A Whirlwind Weekend in the Big Apple

With a new baby on the way, Thomas and I decided we only had so many months left to travel.  So, when an invitation from a dear college friend came for his wedding on Long Island, we decided it was a perfect excuse for a New York trip.  Virginia stayed behind for a fun-filled long weekend in California while Thomas and I headed east.

The first stop was New York City, where Marriott hotel points scored us a nice room in the Renaissance Hotel right in the heart of Times Square.  Since it had been years since we'd been to NYC, we decided we had earned as much.  It turned out to be a good thing that we saved on the room because theater tickets were sky-high!  It didn't help that I wanted to see one of the hottest shows in town -- Matilda -- which had recently opened on Broadway.  Matilda was based on my absolute favorite childhood novel of the same name by Roald Dahl, so it was a can't miss for me.  It was truly a magical theater experience and an amazing show (made all the better by second row seats).  We even had a chance to meet up with a college friend, Justin Zaremby, before the show for drinks.  And after the show, we had a chance to see another Yalie, Rachel Pasternak, who happened to have Matilda tickets the same night!  Talk about lots of reunions.

Very happy Roald Dahl fan!

Speaking of reunions, as luck would have it, my Aunt Lynn happened to be in New York the same evening too.  She was taking a girls trip to shop and see shows, so we met up with her crew at Sardi's.  What fun!

Sardi's with the girls!

Thomas, Auntie Lynn, and me at Sardi's.

The next morning, we had the opportunity to see even more Yale friends, as we met up with Marc Suskin and his family for brunch.  Marc and Thomas were Spizzwinks and Whiffenpoofs together, and their oldest daughter is right at Virginia's age.  We were sad that Virginia couldn't be there for the reunion too, but I know we will have a chance to see them again soon.

With Marc & Alexa and their girls.

Then it was off to Connecticut for the rest of the day.  We crashed for one night with Uncle John and Aunt Joyce at 1918 and had a nice time visiting with most of the CT Mack family as always.

Finally, the big event -- Roric Tobin's wedding on Long Island.  We drove Sunday morning from Connecticut down to Long Island, where we reunited with even more Yalies for the shindig.  We also had the chance to see our UVa law friend, Brett, who also happens to be Roric's brother (small world!).  We had recently seen Brett and his family in Hawaii in March, so it was nice to catch up with him and his daughters again.  The wedding was a blast and I danced my pregnant belly off.  Best wishes to the happy couple!

Leslie & her favorite boys -- Brian & Peter

The boys doing Blue Steel.  Very little has changed in the 12 years since we graduated at Yale.

With the illustrious Mr. Eric Paul Harding.

Thomas & Brett

More Yale pals.

Thomas and the blushing groom.

Daddy-daughter dancing.  Cuteness.

Baby Harvey 2.0!

Expecting.

It's hard to believe we launched this blog more than four years ago to announce that we were expecting our first little Harvey.  I'm happy to announce that we have finally decided to become a family of four -- the baby who has come to be known as "Baby Harvey 2.0" and "Little Noodle" is due September 23, 2013.  And it's a BOY!

We are so excited awaiting the arrival of our second child, but no one could be more thrilled than the original Baby Harvey, Virginia.  She has been desperately wanting to be a big sister for more than a year now.  We would hear her over the monitor at night saying her prayers: "Dear God, please can I have a baby sister or a baby brother?  Amen."  Those prayers have definitely been answered, although not before she asked me if I was certain that God heard her because she had been asking for a long time and still did not have her baby sister or baby brother. ;-)

Virginia is preparing the house for the new arrival... passing down blankets, burp cloths, and baby toys that were stored in her closet up until now.  And she's let me know that she will feed the baby bottles and hand me clean diapers, but she will not be changing the dirty diapers herself.  Smart girl.

Stay tuned for more news on Baby Harvey 2.0 in the coming months.

Virginia Turns 4!

The Candy Man Can.

This year, Miss V turned 4!  How time has flown!  We hosted a Candyland-themed birthday party at our house in Alameda for a lot of her friends, complete with a bouncy house and a candy-themed soundtrack.  Virginia helped me prepare for the party by making lollipop bushes using hundreds of Dum Dums.  It was a surprisingly fun project.  We were thrilled that Mimi and Papa were able to make the trip this year to celebrate too.

Showing off an almost Pinterest worth table.

Princesses like candy, right?

Isabel, Johnstone & the birthday girl.

Virginia chose a Safeway cake again this year, with her favorite colors - orange, pink, & purple.

Friends ready for cake.

Blowing out the candles with friends.

Waiting for cake!

Having a blast in the bouncy house.

New bike from GayGay?  Amazing!

Post-party fun with Mimi.

Easter 2013

We spent Easter this year close to home and I'm happy to report that the Easter Bunny was very good to our little one this year.  Virginia had a blast searching for the eggs in the front room of our house, and we followed up our morning egg hunt with another egg hunt at St. Clement's Church after Easter morning services.  We also made a cameo appearance at Claremont Country Club for their Easter activities, where Virginia enjoyed a visit with the Easter Bunny and a few kid-friendly activities.  We were then treated to a wonderful brunch at the Harvey household, where Uncle Biggie and Miss V got into some typical trouble.  Happy Easter to all!

Easter loot.  The giant orange egg was a big hit.

Easter Bunny got a little tricky and hid some eggs in someone's dollhouse.

In her Easter best with Daddy at church.

Egg hunt glee!

Happy Easter family.

Looking spiffy with GayGay and PopPop.

Another family shot (and a close-up of the purple hand-smocked dress that I used to wear as a child!)

Snuggles for the Easter Bunny at Claremont Country Club.

Fairy princess making balloon animals?  Score!

Balloon animal pink & orange butterfly.  Double score!

Silliness with Uncle Biggs.

Biggie & Thomas raided the coat closet at the Harvey household in an effort to come up with the wackiest and most outdated outfits.  Time for a trip to Goodwill, we think!

Corndog Craziness

Corndogs in the kitchen with Ben & Wanda

As always, Harvey family and friends gathered at our house during March Madness for the happiest of holidays -- National Corndog Day!  Approximately 8 boxes of corndogs and 10 bags of tater tots were consumed, and countless beers and sodas met their match.  The kids had a blast on the sports-themed bouncy house while the grown-ups got to watch some good basketball matchups.

The Corndog Day "Cool Girls" kept us entertained all day long.

This year, we got to try an extra special treat, courtesy of our friends Ellie & Matt Guidi... the cherpumple!  A cherpumple is the dessert-variety of a turducken and is an impressive three layer cake with a pie baked into each layer of cake.  It seemed to fit in nicely with the gluttonous theme of National Corndog Day.  Thanks Ellie & Matt!

Matt displaying the cherpumple in all its glory.

The cherpumple and all its many layers of sugary goodness.

Aloha Aulani!

Not a bad view, right?

In March, our family decided to continue our travel streak and take a long weekend in Hawaii.  We had some Alaska Airlines voucher burning a hole in our pockets from a flight cancellation last summer, and when flight prices dropped to equal the value of the vouchers, it was time to take advantage of a free Hawaiian vacation!

Since Virginia is such a Disney fan and we were not going for a very long trip, we thought this was the perfect chance to experience the new Disney resort on O'ahu, Aulani.  The Aulani was very expensive, but we worked our travel magic to get a good deal during the low season.

The trip was truly magical in every way.  The resort was authentically Hawaiian, complemented with all the Disney magic and excellent service.  Virginia loved all the kids' activities and events and got the chance to hang with her favorite Disney characters.  She spent time at Aunty's Beach House (coolest kids' club ever) while mom and dad enjoyed some nice meals out and also ran herself ragged doing the waterslides at the Menehune Bridge water playground.  We also had the chance for a nice reunion with an old law school pal and his daughters one day.  The girls played wonderfully together and Virginia especially enjoyed getting to sit at a "big girls table" with them for our poolside lunch.  Ever since our return, Virginia is begging to go back again.

(For a full review of our Aulani experience, check out the review on my travel blog!)

Shave ice was a daily treat.  Virginia always made sure she got orange.

Menehune Bridge water play area is where Virginia rode water slides.  187 times to be exact.

Breakfast with Mickey!

First time on a paddle board with daddy.

Loving on Minnie Mouse.

Our little mad scientist doing experiments at Aunty's Beach House.

Happy family in Hawaii.

Virginia hams it up at comedy hour at Aunty's Beach House.

A highlight of the vacation was getting to see an old law school pal, Brett Tobin, and his girls.

Stitch and the girls (Virginia was still learning how to do the shaka!)