Cold Springs for Hiking & Lunch

For Memorial Day Weekend we decided that we needed to get out of the city and explore the surrounding area a bit.  We decided on a little trip up to a small town in the lower Hudson Valley.  A little hiking, lunch and a break from the noise on 86th Street.

As nice as Central Park is, you can't beat hiking in the woods.  After some research we settled on a trip to Cold Springs and a hike in the Breakneck Ridge in the Hudson Highlands State Park.  There are some very advanced trails and it is listed as 'one of the top 10 hikes in US' by Newsweek.  We weren't looking to be aggressive with this hike but rather just enjoy a little portion of what is offered.

It was a beautiful spring day. We had a great time and enjoyed the quiet.

After the hike, we headed into Cold Springs for lunch at a little local joint. 

We did a little walk around town before heading back to the city. It was a nice little morning adventure - we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Yup, it is positive.

After the Madison Square Park Kids Fest we took a nap. And after that nap out of no where it occurred to me that I might be pregnant. For the rest of the following week I became more and more sure of it. There weren't really any symptoms. I just knew.

So on the Friday before Memorial Day as Dan was packing up to head to work I asked him if he could stop at target.  And then, in the most nonchalant way I could muster, asked him to pick up a pregnancy test. I had stopped at a place on the way home the day before but they were twice as much as they had been in Chicago (seriously, the cost of living here...) and it just annoyed me that they were marked up so much so NJ could have our money on this item.

I got out of work early that Friday, as my company closed the office early, so Jaime and I went to a children's book store for a while and picked up Little Blue Truck Leads the Way. 

As soon as Dan got home from work we got the confirmation that our little family of three was on its way to becoming a family of four.

Dan's 10k in May

Another race in May was one of Dan's solo races. I have been bugging him about writing a post for this race so that we can include all of the races this year in the blog but it hasn't happened... so here is my post, months after the fact on his race.

Dan picked out a couple of 10ks to run for his solo races.  The 10ks he did were the full loop of the park and hit nearly every hill making them challenging runs. 

The Friday before the race he scurried home early and scooted across the park with Jaime to pick up his race bib and shirt.  I got photos texted to me at work of their little outting.

The day of the race was kind of yucky with 97% humidity and on and off ran. The race fell during Jaime's naptime so we stayed at home while Dan ran. 

There were 5851 runners racing for the largest winners purse for any non-marathon race in the US.  After Dan was done and back at home, we had avocado toast and goofed around for the rest of the rainy day while Jaime practiced cruising.

Madison Square Park Kids Fest

One Saturday in May we headed south on the 1 to Madison Square Park for the Kids Fest.  The activities were all for older kids but we thought Jaime would enjoy going to something with a bunch of kids having fun and being in a new neighborhood for a change of scene.

We weren't really sure what to expect.  Of course it would be busy (this in Manhattan) but it was pretty crazy.  Strollers everywhere.  Yes, that is the end of the snack line.  And yes, you need to get here early for a spot to see the kiddie band.

So we found a nice big open patch of grass and set up camp.

Jaime was still getting used to this grass stuff.

We chased him as he crawled off, practiced walking and did his favorite little jumping walk.

Attacked Dad..."Why are you less fuzzy here Dad?"

Checked out the fountain (we totally got the not-so-side-eye from other parents for this one)...

It was a fun little afternoon in a nice little park.  Jaime had blast as did Dan so I count that as a success.

On the way back to the train we ran into a dance parade that was just starting, of all the random things. Of course we had to check that out. 

There was such a diverse mix of people participating. It was pretty neat.  Jaime was wide eyed.

After a few we decided it was probably enough stimulation for the little (and let's be honest, us too) so we headed home.  Just another afternoon adventure in NYC.

Rain + Teething = Afternoon Fort Building

A rainy Sunday in May we started to get a little antsy in our small apartment with a teething little.  We have all become acustom to getting out and exploring. But staying in and in our pjs was pretty appealing to the grown ups. 

After every toy and game had been exhausted, it was time for a new trick.  So we built a fort.  Now, it was totally on the fly and I am clearly not stocking my closets with the same creature comforts as those sharing their fort building on pinterest... but a ten month old doesn't care. 

A white sheet and the couple of chairs that we own did the trick.

He thought it was the bee's knees.

 We had fun under our little fort.  We built towers and knocked them down. Attacked Dad.  Raise the roof...

And after the fort was put away for the day and we had a wardrobe change due the massive amounts of drool, we tried to get a picture of Jaime standing by himself.  But he did not want to show off for the camera.

It was a fun, lazy Sunday.