New York visit, part 1

Since the AAO national orthodontic convention was going to be held in Philadelphia in May, 

I decided that it would be a good time to spend a few days in New York City before the convention started.

The timing couldn't have been better because I was not only able to spend time with Kimber and Cheri,

but I was able to help Brooke move into the apartment, where she and Ashley will be living this summer.

Both of the little girls have secured great internships this summer. 

 Brooke has a paid internship with Cwonder, the company that she interned with last summer

and Ashley's internship is with a nonprofit organization called Save the Children.

They are both so excited to be able to live together in the big city,

grateful for the opportunities and experiences that they will gain from their internships,

and getting to spend time with Kimber and Cheri is just an added bonus!

It had been over 2 months since I've seen this baby girl, 

so when I arrived early Wednesday morning and she was still asleep,

I just couldn't wait any longer. So I did what any grandma would do.

I went in baby Cheri's room/closet, woke her up from a deep sleep and scooped her up out of her crib!

I was so excited to cuddle with her, and as you can see, Cheri was pretty excited to see me too!

After the thrill of seeing grandma wore off, 
she wanted to get down on the ground and play...

but as you can see, she is still waking up.

Then she wanted to get in her jumper and show grandma how its done.

We got baby girl dressed for the day's activity, which was

taking Cheri to see the cherry blossoms at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens.  

Heading to the subway...

baby Cheri is focusing on drinking her bottle...

waiting for the subway train.

Cheri fell asleep right when we got to there

 so we let her sleep and just walked around and enjoyed the sights.

The weather was gorgeous that day so the place was packed with visitors. 

We headed over to see the gorgeous tulips!

Taking lots of photos and enjoying the beauty of it all.

Finally, we made our way to the cherry blossoms and we couldn't wait any longer...

So we woke Cheri up from a deep nap and within minutes she was smiling and laughing.

Obviously, she was pretty excited about seeing the cherry blossoms!

Cheri with the cherry blossoms, as cute as she can be!

Love this photo of Brooke taking a photo of Kimber and Cheri!

Playing with Brooke.

469 photos later, we called it a day and headed back home.

I think it was a successful outing.  Cheri loved the cherry blossoms!

Later that afternoon, Brooke and I got the keys to her new apartment 

and spent the some time cleaning and moving her into her new residence!

 It's the perfect place for Brooke and Ashley to live this summer.

Located in the NYU neighborhood, this 12x12 space is what the little girls will call "home" for the next 3 months.

Brooke and I were busy unpacking and I had to laugh when she pulled out a couple of strings of Christmas lights

 from her suitcase to "decorate" her apartment with! I have to admit though, it was a nice touch!

It was fun to get in the taxi and see a Cwonder commercial playing on the screen!

Definitely a sign that Brooke is going to have a great summer! 

The next morning, Cheri was up and ready to go the next day!

She is seriously so adorable and it is so fun to play "dress up" with this little doll!

And I love to watch her roll around on the floor.

It's amazing how you can just sit there and be totally mesmerized by this little one trying to roll over.

And she made it over and looks at grandma for approval!  Good job, baby girl!

Buckled up and ready to go!

She loved her chain links and toys!

 Waiting for the subway.

 Cheri doesn't seem to be bothered by the noise of the train.  She is such a NYC baby!

First stop of the day is Grimaldi's Pizza.  Cheri wanted a bite of pizza...

so we thought about giving her a bite...

and she opened her mouth, ready to take a bite

 and then mama decided she wasn't quite ready.

We took a walk to Levain Bakery and bought Grandpa some cookies.

That afternoon, we ran lots of errands, did a little shopping 

then headed to a cute little place called Sugar and Plumm for dinner.

We put Cheri in a high chair and she was way happy 

about sitting up to the table and being a big girl!

Lots of giggles and laughs from this little one!

She wants to talk so bad and when she gets real excited it turns into this high pitch squeal that is hysterical!

The darling decor on the wall!

Brooke ordered the pulled pork sliders. Yum!

I ordered some yummy macaroni and cheese! And boy, was it cheesy!

Baby girl blew out a diaper and next thing you know, 

she is pantless and seems pretty happy about it!

 What a happy baby!

Dessert came and this baby girl is pretty happy about that!

This place is perfect for an outing with a little girl!

Can't wait until Cheri is a little older so she can really enjoy it!

Lots of toys and goodies to buy!

And yummy treats to try!

Look at those yummy macaroons!

After a long day of running errands and shopping and eating,

Cheri is more than happy to get down on her New York City quilt

and play with her toys!
She is wearing the cute jammies that my friend, Kim Nash gave her
and they match perfectly with the quilt that I made her!  Love it!

And then her daddy gets home and she is really happy!!

She sure loves her dad!

What a fun couple of days in New York!  It was hard to leave this cute little one
and I probably wouldn't have except that I knew that I was coming back 
next week to play with her!  See you in a few days sweet Cheri pie!