New York!!!

I have been procrastinating this post because I know it will be a long one, but I don't want to forget any part of this trip... so here it goes.

We left Edmonton on a 730am flight and since we needed to be there 2 hours early for a international flight, plus 45 minutes to drive to the airport, plus some time to get the last few things together meant getting up at 3am!!! insane.

The first flight to Toronto was great, although I didn't exactly remember how terrible landing was... I survived... but from Toronto to New York was only an hour and a half and I felt SO sick the whole time ( I blame it on the pizza we stuffed down 2 minutes before boarding) anyways you may guess where this is headed... but I puked 3 times on the plane... in the puke bag. It was TERRIBLE.

When we got to New York though I was ready to start the adventure. We had pre-arranged transportation from the airport and even had a nice taxi driver with a little "FIXSEN" sign awaiting our arrival. The only thing that was an adjustment right away was the tipping. Everyone was SO willing to help, but wouldn't let the tip go... they were so forward saying things like "so I'm finished with your bags..." hint hint... what was the most insane was that the norm is to tip 1 dollar per bag... we had about 11 bags with us with stroller and stuff... so to tip 11 dollars for the doorman to bring the bags from the curb, and then ANOTHER bellman to bring them from the lobby to our rooms... it was immediately looking like it was going to be an expensive trip.

We headed out right away which is where the photos begin...

This above is the Ferris wheel INSIDE Toys R Us in Times Square. My niece IF came on the trip with us and she had her own list of important things to do and see in New York... this was one of them. We started off our trip on the right foot finding toys and souvenirs for the kids back home as soon as we arrived in New York.
My sweet niece IF enjoying a New York delicacy Pretzels from the street vendors.
First night at the Empire State building. 85 floors up makes for a pretty incredible 360* view of New York city. The top photo was looking down on the traffic below. The lower photo shows a great shot of Times Square... can you see all the lights shining. It was alot of lines... line to pay, line for the first elevator, second elevator, to see over the edge, to get down both elevators again. It total we were on the top for maybe 15=20 minutes but it was worth it. One of those things you just need to see.

This picture was at the Met. Figure 5 in Gold it was called. One of IF's favorites. HF, IF and I took a short guided tour of some of the items found in the Met. It was insane the amount of things you don't even notice in the art until you hear from the experts. I found the tour much more rewarding than just wandering around myself... I felt as though the pictures were esthetically pleasing, but there is just so much more to each one. I have always wondered though... who decides the symbolism, or what the artist meant by "this" brushstroke? Alot of the art is so old, there must have been someone deciding what meant what... that wasn't necessarily the artist. Any thoughts?
The outside of the MET. JF met a few employees of this museum who had worked there for over 14 years and still hadn't seen everything. You cannot even imagine how HUGE this place was. HF and I needed a GPS to find our way out :)
Wednesday night on our way out to WICKED. It was just the most amazing show. Highly recommend it!!!
Back late from Wicked... HF and I had a room service party. It was the first time I had ever had room service. It was delicious... and just way too much fun.
HF and I took a scary trip to China town... We had heard about these little shops that sold these incredible knock offs... so we had each promised some baggage to people back home so made our own special trip.... luckily (I would have felt guilty my entire life if we had put those two sweet kids in any danger while we were away)

Here's the story... we get off the train and are on the correct street "canal street" and are immediately bombarded by these little Asian ladies standing on the street who whisper the brands of bag they have available. We initially get whisked into this tiny closet of a back room where there are all these coach bags hanging from the ceiling we each buy a bag and are sent back to the street with our black bags carrying our "goods". Every step we are asked about our bag needs. The next lady who catches our attention has a cell phone walkie talkie that she is using to tell someone else about our eminent arrival... we follow this lady about a block then through a back doorway, up a tight steep set of stairs to this stuffy upstairs loft with another large selection of beautiful bags. HF buys a few more and we are off to look for my sister's request Louis Vuitton ...We find a lady offering them, follow her 3 blocks which she is radioing our next contact who takes us down off the busy canal street another 3 blocks to a big white van awaiting our arrival. She opens the back up rushes us in and turns on these dingy fluorescent lights in the back of the van. The pressure was insane... wanting to get out of the van etc. so I pick one out for my sister and the lady asks her husband (the driver) if it is safe for us to exit. He says it a go, she pushes us out of the van and they drive off... I feel terrible that I put HF at risk... what a dumb thing to do... but we are alive to tell the tale... what an adventure. It became super uncomfortable to walk down that canal street after we had a few black bags... we were obviously looking like tourists and every single step someone else was whispering in our ear trying to sell us the next best thing.
While in China town JF had taken the kids to the statue of Liberty. JF was absolutely incredible trekking her two kids in and out of the subway, and around New York by herself every once in a while. It was nice for all of us to be able to do some of the things we had come to New York to see without forcing the same stuff on everyone else. HF and I also made a trip to ground zero before we had to meet up with JF. The families of the victims have set up this beautiful visitors centre... it was sooo sad, but done very tastefully. the above pictures are of the actual location which you can't see much of. It is under construction and blocked off really well... the other picture is one wall in the visitors centre of the hundreds of "missing person" ads. HF and I fought back alot of tears in that place. I just cannot even imagine the horror of being there, being in the subway and having no clue what was going on above you.. or worrying about family that you know is there.
Lombardi's pizza in little Italy. The real deal including a loud table of authentic Italians sitting right next to us. Delicious pizza, perfect atmosphere.
HF and I had the privilege of visiting the Manhattan temple while we were there too. It was just so beautiful, and places on this busy street but once you get inside it was perfectly quiet and just stunning. Definitely a favorite memory of the trip.
HF spent the day in Connecticut with a good friend of hers on Friday and missed out on another favorite memory. JF and IF were just too fun to watch at the American Girl Doll Place. Above is the two girls with their dolls (JF's was 20 years old) standing in the rain in line for the store to open.
The best little traveler in the world. Is he not the cutest kid ever???
Brunch with the dolls. Have you ever seen two happier girls in your life? They just BEAMED the whole time we were there. They had everything for a young girl and her American Girl doll.. matching clothes, pet shop, hair salon, accessories, stories, movies. It was so much fun... made me wish I had a little girl to share the experience with... I honestly almost bought WW a little baby doll there, but I wasn't sure what BJ would think of that.

Natural History Museum- A Night at the Museum, Museum... recognize this dinosaur?
Central Park. There was just something about these lanterns I just loved. They were everywhere along with alot of dogs and alot of runners. It was so beautiful. So green... They actually block off alot of the grass for public use, and the stuff that is open is open limited hours. I'm sure it helps it stay so beautiful.
The architecture was amazing. Every building had very distinct features and none were the same. I loved looking up to see all the beautiful details on the buildings.
This is a famous building but I don't remember what it's called... Iron something? Sorry.
Times Square at midnight after seeing Billy Elliott. It was another amazing show, the little boy that stars in it (there are 3 or 4 of them) was unbelievable!!! The number of people flooding out of the Broadway shows was such a sight. The energy that night in Times Square was electric. HF and I satisfied some pasta cravings after the show and went to the Olive Garden, then walked the 8ish blocks back to our hotel at 1 in the morning. It was another one of my favorite nights in New York.
This above it Bryant park. We walked through it our first night in New York and HF fell in love with it. I think she said she liked it better than Central park. It was this little green piece of park a few blocks from our Hotel, in the middle of the city. Like it's own little Oasis. It also happened have the most beautiful public washroom we had ever seen. Fresh flowers, music, security and a plastic seat cover that rotated around the toilet seat when you pushed a button. Like nothing I had ever seen before.
I couldn't help taking a picture of the food carts. There were like 2 every block, and made New York smell delicious. I am not exaggerating or being sarcastic... as soon as the smell from one was dissapating you were right into the smell zone of the next cart. We never ate from any, they looked a little sketchy with the meat in the hot air and stuff, but they sure did smell great.
Grand Central Station!!! the subway wasn't my favorite part of the trip... I found it very stuffy and a little clausterphobic but it sure was handy. As long as you had ALOT of hand sanitizer!!!
Our last day spent in Central Park. It was a super hot day so I didn't quite last the whole time but it was just beautiful and we only got to see a small portion of what was there.

IF cooling off in the sprinkler.

New York was incredible!!! Will I go back... I hope so. I feel as though I've seen the big sights that New York is famous for (that I was interested in), but there just seemed to be so much more to explore. The cute neighbourhoods and their shops, the shopping, the food! I missed my boys alot, BJ especially because I wanted to share everything with him... but they survived without me, and BJ will have his own special trip to San Fransisco in September with his brothers and his dad. I hope he has as great a time as we did.

There is alot more that I'm realizing I haven't mentioned... like my first ride in a Taxi in my life, crazy/insane driving and pedestrians, the Frick Collection- an art collection like no other in a private mansion residence just down a few blocks from the MET. PAX food store next door to our hotel which fed us breakfast lunch and dinner most days we were there. What a great 6 days away!!!

I have been struggling to think of something to write about. I figured instead of not writing I would just add some random pictures of the boy and maybe then I'd get some flow and I'd think of something new to add as well.

Cute Mabey grand kids. WW and JJ.
WW and his Papa Mabey at West Edmonton Mall. A good friend of mine told me that kids under two can go on the rides for free... that is probably because there are only 2-3 rides that they are big enough to ride on. WW LOVES it, he'd ride those horses over and over and over. Luckily my dad was a good sport and came along, and joined WW on the rides. BJ and I don't seem to be able to stomach rides anymore.

WW and his Grandma Mabey making cinnamon buns for me. He is an impressive little helper. Love cracking eggs, stirring and using a "spatuala"
WW and Baby JJ in the chariot. JJ was a much better sport about staying in the stroller. My big boy wants to be just that, and walk by himself.

Well my big trip to New York is coming up very quickly and I couldn't be more excited. We leave for New York in just over 18 days. We have lots of fun planned... including seeing Wicked, Billy Elliott, lunch at the American Girl store, the Manhattan Temple... and hopefully lots of shopping and sightseeing. I am absolutely thrilled with who I get to travel with. I have such a great relationship with my sister in laws that I know we will have an amazing time together.

I am really excited for BJ and WW to spend some quality one on one time together. BJ will not only get a sense of what it is to be a stay at home dad, but I think WW will also learn that his Dad is just as capable as his mom. It will be good for them both. All the boys that are left behind have a camping trip planned to Miquelon lake. That makes me a little nervous, but I'm going to be caught up in the excitement of my trip to worry about what is going on at home... I hope!

My photos don't match up with the blurbs in the last post. Sorry. It worked out properly when I wrote it, but I'm not sure I know how to fix it. So I trust that whoever reads this will be able to match the pictures with the words correctly.

Easter

I have taken alot of photos the last little while, so here is a quick update from our Easter weekend. We have been loving the spring weather and trying our hardest to spend time outside. WW got this sidewalk chalk from the Easter Bunny and he is loving drawing pictures out front.



BJ's side of the family lives outside Edmonton on farms. It is one of our favorite things to spend holidays with them. Catching up with BJ's cousins, eating the BEST food and bowling! This year WW was old enough to really figure it out, and it was soo cute to watch him go get a ball, push it down the little frame, watch it hit the pins, and then go get another ball. He played for hours... and had so much fun. He even was taking turns with the other cousins. It is exciting for us to see him learn new things, but it's great to see him figure out cooperation and being able to interact with other kids.

BJ and I put on a little Easter egg hunt for WW on Sunday morning. It was so great to get everything together the night before with BJ, and then to watch WW hunt down the eggs and show us what he got. He opened each egg, took the wrapper off , and then put it in his bucket before moving on. It feels so great as a parent to be able to do those silly little things for your kids that they just love. I felt like a good mom that morning.




SH saves me regularly. Not only is she a dear friend, but she is the one that helps me be crafty, and more importantly keeps me festive on holidays. This year she let me know about the Fort Edmonton Park Easter celebration and so we went as a family and met her and her little girl AH there, as well as my sister in law (her sister) and nephews there as well. It was the most beautiful day and they had all these wonderful things for kids of all ages to do.

Face painting, Egg hunting, treasure hunts, petting zoo, egg dying. We had a great time, and loved being out in the warm spring weather.

I missed out on the Easter basket this year, so we bought WW this little bucket at Michaels on the way to Fort Edmonton. It worked perfectly.

Finger painting. I had this picture on a different camera, so it is from a different post, but it's so fun to watch WW play around with his paints.

Bedtime routines

Anyone that knows WW knows that he has never been a great sleeper. He seems to have developed other qualities that make me willing to keep him around for a while.(just joking) but we have started in the last couple days to develop a little bedtime routine that I can't help writing about.

BJ works shift work, so when I am left to put WW to bed by myself I tend to be a little less strict than when BJ is home and I'd like to spend some time with him. So last night and tonight have been two nights where BJ is at work. So WW and I take our time before bed, he plays in the tub for a while, we read stories, sing songs, brush his teeth... and then when it's time for him to get to bed he lays down and I try to sneak off to fill his humidifier hoping he will fall asleep without noticing I haven't come back... Not today... he was calling for me so I go back into his room to find him standing up in his crib. The rest of the conversation went like this...

"WW lay down please, it's bedtime."

W- "three blankets?"

"ok, three blankets, but you might get hot"

W- "poops?"

"no Wyatt you were just on the potty."

W- "food? Salad... soo good"

"Wyatt you just had a snack, and you don't like salad"

W- "see daddy?"

"Daddy's at work"

W- "see daddy's white truck"

"daddy's truck is at work too"

W- "kisses?"

"ok, kisses"

W- "sleep mommy's bed?"

"No WW, you have to sleep in WW's bed tonight"

W- "out?"

"Nope"

W-" in?"

"yes"

W-" Play?"

"you can play in the morning it's time for bed"

It's crazy that I just see him sit and think about the next possible request that he thinks I might fall for. And all of his requests seem to make sense to the both of us... What better way to get out of going to sleep than having to use the bathroom, or have a bedtime snack. That little guy is a thinker.

Anyway, after countless requests... he won! I cuddled with him in our bed until he fell asleep, and then moved him into his own room. This little boy is getting way too smart. And he's got quite a sense of humor too, he is always looking to make us laugh, and even when I'm trying to be serious so that he'll eat his dinner instead of be silly, I have a hard time not laughing along. What fun it must be to be a toddler, because I am having so much fun as the mother of a toddler.

Encouraging Creativity

WW and I have been discovering some more of his many talents in the last little while. He is so creative, and I am finding it hard to control my own desire to find new things to introduce him to.

This all started when we went over to my sister in law JF's house for a quick stop in, and she was painting ceramic piggy banks with her kids. WW got to paint his very own mug, and we had a hard time pulling him away to leave. So I went to Michael's to see what I could find for him, and have had a hard time restraining myself since then. Michael's has so many different activities we are just getting started. (Plus with their 40% coupons, you really don't need to restrain too much) We have tried ceramics painting- (a mug for Papa Mabey, and we decorated his dad's splint bowl) we also bought regular crayola washable paint and some watercolors. WW will sit and paint for hours.

WW has also developed a LOVE of play dough. It occupies him in his highchair while I get all my housework

done around him. I took him to Toys-R-Us today and they had buy one play set get one free, so we are set with play dough for quite sometime now. Here are some pictures of him playing today. It has been difficult for me to ignore the mess, the little bits of color all over my floor,

but it's good for me to relax a little and let him enjoy himself. We even did a little finger and feet painting the other day which made for an interesting afternoon.

p.s I survived my ski holiday. I'll post about that with some pictures soon.

Blog block

Not much exciting to report, but WW and I had a little adventure today. He has has these white spots on his tongue and on the inside of his lip for the last few months off and on. I have taken him to his family doctor who didn't know what it was, and I was fairly confident that it wasn't anything serious... but for my own sake we went in to the dentist for a quick check. We see Dr. Scott Bennett downtown, and since I don't enjoy the stress of looking for parking downtown and then rushing through busy streets to get to our appointment... we took the train. What a fun adventure for WW and I. He was such a good boy on the train, looking out the window and doing some people watching. I wish I had taken a picture.

He also did such a good job in the chair. He sat there and let the dentist check his spots (which seem to be from him chewing his lip) No tears!!! He is becoming such a big boy. I think it helped that his aunt HF was the dental assistant and gave him some great treasures before we got started. I was so proud of him though.

BJ and I have a romantic get away planned for tomorrow. We are driving to Banff to stay overnight and then for a day of snowboarding at Sunshine Village. I am really excited because it has been a few years since I've been snowboarding, and it will be good to get away for a quick trip with BJ. I just can't help but have aprehensions of leaving WW, and being so far away if there was any trouble. He will be in wonderfully capable hands (his grandmothers- my mom thursday and overnight, and then BJ's mom friday all day.) I am just an overprotective mother, with a few control issues. This will be really good for me. I are leaving in June for 6 days away to New York. WW will be with his dad, but if I can't leave WW for just over a day, then I'll be in big trouble for New York. It will be a good experience for the both of us.

Wish me luck! I'll post again later when I know how it turns out.