A Visit to New York

My best friend from college, Nicole, is having a baby soon and this weekend was her shower. So, it was the perfect opportunity for Anastasia to get to meet some good friends and and people who haven't seen her since she was 2 weeks old. This was a girls weekend, and I was very excited to take her on another road trip, since she's done so well before.

We hit the road about 10:45, after a last minute stop for a final part of Nicole's gift, and a stop at McD's for snacks for the road. Annie and I sang songs and played games the whole way up (except for the hour that she was sleeping). We made great time, and headed straight to Auntie Nicole's house for a little visit.



Annie had a lot of fun petting the kitty and playing in Nicole and Jonathan's yard. She posed for lots of pictures in the yard, too.



After a couple hours visit, some yummy pastries (thanks Nicole) and a short drive to the hotel, it was time for dinner. What visit to NY would be complete without pasta? Anastasia dug right in.



On Sunday morning, Annie woke up bright and early and we set a course for the Staten Island Zoo, with a stop at a grocery store for a banana and some batteries for the camera. Annie was very excited about the prospect of visiting the animals. She had no idea it was going to be as up close and personal a visit as it was. The Staten Island Zoo is small and very hands on, with a petting zoo where you can still feed some of the animals, and pony rides. First thing we saw when we got inside was a peacock hanging out on the grass by the path. His call was very loud and startled both of us.



A little way into the zoo, we saw this guy shaking his tail feathers for the female in the same area.



We moved on to the petting zoo, where we started by feeding the sheep and quickly moved into the goat and llama pen. Anastasia was a little shy around the animals at first, but after a few minutes, she got the hang of feeding the goats.



She also wanted to feed the llamas, but the llamas weren't really interested in the Rye Crisp they gave us to feed the animals.



We made our way to the pony rides, which Anastasia swore she really wanted to go on. She got on with a little trepidation, and then off they went.





After our visit to the zoo, it was time to head to Nicole's parents' house for the shower. Nicole's parents live in a beautiful big house on the top of a hill in Staten Island. (Every time before, I've gotten lost on my way there, but this time, I made it on the first try!)



There were about 40 women there, and Nicole's mom and sister had put together a beautiful party to celebrate Nicole's new baby. There was a great banner and the centerpieces were adorable, and three guesses what Annie did with this:



Of course there was a bounty of presents, and Anastasia wanted to help Nicole open them. Our gift included all the supplies Nicole and Jonathan need for a night on the town: changing pad, small diaper bag, rattle, pacifier, and dress for little one, and beautiful burp clothes. (Oh, and one that didn't match the theme: a onesie with "Teeny Republican" for the baby nicknamed Teeny and the mommy whose College Republican days were matched by my College Dems days.)



Unfortunately, we had to leave while the party was still in full swing since we had a long drive ahead. After the super busy day she'd had, Annie crashed before we left Nicole's neighborhood, and stayed that way for the first 2 hours of the trip.