Happy New Year! I just got back from three weeks in New York City. The Holmes family got a very special early Christmas gift...
Baby Isla was born on December 10th! Big brother Cooper is 17 months old and not quite sure this is what he asked Santa for! (Photo credit goes to Seth Whitton, proud dad)
Grandpa Joe meets Isla for the first time. We didn't get to NYC until December 19. She is the first baby of my four babies and Cooper to be born with hair! And she is the only one with blue eyes!! (The doctor thinks they will stay blue.)
This is how Joe spent a lot of his time in New York. This might be a good time to point out that my iPhone had a faulty camera. If you see blurry pictures, that means I took them. :/ Most of the pictures in this blog post were taken by various people.
Uncle Austin got some Isla time.
One of our first outings was to Bryant Park. It was Isla's first subway ride.
Family picture at the big Christmas tree in the park. We were missing Jared, who was still working. Amanda was carrying Isla in her Moby wrap. One very long piece of fabric that she wraps around herself and makes a very secure pouch for Isla. We also enjoyed the Christmas market at the park and watching the ice skaters.
This was a very special three weeks. We shopped for Christmas presents and food, played with the babies, and did some sightseeing. I have included some pictures of various sights around the city.
Avenue of the Americas and Radio City Music Hall
The tree and ice skaters at Rockefeller Plaza
Saks Fifth Avenue. This was actually an amazing light show set to music. I tried very hard to upload my video of it, to no avail.
These were the store windows in Saks. Sorry for the blurry pictures.
The widows were wonderful! This one has a Chinese theme with the Great Wall of China depicted in the bottom.
As we walked down Fifth Avenue, even the building themselves were decorated. This was my favorite. What was the building? Tiffany's!
The more spectacular window displays were in Bergdorf Goodman!
The amount of detail was amazing!! For example, those suits of armor were totally covered in rhinestones!
On another evening, we took the subway to Times Square and walked to our theater to see a Broadway show. We saw Something Rotten, a really funny musical.
The weather for the first part of our trip was unseasonably warm. We went to the rooftop deck of Amanda's apartment building for these views of the city. My four kids!
Christmas Eve was spent at this Puerto Rican bar/restaurant. Puerto Rican food is our Christmas Eve tradition. I usually make it, but in this case, we found a restaurant within walking distance. We were the only customers, but the food (and music) was great!
Savannah helping Cooper open his Christmas presents.
He loved his train set from Santa!
Cooper also got some Timberland boots to match his Auntie Savi! Too cute!
My favorite Christmas gift came from Amanda-- a family photo shoot! These were taken early on the 26th. I won't bore you guys with all 50 photos. You already have to see enough family pictures!
After taking pictures, we piled into Jared's car and headed for Philadelphia! We spent a few days in Jared's house, helping him decorate. Here we taped pieces of paper on the wall, trying to figure out picture frame placement. (This was not our final arrangement.) Jared filled the photo frames with family pictures. Luckily he has tons to choose from.
This is not a great picture, but it was taken at the King of Prussia Mall, where Savannah and I spent a lot of time. :)
This is how we got back to NYC. Jared had to go back to work, and this was the cheapest way back. $65 for the four of us. Unless you add the price of a new computer. I left my carry on bag in the bus. I got the bag back a few days later, without my computer. Yikes!
Another one of our outings was to the One World Trade Center (or Freedom Tower) and 9/11 Memorial.
We first walked around the two huge pools that sit at the sites of the original Twin Towers. The names of all who died on September 11 are inscribed in bronze. Here we see that the men and women at the Pentagon are not forgotten. The memorial is not just for the people who died at this location. The flights and first responder stations are also mentioned. This was a beautiful memorial park.
Then we waited for the time on our tickets to go up to the One World Observatory for amazing 360 degree views of the city.
We had the great fortune to stay at one of Amanda's friend's apartment. Thanks Marissa and James! While they were visiting family in California, we stayed at their beautiful apartment on the East River in Long Island Beach. This was the night view across the street. The shiny building to the right is the Chrysler Building and the one with the bright top is the Empire State Building. This park was also the site of our family pictures.
New Years Eve! We celebrated at a Amanda's home, a safe distance from the craziness of Times Square.
On New Year's Day, my mom and sister came to visit from Texas. Here are four generations of Diaz women!
I had such a good time with my mom and sis!! By this time, Joe and the kids had gone back to KL and Jared was off to a friend's wedding. It was my turn to play tour guide and navigate the subway on my own. I was successful! :)
Central Park
The forsythias were confused by the earlier warmer weather!
I took my mom and sis to see all the lights and Christmas decorations I had already seen. The crowds were much worse on January 2 than they were before Christmas! Diana took this picture of the lighted trees in front of 30 Rock.
On this night we went to another Broadway show, On Your Feet, the story of Gloria and Emilio Estefan. Oh my. It was even better than Something Rotten. I was literally dancing in my seat!
The next day we took a boat ride. That is the Brooklyn Bridge in the background.
We sailed by the Statue of Liberty.
One of my last afternoons was spent at Grand Central Station, at the largest Apple store in North America. New computer and new camera in my iPhone.
Here I am packing up to return home. Cooper climbed into my suitcase. We added Isla. Oh, how I wish I could have brought them with me!! I am now back in KL. When I left there were Christmas decorations everywhere. I returned to Chinese New Year! Year of the Monkey coming up!
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