NYC The Last Day

It’s safe to say that by the last day in NYC we were exhausted!!! We didn’t make it to the train station until about 11, and I will take all the blame. I was moving slow, and it was suppose to rain on us! We were lucky enough that Nicole had generously volunteered to watch Nixon for us so that we could enjoy a day in the City by ourselves. We jumped at the offer, and I am still so so so grateful! Nixon was at an age where we couldn’t even  leave him in nursery without him crying. Luckily this really helped him get over that! He ate what he was given, didn’t cry, and didn’t talk! That last part isn’t the best, but hey, it wasn’t crying! At the end of the night, after all those babies were bathed, they snuggled in to watch a movie. Ridge isn’t much of a cuddler so Nicole was happy to have Nixon cuddle with her! She got up to get something and he got a little upset and so Jade jumped in and sure enough he cuddled with her! I wish I could have seen it! I’m so happy that I have such a great family that loves my baby as their own!
Anyway, it’s an hour train ride into the City from Parsippany so we didn’t get there until about noon. We knew we wouldn’t be able to eat until much later so we grabbed a quick lunch at Penn Station and then headed for the subway. Things were looking good, not rainy yet but by the time we got downtown it was raining. We stopped and grabbed an umbrella and it broke just a few minutes later. I would expect nothing less! We then headed for non other than the Statue of Liberty!

NYC Part III

We woke up Sunday morning after we all had a loooooooong nights sleep. I really think we didn’t wake up until about 10, and didn’t leave the hotel until about noon. The first stop we made was heading down to Macy’s. I’ve never gotten so lost and confused in my entire life! It was beyond massive and trying to find an elevator to take back down was impossible! We ended up on the escalators going down, with a stroller, and that’s just not my favorite. But the original wood escalators? I just couldn’t get enough of them! They were the slowest moving cool thing I’ve ever seen. I loved them.

NYC Part II

As a disclaimer I’d like to say that it has taken me FOREVER to write these posts and add pictures. I pretty much refuse to proof read and edit them before I post them. As I go back and relive/reread them I’ll catch my many errors and fix them then. But for now, I sleep.
I was super excited for day two because we had some big big plans, but also just for the fact that we were going to be spending more time in The City! The girls, and Jim got up early to go see the Rockettes! Everyone was telling us that we needed to go see the shows and musicals while we were there and I honestly can’t think of a more miserable thing. I hate musicals, go ahead and judge me. But the Rockettes, THE ROCKETTES! That’s different! Amazing dancing with such precision, and a Christmas theme ta boot? Sign me up! Cody was planning on meeting up with us for lunch with the little boys but after some unexpected car trouble he ended up staying home all day with the boys. I’m sure there are thousands of other ways he would have rather spent the day, but he handled it and even got a few hours to himself while all the boys napped.
Funny side story. As we were getting ready to go I was throwing up in the bathroom and Ridge and Jade were down stairs and they were hearing everything. Nicole came down and as we were talking I mentioned that I didn’t feel well but I would be fine and it would go away. With the straightest most shocked face ever Nicole looked at me and said “Are you pregnant”? I will never forget her face! I said yes and there was lots of jumping and squeals and excited noises. I brought up the conversation the previous morning with the Tylenol and she couldn’t believe that she totally missed the signs! It was all pretty funny. Anyway…

New York Part I

Dreams do come true! Over thanksgiving my husband granted one of my biggest wishes and that was to take me to my homeland, NYC (Oh you didn’t know? I have an East Coast Soul, so it’s about time my west coast body reunited with the rest of me) I will start this journey from the very beginning.

July!

July was such a fun month! It’s one that I look forward too and this year did not disappoint! For starters, that husband of mine got a promotion! He started at Pro Vison last July and had worked his butt off to prove himself! Luckily they saw that and promoted him a year early and I am SO PROUD!! He’s now Tax Senior and working on his CPA. There’s always SOMETHING after you get your masters, don’t let them fool you!
Then we come to the 4th! I always look forward to spending time with family and friends, eating way too much delicious food, and sweat my way through some fireworks. This year we invited over to one of Jim’s boss’ house to swim and eat the most amazing smoked pulled pork ever! It was fun, and Nixon LOVED playing with all their trains! They love in a cul-de-sac and they do not disappoint on the fireworks! We sat outside with the entire neighborhood and enjoyed all those pyros put on a good show!

But the best part about the fourth? My best friend had the most adorable baby girl! Hadley Jo Coats! She’s adorable and I can’t wait to squish those cheeks!!! (Is it Christmas yet???)

On July 11 we hopped on a plane and flew to Utah to spend some time with that crazy family of mine! And knowing that family, we knew it would be anything but a vacation! Jim spent the entire weekend outside, being dragged from here to there by my dad and brothers. It was great! Jim was only able to stay for about 5 days but I got to enjoy a Utah summer for a full 3 weeks.

We kicked off the weekend with a great parade in Farmington, Nixon was on the fence about it. He doesn’t do very well with change and new things, but we survived thanks to the the Fat Boy semi that came through throwing Fat Boys instead of Candy and it was great! Don’t be fooled, we did get a ton of candy though! We then went and spent the rest of the afternoon at the bubble swimming!

We were able to spend a ton of time just playing outside with cousins! It was so nice to just sit in the shade and watch the kids run and play! Nixon loved it until I went inside or out of sight and he would have a melt down. Talk about mamas boy.

Paisley told grandma that she wanted to go for a ride on a train, so ride a train we did! We took frontrunner into SLC and went to the Gateway to see How to Train Your Dragon 2. From the little portions of it I actually saw it was really good! But it was nap time and lets just say I am a schedule mom. We are home at nap time everyday and never a minute late. After walking around the theater Nixon eventually fell asleep for a little while but when he woke up he made sure to let everyone know he was PISSED!! I was sweating the whole way home on the stupid train and I was extremely anxious to let him out and run.

But Wednesday, that was a day I will never ever forget. We went to Lagoon as a family and I was nervous but excited. I think we can all agree that as a child it was the best place on earth. The last time we went I was pregnant and I couldn’t ride most of the rides, so I was determined to make it extra fun for my little family. It turned out to be the perfect day to go! It was hot, but those mega huge trees keep it manageable, and the middle of the week made the lines minimal if at all! That was a definite plus because Nixon is apparently the least patient person in the world. We rode all the rides no less than 10 times each and Jim and I were even able to sneak away and ride some pretty intense roller coasters! A+ Lagoon, A+. It was so fun to watch Nixon love the rides I loved when I was little, and watch as Jade and Paisley would get excited to sit next to Nixon on the rides. I’m so lucky to have the cutest nieces in the world! He rode Bulgy the Whale practically non stop with a smile on his face the entire time. Ridge and Nixon also rode the weird space like ride, who knows what its called, over and over! There was never a line, and that’s probably because all the parents were terrified their children would fall out of it. No? Just me? Well one time it just stopped mid air and one of the girls and Nixon I think were just hanging out up there until it reset and let them down. Talk about heart attack!
And that brings up to the last day Jim was able to spend with us in Utah. The three of us rushed home to get Jims bags and run to the airport just in time for him to be notified that his flight was delayed. He didn’t end up leaving until about 9! But we hurried about to Lagoon and rode all the rides we could for the rest of night! Nixon really could have gone all night long! And now I’m tired of writing this ever so lengthy post so I will leave the rest of July to another day. So here is a million low quality selfies of our day at Lagoon!

And because I found this gem of the guys day hiking and fishing in the Uinta's… but you probably got that.

 

Also, to prove he is my child, I dug this up and, well, it’s almost as amazing as the above picture.

Oh Lagoon… so much has changed, but its still exactly the same!!

Spring Update!

It’s been so long since I’ve blogged and there’s been so much that’s happened since Nixon turned one! This is going to be the longest, most obnoxious photo dump post ever, and I don’t even care! Here’s a little of what we’ve been up to!

In March my BFF Melissa was able to come to AZ and have a baby shower! Diana out did herself, of course, and through the cutest shower ever! Most of all it was just great to have my best friends in the same place for 24 hours and enjoy time together! I’m STILL carrying around the 5lbs I gained when they came to town… thanks guys. I guess it’s love.

In April I took a work trip to Utah for 10 days. Thinking about it now, it was great. Living it? Not as great. Nixon goes through a really funny phase when we are anywhere but home. If I leave a room he has a COMPLETE melt down. It was hard. It’s still hard, but I suppose he’s getting better? He ended up also getting an eye infection, so that was really crappy. The moment we landed in AZ he was healed, I’m not even exaggerating. Something about that dry desert air is good for the soul.

Do you see a common theme with this trip? I love those baby cuddles but… yikes.

We also Celebrated Birthdays, Easter, and our my love affair with the splash pad. Seriously, they are great. Now someone queue Nixon into the greatness

 

At the end of the month we took a trip to our favorite place ever, Mexico! Traveling with a baby isn’t exactly ideal, but we still made the best of it! We went with our friends the Smiths, of course. The reason for the trip? My amazing husband turned 30! That’s right ladies and gentlemen, he is the big 3-0! and we love him all the same!

If it looks like we spent all day at the beach, we did. And eating. What is there more to love than that? We’ve had a fun busy few months and now I’m exhausted from this so you will have to wait for a few more months to get another update.