Monday, November 26, 2007

Macy's with Macey

OK, so we're averaging one post every 25 days this month. Forgive us, but we've been busy. Grammy and Papa came for a visit. Then, Uncle Clint was here. Now, the holidays are upon us. Without further ado, Macey would like to wish you (a belated) Happy Thanksgiving. Here's how we spent the time:

Wednesday afternoon, Macy's Big Balloon Inflation:



We made the pilgrimage to the Museum of Natural History which is bordered by 77th and 81st Streets and it was here that all of the Macy's balloons were blown up the night before the big show. The only one we actually got to see measurable progress on was the Energizer Bunny. It was also the first one we saw and for some reason or another, Mason adopted it as his favorite.



















Dado and Mason say cheese (literally) in front of Pikachu, while we swapped cameras with another family to capture all of us in one shot before heading home for the night. After all, we had to be up awful early on Thanksgiving Day!

6:30 a.m. to be exact. We drug ourselves out of bed and awoke Mason with promises of seeing the big balloons again. BUNNNY!?! He says. Yes we say. He's happy to come along. We take the train to Columbus Circle, and wander down Broadway until we find a perfect viewing locale. And we wait. And wait and wait. A good two hours before the balloons arrive. Mason is antsy, but happy as can be when the parade starts.

He spent most of it perched on Dado's shoulders. Over and over we here "Look!" as he points out some balloon or float passing along. He LOVED it. It was well-worth the lost sleep to see how happy he was watching everything pass by.

The biggest reaction to the parade may have come to the Sesame Street float ("Look Mama! A Big Bird!) or the array of horses who passed by ("Neighhhhhh! A horse!") It was definitely an experience we won't soon forget -- and hope he won't either.

The weather was beautiful. We had a great group of families around us (save the one dad who tried to use his kids to cut in front of everyone. We had some words with him). So, with that, we'll leave you with some pictures. My personal favorite (always has been, always will be) is Santa Claus. I especially love the shot of the tail-end of the parade snaking down Broadway in front of us once it had passed.



We closed out the day by wandering the streets with all the other parade goers. We ended up at Bryant Park where we grabbed a table and relaxed in between chasin' Mason. He loved watching the ice skaters there -- and tried to hop onto the ice more than once. I guess we need to practice up so we can take him soon. After that, we wandered over to the restaurant where we had reservations only to discover it was closed, and was not, in fact, the right one. Luckily we were only a couple of blocks away. We stuffed ourselves with food and then went home to watch Dado's Cowboys pick up another win.
All in all, it was a great Thanksgiving!

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Boo! Happy Halloween from the City

Our day started off with daycare drop off, and let me tell you the surprise I got when Spider Man opened the door for us. Mason was sans-costume at this point. Instead, wearing a shirt that said "I love my mummy" and jeans. That didn't last long. After he found Nemo in the kitchen and saw Madeline eating breakfast, there was no denying Mason's inner-cow anymore. The Devil was the next to arrive.


I left Mason with the wild bunch and went back home to work from there for the day so that I could partake in festivities with him later on. Our brave friend, and daycare provider extraordinaire, Melissa, had them all herded up and out on the sidewalk in front of our apartment a couple of hours later, ready for their daily walk. I joined them, and we brought our neighbor, Chris, and his son, Emilio (a.k.a. the Giraffe) along for the fun. It's an adventure making the 10-block round with a double stroller, single stroller and four loose toddlers souped up on holiday fun. See:



Alas, we all survived to tell about it, and had many smiles and laughs along the way.

After a few more hours of work for me, some lunch and a nap for the kids, we met up with all the parents and headed down to the American Museum of Natural History for their Halloween party. Daddo found us amid the sea of party goers and we all headed inside. You have to get a little creative when a) your kids are too young to trick-or-treat and b) you live in New York City. So off we went. The dinosaurs were a big hit, as were the treat stations along the way. Mason is no dummy. At the first treat station, he had the system figured out and he was working it. He got a candy bar from each of the three people handing them out at that station. He'd get one, drop it in his bag; get another one, drop it in his bag; and then on to get a third one. It was pretty funny.

After the Dinosaur Hall, we checked out the whale in the Great Hall and then witnessed simultaneous toddler meltdowns fueled by lots of sugar and lack of dinner and decided to call it a night. We headed back up town and hung out with the neighbors for a bit before we took our little cow home and laid him in his stall...I mean crib, for the night. Halloween bag (sans candy) included.

One last question: Is that what Mad Cow disease looks like?