9 Months Old: Claire McKenna

Claire turned 9 months old a few weekends ago (on 1/28).  It has hit me now {a little hard too} that we are on the downhill slide of her 1^st year, it’s seriously flying by!  Between 6 and 9 months we’ve had lots of changes.  First off, she is crawling.  She just started this the day before her 9^th month and is still slow moving but she’s certainly on the move.  Before she figured crawling out, she went from pushing up onto knees to barrel roll to get to where she wanted to go so it’s not like it’s a totally new thing to have her on the move but officially crawling is exciting and we all sit around coaxing her to do it daily.

She’s also figured out how to pull herself up onto furniture, toys and in her crib.  Which is something she definitely likes to do more than crawling right now.  One thing she has figured out better than I recall Annie doing was managing to find her way back down.  When Annie first started pulling herself up in her crib, we’d have to go back and lay her back down.  Claire has figured out how to set back down from standing but we’ve still had a few nap battles since she can now stand and refuse to nap a little easier than before. 

Which brings me to napping – she actually is pretty easy to put down but she isn’t one to nap on the go.  We can’t put her in the car or stroller and anticipate her to doze off, it just doesn’t happen.  I’ve heard other moms say their 9-month old’s don’t nap much at all during the day but my kids have always needed their naps and they are totally different kids without them so Claire has tied us down to being home a lot more so we ensure she naps, but that’s just fine, it’s cold out and we don’t all need to be out at once most of the time anyways.

She’s also eating real table food and loving it!  In fact, baby food was even more short lived than it was with Annie, she refuses to eat it and will turn her head and scream if we even try to come at her with a spoon.  I’m all onboard too because that means we can eat our own dinner with a small bit of peace and sorta quiet while the 2 kiddos feed themselves.  We don’t all sit at the table together often but when we have, it just feels like we are pivoting to a new stage, having dinner all together and having instances where I cook ONE meal for everyone to eat is…well…awesome!

We are pretty sure she is saying ‘dadda’!  When we concentrate on her saying it, she’ll say ‘dadda’ back to us.  No ‘Ms’ in site so not looking like mama will be coming out anytime soon but that’s okay because the 2.5 yr old has the non-stop-Mama-calling down pretty good so it’s being made up for.

She loves to play peek-a-boo, playing with hand puppets, playing in her ‘baby fort’, taking baths, watching/playing with her sister, watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, loves her Puffs, being held, and tearing every single book off her bookshelf {every.single.night}.  She’s still a very happy baby.  Although she does have some incredibly fussy moments but it’s usually when she isn’t feeling well or is overtired, which are understandable and it makes it easy to tell when something isn’t right with her.

The 'baby fort,' Annie has one that is much bigger so Claire got her own fort for Christmas

Aaron usually puts Claire down at night as Annie is particular about mommy time before bed but every now and then I get to sneak in and switch with Aaron and put her down at night.  In which the last time, I was rocking her in her dark room in my arms and she was so still, just drifting asleep and I realized how these still times with her in my arms are fleeting.  I don’t rock Annie to sleep in my arms at all anymore and haven’t for what feels like a while so I’m trying to soak in the time that I can still rock Claire.  It’s both sad and happy feelings.  Sad that my baby is growing so quickly and happy because I’m excited to see what she’ll be like at Annie’s age as a talking toddler and knowing all the fun and new things I get to watch her experience yet ahead.  6 months was my favorite baby age with Annie, 9 months is hands down my favorite with Claire.  She’s everything you think of when you think of the word ‘baby’ right now, it’s a really fun stage to be in.  

Sisters

Formula: Similac Vs. Enfamil

I’m here to discuss the Similac vs. Enfamil debate (maybe it’s not even a debate, I don’t know!  But it was for me at one point).  They are both brand name formulas and I’ve used both with each of my kids and here are my unbiased thoughts/opinions on the two.  

For starters, I want to be clear that I am blogging solely on the Similiac Sensitives vs. Enfamil Gentlease, which both are formulized to be easier on the tummy and help with fussiness, crying and gas; which are areas my babies know too well (maybe it’s naturally inherited girl drama, as neither formula seems to fix those issues that great).

                

With Annie, I had her on Similac Sensitives.  She was a pretty extreme case of a colicky child and her ‘spit up’ was not really what you think of as spit up.  She literally vomited her entire bottles for the longest time where a burp cloth did nothing for clean-up, we had to use our bathroom towels to clean it up.  So she has an extremely touchy stomach.  I don’t think the Similac Sensitive formula helped to reduce it much, but given it was easier on the tummy than the other formulas, I choose to stick with it and she did like it, I never had troubles with her not liking the taste.  Why did I choose Similac for her?  Because I thought it was the superior brand at the time.  First baby’s get the best of everything, right?  As a new mom, I only wanted top notch for my baby girl.  Which ended up being totally the wrong mentality.

Claire was not a colicky baby nor did she even spit up hardly.  I tried her on Simliac and she just didn’t seem to like it.  At all.  I ended up having to throw away this formula because she absolutely hated it and really seemed take to the Enfamil.  And we’ve been on Enfamil Gentlease ever since and I have loved it 100 times over compared to the Similac and here’s my whys.

Although Claire doesn’t spit up much, there is a HUGE difference in the 2 formulas and how they stain.  Similac stained yellow on clothes and Enfamil cleans up much easier, have had no stains with this one brand.

Similac smelled a lot worse than the Enfamil does (in all arenas… spit up, on baby’s breath, poops…or else my mommy nose can withstand more nowadays. One of the two!)

They mix about the same but maybe I would say that Enfamil mixes a little bit better?  I feel like it clumps just a little bit less.

The price difference is huge!  I could buy Similac at Costco for $31 for 964 grams of powdered formula (the big size!).   I can buy Enfamil 913 grams of powered formula for $36 at Target, bundle it with a $15 Target gift card bonus (when I buy 2 so essentially getting $7.50 back on each of my $36 and they run this gift card bonus pretty often).  AND use a $5 Enfamil manufacturer coupon on top of that per each one I buy.  So I really end up spending about $23.50 per each one which is a big savings considering we go thru this amount about every 7-10 days. 

Enfamil does a much better job of handing out free samples.  I still get free samples mailed to me on occasion and it is for the Gentlease we use.  I had gotten Similac samples in the past but they’ve been stingier on their freebies.

I have yet to purchase Enfamil without a coupon.  They mail us so many $5 off coupons that I sort them by expiration and always stock up when needed and couple them with the Target gift card specials that I have yet to ever pay full price for formula since Claire has been born (she’s been 100% on formula since being 6 weeks old).  Similac coupons are much harder to come by as well as Costco doesn’t even accept coupons anyways and that is where I could find that brand at the lowest price, anywhere else it was much more expensive to purchase.

I have no idea why I thought Enfamil was so ‘lower tiered’ brand but you guys… it’s not.  I personally think it’s superior to Similac in my experiences with both and it would be the one I recommend between the 2. 

Claire turns 9 months in a few days.  Can I just say I CANNOT wait to be done with bottles for good!?  They are so much work!  I think we were done with bottles with Annie right after her 1^st birthday so I’m on the downhill slide with the bottles and can’t wait for the day I’m done with them.  I feel like I’ll get 20ish minutes back in my life every day! 

NYC: What to Pack, Sample Agenda & Tips/Tricks when Visiting

While the visit is still fresh in my mind, I wanted to pass along some tips if you are visiting New York City.  I find that being prepared and researching in advance always make for a more enjoyable trip.  Although sometimes doing so, also makes for a very busy trip as I come across more and more sites to see and do that I cram into our agenda.  I’m going to break down this post in 3 sections: what to bring, our agenda, and tips/tricks we learned while in NYC.

What To Bring:

Fleece lined leggings.  I only packed a couple pairs of leggings and one pair of jeans.  If you don’t have a pair of fleece lined leggings, I highly suggest getting some.  We actually had great weather while in NYC but it still was December and we still had to dress for the winter weather.  Fleece lined leggings aren’t bulky and they have that added layer of warmth.  Plus they are just plain comfortable and cute with lots of tops.  I got mine at a local boutique Dry Goods for $16 for the win but you can find these at a lot of retail stores.

Comfortable, warm shoes.  I searched high and low trying to find a trendy boot that was comfortable and warm.  The Linford UGG boot was just that.   They have a full zipper side, a more durable outer suede that is water resistant and the wool lining that isn’t too thick but provide that extra warmth.  And the biggest key is the rubber sole, which I think is why my feet never hurt.  It took me a few weeks to choke down if I wanted to spend the $220 on them but in the end, I was due for some new UGGs and these were hands down the best purchase I made and look how cute they are!  I wear them seriously all the time.

Chestnut Linford UGG, Zappos

The Neat Pack Versatile Canvas Sling Bag / Travel Backpack |Wear Over Shoulder or Crossbody.  This bag is a steal at $29 compared to it’s competitors such as Patagonia.  I didn’t want to carry a purse in NYC but rather a small easy to access bag but large enough to carry my DSL camera.  This bag is a total winner.  It was a little bit of a pain to get on and off with my coat hood but otherwise it was great.  I also liked how I could change out the strap to wear on one side one day and change to the other side the next day so one shoulder never gets too sore.  It also has a lot of privacy pockets to stash cash in so it can’t be stolen.  I carried everything we needed for the day while out in NYC with ease.  I also loved the handy cell phone pocket that is on the strap, it fit my Samsung S7 perfectly.

Neat Pack Backpack, get yours on Amazon for $29

Before we left for NYC, I wanted to find a new winter coat that was longer than my current North Face one that hits at my waist.  Something a little longer, less bulky, and that had a hood.  I really wanted it to be another North Face but none met my criteria.  I came across Columbia Carson Pass II jacket in black.  It’s not very bulky but has a omni-heat thermal reflective lining on the inside, it looks foil-like and it reflects your body heat to keep the heat in and not out of the coat, hence why it doesn’t need to be bulky.  It was the perfect length on me and although the fur hood did get a little annoying (in my eyes a lot when I used it), the fur piece of the hood comes off so you can still have the hood without the fur if you want. 

Columbia Carson Pass II, got mine at Scheels, $179

Lastly, a good hat and gloves.  I personally liked these UnderArmour versions, the gloves are fleece lined and the mitten flip back which I used that feature a lot on this trip.  Kept my hands warm without the hassle of taking them off all the time and kept from possibly losing them. And for some reason the image isn't working for these so here is the link. 

And that is basically what I wore each day and it worked out well.  I was warm and comfortable.

And here we are in my coat, boots, fleece lined leggings, backpack, & mittens

Our Agenda:

Here is what we did in the short time we were there.  We arrived at 10 am Thursday and I left Sunday morning so we had basically 2.5 days in the city.  I liked our agenda, although it wasn’t perfect, my timing overall was pretty good, I’ll tell you what worked and what didn’t with this agenda.

Thursday:	Time:
Arrive, check into hotel	10:35 - 12 pm
Lunch @ John's Pizzeria	12 - 1:30 pm
NBC Tour	2- 3:30 pm
Snack at Magnolia Bakery
Radio City Rockettes Show	5 - 6:30 PM (90 min running time)
Del Frisco's Grill, reservations set for 7:15 pm	7:15 PM
Rockefellar Tree / Times Square Walk Thru
Morell Wine Bar

We had a direct flight into NYC so I felt pretty confident that we would arrive on time or close to that I was okay with pre-purchasing tickets this day to a few agenda items.  We actually landed in NYC at 10 am, so a little ahead of schedule.  I chose John’s pizza as it was close to the hotel.  This agenda worked out really well.  We stopped briefly in Times Square after lunch, got a few good pictures at Rockefeller before heading into the NBC Tour. 

The only agenda item we didn’t do was Morell Wine Bar, mainly because I was really tired.  I was very happy I had tickets to the 5 pm Rockette’s show or else I don’t think I would have been able to stay awake thru it, not because it wasn’t a great show, I was just exhausted from little sleep and an early morning flight that day.

Friday:	Time:
Breakfast
**Take Subway to Wall Street
Wall Street Tour	10 am - noon
Lunch: Adrienne's Pizza Bar	12 - 1:30 pm
9/11 Museum & Memorial	reservations @ 2 (to 4 pm)
**Take Subway to Times Square
Becco	5:30 pm reservations
The Ride Experience	7:15 -- 8:30 pm
Madamme Tussauds
Junior's Cheesecake

We ended up taking a cab to the Financial District and eating breakfast at Cosi Café.  The cab ride was fine but the breakfast wasn’t all that great.  The Wall Street tour was amazing, I highly recommend Wall Street Experience Tour.   We ended up not eating at Adrienne’s Pizza Bar as our tour finished up a good distance from here although we did walk past it and it is in the heart of the Financial District on a really cute cobblestone alley.  I still think it would make a great lunch choice for a future visit. 

The 9/11 Memorial – I would say maybe allow 15-20 minutes.  We probably stopped for only 10 minutes.  The 9/11 Museum took us about 1.5 hours but it could have taken a lot longer if we stopped to read every artifact.  The website suggests 2 hours to visit, I would agree with that allotment.  I also highly recommend reservations, the line was very long but our reservations got us right in.

We didn’t end up going to Madamme Tussauds at all while in NYC.  And we ended up going to Junior’s the following day. Overall, I felt like this day’s agenda was planned well where we were not rushed at all and left lots of time for transportation. 

Saturday:	Time:
Breakfast
Hop on Off Bus full tour (HOHO bus)	3 hours /buses start @ 8 am
Lunch at Heartland Brewery at the Empire State Bldg.
Ferry Tour	1.5 hours
The Tour	4-5:30 pm (90 min running time)
Rock Center Café	7 pm dinner reservations

Saturday was our least planned day and it showed.  The HOHO bus is a disaster, do not take it!  We went with Grayline Sightseeing as it was part of our NYC Pass.  The lines were long, nobody hops off and the buses get stuck in traffic.  If you do the HOHO bus, I would suggest getting on the first bus of the day and not getting off until you’ve made the full loop.  We didn’t do that but I would think that is the best way to do this attraction.  We ended up hopping off at Macy’s, spent a considerable amount of time there and did eat lunch at the Empire State Building.  There are several different Heartland Brewery’s in NYC and we thought the food was terrific.  

We did not get to do the ferry which was a big bummer for me.  By the time we got to the ferry, it was 2 pm.  We were told it takes 1.5 hours and it wasn’t leaving until 3.  I had tickets to the Tour at 4, so we wasted a lot of time that afternoon sitting in traffic on the bus just to get to the ferry and realize we didn’t have time for it so we walked to the subway and ended up back at Times Square having cheesecake at Juniors.   Rock Center Café was great, I would eat there again every single time I visit it was so good and the views of the tree are unbeatable while dining.

So there you have it, our agenda for 2.5 days in the city.  I’m terrified of heights (which is ironic as I travel in airplanes) but I cannot go to the top of any buildings so that knocks off quite a few popular attractions for us.  I wish we would have had time to visit Central Park and do more shopping.  I’ve seen a show on Broadway in my previous visit but now since we’ve seen the Rockette’s, I think a Broadway show would be good too in a future trip.  I had no interest in going back to the Statue of Liberty but afterwards, I wish we had.  Aaron didn’t show a great desire to go to Ellis Island either when planning our trip. I think I’d rather do that in the future than do the HOHO ferry ride. 

Tips/Tricks in NYC:

I did a fair amount of research in addition to learning the do’s/don’ts while visiting in a short amount of time, here are a few.

We stayed at ROW NYC Hotel.  I thought it was a great location and clean.  All hotel rooms in NYC are tiny!  We upgraded to a deluxe room and it felt similar in size to a typical hotel room.  We didn’t spend much time in the hotel so I didn’t need anything fancy but I do think the upgraded space was well worth it.  I don’t remember the exact upcharge but it wasn’t more than $20 a day.  Pay attention to when you book your room if it's a shared bathroom.  I was really surprised that some hotels have shared bathrooms between rooms, I’d never heard of such a thing and these weren’t shady hotels.  I don’t know much more about this as when I saw this in the description I started shopping other hotels.  It’s just weird to me to share a bathroom with a room next to yours.  No thanks.

We flew in and out of Newark in Jersey.  We took the train into the city.  It was cheap and efficient.  I think we were at Penn Station in downtown NYC around 20-30 minutes from leaving the airport.  I would recommend this means of getting to/from the city.

Do not let the tourist traps get you.  The Disney characters on Times Square that want to take a picture with you will try to take all of your money.  If someone walks up to you trying to sell you something, I suggest ignoring them.  We had several people walk up to us trying to sell us their CDs.  Everyone on Times Square is looking for the naive tourist so they can take your cash, beware.  It’s a lot like the Vegas strip honestly but the NYC traps are more aggressive.

Carry a phone charger with you everywhere!  There were a lot of times our phones were running low on battery, I think there are a lot of cell towers that they ping off of and something seemed to drain our batteries quickly.  We had our phones on power saving mode a lot and I was still able to receive texts and phone calls, just no access to my applications, which was fine.

Figure out the subway.  The subway is the way to go.  Unless you are claustrophobic.  I did extensive research on the safety of the subway but ran out of time to look into it much further which was a mistake as we had no idea what lines go where and we weren’t very efficient with it as we could have been.  We took the subway in the middle of the day, I felt it was fairly safe.  I never felt uncomfortable other than there isn’t a whole lot of security as to who gets on and off the subway but that is typical with ground transportation I guess.  We only took the subway from the Financial District to Times Square and back.  I cannot tell you if the subway is safe further north, from what I read online, I think it can be a little more unsafe as you travel north to Queens but I cannot tell you if it is or isn’t.  Nor did we ever take it at night so I can’t weigh in on that either. 

Cabs are safe but I felt less comfortable with the cab drivers than taking the subway.  That’s just me personally.  Avoid pedicabs (bikes pulling seats), they are extremely expensive and I felt it was dangerous and they bicyclist are a little too daring in the traffic for my liking.

The traffic in NYC is crazy.  Everywhere.  Allow lots of time to get from one point to another.  We did a lot of walking but we also knew we had to take transportation so we wouldn’t completely wear ourselves out.

Have dinner reservations.  We did and it paid off, the waits were long and crowded everywhere.  Plus, it is super expensive to walk into any restaurant.  I scouted out restaurants in advance that were in our price range.  It’s very easy to walk into a pricey place in NYC.

Amazingly, there are zero street trash cans in NYC.  Walking around with a coffee?  Well you better plan on holding onto it for a long time!  Must be because they are too easy for bombs.

  

When taking the train back to the airport at Penn Station, go extra early!  I felt really turned around when taking the train back to the airport.  I'm glad I left town about 4 hours before my flight because it took well over an hour to get back.  The biggest thing I learned is that the train only comes to Penn Station once an hour.  I got very lucky and arrived 15 minutes before the train left.  It is also important to understand how the train works.  You won't know what track you are on until it actually arrives (which is kinda dumb).  So you have to be ready to watch for it as you won't know until the last minute where to be.  And once you do know the track, get right to it as it's a mess with people trying to get off and people trying to get on, it's not organized at all.  As well as once you get down to the track, pay attention further as there are 2 tracks and only one of them actually goes to Newark.  I was taking some serious notes on the way back and texted them all to Aaron so he would know exactly what to do when it was his turn to get back to the airport.  

We did the NYC Explorer Pass.  I found it was a better bang for our buck than doing the New York Pass.  I did a lot of comparison between the 2 and for the attractions we were interested in, it was the best deal for us.  I can't recommend one over the other but I suggest you compare the 2 for what your interests are, regardless of which one you pick, they both offer great cost savings and we found ours easy to use.  

Look in advance at Travelzoo, Groupon, etc for deals on attractions.  The RIDE and The TOUR were used thru our NYC Explorer Pass and came with deep discounts.  Our tickets to the Rockettes we got on the cheap thru Travelzoo.  It pays to shop around.  We also used our NYC Explorer Pass for food discounts as well, know all the benefits you can reap when you buy these deals.  I also made all of our dinner reservations on opentable.com so I had all the confirmation emails saved in my phone with their address and phone number handy.

So many tips but these are the ones that stick out in my mind.  Hope this post may be useful to someone out there.  A little research in advance goes a long way to making the most of your trip!

Christmas in NYC 2016

Aaron and I have a ‘bucket list’ of places we want to visit.  New York City was one of them.  Specifically, NYC at Christmas time.  I have been to NYC before, but it was pre-9/11 and Aaron had never been.   Aaron normally goes to a big commercial real estate conference out in Vegas in May each year.  In years’ past, he has mentioned there is a similar convention held out in NYC each December he has been wanting to check out so this year we made it happen.

 

It’s a lot easier for Aaron to say, “hey let’s do this or that” because he isn’t the one who has to pack and prep for the trips.  Packing for 2 small children is a lot of work!  They each have lists and schedules and then there is the commute to drop them off at the grandparents, it’s just a lot of work!  Then there is the whole worrying part where I wonder, will they be okay while we are gone?  Did I give enough info?  Did I pack enough?  Aaron’s only to-do’s is to lay out his clothes on the bed and I pack them for him.  He doesn’t even have to worry about if they kids have everything, ticketing, mapping out daily agendas, hotel & restaurant reservations, transportation, etc.  I literally take care of it all; he just has to show up on the day of ready for me to hand him his plane ticket.  I guess I can’t complain much, it is something I enjoy doing, it’s just a lot of coordination to go anywhere.

 

We dropped the kid’s off on a Wednesday afternoon since our flight was leaving at 6:40 Thursday morning.  The great thing about an early direct flight was we arrived in NYC at 10:30 am, leaving a good half a day for us to explore.   We stayed in Times Square, near Hell’s kitchen at Row NYC, I was happy with our hotel choice and location. 

Pretty morning flight above the clouds as we watched the sun rise

Our first stop was at John’s Pizzeria of Times Square for some NYC pizza.  It was everything I hoped it would be!  We particularly like NYC style pizza over Chicago deep dish.  In fact, I really don’t like anything that isn’t thin pizza so John’s pizza was like a slice of heaven to me!  It was also just nice to have a glass of wine with lunch.  No kids, no real responsibilities for the day, so why not?!

John's Pizzeria of Times Square

After lunch, we walked down to Times Square and immediately got attacked by the Disney characters.  We learned our lesson quickly that they are greedy!  We took one picture with them {for Annie}, I would’ve only tipped them a $1 each but I only had $20s on me so I gave Minnie the $20 and asked for $15 back and she argued with me saying her and Mickey should each get $10 for that picture.  Are you serious?!  That picture took 10 seconds and I said absolutely not, give me my change!   We then got bombarded by Elsa and I told Aaron just walk and walk fast!  Greediest Mickey and Minnie I ever did meet. 

 

Tourist trap -- don't do what we did! 

Rockefeller Plaza

We then walked to Rockefellar Plaza and witnessed a proposal under the tree (1 of 2 we witnessed). 

Awe, witnessing a proposal under the Rockefeller tree

Rockefeller Ice Skating Rink

 By the way, the tree is much prettier at night, but also a whole lot busier too.  We then headed into 30 Rock for our NBC tour.  I had done the NBC Tour before but they have since renovated the studios.  We only got to go into the Late Night with Seth Meyers set.  While we were there, Jimmy Falon was filtering in their audience for a live recording so we couldn’t go into his set.  Bummer.  Shawn Mendez was there practicing for his musical guest appearance on SNL that week so we missed seeing that set as well.  It still was a good tour, just wish we could’ve seen some of the really popular sets. 

After our tour, we hit Magnolia Bakery for a sweet treat.  Get the Hummingbird cake; bananas, pineapples and pecans make up this classic southern cake with sweet cream cheese icing; AMAZING!  I also got a cupcake but found that to be a letdown.

Next on the agenda was the 5 pm show at Radio City Hall to see the Rockette’s Christmas Spectacular.  It was really good!  We also had great seats; I bought our seats on Travelzoo where we were able to get discounted tickets and had a choice from hundreds of seats.  I was glad we did the early evening show and not any later because that first day I was super tired after hitting the early morning flight.

The chandelier and decor at Radio City Hall were goregous

Good seats!  No zoom 

Neat how they projected the show on the ceiling 

The live animals during the nativity scene was cool, camels and sheep right in the city

VIDEO:

After the show, we fought the crowds again to get pictures of the tree and then headed to our dinner reservations at Del Fresco.  Reservations are a must in the city, the wait was pretty long and the place was packed but we got in fairly close to our reservation time.   Dinner was good, unfortunately I was too tired to eat and only took a few bites out of my meal and was hurrying Aaron to eat so we could get back to the hotel as I was starting to not feel so great.  Fatigue makes me sick anymore.

The Rockefeller Tree

When we left, we tried to get a cab, but to no luck.  A bike (Pedicab) came by asking where we needed to go.  I asked how he charges, he said just like a cab does and looked at Aaron and was like ok, let’s get in.  Um, never again!  He was swerving tightly in-between cars, in-between lanes basically riding the lane line, we would’ve been goner’s if we got hit by a car.  Then we got to our hotel, a mere .7 miles about 10 min at the most in the pedicab (note that decimal before the .7, not even a mile we went!) and he goes $50.  We learned some expensive lessons that day.  Don’t take pictures with the Disney characters and don’t take the Pedicabs anywhere.  I felt like we paid for that guy’s bike.

A walk-thru of St. Patrick's Cathedral

The next day, we woke up feeling much more refreshed and had intended to take the subway to the financial district.  I ran out of time to do 2 things in my trip planning: find places to eat breakfast at and figure out the subway system.  Huge mistake and we paid for it in time lost trying to figure both out.  We ended up in a taxi, which worked out fine and ate at a Cosi Café, which I wasn’t overly impressed with but it worked.  We then met up for our Wall Street Financial District tour.  I’m glad we had great weather for our trip because this 2-hour tour was mostly all outdoors since no outsiders are allowed on the trading floors.   I ended up choosing a Wall Street tour that was a little more expensive (not by much though) than some of the choices but it was money well spent.  We went with www.thewallstreetexperience.com and would highly recommend it.  Our tour guide was fabulous, he himself personally worked on Wall Street at Goldman Sacs and we found him and his facts fascinating given Aaron and I both work in a financial sector.  The tour was so comprehensive that I didn’t feel like we needed to explore any more of the area so we headed on to lunch.  We were supposed to eat at Adrienne’s Pizza Bar but our feet were tired so we decided on Pound & Pence next to the Federal Treasury, which worked out just fine.

New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street

I personally found the Federal Treasury Bldg fascinating and the history that has unfolded in these walls

Financial District Bull

Afterwards, we headed over to One World Trade Center and visited the 9/11 Memorial.  Freedom Tower really is an impressive building in person.  We headed into the 9/11 Museum, which my planning paid off and the reservation line moved quickly.  I would highly recommend the 15-minute video at the beginning of the tour.  The museum is a pretty good size.  I found it a little strange how artifacts and plaques were really spaced out in some spots but then they had these side rooms that were too packed with people and artifacts that you really couldn’t see them all effectively.   I’m thinking it must be because the museum is set up where you are viewing specific artifacts that are intact (viewing the actuals stairs and footings of the original trade center) and so they have built the museum around the pieces that are left at ground zero but I do feel like even with that, there was still areas where moveable artifacts could have been placed, making it easier to tour.  The artifacts in the museum have been preserved very well and the volunteers in the museum do a great job of elaborating into details.

One World Trade Center/Freedom Tower

Inside 9/11 Museum, Ladder 3

Inside 9/11 Museum

 One wall in particular felt very sacred, it is where many of the remains of those who perished in the attacks were kept.  I did not know the remains of many of the victims were right there in the museum.  Overall, it was a good self-guided tour, I think next time I will plan better to come during a time when it’s not so busy and maybe even consider the guided tour they do before the museum opens to the public.  Aaron and I talked about where we were on 9/11, we both remember that day very vividly and always will.

9/11 Museum

Remains of victims behind this wall, 9/11 Musuem

9/11 Museum, original staircase many survivors used for escaping the building

9/11 Memorial Pond

From here, we finally figured out the subway, on our 3^rd attempt!  It’s definitely the way to travel in NYC but we just never really got the hang of it enough to use it as our sole mode of transportation.   We had reservations on Restaurant Row at Becco.  This is really a neat area for those who like an eclectic setting.  I choose Becco for their popular 3 daily pasta table side preparations and the it’s known for the best wine list for $25.  They literally have a whole page of wines by the bottle, all for $25, I liked the simplicity of that.  The food was good but we were really crammed into a tight space.  Most restaurants on restaurant row offer a pre and post theater menu since it is also in the theater district.

Aaron's vegetable appetizer at Becco was laughable, like something we would give Annie -- 1 carrot slice, 3 green beans, etc.  The food was good though, this was just a strange appetizer in how it was presented. 

After dinner, we grabbed our tickets to the RIDE.  We ended up buying a NYC Pass where we could pick 3 attractions each and it ended up being a good discount, with the RIDE being one of the options.  Do not do what we did and try to get our tickets to the RIDE 20 minutes before it starts, the box office and the meeting spot for this attraction is a little bit of a walk and we were hurrying. 

The RIDE was really great, one of our favorite attractions!  It was upbeat and overall a lot of fun!  It’s basically a touring bus that has stadium style seating facing the street and they take you on a driving tour of Manhattan, stopping along the way to watch street performers (these aren’t random; they are staged performances by the RIDE and were entertaining!).   It’s a neat way to see the city, below are a few videos from this attraction that I took: 

Afterwards we headed down to Times Square for some photo ops and called it a night.  Aaron’s feet were killing him, I was a little more prepared in what I packed (surprise, surprise) and my feet were holding up better than his but we had enough walking for one day.

Times Square

So this pic I came across and started laughing, didn't even know I took it, look how mad I am at my selfie stick not staying in place

Times Square

Saturday I had reserved to do the Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour.  Here is my quick review: don’t do it.  We got in relatively easily at the GrayHound SightSeeing suggested Hop On location.   All was good.  Then we got off at Macy’s and getting back on was a nightmare.

Macy’s was amazing!!  I’ve been in many of Macy’s but this one is a breed of its own; also famous for the Macy’s Day Parade.  The Christmas window displays were great, the store was decked out in beautiful decorations.  It was 10 huge floors of shopping.  We headed up to women’s shoes, naturally.  I had to hold myself back when they told me they would ship free from store to my front door.  I ended up buying 2 pairs of shoes, although Aaron outdid me and bought himself 3 pairs and 2 coats.  He always out shops me so it’s not that surprising.   I hit the purse department too and was google eyeing a gorgeous Kate Spade bag that I decided was a little pricey for me but hinted at how much I liked it to Aaron.  I’m already regretting not buying it so if Santa doesn’t get it for me, I guess I’ll have to treat myself to it.  

Beautifully decorated inside Macy's

These Christmas chandeliers were impressive, my picture really doesn't show how much detail are in these and they spin, move and light up 

We then walked down to the Empire State Building and had lunch at Heartland Brewery and the food was fabulous!  I also decided to get a mimosa even though it was lunch and it hit the spot.  The line to get into the Empire State Building was outrageous so we passed.  I’ve been inside before so I let Aaron know that I personally didn’t think he was missing much, especially since we had no intentions on going to the top.

Empire State Building

We then got in line for the Hop On Hop Off bus and this is where this experience went downhill.  The line was very long, no one was hopping off so I was growing very frustrated.  By the time we got on, the city traffic was horrendous and I didn’t find it much enjoyable.  We stayed on until we got to the Hop On Hop Off Ferry.  I really wanted to do a Ferry ride so I could get some good pictures but I was pretty bummed out when we arrived to find out we just missed the ferry and we really couldn’t wait an hour for the next one given I had our agenda fairly tight and we would miss our tour scheduled for later that afternoon if we opt’d for the ferry.  We then hopped on the subway and headed back to Times Square. We literally wasted 2-3 hours of our day and I was pretty bummed out about it.  Moral of the story, the Hop On Hop Off bus is a big time waster!  I did the HOHO bus we went to Washington DC and I found it very useful but not so much in NYC.

At this point, we had a bit of down time but not so much to really do much of anything so we decided to go to Junior’s, it was a place on my list if we had time to visit to enjoy some NY style cheesecake.  It was incredibly busy for 3 pm and I thought the cheesecake was good but not overly memorable.   Aaron doesn’t get very stressed out when plans change but I do.  Maybe that’s why my cheesecake wasn’t very good because I was still mad at myself that we wasted so much time and had nothing to account for it.

We then got in line for the TOUR.  While waiting, there was a Brookstone store and to kill time we decided to look around.  For some reason, several black SUVs parked in front of the store caught my eye and I even looked at the guy in the passenger seat and gave him a long hard look thinking who is this guy that can just park in the middle of the street like this?  And I also noticed a small group near us dress in black suits, very body guard like but there is so much stimulation overload in NYC that this was like one of those unconscious thoughts as in I noticed it but not paying attention to it.  Then just like that, we were told our tour is getting side tracked because those people who were standing like 10-15 feet from us were TI and Kevin Hart!  We couldn’t believe it!  I was in a bit of awe shock that we missed a potential photo op with 2 celebrities (of course that is the first thing I thought of!) 

We hopped on our TOUR, which is ran by the same company as the RIDE and honestly, they were very similar tours with a few differences.  I don’t regret doing them both but I would suggest doing the RIDE if I had to choose between the 2.   The TOUR tickets are part of the NYC Pass as well.

After the TOUR, we decided to walk back down to Rockefeller to do some more Christmas window display viewing.  Everyone wants to see Saks Fifth Ave that is on the famous 5^th Ave.  Their window displays and light show are very impressive and it is just as crowded as the Rockefeller tree is.  We decided to walk into Saks and to our surprise; the store wasn’t that busy at all even though there were tons of people outside it.  We walked around and commented on how it’s crazy that people can afford to shop and dress like this.  And frankly, I found a lot of the stuff kind of ugly and not anything that special to ever spend thousands of dollars on.  I’m more of a Gap and Banana Republic kinda gal, no Gucci, Oscar de la Renta or St. Laurent for me.  Here is a video of Sak's street light display: 

Saks 5th Ave on the infamous 5th Ave

Saks Christmas theme must have been candy

One of many over the top window displays at Saks 

After Saks, we had dinner reservations at Rock Center Cafe, this is a holiday must!  This restaurant is on the ground level of the ice skating rink and has great views of the Rockefeller tree while you dine.  The food was exceptional and the setting was perfect.  We also witness another proposal, the guy actually cleared the rink and proposed, how romantic.  This was one of my favorite things we did on our trip was eat here under the views of the tree, doesn't get a whole lot more Christmas in NYC than dining under tree and watching people ice skate!

Rock Center Cafe

Rock Center Cafe

Witnessing a proposal on the Rockefeller Rink

Look at that view of the tree, perfect viewing while having dinner

After dinner, we headed back to that Brookstone store just to confirm the events that occurred earlier that day and the sales person affirmed that are hearing was indeed correct, it was TI and Kevin Hart in that store that very moment.  We then got sucked into the Brookstone massaging chairs.  One of them was a little intense for me, got a hold of my calve and I was biting my lower lip as it had a death grip on me.  Aaron was tilted back in nirvana in another massaging chair.  I then stuck my feet into the foot massaging machine and was hollering at Aaron from across the store “You have to try this, I want this!”  And before you know it, we are both sitting there in a state of total relaxation with our feet sucked into these massaging machines.  It was like getting a free hour of massages, I’m one of those people that visits Brookstone for the freebies but never buys anything.
 

And that was it, that pretty much concluded my time in NYC.  The next morning, we woke up ate some breakfast and then I packed up and Aaron walked me down to the train station.  I was very lucky that I even got on the train and I will be posting some tips and tricks in NYC because there was a lot we did right, a lot we did wrong in our visit. 

I was also very lucky that I was able to leave my connection in Chicago, the snow was falling pretty good and I think I was one of the last lucky flights to get home before they started canceling flights in Chicago that day.

Aaron stayed behind in NYC for his convention the next day and half and I made the trek back to my parents and found the girls had a great time while we were gone.  I worried for nothing, they were well taken care of and although Annie asked for us, she didn’t have any big meltdowns that traumatized her for life.  A few days later Aaron arrived home, safe and sound with no travel delays.  All in all, we had a pretty successful trip and enjoyed our Christmas in NYC.   And the best part… our Macy deliveries started to arrive days after, as if they were sent by the NYC Santa himself! 

I'll finish off the post with some NYC Christmas decorations I captured.  This city really does go all out this time of the year, even have speakers in the streets playing Christmas music, what's not to love about Christmas in NY?!

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