Christmastime in NYC

Christmastime in New York City......when the "greatest city in the world" really becomes the greatest city.  There really is no other place like it.  I've often found it strange that a city whose population is by far mostly Jewish goes all out for Christmas.  I really think that there's just something about this time of year that brings people of all religions and races together.  It's almost magical.  

This year we went back to NY the first week of December.  We did all our typical city things and now Savannah is old enough that she remembers our past trips so she even has an opinion about what she wants to see and do.  I decided to brave FAO Schwartz on a Thursday night and discovered that even during this time of year it was quite manageable to get through.  Walker was mesmerized with the train display.  He sat there and watched the trains go round and round for at least 15 minutes.  Savannah loved walking through the princess and Barbie sections.  As if their Christmas lists weren't already long enough, they sure are now.  

just a boy and his snowman watching the trucks go by

train heaven

Friday morning started off with the kiddos and I going for a run in Central Park.  Poor little man was absolutely miserable.  He kept saying he was cold but he wouldn't keep his hat and gloves on so needless to say, it was a pretty miserable run.  We stopped by two parks during the five mile loop just to make it a little more enjoyable for them.  Afterwards we got dressed and braved the Fifth Ave madness and walked to our lunch at the American Girl Cafe.  Even in the mayhem the Christmas spirit was around.  We stopped to listen to a youth choir singing outside of St. Patricks Cathedral and we pushed our way through to see the ice skaters below the Rockefeller tree.

Rockefeller tree

The American Girl store was surprisingly less crowded than I expected.  We looked around, added more to our Christmas list, and made our way to the cafe.  The whole cafe experience was the same as every other time except I decided to do the birthday package for Savannah since we've never been able to go on her special day.  Of course she loved the extra attention and another chance to blow out birthday candles.  Walker was less thrilled but at least there was cake.

continuing the five year old celebrations

Walker's favorite part

Friday evening Savannah finally had her chance to go ice skating.  She has been dyeing to go for over a year now and to say that she was excited is an understatement.  She was over-the-moon ecstatic!!!  We went to Wollman Rink in Central Park in hopes that it would be the least crowded.  With it being her first time and with me being an awful skater we needed a place with lots of room to fall down.  This place was perfect for that.  She had a ball!!!  She fell down more time that I could count but after each time she picked herself up and wanted to keep going.  I preferred to stay on the outside close to a wall but not her.  She wanted to be right in the middle with all the more advanced skaters who were doing spins and skating backwards.  Our little girl is fearless!! And also a little too confident in her abilities or lack thereof.  Thankfully for me it started to rain or else she would have wanted to stay out there all night.

Saturday morning began with a six mile run in Central Park for me (thankfully with no jogging stroller) and then we all headed out to the Macy's at Herald Square to see Santa.  Really this is one of my favorite Christmas traditions.  I have yet to find a better Santa experience than the one here.

our hotel view of the foggy, rainy New York skyline

about the take the Polar Express to the North Pole

she had no problem jumping up on Santa's lap and telling him her wishes

just in case he forgets, she mailed him a letter too

Love the Virginia storefront displays

walking through Times Square

a giant Sven at the Disney store

taking in the sigts

cab ride out to Brooklyn for lunch

our old hangout sans kiddos, Bar Tabac

Sunday was our day to have brunch with the old gang.  We went back to Felix's where our rowdy group takes over the restaurant.  It's always so nice to catch up with everyone even if it's only for a couple of hours.  After brunch it's back to the hotel to pack and head to the airport.

city living Christmas tree shopping

the gang

these two......

best buds despite the miles between

Such a great weekend enjoying the sights and sounds of the city, getting into the holiday spirit, and seeing old friends.  What a great way to kick off this holiday season!!

Walker's Train Birthday Party

It's so hard having a December birthday especially a December birthday the week before Christmas.  I know this firsthand and every since Walker was born I've wanted to make sure that each year he gets his own personal celebration in the midst of all the Christmas hustle and bustle.  This year we celebrated his second birthday on Sunday, December 14th with a train party.  I've said it before and I'll say it again.....his boy is CRAZY OBSESSED with all things train related.  All we hear is choo-choo this and choo-choo that all day every day.  So what better way to celebrate our little man than by having his own choo-choo for the day.

the birthday boy

the party table (excuse the poor photography)

the Santa train around the dining room table

the craft table

the entryway

waiting for his guests to arrive

After all the guests arrived we climbed aboard the train, went around the cup-de-sac, and the train died.  Apparently we stressed the engine too much.  Thankfully after a 30 minute break the train was ready to try a smaller load.  It worked great for the rest of the party and all the children loved it!

all aboard!!

After dragging everyone away for the outside train and the toys inside, it was time to sing to the birthday boy.  He had been practicing blowing out candles for over a month so he was ready for this.  Unlike his sister, who always ran away at the attention, he basked in his birthday glory, smiled during the birthday song, and happily blew out his two candles.  Then he devoured some snacks!

cupcake time!

making his wish

it looks like Harrison loved the cupcakes

Eli, Alyssa and Kai

sweet Jane and Owen

Then it was time to break into the piñata.  I managed to find a pull string Thomas the Train piñata which was perfect for this age group.  Each of the little guys and our only girl, Jane, took turns pulling a string before the bottom of the train fell out with candy.  The funny thing about this age group is that they each calmly took a couple of pieces of candy before walking away and leaving the rest for the ravenous big siblings.

pulling their strings

anxiously awaiting the candy

After all the guests left Savannah quickly got on the presents.  It took some convincing to get Walker to open them and really after he opened the first one, he would have been happy and content with just that one gift.  I think Savannah ended up opening most of them for him.

It was such a fun day celebrating our almost two-year-old!  He was over-the-moon excited about his train and to this day he still asks about it.  Now whenever I say "guess who's coming to our house?!" he responds with "choo-choo???".  Needless to say, everything and everyone who comes over is now a disappointment.  Only a few more days until our sweet boy is a real two-year-old!!

Thanksgiving 2014

I can't believe Thanksgiving has already come and gone and now we're full-blown into the holiday season.  It seems to come quicker and quicker every year.  I remember as a child how the days between Halloween and Christmas  seemed to drag by at a snail's pace and now one day we're picking out costumes and the next day we're leaving cookies out for the Santa.  Oh well, I suppose that's the pace of my life nowadays.  

So Thanksgiving this year was a quiet affair with just the four of us.  I went to a special PopUp Workout early that morning then came home to watch the parade and get everyone ready for brunch at the Carolina Inn.  Savannah was dyeing to put up the Christmas decorations so we immediately got on that, too.  Now the house is fully decorated inside and out and we're anxiously awaiting the arrival of our elf, Wink, and seeing what shenanigans she will get into this year.  

so very thankful for these two cuties

photo courtesy of Savannah

Walker's dessert plate...

and Savannah's...

and Oscar's 

the best little decorating helper