Holiday City Kid

My boy loves Manhattan and Santa probably equally, and he got to visit both in one day.

Call me crazy, but I pulled Liam out of school on Dec. 1st to go to see Santa at Macy's in the Herald Square flagship store. I didn't feel too bad since I knew he wouldn't miss out on much. Besides another mother did it, too. (That always makes it okay, no?) The weather was fairly warm (in the 50s) and we wanted to beat the crowds. It was perfect.

It played out like this: The wonder woman mom of four kiddos walked with a double stroller (for daughters: 6-month old and 2-year old) and her 5-year old daughter in tow, the prego mom with her own 2-year old toddler daughter, and I had Liam and his buddy (from mom number 1) both 4-years old, one in each hand. Whew! Needless to say, my arms got quite the workout.

The plan was to see Santa and then check out as many Christmas window displays as we could. It proved a bit much since we had to squeeze in lunch and all. Hooray for the dollar pizzeria just two short blocks away from Macy's! Liam had karate later in the afternoon, so all we had time for was Santa and the Macy's window displays. Still fun though, even with three school-aged children, two toddlers, one baby, three tired moms, one of which was preggers.

All six of these wonderful children were surprisingly well-behaved and cooperative. Of course, we played the Santa card quite a few times, especially on the boys, but everyone was super excited. (Not pictured are the two little girls in their strollers and the five-year old pleading to these ones to hurry up.)

The countdown!

Would have enjoyed these wonderful displays a lot more had we not flown by them because of the shortness of the line. No complaints here though.

Once there, after some photos opps with Santa, Liam got some one-on-one time with the big man who asked him point blank if he was a good boy and what he wanted for Christmas. Before Santa could even finish his sentence, Liam blurted out, "Star Wars Lego!" which rather startled Santa. He repeated Liam's request looking at me square in the eyes. Nicely done, Santa.

 

When we got to the ground floor, they took a moment to write and "mail" letters to Santa. Never mind that they had just seen him upstairs in "Santaland" and had made their request verbally. I guess they wanted it to be official, so no mistakes later.

Yes, Liam! There is a Santa Claus!

"If it's in The Sun it must be so."

They also "made" ornaments at the front window display, because, you know...

...ornaments represent Christmas wishes. So fun!

Yes, they wanted to hop on the NYPD motorcycles and no, I didn't let them. I convinced boys that a photo with them was just as cool.

Gazing up at the Empire State Building while discussing how to climb it!

Did I mention that my arms got quite the workout with these two? Love 'em! So fun!

We came home and he was glued to the ToysRUs magazine. 

Liam, my darling boy, I hope you love your presents!

A few of his favorite things

These are just a few of his favorite things that we have managed to do before this week's high temperatures suddenly descended on us.

He has been such a little trooper helping me around the house, and willingly I might say, as he volunteers to help every chance he gets. I decided to surprise him with a little trip to Corona (in Queens, a short walk from Flushing Meadows Park) for the iconic lemon ices. Here he is also holding one of his favorite toys, a light saber. He lugs that thing just about everywhere. At night, takes along one of the lighted ones with the sound.

I just love how this pic turned out! I'm SO in love with his smile! Just don't call him "cute" or "adorable". He says that's for babies, instead, handsome big boy will do.

Several trips to the farm, at just a five minute drive, is an absolute must. We go just about every week, sometimes twice. Here he relaxes on a bale of hay, holding a stick in one hand and a couple of rocks on the other. He does the same in our backyard (except without the hay, of course). I am constantly picking up sticks and rocks all around the house and tossing them back into the yard.

There is an authentic-looking tee-pee set up right now at the farm, though I'm not sure long long it will be kept up, maybe just for the summer. Though I tried to explain that long ago Native Americans actually lived and slept in shelters like these, I don't think he actually grasped the idea. He is just amazed at the shape and sheer size of it. Note to self: I've got to take some books out of the library with pics.

Here he is with one of his buddies from Church, also four years old. People kept asking me if they were twins even though they don't look alike at all. Their lean body structure and high energy levels are the only things that could pass as identical. On this day, I realized how difficult it would be to have twins. 'Nuff said.

Bill has half days on Fridays for the summer, beginning with the Friday before Memorial Day, up until the Friday before Labor Day. We met up with Bill in Manhattan and went to eat at his favorite vegetarian eatery. It's an unpretentious little place on Sixth Avenue off 14th Street in Chelsea, just a few store fronts from the Drummers Collective where my husband practiced and worked when he first returned to the U.S. (from having lived most of his life in Sydney, Australia). According to him the "decor" hasn't changed at all. You wouldn't really know that you can feast on delicious vegetarian dishes from just looking at the signage or the storefront. You walk right up to the counter where you order from a menu that is taped onto the counter. This is what we always order when we are in the neighborhood: the dumpling medley complete with brown rice, tofu and steamed veggies with Tahini and soy sauces on the side. It's not exactly Liam's favorite, but it's ours and it's really inexpensive, too. Delish!

What better way to soak in the sights and sounds of Manhattan than on daddy's shoulders?! 

 

And of course, summer isn't summer without an ice cream cone from a Mister Softee truck and a pic of him devouring it. This time it's a cherry-dipped, chocolate-and-vanilla-swirl cone! Yum!

Ever heard of the Ramones? Here is Liam looking at one of their actual autographed drum sets at a store front on 14th Street. (Sigh!) My sweet, little drummer boy, perhaps dreaming of following his daddy's dreams. Ahem! Well, he also says he wants to be an astronaut, a paleontologist, a Mr. Softee truck driver and a race car driver, so we'll see.

I think Liam has finally grown accustomed to me pulling the camera out constantly and taking pics of him, so now he actually volunteers sometimes to have his picture taken. Here he is on the Church's front lawn in the same suit he wears, Sunday after Sunday. He has great clothes, but he insists on wearing the navy pin-stripped pants with matching vest and a pin-stripped short sleeve shirt that obviously doesn't match the suit.

The following Sunday I made pretend I couldn't find that short-sleeved shirt, so to his horror he had to wear a plain white long-sleeved shirt. He is also sporting a sun visor he decorated at the end of his last class.

My little karate kid is still going strong!

He got a third stripe on his belt! Hooray!

(His dedicated instructor is doing really well, too! Congrats, "Joshu"!)

Finally, here he is with another little buddy, a Filipino friend, running around the cultural hall at the Church building. He tags along with me to my Valiant Girls Activity night twice a month. He's my little side-kick and best friend!

So, that's pretty much it. Last month's health drama is now behind me, I am regaining my strength and working on reversing the anemia. I now pace myself, stay hydrated, and try not to sweat the small stuff.

Juno at FAO

I have mentioned before that we love Juno Baby around here. We were thrilled when the company announced that their merchandise is now being sold at the world famous FAO Schwarz! We went for the opening and their special puppet show back in September. (We loved it so much we went again the following Saturday.)

It seemed like we were the only ones "ooh-ing" and "ah-ing" at the displays in that crowded store until we made it to the second floor to view the show. We were greeted by the original puppets from the DVDs and a large gathering waiting to see the show. I think I might have been more excited than little Liam. The actual show was sort of an introduction to Juno Baby's new line for preschoolers called Juno Jr. My absolute favorite part of the show, was the rendition of their new hit song, "Tweet." Shoppers and store workers were drawn to the show when they heard that piece. It's that sweet. You only have to listen to it once and you're hooked. Beautiful!

Can't wait to get my hands on the new Juno Jr. DVDs and CD. We have all the rest of their Juno Baby merchandise. How? Just lucky, I guess. We actually won a couple of giveaways. Plus, we got a consolation prize for the contest we entered back in the summer. It included DVDs, CDs, plush toys, magnets (not sold), and a nice navy canvas tote. The second giveaway (that we won just this year) with the Juno Jr. DVDs should arrive here in a couple of weeks. Yippee!

Holding hands with Juno herself.

Second floor

Nice bird's eye view

 By main entrance

 Window displays

Meeting some of the Juno Baby puppets and puppeteers

Meet Murphy, Liam's favorite

 Of course, we can never leave without catching this favorite FAO Schwarz show

 

 "Playing" the big piano

 

Walking in Manhattan while holding hands with mama

(Two of my favorite things to do in the whole world!)

 Saying hello to the people on the double decker tour bus

Checking out the artwork of a street vendor and wishing we could buy one of each.

 Taking in some of the sights and sounds. 

Here he is just mesmerized by the drumming. 

(He's the son of a drummer, after all.)

 You never know who you're going to bump into in the NYC subway!