Rainy Day Fun

Today it was pouring down and was also really windy. We abandoned our plans for a shopping trip to Leicester City Centre and decided instead to visit our friends Jenny and Jessie. Beth was in a fairly social mood but was not happy with me paying attention to another baby, especially holding her! Things will have to change before March or she'll get rather a shock! Jessie was a fantastic host and didn't mind Beth prodding and poking her, I'll have to apologise to her mummy since I think Beth may well have introduced her to a few bad habits! Oh well.

After a rather long nap (not that I'm complaining),
grandma played 'tea' with her and washed up her tea set. It was rather a wet procedure but despite looking freezing cold, Beth did not want to clear it away and I think would have been happy to stay playing all afternoon. I dread to think about when we find a house and I have to entertain Beth with such activities. She'll probably be discontent with anything other than a wet and messy activity!

New Wellies!

Today we took a trip and bought some much needed wellie boots for Beth. We also picked up some new shoes since she has grown out of her old ones without me realising (oops). We decided to go with the green ones since it seems that everything she owns at the moment is pink and this would make a change (not to mention that mud doesn't show up as well on green!).

From the wellie shop we headed to Bradgate Park - a muddy 'medieval deer park,' once home to Lady Jane Grey. Once there, we had great fun chasing the ducks - we would have fed them instead but forgot to take any bread. Beth had a fantastic time climbing up the hills, I think she just liked the falling down part as she landed face down in the mud! I think Steve and I will have to take another trip to the wellie shop for ourselves if we're going to keep up.

After naptime, we all went to the park across the road for a play on the seesaw and to add a little more mud to our collection. Not much else going on at the moment, we're still recovering from jetlag and all the activity of the last few months and taking it easy for a couple of days.

Back in Blighty!

The flight went mostly great. It took a while to get Beth to sleep but once gone, she slept for most of it. I suppose it was only a short flight (six hours) compared to normal (eleven hours) so it went pretty quickly. Steve and I managed to catch a few zzzz's and enjoyed the luxury of reclining seats - we figured for this last trip we'd treat ourselves and go with Silver Jet (www.flysilverjet.com). It was definitely worth it as the crew ran about fixing Beth's milk (and Steve's beer) and making sure we had everything we needed and a few things we didn't!

When we arrived in the UK, all our bags were waiting for us - a bonus since we usually manage to loose one in transit, and a car was waiting to whisk us off to grandma and grandpa's house. We're relaxing there now, Beth's napping after a trip to the park without mum and dad (yeah!!) and I think we'll all be early to bed tonight. :)

Last Day in America

We've had a great day today, Beth didn't wake up until nearly nine so we had a late, relaxing(ish) breakfast before checking out. We caught the subway (yes, very adventurous of us) from right by the hotel up to Central Park. It was super quick and and easy - we would have used it before if we'd realised! Beth was excited about the choo choo but quickly got bored once we got on and wanted off - not even the magnificent scenery of underground NYC was enough to hold her attention.

When we got off, we headed straight for Central Park Zoo. It

was pretty small but had quite a lot to look at. The polar bears were great but not very active and the rainforest part was cool with loads of colourful birds and frogs. There was also a petting zoo but I think by the time we reached that part, Beth was past it and just wanted her goldfish!

We wandered on through Central Park having a look at the ice skaters and watching the horse and carriages then carried on to Fifth Avenue. By that time Beth had lost the will to stay awake so we detoured through Rockefeller Center to have a look at their ice rink and to see where they film the Today Show - not very interesting with it being Sunday afternoon.

We're now at Newark Airport waiting for our flight. Beth has made herself comfortable on one of the chairs in the lounge - it'd be great if she sat so contented for the whole flight but I'm not optimistic.

Day Two in the Big Apple

Well, we managed to get up and about again before breakfast and headed for Grand Central Station. It was pretty quiet because of it being the weekend and no one was rushing for work. Beth was not in the mood for the pushchair so she walked and was carried for most of the way.

The building is pretty impressive inside, really clean and nice. We wandered around and waited for a train to leave - Beth likes trains at the moment but always demands "more, more" as soon as they're gone. Not a request we can fulfill! The train leaving was not very exciting, no hooting or whistles - it just pulled off and was gone.

After breakfast we headed back out to Times Square for a look around and to people watch (very briefly as it's still cold). We took refuge in the enormous Toys 'R' Us store that has a big wheel inside. Beth had great fun with all the toys, especially the section with Elmo, and would have been happy to hang out there all day.

Nap time followed for everyone before heading back out. I think Beth has almost reached her maximum tolerance for being bundled up in hat, scarf, mittens, big coat, etc. and would almost prefer to go without and freeze. Doesn't make for a happy family as New York isn't the best place for indoor fun. With this in mind, we just went for a short walk to Madison Square Garden, called into Macy's for a quick look then went for mac 'n' cheese for dinner. :)

New York, New York

We managed to clear everything out of the house (we did have to buy an extra suitcase at the last minute to accommodate it all) and left in such a hurry we didn't really have time to be upset.
Our flight from Long Beach to New York (with JetBlue) went great. Steve and I snoozed for most of the way and Beth played in her seat and pulled faces at everyone around us!

The hotel is pretty good (Hotel Metro - www.hotelmetronyc.com). We got a family suite so luckily Beth has her own room. It's right next to the Empire State Building - we can see it from our window (see picture to the left).

We went up to the observation deck this morning at 8:30 before it got busy. It was pretty impressive but difficult to really appreciate since it was so blooming cold. After that we went and bought gloves, hats and scarves!!
We then wrapped ourselves up and walked up to Central Park and to the American Museum of Natural History. It was a lovely walk and the museum was good. Beth had a blast running around looking at the stuffed animals, bones and other stuff. Of course she most enjoyed climbing on anything that could be climbed on! Auntie Jane best be ready for when we get back to England - I think she's the only one ready to challenge her!!

On the way back to the hotel we ate at a typical NY deli - huge sandwiches with far too much on them. Beth had a triple decker jam sandwich that she managed to scoff pretty efficiently. :) We also wandered through Times Square avoiding the manic taxi drivers.

This evening we managed to make it to the pizza place next door for a proper NY style slice. It's probably a good job we have both a pregnancy and Beth as an excuse not to go out to clubs/bars as we're both so tired we'd put you all to shame!! A nice cuppa and the luxury of tv (after surviving an entire week without . . .) is the perfect end to the day.