A trip to NYC and a lot of fun!

Gar and I took the girls to NYC for two reasons: First, to celebrate my cousin's Caroline birthday and secondly, we had the opportunity to meet with Drs. Brent and Kesser who will be operating on Eleanor in the not so distance future.  Eleanor's been so scared of the surgeries lately that we thought we needed to take her to meet them in person and see how cool they are!  Refresher here for those who don't know about Eleanor's surgeries.  We found out this weekend from Dr. Kesser that Eleanor is a candidate for his ear canal reconstruction.  Now we just have to decide if we'll be doing it!  It's a huge step and the prospect of Eleanor having two fully functioning ears is pretty remarkable!

When Aunt Courtenay caught wind of our plans, she insisted on meeting me in New Jersey at Caroline's and taking Mary Larkin for the WHOLE week.  I had to quick say "yes" before I changed my mind.  (She's been gone two days as of this post and I miss her like crazy.) 

Court saying a quick hello and goodbye to Miss Ginger in front of Caroline's house.

Having a little dinner at Caroline's.  See the cool airplane spoon?  Caroline finds the best gifts!

Caroline knows the way to my heart: snacks and Yuengling all day on a cold, gray Saturday.

Just wanted to remember this cool pillow.  They also have the O'Hare version.
Caroline O'Hare--doesn't get any better than that!

Eleanor and Mila-Sean&Caroline's niece-watching a movie.  They were pooped!

Garland gets served the Korean Soju.  Can you tell he liked it?

Liquor in a plastic bottle? Stay classy.

On Sunday, we woke up early and headed into the city.  Eleanor was beside herself that ML got a whole week alone at the Homan's so I bribed her by promising her a trip to the NYC American Girl store.  

Eleanor and Allie are ready for their trip to the city!

But first we stopped in Bryant Park to watch the ice skaters.

And throw pennies in the fountain.

But we made it!

Love Fifth Avenue!

Eleanor with her bribe--a new outfit for her doll.

Fun in the back of the cab.

Our tour guide Caroline.

Cupcakes and scones at Alice's Tea Cup.  BEST. EVER!

Doesn't my caramel chocolate chip and sea salt scone look amazing?
Oh, and behind the pumpkin scone.  It was hard to decide!

A random fun walk way in the city.

Getting slightly annoyed at this point.  We couldn't find a cab because it was the marathon day
so we had to hump it on the subway.

Ginger didn't mind riding the subway one bit!

Several hours later (and a major detour through Yonkers to find the Saw Mill Parkway) and we were home!