The Alvarez Family: Holiday in NYC

Last week we spent our annual holiday week in the city. Savannah and I arrived on Monday and spent 2 nights with our good friends, the Austin family, out in the burbs. Savannah either immediately remembered LoAn or else she warmed up very quickly to her. Kieran on the other hand took his time feeling out both me and Savannah. We had so much fun playing at their house, the children's museum, and KidsU. Our other friends, the Woolsey's, even came over for a pizza party on Monday night.

lunch on the plane to NYC

waiting for LoAn and Kieran at the airport

this is what you get when you attempt to have 2 toddlers pose for a pic

Savannah loving on Kieran

having fun at KidsU

waiting for her lunch at a local deli/cafe

driving the school bus at the Children's Museum

buckle up!

Savannah loved trying to float the ball above the cone

cooking in the kitchen

LoAn drove Savannah and I into the city on Wednesday afternoon and we checked into our hotel, The Pierre. That is now my new favorite hotel in the city. It has an awesome location---directly across from Central Park on 5th Ave and 61st St.....so perfect for me and Savannah! We went for a run every morning in the park and would then stop in the zoo to visit the seals and penguins. The Central Park Zoo is really the best bang for your buck in all of the city----only $12 for me and free for Savannah. On Thursday afternoon we grabbed lunch at The Shake Shack (sooooo yummy!) and visited the Museum of Natural History. Savannah loved seeing the dinosaurs, animals, and fish. After a long walk back to the east side, while Savannah slept I window shopped. I love seeing all the holiday window displays. New York City really gets into the holiday spirit.

the view from our room at the Pierre

all ready for our run in the park

our daily cool down at the zoo

she loves polar bears

watching the seals

these seals were such hams :)

at the Museum

Dinosaur shark!!!

a blue whale

On Friday, Savannah and I went to the Plaza to check out the Eloise zone. I think this was Savannah's favorite part of the entire NYC trip. She had so much fun playing the pink piano and having a tea party in the tea room. And the fact that everything was pink, pink, and more pink made it all the more exciting. After the Plaza, we visited the American Girl Store for about 3 hours where we bought her newest baby, George (yes, she named him), and we even ate lunch in their cafe. Soooooo incredibly cute!!!

checking out her form

she's pretending to be Shout from Fresh Beat

tea time

at the American Girl Cafe--she just woke up from a power nap

Savannah helping little George into his high chair

enjoying a yummy dessert of chocolate mousse

By the time we finished there, we relaxed in our amazing room for a little while before meeting up with Oscar and my friend, Elina, for dinner at Sarabeth's. It's always nice to catch up with Elina and hear the current news on all my former coworkers.

watching her new Eloise movie

On Saturday we headed over to Macy's Herald Square to meet Santa. I totally goofed on the time it opened because by the time we got there, there was already a line. Fortunately it was only a 20 minute wait because I've heard it can get up to an hour and a half at times. Savannah was so excited during the whole Santa Land experience up until she saw Santa. At least there were no tears this year :)

Savannah and George about to enter Santa Land

family pic with Santa

outside of Macy's

After Macy's we walked up to Rockefeller to take a picture in front of the tree, take a quick peek inside Saint Patricks, run into FAO Schwartz, and head back to the room to finish packing. We passed our bags off to valet and grabbed a quick and yummy lunch at Seraphina's. Then back to NC we go.