I wanna' be a part of it... New York, New York!

So Ben and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary back on December 29th.  Our gift to each other was.... a newborn! So we decided to wait for the summer and really do it up big with a trip to NYC.  My parents were kind enough to keep the babies for us while we traveled. 

We left the kids on Monday and drove up to Chicago for the day, since our flight was leaving from O'hare early the next morning.  We stopped at an outlet mall and also went to another Triple D spot called The Shanty.  As always, Guy Fieri hardly disappoints.



Then we went on to our hotel, which was this really fancy Hyatt.  Since we did the Park, Sleep, Fly program, it only cost us $100 and we got to stay in 4 star quality- totally recommend that (thank you for the tip, Mom!)  After relaxing for a bit we decided we should hit up some Chicago deep dish pizza at Gino's. Good stuff...

Yes, I know there are a lot of eating pictures, but other than walk around and sight see- that's pretty much what we did on this vacation :) So anyway, that night about 2 am we got a call that our flight had been cancelled... boo... but through a sort of crazy couple of rather amazing-race like phone calls, talking with agents, etc.  we were able to re-book and get on a flight that arrived only an hour later so it all worked out.  When we arrived in NYC, Ben immediately got us hooked up with a scary limo driver that took us into the city.  Looking back, he totally could have murdered us, but it was fun riding in a limo and he did manage to get us quickly and safely to our hotel, the Hampton Inn in Times Square, off of 39th street- Garment District.  We wasted no time and set off to Chinatown.

Joe's Shaghai dumplings were the best!! We had fun looking at all of the knock-off stuff in Chinatown, and also browsed through Little Italy which is a pretty tiny street now.  We had a lot planned for the day, so we hopped on the subway and ventured down to the Financial district where we checked out Wall street, Tiffany's, NYSE, Federal Hall, and took in the city scape.



Then we headed over to the WTC memorial. All I have to say is that actually being there, at the site of that monumental day in history is just overwhelming.  No words, really to describe it.

We then made out way further south to the seaport and Pier 17.  There are so many beautiful sights to take in in NYC, and this area was by far my favorite.  We wandered around a little bit and decided to make the trek over the Brooklyn Bridge. For me, this was the most fun and memorable part of our trip.  It was breathakingly awesome!!

When we reached Brooklyn, we took the subway back over to Chelsea area and shared dinner at Katz' Deli, which is where they filmed "that" scene from When Harry Met Sally. Of course we split a sandwich so we could save room for delicious dessert(s) at Clinton St. Bakery- ohmygoodness!! Not to be missed! I would have gone back there if we had had more time.  We had many more adventures in store for Day 2 in the Big Apple, so as soon as our head hit the pillows we totally crashed :) It was a long and full day.

Life in Cedarburg

 I love vacationing at my parents' home in Cedarburg because life is always full of simiple pleasures there.  Like these yummy strawberries and blackberries picked fresh off of the vine.

They also have the best little coffee houses and fun little shops to go into.  I just love exploring Main Street and checking out all of the local fare each time I am in town. It never gets old to me.  We made it there just in time for the annual Strawberry Festival.  It is packed with all kinds of fun exhibits, home-made goods, crafts, yummy food, activities for the kids, and interesting people to watch.

We also got to reconnect with my brother and sister-in-law who were in town from the great state of TN.  We never get to spend enough time with them, and Emme and JB loved being able to hang out with Aunt Allison and Uncle Scott.  They always do fun things with them are such fun-loving, adventurous people.  We so loved getting to catch up with them for a bit. I can't wait to meet their little guy, Liam in a couple of months! I can't believe we will have 3 kids between us all now.  They were also sweet enough to lend my parents a hand in helping with our babies when we headed out to celebrate our 10th anniversary in NYC!

Roadtrip!

About 3 weeks ago, we hit the road on a family vacation.  We decided to drive straight through the night and headed up to Wisconsin to visit Grammy & Pappy.  The kids did a great job, and we actually ended up enjoying the driving a lot more than I thought we would!  While the kiddos were sleeping, Ben and I got to catch up and have lots of talking time, which was really fun.  We did make a few pit stops along the way, including a spot that is  Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives location.

While we were there, Ben & I tried the calf-fries- which weren't actually that bad... but totally gross if you think about it for too long!  The restaurant was off of historic Route 66 so it was fun to stop and take a picture.

After about 19.4 hours of traveling, Emme started to feel carsick... I'll let you fill in the rest :)  Luckily we arrived at my parents house about 20 hours into the trip, so it was good timing. They really were excellent little traveleres. My parents took the kids for baths and naps so we could get in a little snooze, and then we headed out to a cute little Drive-in called Wayne's.  Every Thursday night they have a car show and hula hoop contest.  Just one of the many fun "Mayberry" type things that happens regularly in my parents' town of Cedarburg.

7 Months Old

Summer is here and JB is officially 7 months old.  The end of the school year was sort of a whirlwind of activity, and now we've been enjoying a more relaxed pace as a family.  I've just loved this month with my little guy.  Swimming at the pool, playing outside, and just watching him grow and change have kept us all entertained.

A few highlights:

• JB now has 5 teeth.  One on the bottom randomly popped in, and he worked for what seemed like weeks on his two front teeth...
• We are trying more solid foods, but "mommy milk" is still the food of choice.  :)  Green things are very questionable (other than avocado), rice cereal- still "meh", and fruits- well those are probably your best bet if you really want him to eat.  He also seems to like the little mesh thingie that you can stick small pieces of food in- my current go-to is watermelon.
• Grabby, grabby, grabby!! That's the name of the game.  He's also mastered the male "grunt."
• Lately it has taken like 45 minutes to an hour to get him down for bedtime.  I think all the water and sunshine wears him out and he has a hard time staying awake long enough to finish eating, so it takes awhile.  But once he's out we don't hear a peep for about 11-12 hours.
• He's pretty much an expert on scooting backwards and turning in circles.  Occasionally he will get brave and inch a little forward to get a toy. 
• Mommy and sister are still his favorite people...  Dad, and strangers for that matter are also welcome to cuddle and squeeze him any time though- he is kind of a people magnet wherever we go!  And he is the family member most likely to receive an "Awwwwww!" at any given moment.  He's just a handsome, sweet fella, and more fun everyday.

Funny Things Emme's Said Lately:

"No way, Hosanna!" (uh, I think she meant, Jose??)

"Emme, where do watermelons grow?"  Her response, "In the water."

Singing Row Your Boat, "Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream. Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, life is but a dream."

"On my birthday, I'm gonna be six."

6 Month Update

 

I like the sound of 6 months much better than HALF a YEAR! So I will just keep hanging on to my little baby boy in those terms.  This has been such a fun few weeks, I love watching JB grow and start getting more and more busy.  Here are some of the highlights:

• JB was still acting like rice cereal was the most grotesque thing ever after several weeks. He would hack and gag like crazy!  I have to laugh because although he looks like he eats protein shakes, eggs, bacon, and a couple of biscuits for each meal- he really just nurses 4 or 5 times a day.  Anyway, I switched over to single grain oatmeal cereal instead, and he took to it almost instantly.  So now he is eating that usually twice a day (if it fits with our schedule).  Grammy was here last week and she pureed a sweet potato while she was here and he also ate a bit of that for a few days and seemed to like it.  I'm really in no rush, but I plan to start introducing more veggies and fruits over the next few weeks.

• Stats from the Dr. only prove his "he-man"/ Pillsbury dough boy looks... 19.4 lbs and 26 and 3/4 inches. He makes arm rolls look good.
• JB loves to bounce! He would stand up on my legs and just bounce up and down- and try to do the same in the exersaucer.  All of that made me wonder if he would like a jumperoo, and Once Upon a Child happened to have one in awesome condition for only $35 so I figured it was worth it.  Here's the proof of how much he loves this thing- hands down it is his favorite toy...

• I have officially removed the play mat.  I started to feel like it was restricting his movement.  So now he is just hanging out on the floor and will roll back and forth onto his belly to get to toys.  He will also inch forward if you put your hands behind his feet, and he can totally move around in circles by himself.  I thing crawling in some form is not too far away.
• JB can pretty much sit up by himself for a good chunk of time.  Definitely still put the boppy behind him for "safety", but he enjoys it and seems to be getting stronger in that regard. He can sit up in the shopping cart and in high chairs at restaurants with the little seat cover for support. He likes to play with his toys in the seated position, but is also just as happy on his tummy.
• We are officially in the "grabby" stage.  He's becoming quite the busy body and will take whatever you might have in your hands to chew on.
• I think I have noticed him being more responsive to having company.  He lights up when Daddy gets home from work and wants to hug his face.  And of course his sister is just about the best thing in the world to him.  He is a very content little boy, and loves having mama and sissy to play with.  He loves to hear Emme encourage him to bounce, talk, and laugh.  It just brings joy to my heart to see the two of them together.  They are like peas and carrots.

Family Photo Booth

I needed to take a picture of JB for his 6 month update (post to come...), and it turned into a

fun, impromptu family photo booth session.