memorial weekend in nj and nyc

i'm finally feeling settled back into reality after our five day trip to the east coast. we went to visit my dad's family in nj and also spent a couple days in nyc. i have lots to share (as usual), so i'm splitting this into two posts. we had a fantastic time! aside from the plane rides (which were a little stressful with a toddler, as you can imagine), azalea was a rockstar traveler! she was happy as a clam exploring the city, eating out, staying up late, and napping in her stroller. it was so much fun to have these experiences with her (even though she won't remember them). she is such a cute age right now, she made friends with everyone she saw on the streets, in the subway, etc. lots of smiles and waves! we traveled super light since we had access to a washing machine at my grandma's. all we brought was one small suitcase, and 2 backpacks (one we used as a diaper bag), and an umbrella stroller. we rented a carseat from a place called babys away and borrowed a pack play from my cousin when we were in nj and found hotels that had portable cribs when we were in nyc. 

saturday we got up at 3:45am to catch our 6:30am flight. super gross, but it was that or wait til late afternoon to fly out and then our whole day would have been gone. so 6:30 it was! azalea did all right on the plane, but she was considerably more difficult than when we took her to florida a few months ago. definitely more toddler-like. lots of shrieking in protest when we would tell her no about something or when she was bored. she only napped for 30 minutes, but we survived. we took the subway from jfk to manhattan and that went smoothly. 

we dropped our suit cases off at the amsterdam court hotel and set out to explore. we walked and rode the subway a ton this day. we walked down madison and 5th avenue with all the high end shops, through part of central park, and to fao schwartz. we ate lunch at a fun place called pop burgers. the food was really good!

we went back to the hotel in the afternoon to try to get azalea to take a nap, but that wasn't going to happen. we didn't really mind since she was in a pretty good mood. at dinner time, we headed over to the east village to a place called meatballs that was recommended to us. it ended up having an hour long wait and no high chairs (seriously?), so we walked down the street and ate lo mein and pad thai at a place called noodle bowl. it hit the spot! after dinner, thatcher was on a mission to visit our first vegan bakery of the trip, so he could indulge in some sweets. we went to a place called lula's and had ice cream. azalea and i split a cake batter flavor and it was delicious. you would never be able to tell that it wasn't real ice cream. after that we decided to head back to the hotel by way of times square. i have been there plenty of times during the day, but never at night with all the bright lights shining. it was such an awesome experience! it was really crowded, but i loved taking in all the sites and the people watching as we made our way through.  

we finally got back to the hotel at 9:45 and all went to sleep.

sunday morning we got some breakfast at a little bagel shop near our hotel. we then made our way over to the port to take a ferry to weehawken, nj where my cousin was waiting to pick us up. 

you can't tell from this picture, but she was a little scared of the ferry.

we drove to my grandma's house and visited with her for a while. she turned 90 a couple months ago and she is as perky and with-it as ever. she truly amazes me! she hadn't seen azalea since last summer and my cousin and her family hadn't met azalea yet, so they were all excited. 

eyeing all of great grandma's nick nacks to pull down :)

that afternoon we went to a 5th birthday party  for another cousin's little boy. it was a pool party with "pizza and cake" which is italian for pizza, pasta salad, shrimp, sandwiches, chicken fingers, and cake :) so much yummy food!

azalea and i took a dip in the pool, but it didn't last long since she was mad that i wouldn't let her climb down from my arms and float off on her own. haha, she cracks me up!

beach ball!

after the party, some of my relatives came back to my grandma's for dinner and we hung out with them for the rest of the evening.

stay tuned for part 2 including how we took a trip to the hoboken hospital in an ambulance...