Bryan treated Sadie & me to a special early Christmas present this year - a vacation in New York! He was there last week for work, so he decided to fly us both up to visit. We experienced the city during the week without him, but we met him for dinner every night. And then we spent the weekend together before we all flew home.
Sadie has flown several times & is used to traveling, but I have to admit I was nervous because this was my first flight by myself. Lucky for me, she did great! We had the whole row to ourselves which helped because she had plenty of room to play:
and sleep:
When we arrived, she got to experience the city by cab:
I should warn you that this will be another long post with a lot of pictures. And you will probably see her looking the same in most of the pictures - all bundled up in her pink jacket with a paci in her mouth. We were good about breaking the pacifier habit at 9 months where it stayed in the crib & she only got it when she slept, but this trip was so crazy & since I was by myself most of the time, I gave in :)
Our first night there we met Bryan for dinner & then we went to Times Square:
They have an awesome Toys-R-Us there that is 4 stories tall with a carousel inside. More toys than you can imagine! Sadie would have loved it but she was practically passed out from all of our traveling that day.
The next day Sadie & I ventured out by foot. First we went to:
In case you can't read it, this is Grand Central Station. They had a holiday craft show set up so we did some browsing & then we went into the terminal for some people watching:
We also went to their railroad museum & she loved watching the toy trains go by!
Next we went shopping down Fifth Avenue. Actually, I should clarify - we went window shopping! I have always wanted to see all of the Christmas store windows & they were amazing! Sadie was intrigued by most of them because they had lights, smoke, snow, etc. I know my pictures don't do them justice, but here she is at Lord & Taylor:
Saks Fifth Avenue:
Bergdorf Goodman:
Don't worry, I also took her to American Girl where she may or may not have gotten a Christmas gift:
Next we went to Rockefeller Center & saw the Christmas tree:
I have to admit that this was one of my favorite parts of the trip. I have wanted to go to NY at Christmas since I was a little girl just to see the tree. Just ask Bryan - one of my favorite things to do to kick off Christmas is to watch the tree lighting ceremony on TV!
While we were in Rockefeller Center, we went to the NBC Experience Store where Sadie found candy:
And I found Matt Lauer!
Speaking of Matt Lauer, for those who don't know, I love the Today Show. I started watching it over 10 years ago after I graduated from college & had my first job & my own apartment. I'm usually at the gym or getting ready for the day, but I always have this show on, so it was only fitting that I went to one of their tapings! I got up at 5:30 on Friday morning & walked to their studio. We waited in line until 6:30 & then they let us on set. I got there early enough where I got to stand on the front row! Unfortunately, it was really cold that morning so they never came outside and I had to leave at 8:30 to relieve Bryan of Sadie duty so he could go to work. Even though I didn't get to meet Matt, Savannah, Natalie or Al, I did get to meet Lenny:
For those who are avid watchers, you probably recognize this guy because he is on TV every morning. He has been going to their tapings for 22 years! Even though I didn't get on TV or get to see anyone else, I still enjoyed taking in the experience & watching the sun rise in the city.
And did you know this was the first year that NBC did their own window store front?
Later that day I took Sadie to Central Park:
As you can see it was a perfect day! While there, we visited the
They had the regular zoo & then they had a
In case you can't read it says Children's Zoo. They had a lot of interactive things for kids to do & you could feed the animals. It was a nice change for Sadie since she could actually get out of her stroller!
They also had a movie theater at the park where Sadie & I watched The Polar Express in 4D!
They had reduced the original film into a 15 minute movie which was perfect! Sadie had never been to the movies before so I didn't know how she would do, so this was a good start. She was mesmerized! I have never been to anything 4D before, but the experience makes you feel all of your senses. For example, when the train was going fast, our chairs were shaking. When it started snowing on screen, it snowed in the theater. When they were drinking hot chocolate, they pumped in a chocolate scent. Sadie sat in my lap the entire time & tried to reach out & touch everything! Obviously she wouldn't keep her glasses on but they made a good toy while we were there all week!
On Saturday, we waited to do the things that Bryan wanted to do, including visiting
We visited the site last time we were in NY, but apparently things have changed. We had no idea that you had to buy a ticket & make a reservation before you went. So, we didn't get to go inside to see the actual memorial, but we still got to walk around Ground Zero.
Bryan also wanted to take Sadie shopping at
where they found the legendary
Sadie had a blast crawling all over it while it lit up in different colors!
Finally, our trip to NY wasn't complete without Sadie's first Subway ride:
This little girl is a trooper & an excellent traveller. I can't wait until she is older & we can share our travel stories & pictures with her! I will admit that she had a hard time taking an afternoon nap while she was stuck in a small hotel room with me, but she had no problem sleeping at night, probably because I tired her out walking/strolling all over the city!
Speaking of night life, I haven't even mentioned our fun nights out with friends or our date night. But since this post is already too long, I will save that for later.
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