new york, new york

9:55 PM

New York City has been a place Tommy and I have been dying to see our whole life. We were so lucky to get the chance to celebrate Tommy's 30th birthday there a couple weeks ago - four whole days, and without the kids. It was an incredible experience...very eye-opening and a bit overwhelming! It was just like it is in the movies (I base everything off of movies, according to Tommy). Everything felt so different than I've ever experienced, yet it all seemed familiar since I've seen it in the movies. I kept waiting to see my favorite characters from You've Got Mail to walk past me. :)

The second I left the house I was bawling my eyes out, missing my kids. Maybe it's something about being pregnant. But everywhere I turned I saw things I wanted to show them. Especially Sydney. She and I share all the same interests (meaning we both get excited about little childish things). Tommy told me he's not bringing me on the next vacation if I keep talking about the kids every 5 minutes. ;)

Look. Everything really is all crammed together like this! My claustrophobia came out a bit in the busy streets and subways...thank goodness Tommy was there to hold my hand every second of the day and lead me through the crowds. In fact, that was one of my favorite aspects of the trip: getting to hold his hand almost all day, every day. I missed that.

My FAVORITE part of NYC is Central Park. We walked through it every day and still didn't get to see the entire thing. It is huge! And so beautiful and peaceful. It's amazing how you can be rushing through the buzzing city, and in an instant of stepping into the park, be transported into a serene environment with only the sound of birds chirping.

This is a picture of me and my belly sitting. We didn't do much of this during our trip. My long-legged husband was eager to see every site there is to see in the big city. After a couple days with me huffing and puffing behind him, he looked at me and said, "I didn't realize how pregnant you were!" :) By the 4th day he had slowed down somewhat, but we sure did see just about everything we could think of to put on our NYC bucket list.

Tommy told me to bring comfy sneakers instead of sandals, but I didn't listen. So I couldn't complain when my feet burned like H-E-double-hockeysticks from all the walking. At least the baby in the belly loved all the movement. :)

Tommy has a talent at navigating in a foreign city. I just followed blindly, grateful I didn't have to figure out the maze of maps and metro lines. The best part of the subways is they are air-conditioned. Small perks like that become heavenly when it is in the mid-90's and humid. In fact, my thoughts were constantly on where I could find water, shade, and a place to sit for a second to survive each day. :)

The Empire State Building was so amazing! We went to the top of the Rockefeller Center at night to see the city lights, and the Empire State Building early the next morning to see it during the day. We got to hear an audio tour of the city's history and development as we looked across the miles of buildings.

Little Italy was one of my favorite parts. It was just a tiny section, but it felt like we stepped right into a small town in Italy. And we got to eat at the first pizzeria in the US - Lombardi's - which was TO DIE FOR. We accidentally ordered a huge pizza, and laughed when they brought it out. But we ended up gobbling every single bite.