NYC recap...

Ok - here's the recap for our NYC trip (there's not too much to tell). We left for NYC on Saturday morning at about 10 AM and drove to Newark, NJ where we parked the car and took the train into Manhattan. The train was super-crowded so we had to stand between the cars (not so fun). It took us a while to find our hotel (in 90+ heat) so when we got there, we collapsed and spent the rest of the evening in the hotel room.

On Sunday, we met my friend Charmie and her fiance', Brian, for breakfast and then walked to Grand Central Station with them. Charmie and I walked around a bit afterwards while my mom took Peyton back to the hotel for a nap. Later, we went to the Children's Museum for Peyton to play. He played for about an hour and a half in the toddler's section and then we headed back to the hotel for another nap after we ate a late lunch/early dinner.

On Monday, we walked to Central Park so that Peyton could run around (starting to see a theme here?). We went to one of the playgrounds in the park and while we there a kid cracked his head open while playing in an area he wasn't supposed to be in. Everyone whipped out their cell phones to call 911 but the mom declined treatment for her son. It was quite the sight. We walked around and did a little bit of shopping later (H&M and Anthropologie!) while Peyton slept in his stroller. We then headed back to the hotel for a short rest (20 minutes!) before heading to the South Street Seaport to meet Charmie and Brian for dinner. This is where the fun starts! We were told that the subway would be the quickest option because it was rush hour (and a taxi would end up costing between $30 and $50). We got directions and headed to Grand Central for the subway down to the seaport, only to realize this was going to be more difficult than we thought! We had Peyton's big stroller with us, so going through a turnstyle wasn't an option. We had to get someone to open the big door for us and then try to shuffle through very quickly with all of our junk. We found our train but had to search around for elevators to get down to it. When we finally got on it was super crowded! My mom got a seat with Peyton and I had to stand up and hold onto a bar while holding onto the folded stroller. Anywho, we got there in one piece (although I got a migraine from all of the stress) and had a nice dinner with Charmie and Brian (we put Peyton's DVD player on the table to keep him happy).

We decided to leave a day early because we realized that we just weren't enjoying ourselves as much as we thought we would. We spent so much of our time trying to keep Peyton happy that we didn't go to any museums or do anything we wanted to. Lesson learned.

View from our hotel room.

Central Park.

Asleep in his stroller.

Snacking in Starbucks.

Warning: Nudity!

Checking out his new pool.

Escape!!

Let me in!

I think he's always clenching his butt cheeks.....

Birthdays, NYC and moving!

The past week and change have been absolute madness. Madness! It all started with our move last Tuesday. We weren't able to get into our new house until 6 PM (landlords were painting/cleaning/etc), so we picked up the U-Haul at 3 and started loading it. If you have never been to our old house, you'll need to know that the staircase is ridiculously small and twists at a 90* angle halfway through. Needless to say, it was insane trying to get some of our larger pieces of furniture down the stairs. I honestly thought one of us was going to be seriously injured during the process. Anywho, we moved in over the course of a few days (it was HOT!) and we are finally unpacked.

Peyton's first birthday was on Wednesday so we threw a little party for him with a few friends in attendance (his buddy Miles was the only other kid in attendance). We had a good time BBQing and playing bocce ball, but Peyton didn't smash his cake! Boooo!

On Saturday, my mother, Peyton and I trekked off to NYC for a few days. We drove to Newark, NJ and then took the train into NYC. The drive went off without a hitch (thanks to Peyton's new portable DVD player and a nice nap) but the train ride was certainly interesting. The train into NYC was super-packed so we had to stand between the cars with all of our luggage and the stroller. We had to shuffle around every time we stopped at a station so that people could load/unload. We arrived in NYC after a 20 minute train ride and then decided to walk to our hotel (the Beekman Tower Hotel) b/c we weren't sure whether taxis would require a car seat. We had left the address of the hotel in our car, so we went off on memory (b/c my iPhone wasn't charged - of course!). We walked from Penn Station to 41st and 1st but the hotel wasn't there!! We walked around for a while and then stopped in at another hotel to get the correct address (49th and 1st) and then walked to the correct area. It was really, really, really HOT (which is saying a lot since I'm from Texas!). I think we walked a total of an hour and a half with all of our luggage and the stroller in tow.

I'll leave you with some photos and I'll write more about NYC in my next post when I upload the photos from NYC.

Memorial Day Festival in Boalsburg.

Anna.

Miles.

Eating some hamburger at his B-day party!

Stuff it in there!

Trying to get him to smash the cake.

"I don't wanna!"

Spongebob cake!

Playing with his tunnel.

Wagon ride!

Gigi!

Ice cream!

I haven't taken many photos of Peyton lately (shocking!) - so these are ones I forgot to post from last week! I plan on doing his 1 year portraits and cake smash photos on Wednesday, so those will be posted on Thursday. On Saturday, we head to NYC so I'll definitely be taking a ton of photos there!

Taking a taste...

Busy next week!

Things are going to be crazy in the Harris household next week! Saturday, my mother comes in to celebrate Peyton's upcoming birthday (yay!) On Tuesday, we move to the new house in Boalsburg (I'll be emailing people with our new address this weekend - feel free to send us tons of mail : ) On Wednesday, my crazy little man turns 1! I can't believe how quickly this past year has gone by. It makes me a little misty-eyed thinking about how quickly everything passes by but I'm also excited to see what the next year brings. Then on Saturday, P, my mother and I are all going to NYC for 4 days!! I haven't been to New York City in over two years, so I'm really excited to be heading back. While we are there, we will get to see my "big sis" Charmie (I'm even doing engagement portraits for her and her fiancee!) and explore the city.

But....I know you all come here just for the photos....so here you go.

Those shorts give him a bubble butt!

Some photos from the past few days...

First off, let me explain this upcoming photo. I took part in a Photography Web Seminar on Monday and Tuesday, so I tried to pay attention to the speakers and take care of Peyton at the same time. I decided to change his diaper downstairs (I was watching the webinar from my laptop in our living room) but I realized that I didn't have any diapers in my diaper bag as soon as I got his dirty diaper off! I scurried upstairs to grab one and when I made it back downstairs, I found him like this.....his little bum resting on our rug.

Not loving the bubble machine.

Look at those skinny little legs!

walking!

Getting his hoodie on to go see the ducks!

Chubby cheeks!