The Stewarts: New York City

After leaving Palmyra, we made our way to New York City. We got there late in the afternoon, went to our hotel, and went to venture out in the city. It was our first time getting on the subway so that took us a little while to figure out. Our first stop was the top of the Empire State Building.

I was so excited to see the city and all of the night lights.

Lilah being a little party animal. I think it was like midnight right here.

Lilah wanted to check out the city lights too.

She wanted to eat the telescope and was making daddy laugh.

I could't get over the views!

She finally went to sleep. It was almost 2 AM. She was still on California time. We never quite switched over.

The next morning we made our way downtown again. We were staying in Brooklyn Heights so Mike figured out how to navigate the subway, thank goodness!

Lilah taking a snooze. She is so funny, and flexible!

Haha, oh Lilah!

We weren't paying attention and went way too far on the sub so we got to enjoy the non-touristy part of Manhattan.

I LOVED all of their parks. SO many parks everywhere!

After tons of walking we finally made it to Central Park! I couldn't believe how beautiful it was! I mean pathways, waterfalls, people playing sports, walking, talking..it was amazing!

Lilah cut her first tooth while in New York. Thank goodness she was not really bothered by it.

Tiny teeth about to poke through.

Lilah enjoying the taxi ride from daddy.

After walking around Central Park, Mike and I were hungry and got off the park for a couple blocks to have Mexican food. On our walk back I was so delighted to see so many people outside in their porches, playing games and talking on their stoops. It was such a refreshing sight to see.

After lunch we made our way back to Central Park. My co-workers had told me how big it was but I guess I didn't really believe them. We walked and walked and walked. Enjoying the view with every step.

There were so many kid friendly parks. We made a little stop so Lilah could play on the swings.

She loved it!

They even had a little splash pad for the kids.

After our little pit stop we kept going

There were so many people playing different sports.

Lilah and I in front of the turtle pond.

I loved how there were glimpses of the city through the trees. You'd forget you were in the middle of the city while walking around the beautiful green paths.

There was even a free Shakespeare play going on.

Lilah the explorer

I loved all of the little details at the park!

Another beautiful pond.

And the enchanted little paths. There were even some fire flies flying around just to make it that much more magical!

Bow Bridge

Bethesda Fountain

Bethesda Terrace

I was so sad that we had slept in that morning since there was so much to see.

Princess Lilah being carried up the stairs by daddy.

Wish we could've gone on a carousel ride. Next time!

Middle school kids playing at the park. There were tons of people there. The weather was perfect too.

After central park we decided to walk to down town. So much security in front of the Trump tower.

We stopped for some NYC pizza at a place where a friend had suggested and then went to get treats at the Hersheys store.

I was in love with how the old churches were intertwined with the modern sky scrapers!

Like this church! St Patrick's Cathedral was amazing!

Rockefeller Center

Radio City Music Hall

Time Square

Grand Central Station was so enormous! It was such a spectacular building.

Since it was the middle of the night (again) we almost got it all to ourselves.

I loved all of the details both inside and outside of the building.

It was another great day. Since it was way late at night we decided we better head back to the hotel and get rested for the next day.

The following day we ventured out to see south of Manhattan.

Here's sweet Lilah being all cuddly with mama.

I was so excited about today, we were going to see the Statue of Liberty! (Oh and it was Michael's birthday too, hehe)

We decided to go on a boat toar

Yay, finally. The moment I had been waiting for. Now every time I see it on TV I can say, I've been there and seen it!

Yay, for lady liberty!

It was such a great boat ride. It was a nice way to see a different part of the city. I loved that we were able to see all of the buildings and hear about the history of New York.

After our boat ride we walked over to see more of Downtown. By this day I had pretty much had it with the walking so we took a bus tour instead, way better!

Lilah is SO funny! She was done with pictures I guess, haha!

A little flash forward into our the future!

Oh that silly girl!

The bus tour was so amazing! We got to see everything we were not able to the days before. It was nice hearing about the history behind the buildings and the streets too.

The iron building! I saw this building from the top of the Empire State building. It was fun seeing it so close.

Brooklyn Bridge. We decided to opt out of walking down Brooklyn Bridge, mostly because I didn't want to walk anymore, hehe!

One World Trade Center. Unbelievable!

St Paul's Chapel

Trinity Church

National Museum of the American Indian

We decided to get off at this spot and continue our journey by foot. There were some places I wanted to take some pictures and the Charging Bull was one of them!

Next we walked over to the 9/11 memorial site.

9/11 became such a real thing after being here. I imagined the chaos that must've happened throughout the streets. I could see people scared. I wondered how I would feel witnessing the collapse of such a big building and witnessing people jumping off the building. Real people. Scared.

I imagined ashes every where. On these clean streets. People injured. Running. Everyone shaken up. I wonder how healthcare worker reacted, police, fire man. All doing what they were trained to do but with their own people. People who had just been victims of a terror attack. It's crazy to think all of the theories behind it. Why didn't anyone stop this? Did the US government know there was a threat and did nothing about it? I can't even imagine what I would've done in this situation. Being in that building or having a family member work there that day. So tragic!

I wish I could keep this baby in a bubble and never let anything scary happen to her. I just want her to grow up safe and happy!

Ground Zero.

After walking around we ventured out to get some dinner. I was in love with all the people outside and all of the night life. We walked by the mall and there was a concert going with people dancing and eating.

Sweet Lilah being so good.

Taking pictures of Lilah while daddy went and got us some Shake Shack.

Finally got to eat some Shake Shack burgers.

After dinner we went and got some treats. It was Michael's birthday so we decided to get some cupcakes.

The next day, we slept in, had breakfast at the hotel and packed up our bags. By this day Michael had mastered the subway system so we took the subway to the airport.