When Mommy's Away the Boys will Play

There are two sides to every story.  While I'm sure everyone loved reading Emily's New York blog that detailed her birthday trip with her mom and sisters, you probably found yourself asking, "Where's Brody?  Surely Emily didn't leave him with Greg for 5 straight days, while she lived it up in New York!?"  I've hacked in to our family blog to let you know that that's exactly what happened.  After I helped load Emily into the tricked out BMW that picked her up and took her to the airport, I went back in the house, shut the front door, put both hands on my face, and screamed just like Kevin did in Home Alone.  Actually I didn't, and the reason I didn't is because Brody is the most awesome baby in the world.  I will admit that I was a little nervous about Emily being gone for so long, but I knew that Brody would make it as easy on me as he possibly could.  Below are some pictures from our fun week:



The fun was just beginning!

 

Brody's first wrestling lesson...he pinned me!

 

 

Why are you feeding me?

 

 

While Emily was gone, Brody learned how to crawl to the bathroom
as I prepare the tub for bath time.

 

 





He also learned how to pull himself up in his crib.


 



With Emily gone, it was time to eat at the places we love, but she hates...first stop was
Black Eyed Pea





Brody carried his shorts all the way from his room to the game room.

 



As a reward he got to watch his favorite show...Signing Time!



More play time!

Karis, Tyson, and Parker invited Brody and I to the park for some
Saturday morning fun.

 

Without mommy there Brody got to swing extra high!

 

Brody and I got caught in a crazy thunderstorm after church on Sunday afternoon.
You can tell he was a little concerned.

 

 

It never rains when mommy is around.  I hope she comes back very soon!

Several closing thoughts...first, thanks to my mom and dad for watching Brody when I was at work, for taking Brody and I out to dinner most of the nights, and for arranging the fancy ride for Emily to and from the airport.  Also, thank you to my amazing wife for staying home with our son everyday.  I have a tremendous amount of respect for what you do, and how easy you make it look.  I love you so much, and I'm glad you were able to take a much deserved trip to the Big Apple.  Lastly, I want to thank Brody for such an amazing week.  I love you so much and I can't wait to spend more time with you this summer!

Father's Day & the Start of Summer Weekend!

We had a great weekend overall!  Time together the three of us, time with friends and time with family.  Best part?  It's officially the start of Greg's summer break!  Woo Hoo!

Two peas in a pod.



Pool fun!

With this being Greg's first Father's Day, I wanted to try to make it special.  I got up early to make him blueberry muffins from scratch.  When I took this picture on my phone this morning, it looked a lot better in my mind than it actually turned out.  But, #1.  they tasted a lot better than they looked and #2.  I think he was surprised.  So, winning. 

The rest of Father's Day was a lot like Mother's Day.  We went to church and came home and took naps.  Really though, there is nothing better than a Sunday afternoon nap.  We had decided to grill out again because it's just not worth trying to brave the crowds of Katy restaurants.  I know this may sound silly because Katy is not that big, but trust me when I say that us Texans are serious about our food.  No matter how many restaurants we get, they are always crowded.  This is especially true on holidays (of any kind).  So over to David and Cathy's we went.  Thankfully, Nanny and Paw Paw were able to come to.  Gary and Catherine were out of town, but Jordan was there because he was staying with David & Cathy.  It was a nice & relaxing time.

 

 

Greg, really is the best dad!  I don't think I can say enough good things about Greg as a dad.  He's caring, loving, encouraging, supportive and helpful.  And Brody is only 10 months old.  I know he's only going to continue to pour all of these things and more into Brody and our other children.  I can't wait to continue to see how amazing he is.  Love him so much! 

 

 

 

And I obviously want to send a shout out to my dad.  Love him bunches and bunches.  He is such a good man and was so encouraging and patient (Dad of three daughters kind of has to be).  He taught me so much and I owe so much to him.  SO blessed and thankful that he's my dad!  Rock and cornerstone of our family.

 

 

 

Happy Father's Day!

 

 



 

New York Celebrations

So, the back story about this totally awesome birthday trip started way back when this chick turned the big 3-0.  Here she is on her 32nd birthday with Little Man.

 

 

We (Mom, Sarah, Audra and I)  decided (somewhat last minute) that we wanted to do something special to celebrate her big birthday.  We looked for places that were reasonably priced...and came up with the Waldorf Astoria Boca Beach Resort in Boca Raton, FL. (thanks to Audra Lynne's awesome "I work for Hilton" deal).  We realized that they have a Serendipity 3 Restaurant in the hotel.  At the time, it was one of three with the other two being in NYC and Las Vegas.  While celebrating Sarah's 30th birthday, we came up with the brilliant idea to celebrate my 30th birthday in NY and Audra's in Vegas.  So fast forward to my 29th year of life and Audra and I both get pregnant.  We decided (while we were both still pregnant) to go the following summer.  Audra would have an 8 month old and I would have a 10 month old.  Totally do-able to leave them with our sweet MILs for a few days, right?  Well, come to find out, not so much.  Despite Mom and Audra's very best efforts Baby Gray just would not take a bottle.  So, our girls only trip turned into four women and a baby take on the Big Apple.  Gray was a welcomed addition (however, the stroller in my humble opinion was not).  : )  Thanks Mattiepookins for letting your precious Little tag along!  So, the stage is set...here are our NYC shenanigans.    

 

Thursday, June 6, 2013



The day started very early, but in a wonderful way!  My sweet FIL, David
arranged for a car to pick me up and take me to the airport.  My nice Scottish accented driver
wished me a Happy Birthday and a fun trip in NY with my Mom and sisters.  Here he is driving away
after he dropped me off at the airport.







 

This was the picture I texted Greg to let him know I'd made it to the airport.
My flight was good and I even wanted to watch the in-flight entertainment which I feel
rarely happens.  I got to sit, relax and enjoy Safe Haven.  Not sure the last time I sat down to watch a movie at 9:00 in the morning.   









So, I know this is really bad of me...I just couldn't resist taking a picture of this man
who was on my flight!  I mean, could he be more of a stereotype? (said in a Chandler Bing
voice).  This man was getting off the plane in NY looking like a total stereotypical Texan...ha!



So, we all survived our flights and somehow (with the help of many LaGuardia airport employees) found
each other in NY.  I mean, LaGuardia is the most confusing airport I've been in.  Ever.  Seriously.  Ridiculous.  You can see Baby Gray started causing problems right away.  #angelbaby



We got settled into our hotel and started to walk around a little.  It wasn't the nicest weather, but it wasn't horrible either.  Where else besides NY do you walk out of your hotel and find a dog dressed up like it's Halloween when it's really the middle of the summer.  Good ol' NY!



A look at what we saw.

 

The plan was to eat at a food truck, but after much hopeful searching that didn't happen.  We ate at a place
called Dig In.  It was very cool and extremely "granola'. 



The hip thing in NY restaurants are these baking sheet type serving trays.  We had them here and
at another local establishment.  Gray enjoyed them.

 



Getting reacquainted with how the subway works.

Cutest little police vehicle I've ever seen.  : )

Friday, June 7, 2013 (Little Bear's Double Digit Month Birthday)

It was a just a bit wet.  I don't think you can tell from this picture, but I was pretty much
soaked thanks to the tropical storm that was moving through NYC.  We didn't let it slow us down, though.  We had a great day in spite of the weather.

So, this umbrella was pretty awesome.  We were leaving the hotel and one of the guys who was on our floor was leaving at the same time.  We got out onto the street and it was raining (like it did all.day.long) and he handed us this umbrella and said it was "extra".  I wonder why?!  Ha!  SO we walked around NYC with an umbrella that said, "Smell me".  Only us!

Now, we're conquering the subway.  Got a week long pass.  It was well worth it!

We became well acquainted with the "Special entry" doors in the subway.  The stroller gave us a tidge bit of a work out in the subway.
Thanks for thinking about our health, Baby Gray.

 

Sarah, Audra and I ate at Gray's Papaya hot dog.  If you've ever seen Fools Rush In this is the kind of
hot dog Matthew Perry's character was obsessed with.  It was super delish. 

We got the Recession Special which was pretty much the only thing to order.  Two hot dogs and an all natural
fruit drink.  Not really sure who thought up a hot dog and juice.  Maybe someone trying to re-live their childhood.  But, hey...it totally works.



Then we happened upon a TJ.



I'm still waiting for one in Katy, but Sarah and Audra assured me that it would not be near as cool. 
It was on several different stories located under ground and the carts had their own escalator.

Super Cool!

You could barely even see the buildings due to the clouds and rain.

Friday night Mom, Sarah and I ate dinner at Junior's.  An historic NY restaurant.  Audra ordered in and stayed with Gray so Mom could see Phantom of the Opera.  Pretty much everything about Junior's reminded mom of her past.  #trueNewYorker

Should have taken a picture before we ate it, but this was the most delicious and creamy cheese
cake I have ever had.  No, really I'm not kidding.  Seriously.Good.Cheesecake!  So good!  Oh, and the waiter sang me Happy Birthday!  Added bonus.

After Phantom we stopped by The Cake Boss bakery that was just
a few blocks from our hotel.  It was amazing.  No, really, it was amazing!  We got an assortment of pastries and cupcakes and everything was so good, but the peanut butter frosting was to die for!

 

Saturday, June 8, 2013

 

Freedom Tower

Waiting to see the 9/11 memorial.

The 9/11 memorial was very well done.  Apparently they had several thousand submissions from 50+ countries.  Obviously I don't know what the other ones would have looked like, but I think this is a great way to honor those that died in the tragic attack.

There is one waterfall into a big pool...

and then another waterfall into the ground.

Another look.

 

Here we are in front of the survivor tree.  This tree is seriously incredible.  You can check it out here.

Gray & the girls.

Sweet, sweet little baby.

The name of every single person that died in the attacks is etched into the memorials that surround the fountains.



After the 9/11 memorial we headed south to catch the old, boring, nasty ferry yacht that look
us on our harbor tour of the city and to see the Statue of Liberty.  Unfortunately, the islands were closed because of
damage done by Hurricane Sandy, but we got Sarah pretty darn close!

It was a bit breezy.

New Jersey

Lady Liberty

New York Skyline

Enjoying the boat ride.

 

 

Relaxing in style on our almost private yacht tour.



Sadly, I did not take one stinkin' picture, but we ate dinner at Shake Shack.
Totally crowded, but totally worth it.  I know I have an obsession with peanut butter, but their shake
was yet another amazing dessert I had while in NY.  The burgers and especially the fries were really good!
Shake Shack was a smash hit!  Then Sarah, Audra and I headed to see Newsies.

 

It did not disappoint.  Although, it was adapted for a live show, it still had some of our favorite hits that we watched Christan Bale sing over and over again in our childhood.  Open the gates and seize the day...

Inside the theater

Our trip to NY would not be complete without this picture.  This bakery and pizzeria was just a couple blocks from our hotel and we passed it about, oh, um maybe like a trillion times.  The name made Sarah and I laugh just about every time we went by it.  So, this ones for you, Sarah Lou!  And of course for good ol' Hot & Crusty!

Sunday, June 9, 2013

The day started early with a walk through the Park...yep, Central Park.  This is at the John Lennon Memorial Strawberry Fields.

A sign to prove it.

And yes, real wild strawberries do in fact grow here.

Love my sisters.

And my mama!

If you know me at all, you know I'm just a bit obsessed with Boston Common...I would say the same it true for Central Park.  How cool is it to have these huge, amazing and awesome parks right in the middle of these big cities?!



I couldn't help but think of Rachel Green as we passed Bloomingdale's.

After working up an appetite, we head to the spot that we most certainly had to go to considering it inspired the entire trip!

Crazy tiny restaurant.  Crazy BIG menus.

 

Oh, the frozen hot chocolate...delish!

We stuffed ourselves with some totally good food and took the subway to Brooklyn so we could then walk it all off on our way back to Manhattan across the Brooklyn Bridge.

View...totally cool.



And for any King of Queens fans...this picture is of the bridge Doug and Carrie would take to the city. : )



 

 

 





After the Brooklyn Bridge we did quite a bit more walking...through China Town and Little Italy.  We ate dinner at THE FIRST pizzeria in America.  Literally the very first licensed pizza place.  Cool, right? 

This was the end of an awesome day!  Sadly, our last day in NY. However, in spite of ALL the fun I had and how much I loved being with my sisters and mom, I was ready to get home to my boys!

And again my amazing FIL arranged for a driver to pick me up from the airport.  I was one of those people that had a driver with a sign that had my name on it.  This may be run of the mill for some people, but it was crazy cool to me!  I pretty much wanted him to speed really fast the whole way home because when I got into the car, I was seriously ready to see my baby!

 



I had missed this precious little face!  When I saw Brody he started squeaking and getting excited.  Then he started clapping for me and then he crawled to me.  Melt.My.Heart!  A HUGE shout out to my amazing and sweet MIL (and of course Greg too) who took SUCH good care of him.  I felt beyond blessed that I didn't have to worry about him once.  I knew he was in great hands.  And he did great while I was away.  Did we expect anything less?  Totally sweet & precious angel baby.