And of course we had to squeeze in one more Mets Game. This time we went with loads of people, the Jordans, Grandma Gertch and our friend Matt with his two children Conor and Clara.

We also got to enjoy our new best friend, cotton candy.

Malcolm was not sold on this carousel and clutched to Aunt Das for most of the ride.

With horse faces like this do you blame him?

It was a beautiful New York summer day so we did what any tourist would do and headed for a rowboat ride.  First of course we had to push our bus up the hill.

And on boat two, our rower.

And the passengers.

Malcolm and I on the other hand were not as helpful.

It was pretty hot out there so we were happy to hang out in the shade for a bit.

After Central Park we headed downtown for a snack and some relaxation, oh and some bubbles of course.

Oh and maybe a lollipop or two.  Listen people, when on vacation no rules apply. As much sugar and cosleeping as is needed to get us through the trip is ok by me.

We headed into Brooklyn for our last night out with the Jordans to this amazing restaurant Brooklyn Fare and had one of the most amazing meals ever.  We are forever grateful to the Jordans, not only for treating us to this amazing dinner but for letting us stay in their beautiful home and making us and the boys feel so welcome.

Kids were allowed inside the corral to feed and pet the animals. Adam insisted he was ok going in alone.

And of course he was.  He sat and petted this goat for a good 20 minutes.

In case you’re wondering, Malcolm couldn’t go into the petting area because we forgot his shoes…it may seem like this happens to us often but it really doesn’t.  The boys have started climbing into the stroller and by the time we leave 15 minutes later when I’ve finally packed up the fruit, snacks, waters, diapers, wipes and am out the door I then realize too late that one or both have no shoes. This was definitely the worst (and last up to now) time. It felt more intense since we actually crossed into a whole other borough and had a whole day out at the zoo with a shoeless toddler. But besides the petting zoo the rest of the time we just let Malcolm run around barefoot and he was perfectly content.

After lots and lots of animal feeding we had a yummy picnic.  Ah, Staten Island semolina bread you are after my carb loving heart.

After lunch it was on to the reptile house with a quick photo op with the grandmas on the way.

Of course we had to try out the carousel. What trip to a zoo is complete without a carousel ride.

Next up the Cheetah house.

And finally on the way out, Adam’s favorite, the horses!

We headed over to Dimitra and Dimitri’s house who got Adam and Malcolm the sweetest cake and made their day!

Our second trip to Staten Island we headed over to Grandma Gertch’s house and got to see Artie and Rico. Adam and Malcolm have been face-timing with Artie and Rico since they were babies and are both super into dogs! Adam actually asked us every day in New York if we could have a dog. We told him he has to be older, so every time anyone said he looked big, he would turn to us and say “I’m older- now I can get a dog”.

I was so impressed that Adam and Malcolm both went right up to Artie (who is no small dog but very sweet) and of course Rico and wanted to spend the whole morning petting them.

Malcolm pet Artie tons but if he made any move to come closer he would run for shelter on someone’s lap.  Little Rico on the other hand, Malcolm felt totally comfortable following around and insisting on petting the entire time we were there.

After some time with the dogs we headed out to Grandma’s garden to help pick some tomatoes.

Malcolm, that’s a rock not a tomato!

After lots of dog time and some yummy Staten Island bagels we headed to Fran and John’s house for some play time and a yummy dinner.

It was the first time we met their adorable twins. They are just a couple months younger than Malcolm and so sweet. It’s hard to believe we have 5 kids between us!

These two were of course super excited to be reunited.

We all traipsed to the park and the boys played ball for a long while.

Fran, the twins and I chatted while Malcolm played in the dirt.

Vincent is such a sweet older brother. He was so sweet with Malcolm who loved the attention!

Then it was back home for some action heroes. This was the start of Adam’s teenage mutant ‘engine’ turtle obsession.

And here is my attempt to get all 5 kids in one frame.

And these three peanuts.

I wish we lived closer and these 5 could spend more time together. We had so much fun and I loved seeing all the kids together. Not to mention Fran and John (and Fran’s mom who made the yummiest eggplant parm) can cook!! That dinner was fantastic! We’ll be back for dinner the second we land back in NY guys!

While we were in New York Daphne and MJ hosted a yummy family dinner. It was Sunday so we decided to have a good old fashioned Italian dinner of pasta.

Both Grandma’s came, Grantie Vangie, cousins Caleb, Kathryn, Kaleigh and Kathryn’s three adorable kids Josh, Peter and Lily.

Adam was so excited to see Josh, Peter and Lily. He went out the day before with Aunt Das and Uncle Nooj to buy balloons for the kids and some yummy Italian pastries.

Everyone came bearing sweet gifts for Adam and Malcolm.

We brought Josh and Peter a jeepney from Manila to give them a taste of home!

Adam and Malcolm had so much fun playing with the boys and Lily! They played board games, cars, cards and more.

Why I felt this table photo was sufficient I will never know. I wish I had taken a group picture of all of us.  But at least I got one of the kids. Hmmm…maybe I should have turned the movie off.

At least I got a cute one of these three.

Before we knew it it was time for another Friday day out with the Jordans. Aunt Das had done some research and had planned a great New York day for us!

I had been to this Mexican restaurant a long time ago with Daphne right before her wedding so it was a blast from the past coming back.  We sat out back in a contained little garden with hardly anyone else and fun plants and flowers to play with. The dream of every parent of a toddler!  Although we could have been anywhere with the Jordans and the boys would love it. They are completely smitten!

Sidenote- I was going through these photos the other day and Adam came over to look. He asked me where that photo was from, so I asked him if he remembered. He thought for a minute and replied by asking me if I had a photo of the bug they found.  These two found a bug in the flower pot during the exploration phase of this lunch and Adam still remembered it! Quite a memory on this one!

Then it was on to some yummy Mexican food! Chips, rice and chicken- right in the boys wheelhouse.

Then it was back to the streets of New York to walk to the Childrens Museum of Art, which Daphne informed us is frequented by Suri ‘all the time’. Any place good enough for Suri was for sure good enough for our boys who have a pretty low bar considering there are only a handful of activities in Manila for us to do.

Our first stop at the museum – the big ball pit. Adam still talks about this ballpit today! It made a big impact.

Malcolm was too young for these giant balls so we headed down to the art room to create some art of our own and Adam soon joined us! Malcolm is obsessed with water and dipping things in water so these waterpaints were a dream come true.

This place was amazing! It had everything a child could ever want.

There was a wall of all the things kids always want to touch! Vacuum cleaner tubes, mirrors, light switches and more. If I was a handy person I would make one of these boards for Malcolm. He would love it! That’s ok I’ll just let him play with the actual vacuum cleaner.

There were legos!

A whole table of clay!

We even celebrated Adam’s birthday five months early. Here is the extent of my playdough skills…I know, my talents are endless.

and stamps, markers and more!

We had a break for a snack and a cuddle. These two are so cute lately. They hug and kiss all the time.

Then it was time for some more arts and crafts. We moved to the the big kids room and Aunt Das helped Adam make a fancy hat!

We couldn’t leave without playing with some goo!

After a fun full day we headed home and we were lucky enough to have Grandma Yuyu come babysit the boys for us and we got to spend the night with the Jordans.  We headed to Carbone, the most delicious Italian restaurant.

Thank you Jordans for another great day out!

Next we moved outside and watched these garbage men load 20 dumpsters. It was pretty exciting for Adam who has never seen a real garbage truck. Don’t ask, I have zero idea how garbage is collected in Manila, all I know is in our buidling is that we put it by the garbage area and it disappears. The garbage here is picked through is thoroughly for stuff to sell but that is a conversation for another day.

I love that Adam was so enthralled. I also love that we had no agenda and I was able to watch with him the whole 30 minutes it took these guys to empty all this trash. It reminded me of the days before I went back to work when Adam and I would take long walks for hours.

Then it was off to the playground. The playgrounds in New York never fail- sand pits, water fountains, huge slides! Not a bad day off!

Malcolm was excited too! What? You don’t think he looks excited? Oh, he was!

Before we knew it we were on Staten Island!

We headed out to take a walk on the boardwalk with Grandma Yuyu! The boardwalk was such a fun place to visit while we were there.  Randy and I grew up in the same neighborhood and would hang out on that boardwalk all the time! There used to be concerts in the summer we would go to with all our friends and sometimes (cover your ears mom) I would sneak out past curfew to hang out with Randy and friends by the beach. When Randy and I first started dating (post law school and way past breaking curfew days) we went for a walk on this very same boardwalk and decided to try dating and not just being friends. The rest, my friends, is history.

Adam loved the beach and would have walked all the way to the end with Grandma!

Then it was back to Manhattan to pick up these two crazy cats and head to Brooklyn for dinner with our friends Erika and Henry who we haven’t seen since we went to the Philippines!

Malcolm was a little scared so Adam led him over to explain that the seals were behind the glass and couldn’t come any closer.

Vincent and him mom and dad arrived and they immediately set off in search of tigers and bears. I had promised Adam he could see polar bears, but apparently there haven’t been polar bears at the zoo since 2013, who knew. Luckily there were some grizzlies to keep these two entertained.

After some penguins, monkeys and bears we headed off to have a snack.  I have to say watching these two was hilarious. Even when they spilled water everywhere and didn’t eat a bite of their hamburger the cuteness factor made up for it.

I call this one, ‘what do you mean I can’t make farting noises in his face, see how much he loves it!’

After lunch and a much needed coffee it was time to go play soccer in the park. Adam had gotten a new soccer ball at Ikea and he was super excited to try it out.

And here is what happens when you try to take a picture of kids who are eating icecream,,,,

 
and playing with sticks….

Vincent we’re waiting for you to check out the Manila zoo!