New York Day 4

Ryan 'babe watching' (check out that smile!) at Grand Central Station

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Found out this morning that the 'rents had never been to Grand Central Station on their first trip to NYC, so we just had to take them over there to check out the architecture!

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Look Ma! Ghetto gloves! (a spare pair of socks for Ryan in our diaper bag)

We also spent part our morning cruising around Little Italy & Chinatown. And because it was so cold outside (48-50 degrees and drizzling) and *no one* was selling toddler-sized gloves...we had to improvise!

...at least he seemed to think it was funny! He laughed when put them on...and he kept them on! He was in seventh heaven in Chinatown because many of the stores had goldfish in their windows (are they some kind of a good luck thing? I'm such a bad Chinese...) and he kept pointing and yelling, "Elmo Dorothy fish!" (Elmo has a goldfish named Dorothy) His mother was not so happy about seeing all the sad, scrawny, plucked, red ducks hanging in all the windows.

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Couldn't resist snapping this photo of a table at the MoCa (Museum of Chinese Americans) in Chinatown. Their recent $9 million renovation is pimpin.' Amazingly beautiful inside. The museum was a nice reminder that being part Chinese is so much more than being able to haggle down prices (it is?!) or having the right to sport a ricebowl haircut for 35 years running!


A funny thing happened today while we were separated from my parents, Uncle Joey & Ry Ry. Without communicating about it- they went to Magnolia's (premier NYC bakery) for treats at the same time we went to Crumb's (the other premier NYC bakery)!

This is my "I'm so excited...that I just can't hide it! I'm about to lose control...and I think I liiiike it!" face. Because hot diggety! I'm in Crumbs!!! Which cupcake-y to choose though?!

I went the most popular selection there- the giant red velvet cupcake! It was purty good! Not too sweet, not too pricey either ($4)!

From there we hit up the highlight of our trip so far- the Ed Sullivan Theatre to catch today's taping of the Late Night with David Letterman show! We had to get in line by 1pm to pick up our tickets, then return around 2:30 to be seated for the 3:30-4:30pm taping. Everything ran like clockwork!

Look at the funny doofus behind us who snuck into our shot! Hysterical!

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Rich has told me for years how badly he's wanted to see either Letterman or SNL show. Though this sounded as exciting to me as say...doing geometry for fun, about two months ago I requested Letterman tickets for him. I forgot all about it until 4-5 days ago when I got a call from a CBS staffer telling us we were in! I won't get into the logistics of trying to get tickets, but let's just say I got them by the hair of my chinny chin chin (oooh, not a pretty visual)! It was such an AWESOME experience...professional, peppy page staff, extremely well organized and timely (impressive considering they have to coordinate nearly 500 rowdy studio audience members), etc. There's nothing like walking onto the set of show you've watched for years and getting that initial "Oh. My. God. I can't believe I'm here!" feeling! We sat in the fourth row, closer to Paul Shaffer...beneath hanging mikes, bright lights and behind camera men and guys holding up cue cards for Dave. Dave is such a natural comedian, and he had a phenomenal interview and rapport with his main guest- Dr. Phil! I actually like Dr. Phil, so it was a bonus getting to see him too. The other guest was some former NFL Coach/ESPN commentator (Jon Gruden) and the most recent American Idol castoff (he sang a beautiful song). I highly recommend doing this someday if you can...we both LOVED it (just wish cameras were allowed)!

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It's good to know that no matter where we are, some things never change! This is Ryan once we got back to the hotel this evening...watching Seasame Street, holding his beloved blankie ("aka batee") and sucking his thumb! PS- This is the first time I've had a king sized bed since Ryan was born...and when I saw how easily it can accommodate our family of three? Well let's just say I'm SOLD. We're definitely getting a king-sized bed as soon as we can afford one!