Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument

The great thing about a toddler is that the most simple outing can be a great adventure and make them totally happy.

Needing a break from the playground circuit, we headed to the Soldiers' and Sailor's Monument in Riverside Park one late afternoon on a Sunday.  It can be packed with kids playing with soccer balls and scooters but it was quieter on this nearly winter day.

We practiced stairs and ran around. It was simple but good.

I love these two boys of mine.

November Everyday

Oh November.  Such a quiet little month that can be pretty dreary if I am honest.  The weather is almost always lukewarm and the excitement of fall activities has faded to the reality of less hours of daylight and lots of root veggies.

While it was an extra chilly November, we did have some beautiful days in the park. There were still acorns to collect and late autumn leaves to add a crunch to our step.

There were little toes and longer but still beautifully chubby legs. Breakfast was our quiet time together.

And Jaime was getting too tall for his own good, reaching way too much. And yes, that is a crockpot sitting on our dresser in the bedroom.

Lots more time was spent chilling in the apartment partially due to the cold and partially due to the little man getting very very sick. We both took a couple of sick days to spend with our little sickie.

And the baby was growing growing growing...

So not a glamorous month but nice little quiet days. It was a restful time for our family of three.

The ABC of It

The day after Thanksgiving we headed out bright and early to check out an exhibit at the library. I had heard about a children's book exhibit so we had to go. It was such a lot of fun.

On the way to Midtown Jaime felt pretty cool getting his own seat on the subway.

It was still extremely cold so we rushed straight to the big library building with only a quick pass through of Bryant Park.

Then we scooted inside and found the exhibit.  It was such a neat visual experience right from the get go.

We let Jaime take off and explore...

I was pretty excited about the great green room...

And Jaime loved the touch screens at his level (I hated that).

Then we headed back uptown. Good Enough to Eat actually had a table so we grabbed brunch before naptime.

Thanksgiving 2013

We had a very restful thanksgiving as a family of three. 

It was a bitter cold day with a simply nasty mean wind.  We went out for a little walk with Jaime bundled into the stroller so we could see the people lining up for the parade. I am not sure what Jaime thought of all the characters he saw but he had big eyes taking it all in.  We headed to a spot for watching the parade but it was just way to cold to stand out there.

So back at home we turned on the tv to watch some of the parade and I made some pumpkin muffins. Watching tv is such a treat for Jaime as he has had extremely limited viewing opportunities. The muffins were a hit with all three of us. We also had a family naptime of course.

For dinner we decided to go out. We went to Sarabeth's on Amsterdam between 81st and 80th. This was the first time I had gone out to a restaurant for a holiday meal. I was a little nervous about how it was going to go down as Jaime was in a picky eating phase after his massive illness a week prior.  But he enjoyed it and looked so cute. And the meal was delicious... without any dishes.

After dinner the little man wanted to walk. So the three of us walked back up to 86th St at toddler speed. Jaime said hi to everyone we passed and checked everything out... including our shadows. It was a lot of fun with a lot of laughter.

After we got back home silliness ensued.  Jaime took a few selfies and somehow ended up running around the apartment half changed into pjs with a onesie.

It was a nice holiday with lots of quality family time. 

History Museum Visits

It is just a straight shot down Columbus to get to the History Museum. And as we are now members and Jaime is walking great, we go often. It is a perfect place to let the little burn off some energy on a rainy day.

The first weekend of November we headed to the butterfly exhibit.  Jaime just didn't know what to think of it. I personally was dying of heat and humidity being seven months pregnant and dressed for November not 80+ degrees. :) It was pretty neat.

And we also just bummed around the museum. Jaime practiced walking up and down stairs.  And we always run around the North American Mammals rooms.

Lots of good times in that museum.