Christmas and Uncle Dan's Visit

Well, we finally decided that it was time to finish posting our pictures from Christmas and New Year's. This year, my brother Daniel was able to visit us for both holidays, and we had a fantastic time traveling into the City and seeing the sights. Andy loved having a constant companion who was willing to spoil him at the drop of a hat, and was very sorry to see him go. Just a reminder...only 4 more months until we leave New York, so if you're going to come and visit, get your tickets now (I apologize in advance for the length of this post, but it has been a month since the last one...sorry)!

Shortly after Thanksgiving, we changed Andrew's bed from a crib to a toddler bed. As you can see, he's pretty pleased with the arrangement.

Who says it's only designed for one?

Andy decorated the tree personally. Of course, he also spent a significant portion of the time throwing the ornaments across the room...thank goodness Julie bought plastic ornaments last year!

Andy also received his first "haircut" shortly after his birthday. This is the before picture. His rat tail was getting a little long.

The one and only cut. He only lost about an inch at the very end.

Andy pouting after his haircut. Not much of a change, but at least it was a little less like a mullet.

There's just nothing like playing with the Christmas tree in your underwear and rain boots!

Julie, Andy, and I went to Macy's to see Santa the day before Daniel arrived. All I can say is, someday my tree will look just like this!

Andy and Santa. Yes, son, the beard is real!

Santa's elves visited on Christmas Eve Eve. Everyone did well, although I apparently still have some room for improvement!

Andy and Uncle Dan had a great time with their new swords.

Dan, Andy, and I just couldn't resist a good old fashioned sword fight!

Dan at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Who knew he was into fine art?

Yes, it's the Emporer's codpiece again. We just couldn't resist!

Dan and me at Times Square. Doesn't Dan just look thrilled to be there?

Wall Street station. Show me the money!

The Charging Bull near Wall Street. 'Nuff said!

We went ice skating with our church's youth group. Andy was very excited to have his very own skates.

We thought that he would get tired after one or two laps around the rink. He stayed on the ice for more than an hour, with Julie and me taking turns guiding him. We may just have a budding Olympic skater on our hands!

Dan tried his hand at ice skating as well. He spent 99.9% of his time holding on to the side railing for dear life.

The tree at Rockefeller Center. Very impressive!

Andy at Rockefeller Center. I think he had the right idea.

The ginger bread house at the Botanical Gardens. Andy had a great time!

The holiday model train show at the Botanical Gardens. Someday, I'll have a better setup!

Andy and Dan at the top of the Empire State Building. The wind was blowing a bit and Andy insisted on wearing his hood.

The origami Christmas tree at the American Museum of Natural History. Sounds like a project for next year!

The Intrepid Air and Space Museum. Definitely way cool, and we didn't spend nearly enough time there. Worth another visit.

Lady Liberty. A must see! On a side note, I deserve props for my planning on this day. We went to the Intrepid in the morning, where my previously purchased online tickets let us skip a huge line, and then we went to the Statue of Liberty, where my previously purchased online tickets let us skip a ginormous line and actually make it to Liberty Island. I was pretty proud of myself!

The luggage room on Ellis Island. An amazing testament to the draw that America has worldwide.

Well, if you made it all the way through this post, congratulations! Hopefully we can keep a little more up to date in the future. Stay tuned for our January post, coming soon!