New York, New York!

Recently our family had the exciting opportunity to spend two whole weeks in New York City! As is our life, Mady & I decided to tag along on one of Andrew's many business trips. So while Andrew was there examining a large industrial bank in Midtown, Mady & I walked and walked and walked. We took our time taking in the city. The first time I visited NYC I felt like a tourist running around from sunrise to sundown but this time we got to experience what it would be like to live there which meant actually meant skipping most of all the tourist traps. Needless to say, we both fell in love with Manhattan this time around and realized we could probably live there if only we were able to afford living on Madison Avenue in the Upper East Side and near Central Park. If only... ;)

One of the few tourist-y things we did was visit the 9/11 Memorial. It was breathtaking and as you can imagine very emotional. We thought it a perfect memorial to all those who lost their lives on that fateful day just 11 years ago. The new impressive Freedom Tower oversees the whole complex and will soon be the tallest building in NYC surpassing the Empire State Building.

Between the hotel (Hyatt Lex 48) and the restaurant (Lexington Brass) where we lived and dined for 2 weeks, everyone (the staff) knew us and adored Madsen. He was on a first name basis with everyone and got lots of attention everywhere we went. Elisha (left-hand pic) was my most favorite concierge at our hotel and just adored Madsen. She would often take her 15 minute break in the morning just to join us up in the lounge and entertain Madsen. She's also a acting prodigy and just graduated from Julliard. Joe (right-hand pic) was the hostess at Lexington Brass and too just loved Mady. I swear that girl's maternal clock is ticking...She would sit with me most mornings during breakfast when things were slow and we would just gab and gab. Miss her. Last but not least, Cassie (not pictured) was Madsen's favorite waitress and fellow red-head comrade who waited on us most mornings. She was a small-town girl from Kansas living the dream in NYC hoping to someday make it big on Broadway. Some of the best parts of the trip was getting to know all these people and hear their stories and listen to their big dreams. It was inspirational to meet these talented gals working hard in the city while pursuing their dreams on the side.

This is Bryant Park...we met Andrew there for lunch most days. They had a gorgeous Carousel and a little kids area that was nice for Mady. It was one of the only places in the city where Mady could stretch his legs. It was also located next to the New York City Public Library. 

Photos to document Madsen seeing the sights in NYC: the Chrysler Building, Empire State Building, New York Stock Exchange, Wall Street, the Wall Street Bull and Rockefeller's Center...

Shake Shack...the jewel of the city, just ask any New Yorker. It was the one thing that everyone kept telling us to go and experience, so finally the night before we left we made it down to Madison Square Park to see what it was all about. No disappointment...not even after a 45 minute wait. Amazing burgers and concrete shakes. Mmmmm...

We made it to Yankee Stadium to watch the final game of the inter-league Subway Series between the Yankee's & the Mets. The Mets led the entire game until Russel Martin hit a walk off home run in the bottom of the 9th. Yankees win. :(

I took Madsen to the Central Park Zoo and Tisch Children's Zoo. He seemed to get "it" more than I thought he would and enjoyed spotting out all of the animals. The polar bear was his favorite. His other favorite thing was climbing in the giant dinosaur egg over and over and over. I predict many more outings to the zoo with this little sweetheart of ours.