Fall Fun!

On Sunday we went to The Garden Factory for their fun fall weekends that they have. We've been there before for their holiday weekends, but never for fall...so we decided to check it out.

Cassandra was ready to go in her pumpkin hat!

They had tons of stuff to do there! It seemed like they had less rides than in the winter, but at the same time it seemed bigger in size and they had more stuff to do than in winter as well.

They had some cat adoption place there and Avery was loving the kittens-I think she was playing with them for at least a half hour! And they had one that looked like a baby Jerri as well!

Avery and I as ghosts:

After the kittens, she was ready for some rides!

First up? The carousel!

After she went on I was walking with her and we heard "Avery! Avery!" and we turned around to see her BFF Josie there with her grandparents!! They were so excited to see each other!

Avery and Josie

They went on the carousel again together and then went into the bounce house. Then they went and checked out the petting farm:

bunnies

Baby pigs-they were so, so small!

Then it was time for Josie to leave so we got in line for some ice cream!

And then Avery and I went down the big slide (which was very fast by the way!):

Then it was Daddy's turn:

Avery won a stuffed whale and Cassandra was lovin' it to pieces-she kept giving it hugs:

After we went down the slide a few more times, we headed to Gabe's parents' house (they had met us at Garden Factory). I put Cassandra down for a nap since she didn't sleep there (silly nosy girl!). I took a pic of her sleeping...she's so sweet!

We had dinner, then headed home. After I put Cassandra to bed, I hit up the store for grocery shopping. It was a very busy but very fun day!

Mommy and Avery Day

Avery's daycare was closed for their summer break this week so I took vacation days to have the week off so that I could stay home with the kids.

I decided to send Cassandra to my in-law's house for a day so that Avery and I could have some quality time together.

Let's face it...when kid #2 comes along, kid #1 gets neglected sometimes (and vice versa). It's even worse when you breastfeed  because the baby is attached to you every time she/he is hungry, which is every 2-3 hours. And factor in putting #2 down for naps and #2 going to bed earlier than #1 and well, most of my day is consumed by baby #2 being glued to me.  I do feel awful for Avery some days. I know she doesn't get my attention as much as we'd both like. I hate to say it, but I almost can't wait for Cassandra to be a little bit older just so that I'm freed up a little more. I think it'll be easier when they're both able to do the same things and be at similar stages, but right now it's just tough. Not that I'm wishing time away, because holy cow my baby is 7 months old already, but I'm just hoping things will get easier as time goes on.

We both needed a "big" girl day-just Mommy and Avery. From the time we woke up until dinner time it was just her and I.

We got up, I got ready, we got her dressed. She wanted to play with some toys in the basement so we did that for at least an hour. 

Before we left the house, we took a quick pic:

Is she my little clone or what?!

Then we had lunch at Panera, which was her choice. She downed her food which I was happy with-sometimes when we go there she doesn't care for it.

After lunch, we went to the Strong Museum. I had been asking her for about a week what she wanted to do with me and she kept telling me the museum.  Honestly, it was a good choice because we've only gone once in the 7months Cassandra's been with us-it's hard taking the 2 of them myself!  We met Molly, Owen, and Bianca there-which was a surprise to Avery! Everyone had a blast! We rode the carousel and train of course and did lots of playing! I think we were there about 3 hours and I really think Avery enjoyed it!

After the museum, I took Avery to a new ice cream place that we hadn't tried yet. She loved it because it was self-serve so she could do everything herself!  And with all of the toppings they had, she surprisingly only had rainbow sprinkles on hers! It was very good and I'm sure we'll be going back again!

Once we got home, Gabe and Cassandra came home shortly after and it was back to our usual routine-dinner and bedtime.

It really was a fun day and like I said, one that we needed.  I think my big girl had fun on her special day with Mommy!

Visiting Nama

On Saturday, Avery and I went to Buffalo for a visit.


Unfortunately (or fortunately) Gabe had to stay home because we got a call on Friday that someone wanted to see our house! So he had to be here to let them in and had some prep work to do in the morning. We definitely missed him though as this is our 3rd trip in a row without him!


We arrived around noon and Avery had lunch shortly after. My Mom bought her some cherries which she loved! Can you tell by her face? We attempted to have her take a nap, which didn't work so while my Mom was lying down with her, I made a Target run.

When I got back, we headed to Isleview to enjoy the beautiful weather by the water! We have never taken Avery there so I thought she'd enjoy it! Here's my Mom and Avery when we first got there:

Megan and Noah met us as well and we all went to Mississippi Mudd's for some ice cream! This is the first time Avery had an actual ice cream cone and she went to town! Of course she's a rather slow eater so it was melting faster than she can eat it! My Mom had to jump in and help her out a bit!

Noah!

After ice cream, the kids wanted to check out the water and see the boats going by! Avery kept saying she wanted to go in the water-which for her is a shock!

After we left there, we went back to my Mom's house and had a nice dinner. Then it was time for Avery and I to head home. And she did like she did in the old days-conked out for an hour in the car and passed right back out when we got home...it was so nice!

End of Another Weekend

We had another very busy weekend!

On Friday, Avery and I went to the library for story time...only to find out that it was cancelled. We ended up staying for over an hour and played in the play room. She still had a good time! After her nap, while playing, she decided to lie down for a bit-she would pretend to snore like she was asleep! It was so cute!

And she was having fun poking her head out of her tent and yelling, "Boo!"

Friday night I went to our cousin's house for a wine tasting party which was a lot of fun! It was good to have a girls night and get out of the house for a bit!

Saturday we went to Buffalo for the day. I met my friend Megan at Condrell's for ice cream (YUM) for a bit. It was nice visiting with her for awhile! Then Gabe and I celebrated Valentine's Day a little late...we went to Left Bank for dinner while my Mom and Aunt babysat for us. It was another delicious meal there. I don't think I've had a bad one yet! Definitely one of my favorite restaurants to go to!

This morning we had a playdate with Avery's old daycare crew. We got together and had breakfast and let the kids play. It was a lot of fun!

Here's Avery sitting at the kids table:

Avery and Josie (they'll be going to the new daycare together):

Amelia, Avery and Josie coloring on the windows:
Dance party time!

When Avery napped, I went grocery shopping. Then when she woke up, we all took a trip to Sam's Club. And now we're just winding down before bedtime and the start of another week!

Last Weekend in Summer

It's hard to believe this was the last weekend in summer. I'm sad to see it go. I do like fall though, but I also don't like it because I know that winter is right around the corner. YUCK!

Yesterday morning Gabe went for a run. When he came home, I went to the gym. While I was there, Gabe and Avery went to the public market to enjoy the nice day outside. After the gym, I came home and did some much needed cleaning and organizing so that was nice. After Avery's nap we decided to take her to the playground for a little bit since it was so nice outside. She had a lot of fun going down the slides and going on the swings:

I got a nice family photo of us:

When we got home, Gabe's parents came over to babysit so Gabe and I could go out for dinner. We went to Pier 45 again and sat outside. It was very nice.

Today we were pretty busy as well. This morning, Gabe's family (parents, sister and kids, aunts, uncles and a few cousins) all met at Wegman's for coffee and to plan our upcoming clambake. We figured out the menu and who is bringing what. When we got home, Avery had lunch and napped. I went out grocery shopping. When she woke up, we played outside a little bit while Gabe mowed the lawn. Then we went to Panera for dinner and to Lugia's for some ice cream! Only a few good days left to do that this season!!

It was a very nice last weekend of summer!

Fourth of July Weekend

Our Fourth of July weekend was very nice. Gabe had both Friday and Monday off. I worked a few hours Friday morning, but also had off Monday so it was a nice long family weekend!

Friday we took Avery to get her 1 year photos done at Penney's (which turned out great by the way!) then just came home and relaxed.

Saturday Gabe went running, then I went to the gym. While Avery napped, I did some baking. After she woke up, we went to a playground for a little over an hour-she had a blast climbing the slide and going down it! They had a pool nearby so we took her over so she could watch the kids swimming. Then we decided to try a new ice cream place that Gabe's coworker told us about. It's a pretty far ride for us to go, but she raves about it so we had to try it out! They have food as well so we ate dinner there and had some ice cream. It was good-almost like Lugia's but a lot longer of a ride. I don't think we'll be going back there too often!

Sunday we had a family reunion for Gabe's Mother's side of the family. They have it every year around the 4th in Auburn. It's very nice-they have it at one of the cousins' lake home so it's very scenic and relaxing. There's always a lot of people and a lot of good food! We had a very nice time. We didn't get to go last year because Avery was only a week old so we made sure to go this year so everyone could see her! She had fun watching all of the kids and practicing walking all around the place!

Monday was a relaxing day for us. I just did the weekly grocery shopping trip and we did a few things around the house. Gabe's parents invited us over for a cookout, but they don't have air conditioning. It was well over 90 out that day so we asked them if they wanted to come to our house instead. So they did-and they nicely brought everything for dinner! We just did a cookout-burgers and hot dogs, corn, mac salad. It was a nice relaxing end of the weekend that's for sure!

I finally got some footage of Avery with her new toy we got her for her birthday! She's getting to be a pro at it already!

Father's Day Weekend

We had a very nice Father's Day weekend.

Yesterday I went to the gym in the morning. Gabe had to go into work and get a haircut in the afternoon so I hung out with Avery. She's cutting tooth #6 and I think it was bothering her yesterday. I gave her a few teething tablets and she wanted to carry the bottle around with her and chew on it!

Gabe grabbed us some dinner on the way home, then we took Avery to Lugia's for our first ice cream outing of the summer! Of course it was delicious and Avery enjoyed it as well! I finished off the evening grocery shopping-woo hoo!

Today we ran to Sam's club to pick up a few things we need for Avery's party next weekend. We went over Gabe's parents' house for dinner. It was such a nice evening so we all sat outside and enjoyed the weather (and the flies!). We had a nice cookout with lots of yummy food! Avery tried cherries for the first time and loved them-she really loves fruit!

She also had fun playing with Owen:

and she had a taste of Daddy's lemonade:

Happy Father's Day!!

How to Celebrate?

Today Avery turned 9 months old!

So how do we celebrate being such a big girl?

Drinking Pepsi (or just chewing the bottle)....

Hanging out with our cousin:

And going in the swimming pool for the first time!! The pool finally got fixed and the water was warm enough for us and Avery to test it out.

First thing is to get in your bathing suit:


Then test out the water with Mommy:


Then try out the baby boat and play with Daddy, Mommy, and Owen:


What better way to celebrate than to go and get ice cream! Yum! Luckily, the place we went to last year, Jaxson's, wasn't too far away from us this year. We knew we had to go back and indulge a bit.

Avery posing with the sign:

Daddy's chocolate cookie sundae:

And Mommy's half and half sundae:

(see why we had to go back?!)
Avery had a little taste as well-and loved it of course!

Then we played with some Tupperware and spoons:


Happy 9 months big girl!!!