Loss For Words

There is still lots to write about from the past week - but I don't feel much like writing today.

We learned today that Greg's "nephew" passed away this morning. He was only 21.

There aren't words to covney the vastness of the loss. My heart breaks for the family.

More Visitors!

A week filled with family visits! After Bubbe left, Greg's sister Rhonda was able to stop by for a day before heading to Pennsylvania. We had a great whirlwind tour of NYC trying to show Rhonda just a little bit of what life here has to offer. Can you believe she's never been to NYC?


The night she arrived, Greg took her to Times Square and up to a rooftop bar for some spendy drinks with a fabulous view. The next morning, we dined at our fav local brunch spot, Nook. Then it was off to see the city. We opted to do a downtown hop on - hop off bus tour. It would have been great except it was bloody hot, and we were all melting! (Ok, I know you folks in Texas are laughing.... but it really was hot.) Add in some crazy traffic down in SoHo and we ended up getting off the bus to find a place for a quick bite to eat and some air conditioning! We managed to stumble into the little Italian place that we'd been to before (with the noodle story)...

Then, it was home and to the Marriott for a quick shower and we had a quick, quiet dinner at the sushi bar in the Marriott. Surprisingly quite tasty. Atticus was showered with attention from the waitstaff who kept a watchful eye. :-) Then, Greg and Rhonda headed out to see Avenue Q and Atticus and I called it a night. I had hoped to see Brian and Rhonda on Sunday -- but Brian had caught some cold/flu/bronchitis type thing and we all decided it was best for him to just rest and not be social. So... little man didn't get to meet Uncle Brian, but he did have a great day with Aunt Rhonda.

Bubbe Comes to Town

As always, there has been a ton of things going on lately. Bubbe came to NYC to help celebrate Atticus's first birthday. We had a great time showing her Central Park, Hell's Kitchen, the Theater District, Times Square, etc.

The night she arrived, we went to see Chicago. We had incredible seats on the second row in the Orchestra. They were fantastic. You could feel the energy of the cast being so close. The only bummer was that I was hoping to see Chandra Wilson (Bailey on Grey's Anatomy) as Mama, but apparently her run was over. The woman cast as Roxy was one of the cohosts of Dancing with the Stars however.... and I think she did a great job. It was a fantastic evening. I don't think Greg would agree - he had a bit of a rough time getting Atticus to fall asleep - but the girls had a great night out.

Monday, July 20, Bubbe, Atticus and I took a ferry boat cruise with Circle Line. It was a really cool experience. The tour guide on the mic gave fantastic descriptions of all the buildings (so that you knew exactly what building he was referring to) and it was a great way to see the different bridges and boroughs (Spelling??). And, we were pretty darn close to the Statue of Liberty! You can see some pictures in my photo gallery and also here in Bubbe's online album.

We all went to dinner down the street at a little Mexican restaurant and then returned home for cupcake experience #2. I think this one went a little smoother -- and we managed to get it on video too! I need to run the camera now and then so that it's not always me on film!! Atticus still wasn't quite sure what to make of the whole fingers in the cake business. I'm not sure it was his favorite activity. Strange, I thought all babies went nuts with the frosting and cake! We opened some presents and then it was lights out!

The next morning we opened a few more gifts - some rocking red Chuck Taylors from Uncle Shawn that will look great with the swanky new outfit from Aunt Rhonda! A yellow walking/quacking duck from Greg and I, a cool retro Fisher Price phone from Melanie (he's having fun dragging it around already), a Mickey Mouse lullaby book from the Great Bubbe, some more clothes, toys, etc. Unfortunately, I had a bit of work to wade through, and the weather wasn't cooperating, so we spent the majority of the day indoors.

Wednesday, we headed over to the MoMA. As always, an enjoyable time looking at paintings, sculpture, drawings, etc. And then... it was time for Bubbe to pack up and head back to Texas. Time goes too fast! But, we'll be home shortly and see everyone soon!

Pics, Pics and More Pics

Ok... so instead of typing, I've been editing and uploading photos.

100 new photos posted to the July folder of Picasa. See the Baden Family Photos link on the right.

Whirlwind

I don't even know where to begin when thinking back over the past week!

A longer detailed post to come, but here is the highlight of the past few days...

Another Gorgeous Day

We could not have asked for a better summer. Greg spent the day with another summer at the Yankees v Tigers baseball game today - so Atticus and I were on our own. Well, not for long!

After a nap and lunch, Atticus and I headed north to Central Park. There we met up with Uncle Skip and our friend Fleur. Skip was in town for the weekend visiting friends and auditioning for a new reality show about artists. Alas, he didn't make the final cut - but he made it quite far in the audition process and it sounds like he made some good contacts/friends at the event! Uncle Skip also brought along a birthday present for Atticus that was wrapped in paper painted by cousin Zoe! The gift is awesome - it's a wooden train whistle! I don't think it will be long before Atti figures out on his own how to make the sounds... he spent a good chunk of the afternoon turning it over and putting it in his mouth!! The four of us all hung out for a bit, talking and playing at the playground. We walked a bit of the park and Skip showed me The Pond where he and Nikki would often meet for lunch - sort of a middle place between their two offices. About this time, Atticus fell asleep - so I'll have to take him back to see the ducks and the gorgeous flowers! Skip took off to meet another friend in the city and Fleur and I continued to wander through the park. We tipped one of the statue people a buck and watched her do a little curtsy and bow in her ballet outfit (she didn't do much if you ask me...) and then we continued on our way up towards the Alice in Wonderland statue. We walked past two people offering chair massages - and Fleur got all excited and treated me to a 10 minute rub-down. We parked her bicycle and a sleeping Atticus in between the two chairs and sat down for an intense back rub. Then, off we went again around the pond where you can rent remote controlled sail boats and up to the Alice statue. I would have loved to have gotten some better photos, but there was one kid up on top that refused to move.

(I have another story about a lost little boy at the playground and his non-attentive parents, but I won't get into that right now....)

Fleur then left to get ready for her evening events and Atticus and I attempted to make our way back home. We were quite far by this time, but it was an enjoyable walk home. We even stopped at Whole Foods on the way home to pick up some things to create a care package for Jen.

Tomorrow, we're headed to brunch with some Aussie friends at a restaurant called Bondi Road and then my Mom will be arriving. She and I have tickets to see Chicago tomorrow night. I can't wait!

Zoo Party

Pictures to be posted to Picassa soon.

The Zoo Party was awesome. We had such a good time. The firm literally rented out all of Central Park Zoo. There was a children's buffet (complete with slider sized burgers, pigs in a blanket, cheese square spiders, spooky desserts, juice boxes, chocolate milk, you name it!), face painting, games with prizes (I totally missed out on winning a monkey for Atticus because we were busy looking at the animal exhibits), and more. There was a special sea lion feeding for the group and they kept all the animal exhibits open until dusk for us to wander around and check out the animals. And then, there was the food for the adults! Passed hor d'oeuvres, open bar, a fantastic dinner spread with more types of food than I could have dreamed up... a kosher station for those that keep kosher... a candy bar with little bags for you to hold your goodies...

Seriously, it was pretty incredible. And, all the kids got a tee-shirt or onesie that says "Party Animal" with a picture of an animal cracker. Too stinking cute.

We had a great time and I'm sure I'll never remember the names of all the people I met - but it was definitely a great night.

Milestones!

Ok, there will be a longer post about the Cravath Zoo party, I promise - but I just wanted to share...

Granted, not many people will think this is as exciting as we do, but here goes -

Atticus drank juice through a straw from his very own juice box!

I know!

My little man is growing up... sigh. Where did this first year go?

AND... Greg says Atticus took his first shuffly/wobbly step last night. He pulled up holding onto a dining room chair, turned and sort of shuffle stepped without holding on to anything to get to Greg.

I'm trying to see if he'll take another step or two out in the open, but nothing yet today.

Who Do You Help?

The economy sucks. Everyone is trying to cut expenses. Everyone I know wants to help when they can - but where do you start?

Greg and I both donate to our Alma Mater (The University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M). I just donated through our company's annual Food Drive. I give to causes that have meaning to me - Jewish Federation, Leukemia, Multiple Sclerosis, March of Dimes. I can't always afford to give to all of these every year, but we do what we can.

I have big plans to clean out the house when we get back to Austin and donate to Goodwill and the Salvation Army. That was the first thought. But... after reading on my friend Jen's blog about the state of her students and others in Namibia -- I may pack up a box or two to send to Africa instead. And think of the difference you can make by sponsoring an orphan so they can continue their education! Isn't that Oprah's theory? Teach the kids - it's a gift that will keep on giving because it starts a chain. Anyways - if you're feeling inspired, donate to a cause that means something to you. And if you're feeling extra generous - check out Jen's Blog here and know that any contribution you make to her will go literally, every dollar, to the kids in need.

I hope Greg and I are able to raise Atticus to lead a responsible life and help when he can. It truly is a good thing. Donate your time, your mind, your skills and if possible... give a little money to a charity you believe in that allows others to continue paying it forward.

Creative Play

So I woke up still feeling like total #$%* -- but there's not alot you can do about that when you're taking care of a baby! So... I convinced myself to get out of bed and start the day.

Atticus and I walked down to drop off the dry cleaning, over to Dunkin Donuts to grab a coffee and then were headed back to the apartment when I walked past Bump to Baby. They were offering a drop in Creative Play class for infants ages 5months - 14 months from Noon to 1pm. Well I thought... if he's not asleep -- we'll give it a whirl.

As luck would have it, little man didn't take a morning nap, so I packed him up and headed over to the play class. It was a lot of fun. $25 for the class which seems a bit steep -- but it was fun. We jumped, danced, swung all around (is that a word?)... played with these really cool egg shaker things (I need to look for them, Atti really liked them), chased a million little bubbles, danced some more, sang some songs and had a mini puppet show to Old MacDonald... played with a parachute and then had a little free for all with balls, and stacking toys, foam blocks etc. I think Atticus really did have fun - especially with the shake shake shake toys! I met a really nice mom, Lindsey, who lives up by the park... she told me there's a group that meets at Hecksher Playground normally at 5 pm for a bit, just before dinner and bedtime. I may have to give that a whirl too. Right now, Atticus is sleeping soundly in the other room! I think we finally wore him out!

I still need to get to the grocery store today -- but otherwise, for now, I'm going to sign off and see if I can't catch a bit of a nap too before little man wakes up!

Tomorrow is the Cravath Zoo Party aka Atticus's First Birthday Party. Well, that's what I'm calling it anyways!! Once again a busy week filled with all kinds of adventures!

Philharmonic

We were totally New Yorkers last night. I thought I was going to either cough up a lung or run out of tissue -- but we survived.

Greg took off first to meet our friends Mark and Kylie in Central Park for the free Philharmonic Concert. Mark had sent an email detailing where he'd camped out with the blanket -- and it seemed relatively straightforward. And yet... do you recall the last post where I mentioned how utterly confusing central park can be? OK, now add in 30,000 people -- oh yes -- 30,000 people, dogs, babies, strollers, blankets, wine, food, port-o-potties and general mayhem. Greg was relatively lucky and found Mark relatively easily -- which was good since there were so many people there that cell coverage was nonexistent. And then, I arrived about 45 minutes after Greg and Atticus, arriving about 10 minutes before the show was due to start. It was INSANE. There were sooooooo many people and the police weren't letting people into the center path which is where I needed to be... so I was trying to get in from the side and stepping over people, etc. It was a zoo. By this point it's getting dark and I still have no idea where Greg, Atticus, Mark and Kylie are located. Almost an hour after I'd been wandering Kylie was able to get through to me on her cell phone and with the help of Mark (and ducking some police officers as I jumped a metal fence) I finally made it over to the crew. Phew. Next time - we're all going together! Either that, or coughing up the $150 a ticket to see the show indoors! Ha. But, the concert was beautiful out on the lawn under the stars... and it ended with a small fireworks show. Totally awesome.

Friends and Philly

This past weekend was jam-packed full of activities. Greg survived his Friday golf outing, and had a smashing time. He even hit "an amazing ace from about 35 yards away". He said this very enthusiastically -- and it seemed to impress the partners! The borrowed clubs did do a number on his hands however and he came home with some nasty blisters!


Saturday morning, the family headed down to Penn Station and we caught the 9am Amtrak train to Philadelphia to meet the McAveney family. I have to say, Amtrak was really nice. Big seats, easy to book, comfortable ride.... definitely a viable way to travel up here! Rob was one of Greg's best men in the wedding and prior to seeing him earlier in the week for the Mets game, it had been quite some time since we'd seen their family. We hopped on the Philly subway and headed to see the Liberty Bell first. (Philadelphia will be a cool place to visit once the kids are older and a *little* more interested in history!!) We sort of ran through the museum, took a quick photo or two of the bell and headed out.


Our next stop was lunch. Since we were in Philly, we HAD to have cheesesteak! While we couldn't make it to one of the "top two" spots - we headed to another local favorite recommended by Rob's brother called Sonny's. We weren't brave enough to try the sandwich with Cheez Whiz -- but maybe next time?!? It was a fantastic cheesesteak however - very fresh. I remarked that it could use a little ranch or honey mustard sauce and poor Rob almost had a heart attack. That's when he suggested that next time we go ahead and try it with the Cheez Whiz! After lunch we hopped on the Philly Phlash - a trolley that makes a loop of the downtown Philly attractions. It wasn't the speediest of transportation, but it was fun. The whole crew headed over to the Philadelphia Zoo. This was Atticus's first time to the zoo and he had a blast! (As a side note, now I know to check out the amenities of some of these places before we go. Apparently you can rent a stroller at the zoo! That would have saved us from lugging both the Ergo AND the stroller!!) Anywho, I think his favorite animal was the giraffe. He couldn't stop staring at the giraffe! Of course, all the animals were pretty cool! As a special treat, I let Atticus have a "lick" of my ice cream cone. That was really funny -- I'll have to get a copy of the picture from Rob. He wasn't quite sure what to do, but he kept trying to grab my arm and opening his mouth. Apparently the sweet tooth is one of the 6 already in his mouth!!

After the zoo, it was back to the Amtrak station where we grabbed a quick bite at this cool kiosk type restaurant that served crepes! I know. I'm a sucker for crepes. I should open a crepe restaurant later in life. Jen the Crepe Lady? Does it work?

Sunday morning, what else? Brunch! We met some of our Aussie friends for breakfast at Landmarc. After brunch, off to central park to see my friend Stuart perform with his acting troop in A Comedy of Errors. Of course, the first comedy was me trying to locate the production in the park. Seriously people... central park is HUGE and horribly confusing. There is a severe lack of signage and way too many windy foot paths. But, eventually I found the show and Atticus and I camped out in a good shady spot to enjoy the performance.

Another great weekend in NYC.

Mama is such a dork

Ok... I can't believe I'm actually going to admit to this online, but it is rather funny.

I am a serious dork. Seriously people.

Here's the short version of yesterday's adventures...

9:45 Atticus had a follow-up appointment to check his ears. The doctor's office is only a couple blocks from the Museum of Natural History, and I was determined to finally make it there - even for a couple of hours. Well, I didn't want to walk the museum for a couple hours with Atticus strapped on my front, so I thought I'd bring the stroller. Well - that's all fine and dandy, with the exception that navigating a stroller in the NYC subways is a NIGHTMARE. Most stations don't have elevators so you have to take the stairs. (On side note, I'm really surprised more people in wheelchairs haven't sued to get the subwayw up to code with the Americans with Disability Act...) I did think sort of ahead and decided to take the small umbrella stroller instead of our big suburban stroller. So, ummm, yeah - I was carrying Atticus and the stroller up and down several flights of stairs. No fun. We made it to the doctor's office (more stairs to get down to the office) and the appointment was over and done with in a few minutes. I put Atticus back in the stroller and we headed the few blocks to the museum.

Got lucky. We got to the museum at about 10:05 and it opened at 10am. That was nice, and it wasn't crazy busy just yet (other than the bus loads of school children). I made it inside, through security and then down the elevator to the ticket sales. I decided to go with the straight pass - no special exhibits or anything since I knew I'd only have a couple hours before Atticus would be hungry for lunch. I pay my $16, get the map and then attempt to read the map and find my way actually into the guts of the museum. Several minutes later after wandering down a totally random hallway, I make my way into the first recognized portion of the museum. I have to pause and say, I really did enjoy everything I saw.... I saw the Hall of Planet Earth (cool stuff on the moon and volcanoes and the makeup of the actual planet), North American Mammals (lots of taxidermy, but little man got to see animals up close), the Hall of Ocean Life (lots of cool stuff including giant squid and jellyfish overhead), the Hall of Human Origins (evolution), etc. I didn't get to see the Frog exhibit since it was one of the "upgrades". Bummer. We'll have to go back for the frogs. The second level held more mammals and other worldly culture things.

Now this is where it gets funny. Atticus has now fallen asleep, and I figure I'd best finish up and start heading home so that I'm at the apartment when he wakes up for lunch. (He'd already eaten all of his veggie sticks and the mum mum while we were wandering.) Mind you - for a couple of hours, I've been wandering and staring at the map the nice man gave me when I bought my ticket... I really wanted to see the dinosaurs before I left, but it just didn't look like it was in the cards. And well, I'd been staring at the map (still) and I couldn't figure out where the dinosaur exhibit was located. I stared at all the halls listed and none of them gave any indication that there were dinosaurs. Maybe I had the wrong museum I thought. Obviously, they weren't here, because I didn't see them on the map. About this time, I was trying to find my way back to the main elevator that would take me to the subway station. I saw the museum shop and decided to just poke my head in. Maybe Atticus needed a tee-shirt or something? What do I see? Tons of stuffed dinosaurs and tee-shirts with dinosaurs, etc. Now I'm thinking... OK, seriously... where are the freaking dinosaurs? It's not like you can just hide a T-Rex in an out of the way "hall". I consult the map again. No dinosaurs. Ocean, Earth, Forests, Mammals - no stinking Dinosaurs. Without wanting to look like a total fool, I just chalk it up to me being clueless (and afterall, I didn't have time anyways, right?) and instead ask a volunteer the easiest way to get to the subway. I meander my way back through the exhibits (still no dinosaurs) and find the elevator that goes down to the subway. I get off the elevator and there is a HUGE sign on the wall. You are HERE - Lower Level. It then details what's available on the LL and floors 1-4. WHAT? Floors 1-4. I've been staring at a map for 2 hours and there's only 2 floors. I pull out the map again. Yep, floors 1 and 2. BUT.... if you turn the map OVER (I am such a dork) there it was in black and white. Floors 3 and 4. And where do you thing the dinosaurs are located? Floor 4. What evil son of a sack of Siberian snake snot put the dinosaurs on the 4th floor? Bastards!

So..... although it was a great trip through the first floor of the museum, it appears I'll have to return to see the frogs and the dinosaurs.

I am such a dork.

The rest of the day, Atticus and I played. I kept trying to get him to take a second nap, but he was resisting and fighting me tooth and nail. Silly boy. About 5:10 he fell asleep and I'm thinking you've got to be kidding!!! I have to leave for dinner and a show in 5 minutes! Not one to wake a sleeping baby, I leave him on the bed and make an attempt to get dolled up. I hear Greg come in with another attorney, Fleur (our babysitter for the evening). Greg and I jet after some hasty directions to Fleur. (Thankfully she swears Atticus was an absolute doll for the evening.) Greg and I met up with some other summers and spouses/dates at Carmine's for a classic pre-Broadway meal. While dinner was good, it was very much like eating at Buca di Bepo. A big giant family style Italian restaurant where you don't get any say in the food that's being brought to you. Most of it was good, but I would have preferred something else. Eh... next time.

We finished dinner and headed down the street to the Imperial Theatre to see Billy Elliot. The show was fantastic. (I don't think I've ever met a play, musical, movie that I don't like...) Of course, being the hormonal, still relatively new mom, I actually cried several times during the show. I mean, he's just a kid... and he's lost his Mom! Who wouldn't cry? (Ok, 98% of the audience wasn't crying...) But I digress. The show was great. I miss theatre. If/when we move here, I'll be seeing a lot of theatre.

Well, this is a rather long post and I've got a bit more work to review before tomorrow.

There's a possibility we could head to Philly for the weekend - but it's not looking as likely now since Greg is playing golf in Westchester tomorrow with 2 big wigs. I'll let you know what happens.

Pea Standing Up

Ok... one more to add to the wishlist. I'd forgotten how funny these shirts are...

Conduct Happiness Store

Seriously -- hee hee: Pea Standing Up, Broccoli Gives Me Gas - too funny!

What a hoot!

Birthday Wishlist et al

Since several folks have asked... yes, we can get packages here in NYC. (Just let me know if you send something so I can be sure to ask at the concierge desk.) I'm sure we can get letters too -- but I don't know how we'd actually get those, since they'd be delivered into the regular mailbox and the landlord/owner still collects the mail here. (We only get the big boxes/envelopes that don't fit in the mailbox.)

That said...

350 W. 50th Street #3U

New York, NY 10019

Really, there's not much that Atticus needs. A card, some well wishes, and the chance to see you (whether in NYC, Texas, or ??) is all that we need! Greg and I will be starting a 529 college fund for him as well on his birthday. (Or, I'm tasking Greg with starting the fund... perhaps some nudging from family and friends will help spur him along!!) If you still want to get something for the little guy however, here are a few things I've found that I like. :-)

Atti's Birthday Wishlist:

Personalized "My Name Is" and/or "Goes to the Zoo" books from FreckleBox (I still have the personalized book that my parents got me as a kid... I still think it's pretty cool.)

Personalized Anywhere Chair or from Pottery Barn Kids (solid, striped, MLB Tigers...) (Definitely not a necessity - but fun)

Amazon Wishlist with books and toys (Or anything else age appropriate)

Outlet Covers (We're nearing the stage where fingers and toys will go everywhere and anywhere)

26 Animals Poster (all photography done by an acquaintance friend)

Clothes - tops size 2T (I know, he's very tall!) and bottoms in 18months, socks (I hear Old Navy has great socks for little boys...) (Need clothes - no, but it's always fun to shop for little people clothes!!)

Shoes - Looking to get some of our first "real" shoes. I need to measure his feet, but I'm guessing the 18-24month size. Trusting my friend Jhana (who's already done the research for her little man) the following brands should all be great: Aster, Beeko, Livie and Luca, Naturino, Primigi, Tsukihoshi and/or Twig. And we're totally good with gently used versions of these shoes - so feel free to check your local resale shop, craigslist, etc!

We're not doing anything big for the birthday this year - just us and Bubbe. We do hope to see everyone when we get back home. Perhaps a trip to the park, Barton Springs, or something similar....

Busy Week Ahead

Wowzers. We're definitely going to be running around like mad this week. Here's the quick rundown:

Tuesday evening - Mets game with the McAveney Family

Wednesday day - Atti's ear infection follow up appointment followed by the Museum of Natural History

Wednesday evening - Greg and I are having a date night - dinner and Billy Elliot on Broadway

Thursday - Lunch with Jhana!

Friday - Possible trip out of town? DC? Boston? Philly?


Next week we're heading to the Empire State Building and also to the Cravath party at the Central Park Zoo! Fun, fun...

Independance Weekend Adventures

Still making the most of our time here in NYC. Friday afternoon Atticus and I went to a new playground in Central Park called Heckscher Playground. Atticus played on the swings for the first time in a while and he was laughing up a storm. It was awesome. I wish I had the video camera with me because he was just giggly giggly. Granted, part of the giggling was aimed at the cutie patootie little curly haired girl next to him (her name was Roxy!).

Saturday, we took another subway adventure down to Battery Park. One of the most interesting things was a sculpture called The Sphere. As we were walking up to it, I remarked that it looked sort of like a world. Well, it used to a sculpture of the world - located at the Twin Towers until September 11. It was relocated to Battery Park with an eternal flame after the attacks. On a happier note, we also saw some incredible street performers doing crazy acrobatics on the concrete! Flips, back handsprings, jumping over bystanders, etc. It was nuts -- there was one guy who I swear had 0% body fat. You could see every freaking muscle in his torso. Seriously. No joke. I should have taken a picture. There was also live music in the park. Quite a large crowd actually for Conor Oberst and The Mystic Valley Band. It was a beautiful day -- and it was the closest I've been to the Statue of Liberty. Greg took a picture where it looks like the statue is coming out of my head. I'll upload it to Picassa later today. We did miss the annual hot dog eating contest out at Coney Island... but I think that's OK. We also got a little bit of video of Atti on the swings at the park there, but alas - not nearly as smiley or giggly as the day before.

We tried to keep Atticus up for the fireworks display, but alas - he crashed about 8:20pm. That ended up being OK -- and the little man slept through the entire evening. The fireworks in NYC were the biggest production in the country this year. They took place on the Hudson River in honor of Henry Hudson's exploration of the river 400 years ago. There were 6 barges on the river with a total of 22 tons of fireworks. That's nuts! We were able to watch the entire show from the 48th floor of Greg's office building. It was an incredible sight to see. From our vantage point, we could also see fireworks all over New Jersey in the background. Really cool. Greg pointed out down on the pier The Intrepid which is an air craft carrier that has been turned into a flight museum. That was the hub for all the live music and activities on the 4th.

Sunday, we were going a little stir crazy in the house again. Originally, I'd hoped to head to Central Park to see my friend Stewart perform in A Comedy of Errors in the park, but there wasn't a performance due to the holiday weekend. Bummer. We'll have to go this weekend. Instead, we took a stroll to see the Intrepid which we'd seen from Greg's office. We didn't go into the museum this time -- there was quite the line and Atticus was hot and tired. We'll have to reschedule the museum. One random thing we noticed on our walk from the apartment to the pier is that we walked past where they film the Jon Stewart's The Daily Show. It's a non-descript building over on 11th Ave. Not anywhere close to anything cool in the city... guess he's not that important just yet?? He's still funny though.