New York

We are back from our vacation and are unpacked and most of the laundry is done! We ended up flying into JFK airport and spent all day Friday (the 18th) in New York City. We only had one day to spend there and it was hard to prioritize what we wanted to see as we did not have enough time to see everything. Here are pictures from the beginning of our trip:

Chloe's first airplane ride. She did such a great job and fell asleep in my arms for her nap! So cute! This was the first leg, from Sacramento to Los Angeles. We had a 3 hour layover in LA, so our friend Jen picked us up at the airport, took us to In & Out and then back to her house. We had not seen each other since my wedding over 3 years ago, and it was fun to see our kids together.
Chloe had a major explosive diaper at Jen's house, so got a bath in the kitchen sink!
Chloe and Alton (just turned 1) playing together. Well, next to each other, at least!
This picture is of Chloe on the subway. She was such a good traveler that day, taking naps whenever she could. We got so many comments from strangers about how cute and well mannered she is. We are so proud of her and love her so much!

Reading the subway map......Chloe was actually asleep in this picture, but it looked so cute!

The picture below was from the top of the double beck tour bus that we took. We figured this would be the best way to see as much of the city as we could in a short amount of time. It was a really hot and humid day, but the moving bus helped to provide a bit of breeze.

We hopped off the bus and walked to see Ground Zero. It was amazing to me that after all this time after the 9/11 attacks, there are still workers cleaning up the site of the Twin Towers. We then walked to waterfront area to see the Statue of Liberty. The picture of Chloe and Andrew above is in front of it. See the dot in the background by Andrew's right elbow--that's it!! Next time I go to NYC, I want to take the ferry out to be able to have a better view. Just didn't have enough time this trip.
Below, the three of us at Times Square. We saw this area in the afternoon and then again late at night. It is so crazy the amount of people who are always there! We had a good laugh at the following signs while we were touring around: Don't honk.

No standing Anytime

Below--No Engine Idling.

Friday night, we went to the Yankees game. Andrew had been wanting to go to a Yankees game while we were in New York, as this the last year the Yankees will play at Yankee Stadium. When Andrew found out that they were playing the A's, it made the decision that much easier! We bought tickets on ebay and got really good seats for a great deal! The picture below was from our seats. I think we were 7 rows behind home plate!! Chloe wearing her "My first Athletic A's Tee." Andrew still has hopes of her becoming an A's fan!This was towards the end of the game, as many of the Yankees fans were clearing out. They won the game by a lot!

On Saturday, we flew to Syracuse, about an hour flight. We rented a car, and got a sweet upgrade to a loaded SUV. We spent a week at Camp of the Woods, a retreat center in the Adirondack Mountains. It was beautiful there, and very green. Well, that is because, it rains all the time! Apparently, we chose the wrong week to be there for our family reunion, because it was the rainiest week they'd had in a while. We had a cabin on the lake and had fun spending time with Andrew's family. I think there were about 30 of us in all. We did not swim much because of the rain, but had time to relax and play games and read.

We are all bundled up to walk up the hill for lunch. Chloe had some big breakthroughs this week. She started crawling! Well, her back legs crawl, and then she throws her front arms forward together while she falls on her stomach and then repeats the whole process. She also SAT UP for the first time without help. She was on her stomach, and then got up on her hands and knees, leaned over to the side, and sat up!! She has gotten so good at it now, that she just sits up like it is something she's been doing forever! The only problem is that she will sit up in her crib when she is supposed to be falling asleep and then she cries because she is tired and cannot fall asleep sitting up!!

After our week at the reunion, we stopped for lunch on the way to the airport. Shae was playing peek a boo with Chloe with her napkin, and Chloe thought is was so funny. She was giggling and laughing so hard! It was the cutest thing ever!! Now, whenever Shae sees Chloe, it is her goal to make her laugh, and she usually is able to succeed! Chloe loves her big cousin!