Beantown

We loaded up the family on the ol' Amtrak train last weekend and headed north for some Fourth of July fun and a little belated birthday celebration for the Dad-O Man. We had been wanting to go to Boston ever since we moved east ... five years ago ... and finally made it! Here's Dad-O and Mason man checking out the view from the train as we left NYC in the rear-view mirror.

Once we got to Boston, we made a bee-line for Boston Common and took a tour of the Freedom Trail from this lady. Mason, as you can see, was totally enamored with the city's historical sites.



(As an aside, the sleeping was a much better reaction than we got when we took him to see the Liberty Bell. There, he just cried. Alas, both times he was woken up way too early to hit the road!)

Here are some of the Freedom Trail sites. Rob would later go to the pub across the street from the Granary Burying Grounds to "sip a cold Sam Adams while looking at a cold Sam Adams" grave as our tour guide suggested. Since the under 21 set wasn't welcomed, Mason and Mommy went for ice cream instead!



After our tour, we headed for the harbor where we took in the sites and enjoyed some delicious seafood at Legal Sea Foods. I'm still dreaming of Rob's jumbo stuffed shrimp!





Feeling re-energized, we took a walk through the financial district and back to Boston Common so Mason could get in a little playtime. He loved the sprinklers there and we all had a blast wading in the Frog Pond. Mommy's tired feet were especially appreciative!







After a brief respite at the hotel, we hit the road again and headed to Cambridge to watch the fireworks over the Charles River. Based on some faulty intelligence from our waitress, we arrived WAY too early for the show, but landed a good viewing spot. It ended up not mattering too much, though, as we had one terrified toddler on our hands and left shortly after the fireworks started going off! At least we squeezed in a family picture first!



Sunday started off with a trip to Fenway Park. The Sox were in town, but we didn't have tickets to the game. Instead, we just took in the pregame sites and our intrepid little Yankees fan braved the hostile environment to pose for a picture with his Yankees hat in front of the field. He and Dad-O gave the hated Red Sox and thumbs down. Fearing backlash, I turned his hat around once he hopped back in the stroller, but he was fearless and turned it right back around. Luckily, no one hurled any insults at him, though a dirty look or two were directed at Dad-O and I!





After a walk down Newbury Street, we headed to the Public Garden. We had promised Mason a boat ride, so to the Swan Boats we went.







For the final leg of our trip, we returned to Cambridge and took a quick walk through the Harvard campus.



From there, it was back to South Station and all aboard the train that would take our exhausted selves home. All in all, it was a great way to spent a holiday weekend and a great mini-trip for the three of us. We're already looking forward to returning and not waiting five years to do so!

Easter fun

We enjoyed a nice, relaxing Easter weekend beginning with Thursday night's big egg-coloring extravaganza. We had our buddies Kellyn, Nasira and Fatima over to help Mason do the honors.

Take a look at all those colors!



All told, the kiddos dyed 36 eggs for us and eight hands! Now I understand why we always had to dye eggs well in advance of Easter Sunday -- so the dye would be gone in time for photos!



Rob and Mason spent Good Friday together, though Mommy had to work. I'll post more about their adventure later.

Easter Sunday doubled as Mommy's birthday this year, and we had a great time. First, Mason awoke to find his wares from the "Christmas" Bunny -- as he kept referring to the Easter Bunny all day long, especially when he was excited. Like Mason said, he got toys, some clothes and LOTS of candy from that Christmas Bunny.



After mass, we headed to brunch at one of our favorite Upper Westside spots, Arte Cafe, and then to Central Park for an egg hunt of our own. The Christmas Bunny was kind enough to leave Mason 25 stuffed eggs to find.



After last year's incident, Mason was worried about other kids swiping his eggs, so we picked a sunny, uninhabited hillside to hide them on. Or so we thought ...

It wasn't other kids who got to them this year, it was a squirrel. Check out the chewed-through egg and the empty candy wrapper.


Mason still had plenty of fun, though we only came home with 22 eggs. The squirrel got a few!



Note to Christmas Bunny: Stop bringing shorts! Two years in a row, we've egg-hunted in our winter jackets!

Christmas In New York

A couple days late, but here's what we've been up to this holiday...

Mason and Mommy baked cookies on Christmas Eve morning, while Dad-O had to head off to work. Mason, as you can see, is a good helper and always willing to test the batter.








In the evening, we headed to 5 p.m. mass and took some time afterwards to take in the beautiful nativity scene and all the decorations set up at church.



Next, we headed downtown and grabbed some dinner before our traditional stop at Rockefeller Center to see the tree in all it's glory. Here are some of our favorite shots.







On Christmas morning, we awoke to find a pile of presents from Santa on top of the pile of presents that had already found it's way to our tree thanks to all Mason's generous aunts and uncles and his Grammy and Papa.

Mason opened.



And opened.



And opened presents.



Then, we got to take our turn. Dad-O, as you can see, was very pleased with his new video game.

We enjoyed a low-key day. We spent a little time out in the lobby of the apartment visiting with the neighbors and watching Mason and their little guy play with some new toys. Later, we closed out the night with a trip to visit Melissa and Kellyn next door.

Mommy was wearing her comfy sweats all day and decided that's just about the best way to spend Christmas!

Balloons, Balloons, Everywhere Balloons

One week, two cities, two big balloon parades.

First stop, Sunday, Stamford, Conn., for the UBS Parade Spectacular, which we attended with our friends Claire and Mike, who are Stamford residents.

The big hit of the day -- you'll never guess, no really, you won't. Gumby! Mason loved the little green clap of clay.




Thomas, predictably, was also a big hit.



Come Wednesday night, we headed to the Natural History Museum to check out the big balloon inflation for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, with, oh, about a million of our closest friends.



On Thursday, we joined that million, plus about 2.5 million more to watch the parade life in midtown Manhattan. This year, we watched from 48th and Broadway. Mason's favorite part (before Santa, that is) just may have been watching the antics of the cartoon M&Ms on the big screen across the street, in front of the M&M store.

There were plenty of other cool sites to see, though.




And, as a grand finale here's the kiddo's reaction to Santa's arrival on the scene.



Mason and Dad-O posed for a little Thanksgiving portrait in the middle of Seventh Avenue, which was still shut down as the parade marched further downtown toward Macy's.



We closed out our Thanksgiving outing with some delicious turkey and all the fixin's at a restaurant and then headed home for a family nap!