• New York is about as kid friendly as they come — Outside of the obvious fears about wandering off and getting hit by a Taxi the city was great.  People on the sidewalk gave a friendly smile, cabbies were super patient, and waiters and hotel staff bended over backwards.
• The Affinia Dumont was terriffic — We stayed at a $200/night hotel at with more square footage than most DC hotels, and it came with two beds and a kitchen.  Totally clean, modern.  Great staff, serviceable bar — what more could you ask for?
• Avoid the touristy stuff, or go at off hours — We had more fun in our neighborhood (Murray Hill/Grammercy Park) than we did the area around Times Square.  We enjoyed the Bryant Park tree (with 12 locals) more than Rockefeller Center (with 2.6 million people from New Jersey.
• Kids are trainable — In 12 hours, Sparklet had figured out that she needed to stay a little closer to mommy and daddy than usual, and that we’d lose our gourds if she didn’t.  Of course, she also figured out that we really WANTED to buy her something in each toy store we visited, and was all too happy to help pick stuff out.
• i need skates and ice skating lessons — i spent over two hours at two different skating rinks this weekend, and didn’t step on to the ice. of course, my biggest problem is the size of my feet (size 14 or 15 shoes), but followed closely behind by a complete lack of coordination on slippery surfaces. i’ve got to find a way to make this work.
• iPads are awesome, terrible things — We did 2 two-plus hour train rides, and between the books, toys and iPad, the only time she complained was when her kiddie headphones fell off her ears.  I really don’t know if I’m happy or sad about this, but it works regardless of my vague uneasiness.

I really do love this town — especially at Christmas — but I’m a little nervous we won’t be back for a while. 

The second baby (“thing two”) fundamentally shifts us towards a zone defense, and so the next big vacation might be in more of a structured environment — which is probably code for either a cruise, a theme park, or a large national park with all its pointy rocks wrapped in foam rubber.

Pretty sure giving into the need for structure isn’t a good thing, but could just be part of growing up. Or, at the least, settling. Or, at least, refusing to give in an buy a leash.