Episode Five: Hilton Hotel Living

Living in New York was an absolute blast. Jon went everyday to training which he loved. We made great friends and he learned so much! He also got to work personally with some of the top dogs of his company. In fact, one of the Senior VPs offered to babysit Addie on several occasions and I got to meet the CEO!

Everyone was so nice and it was so great to hang out with people from all over the country, from all backgrounds of life. Everyone was especially wonderful to me and Addie. They called her their "little BIM baby" and were absolutely enthralled with her. It was kinda funny to see how curious they were about babies...In Utah culture, we just take babies for granted--they are everywhere you look, someone in your family or friend group most likely just had one. But these people were from a very different world...they were almost afraid of her, haha...but they certainly warmed up. I'd like to think that their experience with her will encourage them to have kids of their own one day!

Now, living in a hotel for two months was an adventure. Thankfully, it was an incredible hotel. The amenities were awesome, from racquetball courts to indoor pools, to gyms, to a beautiful walking trail.

The beautiful grounds of the Hilton. 

And in a strange way, living in that hotel was the best thing for me at the time. People always looked at me like I was crazy and then they'd ask, "But what do you do all day?" It is amazing how little things could fill the day and with a baby, it was perfect. Addie and I had no responsibilities...we were free to relax and enjoy each other's company. I got to spend one-on-one time with Addie like I will never be able to again in my life. Someone made my bed every morning, cleaned my bathrooms, and vacuumed my floors. We had free breakfast every morning and free dinner once a week. The extent of my responsibilities was the weekly laundry and shopping and Addie. I sound totally pampered and I was! What a blessing...instead of trying to balance a million things and be a good mom, I was blessed to learn how to be a mom first, then slowly add back the responsibilities.

The living room suite part of our room (for the first half of our stay)

Our bedroom

Like I said, we were pampered. For the second half of our stay, we were moved into an actual apartment within the Hilton, complete with full kitchen. It was pretty much the above pictures plus a kitchen. It was awesome! We wish we could go back...at least, we sometimes wish we could go back :)

Episode Four: I Hate Airports

Episode Three: Motherhood

Episode Two: Home Away From Home

Episode One: The Blessing