Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

After we saw the "fearless girl," we met Aunt Harleen, Rachelle, Sarah, and Kylie in Battery Park to catch the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. It was Cohen's first time down to Battery Park and he loved watching all the "big" boats. :) This kids loves all forms of transportation. He was thrilled beyond reason when I told him we were going to go on one.

We had a fantastic time being tourist for the day and hanging out with my family. It's always so nice catching up with them!

While Cohen and I were waiting in Battery Park, I decided to sit down on one of the park benches in the shade while Cohen ate his snack in his stroller. I saw some squirrels ransacking a garbage can a few benches down, but figured they wouldn't bother me. Oh how I was wrong! While sitting there checking my email, a squirrel literally jumped into my lap! I started screaming and ran away with Cohen and the stroller. I tried to play it off like it was no big deal because Cohen was worried, but not going to lie.....I was freaking out!

The "Fearless Girl" and the Charging Bull

Today Cohen and I spent a day downtown with my Aunt Harleen, Rachelle, Sarah, and Kylie! We had so much time spending time with them and seeing the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island!

Cohen and I headed down a little earlier so that I could finally get a picture of the "fearless girl" statue. State Street Global Advisors had the statue installed on March 7th in honor of International Women's day and the one year anniversary of a gender diversity initiative. I've been meaning to go down and see her, but I know the charging bull statue is always very crowded and I assumed that the addition of the little girl statue would make it even more crowded. So, Cohen I got up extra early so that we could get little alone time with the "fearless girl" and the bull.

Decorating the apartment with Mr. Sam

Cohen is obsessed with decorations and LOVES it when we get to decorate our house for a new holiday! Luckily, he has a grandma and an aunt (Grandma A and Auntie Harmizzle) who supply him with all the goods he needs every time a new holiday rolls around. A couple of weeks ago a package showed up with a bunch of 4th of July decorations in it. Cohen was so excited about the flags (he's totally a little Sheldon Cooper!). Auntie Harmizzle sent us a little Uncle Sam decoration (Cohen calls him Mr. Sam) and I had to put him up high cause Cohen kept grabbing it and I was afraid he would break it.  Cohen told me he wanted a flag and hat like Mr. Sam so, naturally Auntie Harmizzle sent him his own to help him get into the patriotic spirit.

Joy School: End of the year party!

A few weeks after we moved to Manhattan, Cohen and I joined one of the Joy School groups in our ward. It has been an amazing experience. Cohen loved making friends and learning new things. I enjoyed getting to know some of the kids and moms in the ward! It was a great group of kids and I'm so grateful for the other moms and all their hard work and willingness to put up with Cohen. He's totally a handful!

We had a little party in Central Park today celebrating the end of the program. Cohen will be going to pre-school in the Fall and I know he will miss seeing his friends during the week. Hopefully we will be able to schedule playdates in the park!

 

Playing in the fountain at AMNH!

My friend Liz invited me and Cohen to meet her at the fountain at AMNH today to enjoy the water and the beautiful weather! There have been several play dates there in the past few months, but I have never made it because we have been out of town. It was so excited to finally see what all the fuss is about. Cohen and I both LOVED it! Cohen was fascinated with throwing his blue bucket into the water jet and watching it fly up. :) Good friends, good weather, and water fun makes one great afternoon!

A quick trip to the New York Aquarium

Cohen took a tumble on Monday and hurt his arm. It's not broken (YAY!), but it's really sore and swollen. He won't lift it up or use it, but we do know he can move it. :) I decided that the playground probably wouldn't be a good option for him, so Jeff suggested we finally make the trip to the New York Aquarium. I heard that it's under construction and there's not a lot going on there right now, but Cohen got excited about the idea of seeing a shark, so we went.

Rumors were right and there's really not a lot there. Luckily it was part of our WCS membership, so we didn't have to pay anything (Once again, thanks Grandma and Grandpa A)! Cohen did enjoy the "temporary" shark tank and the sea lion show. It's going to be really cool once they have the construction done. Cohen and I will have to make the trek back down there in 2018!

Spending some quality time on the Beach in Atlantic City

Cohen and I spent both Thursday and Friday morning on the beach in Atlantic City. It was perfect! We got up early (cause Cohen has decided that he enjoys giving me a 6am wakeup call) and headed down to the beach after breakfast. There weren't very many people there and the temp was 75 degrees, sunny, with a nice breeze. IT WAS PERFECT! Cohen and I spent quality time digging and filling buckets with sand. It's the simple things in life that bring us so much joy. Cohen and I were both sad to leave. I think we need to make visiting the beach a more regular activity in our lives.

 

Back to the Cape May Zoo

Cohen and I dropped Jeff off at his conference in Atlantic City and we headed down to the Cape May Zoo. I took Cohen here in October 2015 and enjoyed it, so I figured it would be a good way to spend our afternoon while Jeff was in meetings. After several visits to the Bronx Zoo over the past couple of months, the Cape May Zoo has lost some of it's luster, but hey...it's FREE! We didn't have much time there since it closes at 4:30pm, but we saw a few animals. Cohen was more interested in playing at the playground, so we spent the last 30 minutes there before heading home to meet Jeff for dinner at Morton's Steakhouse.

Back to Atlantic City!

Jeff had another conference in Atlantic city, so Cohen and I happily made the trek down with him. I feel so lucky that Cohen and I get to join him on these trips, because we get to hang out at the beach all morning, relax, nap, eat sweets, and then join Jeff for dinner. It's totally a great vacation.

Jeff's conference was at the Borgata, but we decided to stay at Caesars since it's on the beach and that's where Cohen and I wanted to be. Caesars is nice, but it's a little old. The rooms are clean and nice, but the past two times we've stayed we have had something broken (generally in the bathroom) in our room. That said, it's cheaper than the other casinos that we looked at and the two times we've stayed there they have upgraded us to a suite...so we are fans!

One perk of staying at Caesars is the Gordon Ramsay Pub and Grill! I'm a girl that loves her Beef Wellington! Cohen has turned into a bit of a foodie (like his daddy) and he too really likes sharing my Beef Wellington. On our first night, we went to Morton's Steakhouse (also at Caesars). It was ok, but Jeff and I weren't overly impressed (especially with the price tag). Cohen LOVES steak so of course he was a fan. Our last night there we went back to Gordon Ramsay's. They were a little slow bringing out our food and they messed up Jeff's order, so they gave a dessert for FREE!

There's a great ice cream place in the lobby at Caesars which we enjoyed a little too often. Cohen LOVES chocolate ice cream and insisted on holding the cone all by himself. Let's just say we ruined a couple of his shirts with chocolate stains. 

Gummy Sharks are another one of Cohen's favorite treats.  There's a place called It's Sugar that' right across the boardwalk from Caesars and Cohen remembers it well and always insists that we go in and grab a few. It's such a bright and cheerful store. 

Back to the High Line for Rachel and Jilyn's Senior Pictures!

I really miss my YW in New Jersey! I'm so glad that Jilyn and Rachel come up to visit me on occasion and fill me in on the latest happenings in the good old Eatontown 2nd ward. I was called into Young Women's when these two were newly minted Beehives. I can't believe they will both be graduating next month.  Last month, they trekked into the city (ridiculously early...at my request) and met me at the High Line park to take some senior pictures. I love these two girls. They are such wonderful young women I can't wait to see what amazing adventures life will bring them.

Grandpa A. Visit May 2017: New York Transit Museum

Last week, Cohen and I went with our Joy School friends to the New York Transit Museum. Cohen LOVED it and didn't want to the leave. The only way he would leave is if I promised to bring him back with Grandpa A when he got here. He was quite upset when Grandpa A showed up and we didn't go right away, but we were able to squeeze it in on Grandpa's last day.

It's a really small museum, but they really do have some amazing things packed in there. Cohen's favorite part is going downstairs and running through all the old fashioned subway cars.