are hard for you. You don't understand why we have to hold you so close. You want to be free to explore. It also didn't help that you didn't have a nap. There were some frustrating melt downs, but overall it was great. Even though you were exhausted, we had to head to Rockafeller Center. It was crazy crowded, but we managed to get a picture.

Soon after, we found a side street that was not as busy & lined with beautiful lit up trees. We were able to stop & look at the beauty of the area without feeling like we were mashed up against thousands of other people. Of course, it also gave us more photo opportunities.

We ended our trip at the Disney store. I just love walking through Times Square and being in the midst of the lights & the people. I didn't mind that the Disney store is right in the middle of it all. The Disney store was CA-RAZY, but then again it wasn't that bad. It was hectic, yet manageable. Since our Disney trip, you've fallen in love with Minnie Mouse. When we found a Minnie dressed as the Statue of Liberty, it just seemed like the perfect souvenir for you. The line surprisingly didn't take that long to get through, & it cost less than $15. I kinda feel like anything less than $15 is a steal in NYC.

It was a hectic but totally amazing family trip, & we were glad to share it with two of our best friends. Plus, it helped that you were totally potty trained this year. I'm just looking forward to when you're not a disaster because you didn't get a nap.

I love you so,

Mommy