32 Photos from when Elizabeth & Ryan visited.

Sometimes I feel like if I don't blog it, then it didn't really happen - like the universe will just suck up all of the undocumented or unphotographed memories & take them away forever. I've said this all before, & of course this is just part of the slightly obsessive part of my personality, but I'm okay with it. Someday, when I get my act together, I'll have some semblance of a printed record of my life.

Elizabeth & Ryan were here last weekend (a week ago - I'm behind). They've never been to New York & we were so happy to have them come & see what our life is like here. It's always kind of fun when people come to the city for the first time, although there's added pressure because there are expectations to be met, etc. Luckily, they were easy guests & lots of fun, & Quinn was so happy having them around (I especially loved that Elizabeth was such a giant help with him). They were also extremely understanding with my broken toes / constant cough & aching back. Elizabeth made me a special honey / lemon tea at least a half dozen times, gave me back rubs & introduced me to the Netti Pot which made a significant difference in my ability to breathe. I credit her for keeping me alive, & am happy that she was around (although I likely would have gotten out more had my body not been a complete disaster).

I got out of the apartment on Saturday & pushed through to do as much with them as I could - & we had a fun day! We went down to the Lower East Side + The Meatball Shop for lunch (we haven't been since I was 38 weeks pregnant), & did what responsible parents do & let our baby dance on the bar. Afterwards, we toured the city by car & then went across the Brooklyn Bridge for some photos at Bubby's & photos in the park. We capped off the day with a trip to The Bronx for a quick baseball game. It ended up being a bit abbreviated (3 innings!) given that it turns out that 56,000 people cheering in Yankee Stadium is a little bit scary for a seven & a half month old baby. See photos below of the evolution from Wow! This is fun! to Hmm. Not sure I'm loving this any more. Despite it being a rather expensive three innings, we were happy to at least have made an appearance, & Quinn has now seen his first hometown game. 

We drove home through Harlem & stopped for a photo of one of Mike's favorite spots - the Crack is Wack wall at the appropriately named playground. Funny.

The last two photos - I just love this boy, & I think they capture just how sweet he really is. When he's 16 & screams & yells at me & tells me he hates me, I'm going to take a deep breath, look at these photos & remember.

Also. This goes without saying, but these are probably amongst the grossest photos ever taken of me. An entire day of gross photos! Amazing. I guess it's just the way it goes, because Saturday happened (& was appropriately documented), & it was a wonderful day, but wow I wish I would have reconsidered both my hair & my wardrobe decisions. Neither were helping me out at all (stripes are not always a good thing). I had it in my brain for a 24-hour period that I needed to grow my bangs out. We have a beach vacation coming up, time at Priest Lake, & a humid NYC summer, & bangs are sometimes tricky! Obviously, this is a really trivial thing, but my forehead has been covered for several years now, & it's a big decision, people! Anyway. After seeing the photos, I quickly decided that I just desperately need a haircut (scheduled with Reagan, check) so that I will hopefully no longer look like a homeless person or a polygamist. I also need to do something about looking 14 weeks pregnant, still. It's never a good thing when you have an almost-8-month-old & people say things to you like, Wow! You're really starting to slim down & barely have a belly left! Um. Thank you?

To do list: Daily abs, starting Monday.