New York Sittay!! Whazzup?!

The Davis Family took on New York City this weekend, and lived to tell the tale! Whazzup!

I had a work meeting at the Ford Foundation on Friday. So the whole crew and I took the Amtrak up to NY on Thursday night. The kids LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the train. They also were psyched that I made them little fun bags -- with their cute backpacks we'd never used! So they had lots of fun things to do on the train, including the most fun thing of all, which is to talk really, really loudly so that everyone for two cars in front and behind can hear!

Clair is at a stage where she refuses to keep her socks on. That's why my child is barefoot in 30-degree weather.

Trying to minimize the amount of equipment we had to lug around, Lester and I made a tactical error. We took Clair's Snap N Go, but didn't take the boys' double stroller. By Saturday, after they'd gotten used to the city a bit, this was not a problem. But Thursday night, trying to get up out of Penn Station -- Lordhavemercy. It was challenging to say the least. The boys were equal parts fascinated and scared to death, which made them extremely, extremely slow and also - oddly - more obstinate. They would sometimes refuse to move, which is not a good idea in a place as crowded and chaotic as Penn Station, and even worse when one's hands are full with tons of luggage, a baby stroller and other stuff. Not having the stroller also made it very difficult for Lester to get out and about with them in the morning on Friday when I was at my meeting. So he could really only take them to a late breakfast near the hotel and then come back for a nap. It seemed New York was going to beat us!

This is how my boys looked - and felt - for the first half of the trip. Totally overwhelmed. I can't blame them. New York still overwhelms me sometimes.

But...after that, we hit our NYC stride! I got back from my meeting and we bundled up, hopped in a cab and went over to Rockefeller Center, to see the Christmas tree and the skating rink, both of which were huge hits. We then met up with my friend Sumathi -- who works at the Wall Street Journal just a few blocks away -- and went to dinner at a great Chinese restaurant nearby. The boys ate chicken fried rice and broccoli and enjoyed playing with the chopsticks and drinking water out of the teacups. They were really well-behaved and I was totally proud of them!

"Mommy, look at all those ornaments!!!"

Then we came back to the hotel, stayed up way too late, and got up the next morning, ate breakfast and went off to the Museum of Natural History. The boys loved it! And we can check another museum off of our list, in this Season of Museums. Holla!

Then we went for a long stroll in Central Park. The boys thought it was hilarious, watching all the joggers and bikers and skateboarders and dog walkers. We even saw someone with a parachute attached to his back. People in New York are serious about their exercise! Which reminds me that I'm supposed to be getting up a half-hour earlier every morning to get on the treadmill before work. Sigh. I have got to do better.

Central Park, with the Museum of Natural History in the background. We are in New York Sittay!

Clair was an amazingly easy baby on the trip, and spent most of her time happily looking around or waving at people. People kept remarking, "What a happy baby!" and I was really struck by how much easier it is to do things with her because 1) she has such a different temperament than her brothers did at this age and 2) there's only ONE of her! Even with two other toddlers in tow, it is still easier to only have to manage ONE infant at a time. So for my friends out there with two babies at the same time (you know who you are), just know that I feel your pain; I have suffered the same sense of "will we ever be able to leave the house again?" and I am here to tell you: It will get better.

New York was a huge success. The boys now have the synapse for "taxi!" and for "chopsticks." And this year is off to a roaring start.