New York City (part 2)

Sasha got a lot of these rides:



And some of these stops:



We did a lot of walking, particularly this day. We walked through Chinatown, Little Italy, and ended up at Katz's Delicatessen, a popular deli for both locals and tourists. Katz's has served lunch to many writers, actors and politicians, and has appeared in several movies: When Harry met Sally, Donnie Brasco, and Offbeat, to name a few. The walls are covered with photos of lots of it's guests, as you can sort of see in this picture.



Rockefeller Center:









A familiar pose in New York City: looking up





Times Square:



Behind is the New Year's Eve ball:









Ready for breakfast at a nice little place near our hotel. Not only did Barry have a good eye for great places to eat, he was an excellent tour guide of the city where he went to college. We got a great tour, visited key places, and had a schedule that allowed us to see various things in one day, but was flexible enough to allow Sasha to have her midday naps.



Reading to grammy and grampy before breakfast arrives:




On our way to the Planetarium and the American Museum of Natural History... with a stop-over at the playground, of course.





Getting another ride on Grampy's shoulders:



"We have a problem," says Grampy.. Sasha being oblivious...



The only picture we got of the Planetarium. We saw an amazing show inside where the narrator talked about the beginnings of planet Earth, the formation of the moon, the future of our galaxy, among other things, all while watching these amazing images and sounds effects. Sasha really enjoyed it as well!




On our last night Barry and Kathy gave us a special treat: They took care of Sasha for 4.5 hours while we went out to dinner and then to a Broadway show! We saw The West Side Story.

Wearing her special outfit that Grammy got her in Chinatown, and waiting for them to arrive:



Sasha being silly with mommy before we left:



Back in Times Square, after dinner, getting ready to go to the show. It was an amazing show. I had recently watched an old movie and noticed how all the actors were able to sing, dance, and act. I compared the acting of those days to todays where the actors don't display such a range of talents. It was incredibly emotional and I was on the verge of tears at the end of each act, not because of the story (which was very good) but because of the music, the voices, the acting, the dancing, the emotion, the talent. It was an awesome experience! James and I are so grateful!!


We left the next morning to the airport. Next stop: Houston!

New York City!! (part 1)

We left Boston! Here we are on the bus heading to the train that would take us to New York! We spent a few days there with Barry and Kathy, before heading to Houston.



Sasha entertaining herself with a gift from our former landlord, who told her to open it after she got on the train. It was a great gift! She's drawing what she thinks New York city will look like:





She entertained herself for a while longer before falling asleep.



She had been up practically all night the previous night with a tummy flu... :(



Four hours later we arrived in New York. Here's James checking out the very tall buildings through the window of our taxi!



Barry and Kathy were scheduled to arrive soon after, but their flight got delayed due to bad weather. We decided to walk around Central Park:





And then went up to the top of the Empire State Building! Here we are climbing the stairs (we opted to climb the last several floors rather than wait in long lines for the elevator)



Amazing views!



The next day we went on a three-hour cruise that took us along the New York Harbor, circled around the Statue of Liberty, and past the beautiful city skyline. Even though I was up and about a lot of the time with Sasha, I was impressed by the amount of information given to us by our tour guide, who shared a lot of the history of the area as well as other interesting tidbits.









After some lunch and a long nap for Sasha, we walked to FAO Shwarz, a huge toy store on 5th Avenue. Surprisingly, there were no interesting toys. It was more interesting to walk through the store, walk on the enormous floor piano,



Try on the endless varieties of hats,





And check out the amazing lego creations!



Hanging out at the hotel:




Heading out in the morning for breakfast



Stop-over at Starbucks:



On our way to visit Ground Zero:



This is where the Twin Towers used to stand:



We visited a Twin Towers memorial center where they had pictures of the victims, stories from eye-witnesses and families, pieces of the building and even a window from one of the planes. It was very emotional to see these things, and to try to explain it to Sasha.


I will post the rest of the trip tomorrow...

Sasha had her second appointment with the dentist today. She loves to go because they brush her teeth with cherry toothpaste (and this time they used bubble gum flavor!). Plus the dentist is very gentle, loving, and funny.



She went on her first school field trip to a butterfly pavilion!




She was so excited that she was going to "sit like a grownup" on the bus (without her car seat). If the bus ride had been the whole field trip, it would have been enough to make her happy!



Experimenting with the counting rods and making a butterfly:



All ready to go to the playground:



Making "mud" in the sandbox:



At her Baha'i classes: such beautiful diversity!





Getting in the habit of making her bed in the morning:



I went to a baby shower for a sweet friend, Salumeh. It was also a chance for me to say goodbye to all of these lovely ladies... :( (we're moving on Saturday)




Some more adding:



Sasha collected various rocks, washed them, sorted them, and then took a closer look with her magnifying glass:





Painting with mommy: