#hashbrowns

I've resorted to doing quarterly updates instead of monthly updates, and I'm glad I at least have that as a prompt, because I'm finding that it's not just that I'm slacking on quarterly updates...I haven't updated this AT ALL in an entire quarter! But I have a 3-day weekend, and you're a champion napper these days, so I'm going to bust out six posts in one day and give this blog a chance to catch up with how busy you've been!

Back in April, you took your first trip to see Auntie Amanda. I know, I know, this doesn't seem like a big deal because you always get to see Auntie Amanda. After all, she was one of the first people you met in this world. But it took us 16 months to get up there and see her. I was also really excited because this was my first trip to Brooklyn. I've been to NYC, and Daddy was born somewhere near there, but neither of us had ever been to Brooklyn before, and certainly not since Auntie Amanda moved out there from Manhattan.

You were mostly excited about going on an airplane.

After all, this was only your second airplane vacation ever, and it was Daddy's first time flying with you!

You were a champ on the plane. You did not enjoy Uber as much.

When we arrived in Brooklyn, Auntie Amanda was still at school. We kept busy making a mess exploring our home for the weekend while Daddy and Mr. Tristan played some Goldeneye.

We had a pretty low-key weekend planned. I think 15-16 months is the most difficult age for travel thus far, and we wanted to leave plenty of room for your inevitable chaos. You didn't sleep well at night on that trip, and that left us very sleepy (and at times, grouchy) throughout the day. At this point, you had developed enough emotionally to be a little stressed about the change in routine, but you weren't able to express that so well, even with all of your signs. As I'm writing this, you've already gotten so much better about saying what you don't like and saying what you'd like to do instead. But back then, you only had one coping mechanism: nursing. That trip to New York was the first of many events that led to weaning a month later.

We did have one exciting touristy thing planned for the weekend: we went to a Yankees game. The good news was that the Red Sox were in town, and this was a bucket list item for Mommy. The bad news was that they played something crazy like 19 innings the night before, so all of the most exciting players were resting and recovering. That didn't stop us from having a great time, though!

Daddy was really excited to see his new stadium for the first time. Mommy was excited to see her team beat Daddy's. You were just excited to be there.

You were pretty tuckered out by the end of the game, but we enjoyed a nice walk home through Prospect Park.

You enjoyed playing around and near Auntie Amanda and Mr. Tristan's apartment the rest of the weekend.

One of your favorite parts of the entire trip, believe it or not, was the subway. You made lots of friends (which definitely didn't send Mommy into a panic), and you even invented games!

We also had a great time playing in Brooklyn Bridge Park and enjoying some Shake Shack in Dumbo!

The five of us really do have a great time together. And we couldn't have asked for better weather for a weekend up north! I hope this will be the first of many trips up there to visit those hashbrowns!