Checking in from NY!

Hello to anyone who might still be checking the blog! (That's probably no one since I hardly ever write on here anymore...)

I really created the blog to keep track of our travels and as a way to keep in touch and share pictures while we were in St. Maarten. Then it was perfect again when we were in England. Then it became a way to share Emily's pictures. Now I guess Emily just keeps me too busy and I don't have time for the blog! However, I will update randomly and more when we are in crazy places...like now! Phillip is doing 3 months of clinicals at Nassau University Medical Center, a hospital in Hempstead (Long Island), New York!

He had to drive here alone on August 30 and 31 (a 14 hour drive!) because Emily had her one year pediatrician appt scheduled for September 10th so we couldn't come with him. He has a nice (but expensive!!!!) apartment that's just a few minutes away from the hospital. On September 27th, Mom, Dad, Emily, and I drove to meet Phillip! (Thank you Mom and Dad!!!!!) We drove about 8 hours that day and three hours the next day, till we arrived in Hershey, PA! Mom, Emily, and I went to Hershey Gardens (while Dad napped in the car) and loved it! Even Emily loved it! I wore her in the front carrier (which she loves anyway) and she really had fun looking at everything! She squealed, laughed, and kept signing for more! She had a ball. Mom and I did too...it was beautiful! There was a one mile path around the gardens so at least we got a little exercise that day too! Phillip did have to work Friday morning and then drove to Hershey after work. Emily was SO EXCITED to see her Dada!!!! She practically jumped into his arms! She would hug him, then lean back, look at him, smile huge, and hug him again! She did that over and over for several minutes! It was the sweetest thing!!! We went out to dinner and then went to a casino for a little while! We all like to go to casinos! Mom and Dad went in first and then Phillip and I went in next while Mom and Dad stayed with Emily in a lobby area! We each spent about 15-20 minutes there...not long, just fun to check it out! Saturday morning, we went to Hershey World! We all really enjoyed the tour! Even Emily loved it! They had a "ride" - these carlike things to sit in that slowly go around a track. Emily loved looking at everything on the ride, especially the dancing/singing cows!!!! It was so cute! We also enjoyed the gift shop...had to buy a few goodies of course. We even did the chocolate tasting course, so now we all have our "Master's Degrees in Chocolate Tasting!" Sweet!!! We went to an outlet mall and ate lunch at Wendy's, then said our goodbyes...sad!!!! Emily is going to miss my parents so much!!!!! She loves them soooooooo much and is used to seeing them every day!

Phillip, Emily, and I should have had a 3 hour drive to his apartment in NY, but the traffic was terrible and it took almost 5 hours!!!!! I quickly realized I hate NY traffic! We finally arrived and carried everything up to his apartment, ate supper, unpacked only necessary things, and went to bed!!!! We spent Sunday unpacking and went to Walmart and the grocery store. We also walked to the 2 little grocery stores nearby so Phillip could show me around and how to get places without him. I could take Phillip to the hospital in the mornings so that I'd have the car, but I honestly don't want to drive here!!!!! So I let him take the car! Emily and I did get out a few times during the week and walked around. She enjoys walking outside in the huge parking lot! She also loves walking in the long hallways of our apartment complex! She walks all the time now! She is talking more and more! She seems to like our apartment! She loves to walk down the hallway, back to the living room, into the kitchen, and then back down the hallway! It's funny!

We had an exciting weekend! Saturday morning, we left at 7:45 to walk to the train station (about a 10 minute walk). We took a train to New York City! It took over an hour to get there...ugh! We went to Times Square, had lunch at Hard Rock Cafe, went to Rockefeller Center, and walked around Central Park. NYC is sooooo busy! There are people EVERYWHERE!!!! I honestly wasn't a big fan! It reminded me of London, only I liked London way more! I guess I'm just tired of trains, subways, and crazy crowds! My favorite part of NYC was Central Park! It is beautiful!!!! Emily's favorite was the neat piano at FAO Schwarz!!! :-) She had so much fun walking and hearing the music play as she walked! It was so cute! It was a beautiful day to be out exploring, with a high of 75!

We left Sunday morning at 7:45 again but this time we were on the train and subway for almost 2 hours!!!! It's not easy to keep Emily entertained for that long when all she wants to do is walk and you can't walk on a train/subway very well!!! But it was worth it...we went to Coney Island! We really enjoyed walking along the Boardwalk and seeing the ocean! It was a lot colder that day (high 55) and rained some but we still had a good day! We ate lunch at Nathan's...the famous hot dog place that has the hot dog eating contest every 4th of July! It was neat! I actually had a lobster salad sandwich (delicious!) but I did try Phillip's hot dog and I admit it was good! He loved it! Emily had some of my lobster and LOVED it! She kept signing for more!!! (My sandwich, 2 hot dogs, one french fry that we shared, and 2 drinks cost $25!!!! YIKES!!!) We walked around a little more and then Phillip and I took turns staying with Emily while the other one rode the CYCLONE!!!! It's a really old (and famous) wooden roller coaster. It was fun! We stuck our hands in the ocean (brrr!!) and then headed back to the train station. We got back around 5:00 Sunday evening, which gave us time for dinner and laundry. It was a fun weekend!

This was my facebook status yesterday...

Emily is 13 months old today!!!! She walks everywhere and says "go go go" while walking! She signs more, eat, drink, shoes, help, please, and thank you. It is so sweet when she signs thank you without being reminded first! She says about 50 words and learns a new one almost every day. I love when she says "I love you." She repeats it when we say it first and sometimes she says it to us first! Sweetest thing I've ever heard!!!! :-)