Hi friends,

This weekend Chris and I had a baby in New York City.

Not our own baby, mind you, but my nephew, and even though his father was with us the entire time I have to say … the experience left us both exhausted!

We had so much fun toting Rory around on his trip into the Big Apple, but it definitely gave me a new-found respect for moms who do this with their own children every day … especially those who travel around with them on their own. We couldn’t take a cab with Rory anywhere, since we didn’t have a car seat, which meant subways all the way! The one thing I will say that surprised me was how sweet everyone was to us–even when we were at Penn State in the middle of about a hundred people all trying to push to get onto the train. People were very respectful and helpful … it kind of renewed my faith in the people of this city.

Anyway, here’s a bit of what we did and saw:

After a brief meltdown, we headed over to Turtle Pond ….

By the end of the picnic and the pond, the adults were ready for a brewsky, so we headed over to the Amsterdam Ale House. (As a side note, this is a great little bar with tons of tasty beer options, should you happen to be in the Upper West Side area …)

Rory and my brother-in-law were meant to leave after the Ale House, but we were having so much fun we decided to make one more stop and they would catch a later train. On our way to the second stop, Rory had Meltdown No. 2, though (someone was hunnnnggrrrryyyyy!!!), and it was raining, so we hopped into the closest restaurant, which happened to be Citrus. Of the many things I learned about having a baby in Manhattan this weekend, Number 1 was Baby always dictates where you will be going. Think you have plans? Think again, buddy! Anyway, the Cucumber Saketini drink at Citrus was delish, as was their shrimp quesadilla that we split, so it was all good:

Then it was time to head back to Penn Station, which meant one more subway ride ….

And then we were back to Penn Station where the adventure all began:

And that was it, my friends! I think Rory had a fantastic maiden voyage into the city, if I do say so myself. I really can’t wait for him to get just a bit older so we can take him to the museums and to the playgrounds and to a play …

I may be getting just a bit ahead of myself, though!

I’m off next Wednesday to D.C. for a baby shower–hope your summer’s going well!

Bis bald!