Our New York Photos

Here are some of our photos from New York. We had a great time and I can't wait to go back again and see more of what I missed.


This photo was so hard to get. There were tons of people gathered around this bull and everyone wanted to take a picture with it, except for Jonathon and I, we just wanted the bull. As soon as someone was done taking a picture, someone else would jump in and it literally took us 15-20 minutes just to get this one picture. The other people were crazy. Several people were hanging on it's horns, others were kissing it, and two girls climbed up on it and had their picture taken. The bull is significant because they say if you want to have good luck in finances, you are supposed to rub the bull's man parts. Jonathon and I didn't do that because the thought of doing that was just gross, degrading and embarrassing.


View from the other side...so neat!


This is at Ellis Island. The flag was so cool because from far away, all you saw was the flag. Once you got closer, parts of it changed, as shown in the picture, to reveal faces. It was so neat!


Picture of Jonathon and I on the observation deck of the Statue and looking out on to Manhattan's beautiful skyline. FYI--This was just one of the many beautiful views of Manhattan's skyline.


Jonathon was being a perv and tried to look up her dress. No, I am kidding! We thought it was neat a perspective.


This was taken from the observation deck on the Statue. Jonathon and I thought it was cool how we could see her shadow over the water.


In either 1986 or 1988, I can't remember, the U.S. Government gave New York City money to fix the Statue. There was something wrong with her foot and this is a replica of the mold they used to correct it.


This is a replica of the Statue's torch and it greets you when you walk into the museum located in the base of the Statue. We took a 15 minute ranger guided tour to learn about the history of the Statue.


This is a picture of the Empire State Building on Valentine's Day. It was lit in white, pink and red just for the holiday...so cute!


Here we are enjoying our Frozen Hot Chocolate and our Sundae from Serenidpity!


This is a picture of us waiting for the curtain at Mary Poppins!


This is a view from our seats of the stage. This was the screen that they used to show the outside of the house...amazing!


This is a picture of the inside of the theater where we saw Mary Poppins. It has such beautiful architecture and it makes you feel like you are in a garden or vineyard. It was absolutely gorgeous and breath taking!

The Stats Are In...

Earlier this week, Olivia had her 18-month well check-up. Here are her stats:

Height: 31 3/4" (25-50%)
Weight: 20 Pounds 8 Ounces (5%)
Head: 46 Centimeters (25%)

I know you are probably thinking she is in the low percentile for pretty much everything, and she is, but she is perfectly normal and she is going up on her chart. Olivia has always been in the 25th percentile for every thing and around 9 months, she paid a visit to the 5th percentile for her weight and has liked visiting it so much, she has decided to make it permanent. Anyway, she is perfectly normal and thriving.
Our doctor was pleased with everything but the speech. Olivia says 8 words and signs 7-8 words. Our pediatrician wants us to set a goal of one new word every two weeks. As my friend Robin knows, I have been fretting about this, and everything else, for quite some time. How do you make a child speak who doesn't want to? Jonathon and I are constantly talking to her and telling her what things are and asking her to repeat it back, and she just looks at us like we are silly. She can put two words together, like: thank you and all gone.
Sorry, I am at work and it is time to go...I will finish this blog later :)
Ok, I am back. Sorry about that; I thought I had more time than I actually did.
Anyway, my point is, Olivia is doing great and growing and learning by leaps and bounds. Even though the growth chart does not show her physically growing, she really is. She is eating me out of a house and home; I guess she has inherited the fast metabolism from Jonathon's side of the family. Jonathon used to be skinny before he had cancer, but he is working on it. His mom always tells me how when he was a kid, she would buy him jeans in his size plus slim and they would practically fall off of his waist. So, with that said, she just takes after her Daddy.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

Sorry, I have had that song stuck in my head ever since Thursday night when Jonathon and I saw Mary Poppins on Broadway! That's right, you read correctly. We went and saw Mary Poppins on Broadway. What an awesome show! The actors, singing, set, props, dancing, technology was so great! I could go on and on about the play, but it is better when you see it live; my words will not do the show justice.
Anyway, our Valentine's Day Weekend Getaway was great. However, we did miss Olivia terribly and I was excited to come home on Sunday and see her. Even though I got in late, 11:00 p.m. to be exact, she woke up when I went in to check on her and I was able to get a hug. I wanted to take her to bed with me but knew if I did that, neither one of us would get a good night's sleep. Oh, back to my trip...
Thursday night Jonathon totally surprised me and planned our whole evening. He found a really great restaurant called 44 and 10, Hell's Kitchen, basically it's address (it's located on 44th Street and 10th Avenue and was quite a walk from 50th and Park, where we stayed). Despite it's name, it was wonderful. We enjoyed every bit of food and drink. I actually found a wine I can drink, Moscato D'Asti. It is a dessert wine that is white and bubbly, and tastes like you are drinking really good white grape juice. After dinner, it was off to Broadway. Like I said before, the show was terrific. Afterwards, it was a mile trek back to our hotel where we both fell into bed because we were so exhausted.
On Friday, it was so nice to have the day to myself. I slept in and didn't get out of bed until noon; yep, that's right, noon. I got up, got ready, left the hotel at 1 p.m. and set off to Serendipity Cafe for lunch. I have to admit, eating at a restaurant by yourself is not an easy task. You have no one to bounce food ideas off of and no one to talk to when it takes your food 30 minutes to arrive. So, needless to say, even though the food was great, the company was not. By this time, it was close to 4 when I finished eating and window shopping and went back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. Jonathon picked me up and we went to Grand Central Station to try our luck at the Subway System. The first train that came was so crowded, we couldn't get on. We finally were able to hop on to the second train, barely, and made it down to Union Square to eat dinner. Union Square is neat because it is geared more towards the college age crowd since NYU is down there. After dinner, we decided to go back to Serendipity for dessert. We finally made it down there and enjoyed our Frozen Hot Chocolate and Can't Say No Sundae.
Saturday, Jonathon had to do some work in the morning so I got ready while he was gone. We braved the Subways again and headed down to Battery Park to go to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. If you ever get a chance to go to NYC, make sure you make it a point to go see the Statue of Liberty, totally worth it. However, make sure to go in the Spring, Summer or Fall, as going on a ferry in the Winter is just too darn cold. Despite freezing, we had a great time. For dinner we found a little hole in the wall restaurant and dined.
Sunday, we went and had brunch at a place called Alice's Tea Cup, and it is based on Alice In Wonderland, and is totally fabulous. Since Jonathon has been traveling, he makes it a point to try and find new restaurants and different types of restaurants while he is in the city, and this is one we will go back to over and over again. It is such a cute little cafe and has a wonderful selection of food and tea. Even though I am not a big hot tea lover, Sweet Tea or bust for me, I still enjoyed a cup, per our server's recommendation. Oh, I can still taste the sweetness of my delectable French Toast and the ripeness of my Strawberries. My Chocolate Chip and Coconut Scone was out of this world, especially with cream and raspberry jam.
Unfortunately, I cannot post any pictures of our trip because Jonathon still has the camera with him, as he is there until this Friday. As soon as he gets home, I promise I will upload them for all of you to enjoy.
Even though it was nice to have a Jonathon-and-Brandy-Weekend, we missed the snot out of our little girl and have decided we will not leave her for more than one night ever again.

New York, New York, again!

Yep, you read right, we are going to New York again. Jonathon will go first and will be up there for 12 days, February 10-22. I will then join him February 14-17 for a little Valentine's Day getaway weekend. Olivia will not be going this time, but will be in great hands while we are gone. She will be spending the weekend with Nana, Jonathon's Mom, Auntie Andrea and Auntie Alison, Jonathon's sisters.
We have been racking our brains trying to figure out what we are going to do while we are there and so far have decided:

1. We are going out to eat for dinner Thursday night to celebrate Valentine's Day. We do not normally celebrate this holiday so I am really excited this year!

2. Friday night we are going to go and see a play on Broadway. We are trying to go and see Wicked, but if that doesn't work out, it is between Hairspray and Phantom of the Opera.

3. Saturday we are going to go and do all of the touristy things. We are going to try really hard to take the ferry out to Ellis Island and go see the Statue of Liberty. I really would like to go see the 9/11 memorial, the Empire State Building, Greenwich Village, and all of the other NYC tourist sites. I would really like to take a tour, but I don't know if that will work out or not.

4. We will most definitely be going to the Serendipity Cafe. We tried to go the last time we were there, but since most of the shops and restaurants in New York are multi-level and narrow, they do not allow strollers inside. Of course, they do not offer a place for you to put your strollers, so we did not dine there. I did, however, come up with my business venture if we should ever move to NYC: stroller valet. It would work just like car valet, except we would keep the strollers in a heated area during the winter so they stay nice and toasty for those cute little bums. Now, don't be stealin' my idea :)

5. I think since I am flying out Sunday afternoon, we are going to just take it easy Sunday. I think we will order room service for breakfast and just hang out and enjoy each other's company.

If you have been to New York City and have some great tips or suggestions, we would greatly appreciate any advice for places to see, eat, etc.
Oh, I do have a list of things to do before I leave and on that list includes making homemade Valentines for Olivia to take to Mrs. Mary's house on Valentine's Day. I have all of the stuff to do it, I just have to take the time to do it, ugh! I think I will do a little bit each day so it doesn't get too overwhelming, as all of my projects tend to do.
I will post pictures as soon as we return.

Afraid of the Doctor

Olivia has been afraid of the doctor since around 9 months and I cannot figure out why. I guess it is because she doesn't see Dr. Herrera that often, but still, why is she afraid?
She cries when we put her on the scale to get her weight; she cries when they take her temperature, she cries when the doctor listens to her breathe; she just cries the whole time.
I am wondering if any of you have suggestions to make this an easier trip. We go to the doctor again on the 19th for her 18-month appointment...I know, I know, she will be almost 19 months at that point, but I honestly forgot to book her appointment the last time we were there and that is the earliest I could get her in. I have heard to go out and buy a Fisher Price/Playskool medical kit and use it at home and tell her what it does so that when she goes to the doctor, she will know what they are doing, but I don't know if that is a little much. I have also heard to take a baby doll with you and have the doctor examine the baby doll and then the kid, but I am not sure she will like that either. I am open to any ideas or suggestions to make it easier for not only me, but for her as well.
This whole post started because I had to take her to the doctor on Thursday for a severe diaper rash/yeast infection. We have been battling this for about 2 weeks; we would get it cleared up, but it kept coming back. Anyway, she cried the entire time and I would really like to make this such an easier event for both of us, but especially for her, so I am open to any suggestions.