A Day in Brooklyn (a month late)

Last month Gunner and I had the funnest day with our friends the Leal's (she blogs over at Cooking Hat) in Brooklyn. I don't know why its taken me so long to sit down and weed through my 500 pictures from the day and write about it.

We had planned to go see the Cherry Blossoms at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, but literally one tree had just barely started to bloom, so we decided to postpone that outing and hit the Brooklyn Children's Museum. I feel like I've been to a lot of children's museums in my life; but taking Gunner was like a whole new experience. He was in HEAVEN. It's like everything in there was built and catered to children. Oh wait. That's exactly what it is. Genius.

I'm convince I gestated, birthed, and am now raising a fish. This boy lives for the water. Bathtime is by far his favorite time and I always have to wrestle that squishy slippery nakey body when its time to get out. He will even put his face in the water, just to see what happens. Amazing? Reckless? Maybe a little of both. But my point is, this boy was in heaven with all the water features at this place.

They even had a 5 & under play area with a big water table. Gunner was hysterical. I just couldn't bare to be a kill joy and deny him the thrill of splashing to his heart's content. By the time we left he was completely drenched and (bonus) exhausted.

^^ Ally may have been a little less than amused by Gunner's antics ^^

^^ Look at those baby blues! ^^

We left the museum and walked a few blocks to grab some pizza. I'm so unpredictable with my food choices aren't I? (Side note: I suggested pizza the other day and Zack said he was "burnt out on pizza". Excuse me?!? When you live in the city with the best pizza on Earth how do you get burnt out on pizza?? I can't even imagine a time in my life when I wouldn't want to eat a slice of pizza. insanity.)

So we grabbed a pie and Gunner was completely comatose in his stroller. I feel like one of the greatest feelings as a mother is when my kid is so exhausted from playing hard and having too much fun that he just drifts to sleep in his stroller. The fun induced slumber is a much deeper and sweeter sleep I think. Surrounded by friends, with a belly full of pizza, and a well-rested baby, it may have been the most content I had felt in a while.

We drove over to Park Slope, which is the dreamiest of all neighborhoods. It's like old and historic looking, but also really hip and modern. I know it doesn't make any sense, but if I could choose one neighborhood in New York City to live in, if money weren't an issue, I think it might be Park Slope. We walked over to a look out/boardwalk type thing to admire the city.

I think one of the reasons I love Brooklyn so much is because of the view of Manhattan's skyline.You look out across the East River and the bridges and skyscrapers are breathtaking. Its this really strange paradox of being in the city while admiring it from afar. Its like having your cake and eating it to.

I will say that Gunner takes playing at the park very seriously. He is very focussed on climbing stairs, sliding slides, and most importantly observing the other children. But every once in a while, I'll catch just a glimpse of a smile on his lips as he slides. It doesn't last long, and it rarely gets caught on camera. The first time I took him to the park I wasn't sure he was even having fun because there was no smiling or laughing as I'd imagined. But as soon as I put him in his stroller to go home all hell broke loose. It wasn't that he wasn't having fun, he just takes his fun very seriously, like his dad. And I'm okay with that.

As Gunner has grown and become more of a toddler than a baby, it has been extra sweet to see him learning about friendship. He is so in love with the Leal girls. Everytime he sees them he lights up and runs to them. Watching him and Ally play at this park together was precious. I dread the day we have to say goodbye to them. The Leal family has become some of our closest friends. They have been such an amazing support and positive force in our lives. We will forever be grateful for their friendship and I know that we'll hang on to them forever.

XOXO
SD

P.S. Check out Ermelin's awesome blog over at COOKING HAT!!

P.P.S. Read about our other adventures in Brooklyn HERE!

Bucket List Update

There are a few bucket list items that we've checked off over the last few months, but don't really warrant their own post. So here's a quick word about each.

Getting Caught in the rain
This picture was taken outside the Manhattan Temple at Lincoln Center. I'm not sure what we were doing down there that day, but based on our clothes, I'm pretty sure we didn't go in to the temple.

Best slice of pizza in NYC
Lombardi's Pizza. You guys. It is 100% a MUST GO! If you are in NYC you absolute have to go here. At first I thought maybe it was going to be a touristy place with mediocre food. But that was not the case. They are licensed as America's FIRST Pizzeria. It was started by an Italian immigrant in 1905 (so they really know what they are doing.) This place is out of this world. They use all fresh ingredients. Everything is prepared by hand, in house. Its located just a few blocks away from Little Italy on Spring Street. Its dynamite. (Also, if you're looking for great dessert, right across the street is a place called Rice to Riches. Scrumpsh.) Zack and I have had our fair share of pizza since living here. As in, we eat pizza at least twice a week. So, I like to think we have a pretty good idea of what good pizza is. I was so excited when I had this pizza because I knew I had officially found, the best slice of pizza in NYC. However, I'll continue eating pizza, just in case there is something else out there.

Hail a Cab
This is not as fun or glamorous as it sounds. You stand on the street and wait for a cab with a light on the drive by and wave at them. Then they pull over. Thrilling.

Dylan's Candy Bar
We had a half hour to spare while we were in midtown (which is really rare) so we made a quick run into Dylan's Candy Bar. This place is cool because they have a lot of candy, and I like candy. But truthfully, it is crazy expensive and over-crowded. I'd say, its fun to do once, but not worth going out of your way for.

We bought all these candy bars and then somehow I lost them. We didn't even get to try them.

We've only got a few more weeks left in New York City so we need to hurry up and get the rest of our bucket list marked off. We are getting sad to leave, but we're hoping we'll be back before too long. 

XOXO

SD

The Dupaixs Visit

In December, Zack's parents came to spend a week with us and soak up the New York Christmas experience! It was such a blast! They rented a car and so we drove everywhere! This was so convenient, and also a serious reminder that I don't EVER want to drive downtown! Haha I'll leave that to the fearless!

Zack's parents are so generous and seriously spoiled us! We ate mountains of amazing food, wandered through holiday markets, checked out the Rockefeller Center Tree, spent a good chunk of time in the Macy's on 34th street, took a quick peak at a few holiday windows, and most exciting of all... We saw the Radio City Rockettes!! 

 You guys, if you haven't done this, it's a MUST SEE! I'm sure their year round show is great, but their Christmas Spectacular is pretty spectacular! However, I do think the story line suffered a bit from years and years of trying to outdo the year before! It was a little complicated, and bizarre, but the dancing was SPECTACULAR! They do this really amazing number where they are all toy soldiers! I think it's the only thing that they have done every year since the beginning! Easily my favorite part!

I was also pleasantly surprised to see that Gunner thoroughly enjoyed it! He napped through the first half, then was wide awake and mesmerized by the lights and music! Papa bought Gunner this spinny light up toy that he got a real kick out of! It is SO fun to watch Gunner enjoy things and get excited about things! (It's about time!!) 

We planned on visiting all the holiday store windows (they have a reputation for being extravagant!) but we didn't have a chance to really see more than a passing glance as we walked up 5th avenue! Does that count for crossing off our bucket list?! It'll have to! 

We also possibly may have found the best slice of pizza in New York City! I mean how can we know if it's the best if we haven't tried every single slice... But it was top notch! I'm not sure we're ready to officially call it the best slice ever, but we'll definitely be back to retest it! And in the mean time we'll continue eating pizza at least 4 times a week! (Is this my life?! I feel like its a dream!)

The Macy's as always is amazing and overwhelming! Its 9 floors and two square blocks... Yeah!

The tree and ice rink at Rockefeller Center are definitely a must see! Its like the most classic, famous holiday display in the city. (But to be honest, I wasn't all that impressed by their tree...) It is a real tree, which is impressive because its so big (how do they get it there???), but the decorations were pretty minimal. Maybe thats what they were going for? 

Over all the visit with the Dupaixs was so much fun! We loved the chance to share the city with them! They spoiled us rotten and we are so thankful for all they do to support us and make our crazy life easier!

Have you been to NYC for the holidays? Whats on your MUST SEE list?
xoxo
SD

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