We recently took a trip to New York City! I love New York this time of year & was increasingly jealous that Frank was going for business without me, so Rowan & I decided to tag along. Rowan was a complete dream! He loved the travel, the city, the lights, & all the many New Yorker admirers. Here is a little mini-journal of our trip...
Rowan getting ready for take-off in Boise. He LOVED take-off, rather than fussing because of the pressure in his ears he giggle & coo-ed the whole time! Maybe he will be a pilot?!
Rowan with Mommy on the plane
Daddy & Rowan in NYC with ALL of our baggage, yes we were only gone for 5 days but had 3 suitcases, 1 hanging bag, 1 large duffel, 3 carry-ons, 1 stroller, 1 car seat & a partridge in a pear tree!
Dad & Rowan in the town car! The town car was a great idea with all of our luggage!
Here is Rowan at Sparks steak house in NY. This joint is a classic East coast mafia owned (seems like it should be anyway) steak joint. Pretty much all of our fellow diners were men & all of the waiters could easily still be in the mafia. They actually LOVED Rowan (which surprised me, because the tables were pretty close together & navigating a stroller through the restaurant to our table was no small feat). Rowan started to fidget in his car seat right as we sat down, which usually means he needs to burp, so I grabbed him and started to put him over my shoulder, as I was doing this he proceeded to spit up the largest quantity of half digested breast milk I had ever seen ALL OVER my black dress! Our neighboring tables stared for a few minutes as I wiped up the spit up as best I could. I was mortified until one of the tables (of men) came to our table as they were leaving and said "your baby is so good & so cute, good for you for bringing him out to dinner with you!" From that night on I realized that the sense of family is very prevalent in NYC & everywhere we went the stroller, Rowan & we were embraced.
Me & Rowan in front of Saks. The lights and the store fronts are simply exquisite!
Dad & Rowan in front of the tree at Rockafellar plaza.
Yep, he's really in there... see that little green hat :)
All of us in front of the pretty ornaments.
Dad & Rowan in front of the NY public library. THis picture is very appropriate because Frank reads Rowan books everyday!
Mom & Rowan in front of Macy's. This picture is very appropriate because...
...it is the world's largest store!
Macy's storefront... one of my favorites because I love the message!
So here is Rowan at Gramercy Tavern, one of the top "power lunching" spots in NYC. It's one of Bill Clinton's favorites among other notable powerful people in Manhattan. We walked from our hotel which was about a 40 block walk. With a stop at Macy's and a few other stores we were running late for our reservation & didn't have time to stop at a coffee shop to nurse. So, we hussle in looking rather frazzled, maneuver our way to our table with the stroller & immediately I whip out the hooter hider & start nursing Rowan. Not exactly the type of "power lunch" patrons Gramercy is used to, however they have hosted Bill Clinton many times & who knows maybe Monica had her own type of a hooter hider ;)
Gramercy Tavern
Rowan's first subway experience!
He was unphased by all the chaos!
Rowan's very serious bodyguard. Frank was a little nervous taking a newborn on the subway. I thought it was great... it's never too early to get your kids used to city life & public transport after all!
Dinner at BLT Market. They allowed us to take up the alcove next to the emergency exit for Rowan's stroller... we assured the manager that we would be the first ones outta there if the emergency exit became necessary.
Rowan in his adorable snow suit from Grammie... gearing up for the chilly weather!
He was more prepared for the streets of NYC than we were. And, he looked so darn cute in it!
Dinner at Convivio. We managed to stop & nurse before we got to the restaurant this time. In fact, after this trip I am pretty sure I could write a book on the best places to nurse in NYC.
Grand Central Station
Rowan & Dad in front of the train Dad took to Conneticut to meet with his client & see his 40,000 square foot house.
Look, you can see the Empire States Building in the background. We didn't bother (or have time) to go up it.
The MOMA... although we didn't go in this time, just happened to stumble upon it on our walk home from dinner.
This is Rowan and I at "Fred's at Barney's" a total scene for lunch in NYC... the last time Frank and I ate here we saw Michael Jordan & his entourage here, so of course we had to return. This was yet another time when I whipped out the hooter hider & nursed during lunch... luckily Michael was not at our neighboring table, although that might've detracted attention from my nursing Rowan at Fred's!
Frank took Rowan back to the hotel a little early so I could do some shopping & this is what I came back to... Rowan watching Sports Center... at least he didn't have a Bud Light in his hand.
We went to dinner at my parent's dearest college friends Tuck & Suzannes beautiful flat on the upper East side. Here is Rowan & Tuck.
Rowan & their adorable dog Timba!
Suzanne & Rowan
Michelle & Rowan. Thank you Suzanne & Tuck for a LOVELY evening!
Frank with his Mom, Brother & his wife, & Rowan of course, at St. Patrick's cathedral.
Grandma Jean & Rowan
Auntie Diane & Rowan
Auntie Jeannet & Rowan
Rowan "talking" to Auntie Diane & Daddy
Uncle David teaching Rowan about the beauty of beer making! (Note: Rowan's enthusiasm)
The whole crew: Jean, Frank, Dana, Rowan, Jeannet, David, Micah, Eamon, Jess, Scott & Diane
Rowan's only 2 cousins, Eamon & Micah. What a group of handsome guys!
And, of course a stop at Times Square on the way back to our hotel on our last evening. What a fantastic time we had in the Big Apple!
