I attended the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade with two young children for the first time, here's what happened

Waking up at 5 a.m. to attend a parade with two children under the age of four sounds a little bit crazy to me. Yet despite my hesitation that is exactly what I did for the 2015 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

After moving to New York in August of this year, my wife and I decided we would embrace the full extent of NYC culture.

Before we headed out to parade I read a lot of tips about how to make the most out of the annual event.

The two biggest pieces of advice I received was to arrive early and find a spot near the start of the parade at 77th street.

We arrived in New York City at 5:45am. The closest parking lot we could find was at 100th street. We took a brisk 25 block walk before the sun was even considering its daily appearance.

My wife carried our 1-year-old in a Boba baby carrier while I placed my 3-year-old daughter in my hiking carrier, a backpack designed to carry a small child in a fixed seat.

By 6:30am we were waiting for the parade to start, alongside hundreds of other parents who also decided to beat the crowds to the festivities.

Even with our early arrival we were two to three rows from the front of the line. By 7:00 a.m. I estimate that there were more than 1,000 people standing behind us.

Here's what we experienced - both expected and unexpected.