belgian waffles & mr. columbus himself

We love our little outings in the city. This time, us moms and babes were off to meet Christopher Columbus himself. Though this statue has stood in the prominent Columbus Circle since 1892, it is often overlooked and visible only as a silhouette against the sky. 

So, it was fun to "meet" Mr. Columbus in his new setting- a modern New York living room built 75 feet up in the sky, complete with a sofa, chairs, bookshelves, a TV, and even wallpaper inspired by memories of American pop culture. The iconic images on the wallpaper included Mickey Mouse, Elvis, the Empire State Building, coca-cola, McDonald's, and even hot dogs! The views of the park were so beautiful from way up high--capturing the changing fall leaves and the tall buildings that peek out above the foliage. 

We finished off our adventure with a stop to the infamous Wafels & Dinges truck, where Hudson became oh-so-jealous of my strawberries and belgian chocolate topped waffle. Don't worry, he devoured his own gourmet treat of Gerber star-shaped sweet potato puffs while we sat inside Whole Foods to stay warm. Randomly, we found ourselves segregated by gender...all four little boy babes at one table with their moms and the four little girls at another! Guess we don't want any of those boys making a move too soon...

Whit & Scott, Laura & Lily, Emily & Hudson, Mel & Lexi
Amanda & Hugo, Breanne & Kenna, Tiff & Henry

Far across the ocean...

Okay, not really. Block Island is only about 14 miles off the shore of Rhode Island & a quick 50 minute ferry ride, and that is on the slow ferry, mind you. But honestly, after taking this ferry, I would not have wanted to take the speedy one. It was so nice to sit on the ferry, basking in the warm sunlight of the perfect day, feeling the gentle rise and fall of the waves. It felt like we were escaping to a far away, secluded island, just our little family of 3...& a few dozen other people on board. 

Hudson loved it too. He made the cutest faces as we played with him & of course, I couldn't resist an impromptu photo shoot of him in his little chambray romper, boat shoes & boat hat. I thought he looked so cute all decked out for a day at sea. He loved the boat, & he even tried to take off his shoes and just kick back and relax, just like mom & dad! And relax we did, until the slight mishap of the utter blow-out/explosion occurred just before we reached the island. Luckily, in one swift move, Kyle had the babe out of the carrier, so most of it ended up on the deck & not on him. Yes, it was that bad. All over the deck of the ferry. Good thing it wasn't our private million dollar yacht. And good thing I have such an awesome husband to help me and laugh with me in all these adventures of being parents together. 

Before we knew it, we had reached the island. All the other passengers scurried off immediately, but we leisurely walked around the boat, catching glimpses of the beauty of the island. 

Us at sea

Our first glimpse of the island

Just kicking off those shoes. Maybe he has a fetish with tan feet like his mama.

Can he get any cuter?!

The explosion happened right after I clicked this photo!

Hudson in outfit #2, taking his daddy's hand and ready to explore!

The US Open

It was one of those days...baby doesn't sleep well, I crawl out of bed exhausted (at like 10am, mind you) & think to myself, "Today will be a lazy day for sure." At that moment, Kyle called and told me he had 4 awesome tickets to the US Open that day. Needless to say, plans changed instantly! When we stopped by Kyle's office to get the tickets, he even showed up with a huge bag of snacks for our day's adventure. Isn't he so sweet? Luckily, we had some friends who were up for a spontaneous, last minute adventure who came along to enjoy it with us.

The venue is incredible & even the flower gardens resembled tennis balls & rackets!

Hudson & Macy were born just a week apart. We joke that this was their first date, chaperoned by their mother's of course. I mean, look at Hudson's little hand...he's making his move early!

After the first match in the big stadium, we even got into the Grandstand to see Venus & Serena play. These incredible athletes were right there in front of us. Wow, they are so strong, so powerful, and so intense...nothing like my old tennis games growing up, with us pathetically attempting to hit balls across the street. It was amazing!

Even with a long train ride both ways, a lot of sitting, & the hot sun, the babes were awesome. Who knows, maybe the day's outing will inspire them to be budding tennis stars...

The Color Run

When Kyle & I showed up for NYC's first ever Color Run, we could not have been more surprised. Turns out, a few hundred thousand fellow runners showed up to join us, all in their squeaky clean white shirts. This was no ordinary race. No, this was a PARTY! My only regret was that we had to leave Hudson behind. The little guy would have loved this! And maybe it's just me, but I think he would've look stunning all covered in a myriad of colors! Maybe next year...

The only rules:
1.wear white
2. have fun
3. no actual timing for the "race" and that was that.

Check out the celebration at the starting line.

Our "Before" & "After" Shots

Me in the Blue Zone

Let those colors fly!

Our goal--get covered with as much color as possible. I think we did okay, don't you?