monster NYC post

the weekend before last, we took a special trip- we went to NYC to visit newlyweds aunt marge and uncle ben in their brand new place in brooklyn! mommy had been to the new place once before, but this would be bebe and daddy's first time. we were hella excited!

bebe is not at that annoying little kid stage of 'are we there yet?' instead she just asks to get out. wherever we are, however fast we're going at the time... she just wants out. we tell her she'd be all by herself, we're going too fast, etc. she doesn't care. out.

so for long car rides we bring plenty of books and toys. one toy bebe likes is the etch-a-sketch. this is mommy's drawing of baby hannibal lecter. great job, mommy!

we hit sooooooo much traffic on our way there. pretty much every hour or so we would hit traffic that stopped us for a half hour or so. what should have taken about four hours took six instead.

traffic behind.

traffic ahead.

don't even say it, i know what you're thinking. out.

"yep."

but wait! it's the GW! i see it! we're almost there!

woo hoo! bklyn here we come!

the scenic skyline of NYC.

once we got there, and got a sweet parking spot right outside their house, aunt marge and uncle ben were dying to take us to the playground just a few hundred feet from their house.

right next door was this cool park. there were some good skate spots, a nice green space, some tennis courts...

and of course, the playground.

bebe, sizing up the big slide.

hmmm. looks fast.

it was.

there weren't any swings, but there were plenty of things to climb on.

beebs has gotten to be quite the climber.

"it's sad when daddy struggles to find something witty or funny for me to say at an opportunity like this. it must be hard to always find a joke out here."

"no, wait. there goes one over there."

"that was easy. i guess he's just lazy."

things like this seem like a great idea, but they ultimately break and they're only fun for ten seconds. can't we do better than this, playground people? CAN'T WE?

bebe in the tube never gets old.

two sisters, contemplative.

one sister, full of doubt. one sister, concerned at a lack of faith.

one sister resigned, one sister hiding the fact she's picking her nose.

the newlyweds.

bebe makes friends everywhere she goes. it's soooo annoying. to me. she likes it.

after the playground it was time to crack open a can or three of "simpler times." it doesn't get any simpler than "simpler times," folks. for real.

and a candle lit dinner for two.

BAM!

the next morning, daddy, bebe, baba baby, and uncle ben headed out to get supplies for our "new york friends" brunch.

"daddy! jeebus, don't look now but there's a shrunk dog wearing a coat over there!"

oh, hey. you're right. yikes.

"i told you not to look."

"help. me."

beebs gave aunt marge some table setting pointers, but since they involved putting everything on the floor, aunt marge stuck with her own instincts.

we had a chance to visit with lots of new friends.

noah and carlyn (prolly not spelling that right)

uncle ben (not so new)

gigi the dog.

darren and vanessa

julie-HYAH! and her friend, from boston no less, elissa.

the boys talked skateboarding

and the girls all talked about pink stuff and smelling nice and whatever. i don't know. when their voices get all high and squeely i stop listening.

it turns out there was another playground just up the street, and if it's one thing bebe can't stand it's an untested playground in close proximity. what she probably could stand is a playgroind, which i've mis-typed three times and spell correction hasn't caught. is there such a thing as a playgroind? i googled it, and no. there is not.

looking both ways before we cross the street, AT THE SAME TIME. we are a multi-headed street crossing machine.

the kid loves stairs.

"HEYYYYYY-OOOOOHHH!!!"

hanging like a monkey.

sliding like an electric. slide. heh.

once we had given the grown-ups enough time to talk about important stuff, it was time to head home for a bit.

the sun was setting and we needed some warmer clothes before we headed out to dinner.

ta-da! jackets! off to dinner we go.

bebe is a real city kid.

she just strolls along, chill as can be.

we saw a blimp in the distance

and aunt marge and mommy tried hard to point it out, but bebe wasn't seeing it.

"HEY! YOU GUYS! LOOK! A BLIMP!"

we ate at a place called 67 burger.

bebe got restless waiting for her fries to come, but otherwise she's the perfect kid to take out to dinner. i mean, she doesn't pay the bill or anything. and she's a lousy designated driver. so she's not that perfect. but mostly.

the newlyweds.

if there was a deleted scene, or outtake, from the above series, it would be this pic. love you guys.

hungry.

we had just enough food.

then it was time for our short walk home. aunt marge and uncle ben's neighborhood was pretty sweet.

city kid.

a quick stop at the local bookstore.

this place shows movies at night on their outside wall.

on this night it was Shaft!

sorry, you must be mistaken.

we started the next morning with a little golden flow. which is the same way many of you start your mornings.

and some sesame street.

after that it was time to pack up the car and head all the way back to boston.

little did we know that we'd hit a poopload of traffic on the way home (just to balance things out) and opt to stop for lunch at mommy's favorite restaurant: Friendly's.

HIM: omg, i am totally texting you from across the table. HER: lol, i know!

while we waited for our food to come, little baby said "hi" to big sister bebe with some heavy-duty kicks:

she thought that was so cool!

then there was some coloring. after a nice little lunch it was time to get back on the road.

daddy and bebe slept most of the rest of the way home. thanks for driving, mommy!

after the long car ride we wanted to get out and stretch our legs while mommy rested.

no better way to end the day than with some train spotting.

big thanks to aunt marge and uncle ben! we had such a good time hanging out with you guys (as always)!

some other pics from the bklyn trip are up on the photo blog, btw...