New York | A Family Vacation

new york is the city that made our family of two grow to a family of three. so, what better place to get our little mister's feet wet on the travel front, then the big apple. we got to bundle up & enjoy the city we called home for a year & a half as a family of three.

 

thursday was rainy & gray. we only hit one museum the entire time we lived in new york & with the rain coming down we thought there wasn't a better way to spend our first day.

 the natural history museum had an incredible butterfly exhibit. live butterflies flying past you & filling every corner of the temperature controlled tent. one finding beckham's napping head, as the perfect place to rest his exhausted wings.

oh how vacations have changed. no longer our we out till the wee hours of the night, enjoying lavish dinners & the city at night. instead, we gladly snuggled our baby boy to sleep & placed him down for the night in his travel bed. we enjoyed a sushi date in. our small new york apartment dining table worked perfectly for our tasty spread.

have a baby in tow? no new york trip is complete without a trip to FAO. beckham's eyes darted around as his senses absorbed all the eye candy that surrounded him. he got to dance (uhmm...crawl) around on the BIG piano. his was in love with watching the bigger kids run past him as the floor below changed colors with every note that was played. the lego statue of liberty was as close as he got to the real one. we promise to take you back, B...when you are bigger. mama & dadda still need a break for the lady trips!

i am slightly obsessed with lobster rolls. well, seafood in general. which is why being pregnant was slightly problematic on the food front because i felt deprived for 9 months. but, i digress. the point of this rambling segment is that this incredible lobster roll place is around the corner from our old apartment & we NEVER knew it. don't worry...we enjoyed the deliciousness that is Luke's twice during our trip.

beckham was incredibly spoiled while we were away. he was constantly given free treats as restaurants we dined at. free mashed potatoes at a diner & free cookies at ferrara bakery. you can tell this short bread cookie made him extremely content. our little mister cut two teeth while we were away, so a cookie seemed like a fitting reward for all his hard work.

jason's brother, todd, made the perfect edition to our family adventure. it was his first time visiting new york & we were glad to enjoy it with him. a must on our to-see list was the 9/11 memorial. the area around ground zero has transformed so much over the past year. the memorial pools are incredible. the designers of this space truly have created a place to honor & celebrate the lives that were lost.

the freedom tower stands tall. the progress they have made on this building is incredible. the frame work is nearly complete, adding a special addition to the NYC skyline.

central park, forever a favorite place for me. it felt weird walking around central park with out our basset hounds in tow. it was a weekend ritual. this visit, we snacked on nuts & pretzels. took pictures & enjoyed the performers that were scattered throughout the park.

we celebrated a birthday. my love turned 34 while we were away. we enjoyed a day exploring the city with todd & treated ourselves to rare. a tasty burger joint that has one of our favorite salads.

some how i ended up back on the top of the empire state building. i kept my fear in check because i don't want to pass my insecurity with heights on to our little man. i must say i think i did pretty well. it was a gorgeous day. clear, sunny & truly spectacular for the 86th floor of this iconic building.

it was a wonderful week. a week that flew by. a week that i wasn't ready to end. it's amazing the perspective you gain when you take yourself out of a situation. being back in new york was incredible. someday we'd love to live in both places. i must say part of my heart stayed in the city that never sleeps. i know soon enough we will be back to soak it all in, once again. until then, i will cherish the memories that we made.