Carrot!

So we went to the public market on Saturday and we passed a booth selling these huge carrots. It was like 5 of them for $1 or something crazy. Avery was screaming for one so Gabe went over and bought just 1 carrot....Lord knows we don't need 5 of them!

When we got home, he peeled it for her and girlfriend went to town!  The thing is huge I tell ya!

And no, she didn't eat the whole thing! We still have it in the fridge (which is why we didn't need 5 of them!)

The Unofficial Start of Summer

Memorial Day....the unofficial start of summer....

Here and gone already!

One thing I will say....it sure felt like summer! It was very hot and humid all weekend long....loved it!

Saturday we met Gabe's parents at the public market. We did our usual shopping then visit at the coffee shop. Avery is all about the coffee shop. We weren't shopping very long and all she wanted to do was "go for coffee." It was pretty funny!  That evening, we went to Panera for dinner and ate outside since it was nice out. Then we stopped and got some ice cream too! Yum!

Sunday we went to Buffalo. We went on the late side since Cassandra decided to take a two hour nap in the morning! I actually woke her up because I didn't want to leave too late and when I went in her room, I found her like this:

So sweet!


We got to my Mom's and again it was hot outside. We got Avery in her bathing suit and she tried out a new sprinkler that my Mom bought her. Her water pressure is pretty crappy so I don't think it did what it was supposed to do, but Avery still had fun playing in it!

Yes she has a little butt cheek hangin' out!

My Mom's neighbor and her little boy stopped over to see the girls for awhile and my friend Renee also came by for awhile. We had a nice cookout for dinner then got ready to head out. 

Avery was wearing this lei on her head for most of the day which was cute:

And we were trying to get Cassandra to laugh:

look at those little thighs!

Monday we went to Gabe's parents house for a cookout which was nice. We had dinner at their "old" house and dessert at their "new" house (they're in the process of renovating and moving).

Here are both girls in their cute dresses:

And with their cousins, Owen and Bianca:

I hope you all had a wonderful unofficial start to your summer! I know we did!

Beatin' The Heat

It was a scorcher out there today and tomorrow it's supposed to be just as hot!!

Yesterday Avery wasn't feeling very well-she had a fever most of the day-so we didn't really do too much. I took her to the market in the morning with my in-laws and that was a big mistake. About halfway through she burst into tears and I had to carry her the rest of the way. She didn't want to go home ("stay market Mommy") so we stopped at our usual coffee spot. She actually fell asleep on my shoulder for a good half hour, which she never does. So I knew she wasn't feeling well. When we got home, she took a 3 hour nap and we had to wake her up because it was getting so late!!

Today we had planned on going to Buffalo but I wasn't sure how it would pan out with her not feeling well. Luckily, she woke up in the morning and was feeling fine! So, Avery and I went to Buffalo to visit (my Grandfather goes back to Vegas tomorrow and we really haven't seen him) and Gabe stayed home to get some painting done.

We went to my Mom's for about an hour, then we went to my Uncle Joe's house for a cookout. Like I mentioned, it was close to 90 out so it was a bit toasty! My Mom brought along a big bowl and some toys for Avery so we filled it up with water and let her go to town with it! For a girl who won't get in a pool or sprinkler, she sure will get herself wet with a bowl of water!

We had a nice time-it was nice having a chance to visit with everyone and to see my Grandpa before he heads home. We went back to my Mom's after for about an hour and a half, then we headed home. Another hot day forecasted for tomorrow! Keep cool!

Happy Birthday Dad (aka Papa)!

We had a busy day yesterday!

In the morning, we met a friend of mine and her 2 sons at the Strong Museum of Play for a few hours...which was fun as always! While there, Avery sat on my lap while I made her a magic wand! I'm not miss crafty so it looks ridiculous to me, but she loved the thing-she carried it around all day (and still wanted it today!).
Here's a pic of it: And Avery with the wand:

I told her to wave the wand and instead she waved while holding it:

This is her new thing when I tell her to smile:

And she had to show the wand to Jerri...and Jerri loved it because of the ribbons on it so Avery was thrilled that she could keep the cat near her for more than a split second. It was a riot!

Late last night my Dad and Colleen showed up for a visit. Yesterday was my Dad's birthday so they went out for dinner kind of out this way. So they decided to come here after and spend the night. Avery was fast asleep by the time they got here, but we stayed up and chatted for awhile before heading to bed.

Gabe had to work today so Avery and I spent the day with my Dad and Colleen. I took them to the public market since they have never been. Then we came home and Avery ate lunch then took a nap. We mostly hung out the rest of the afternoon. When Gabe got home we made dinner-burgers and potatoes on the grill (yum) and a homemade birthday cake for my Dad!

Here we are singing to the birthday boy:

and clapping after:

birthday kisses:

and blowing out the candle:

They left just as we were getting Avery ready for bed. It was a very nice visit-it's been awhile since they've been out here. And I know I'll be hearing Avery say "Papa" a lot now!

Happy Birthday Dad!

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!

Happy 6th Birthday Owen!

Yesterday we had a busy day. My Mom and Aunt Pat came in from Buffalo to go to the public market with us in the morning. We met my in-laws there, did some shopping, and then had some coffee after. My Mom and Aunt left shortly after Avey went down for a nap.

When Avery woke up, we went to Molly and Mark's house to celebrate our nephew Owen's birthday. His actual birthday is on Tuesday... he'll be 6 this year and starting kindergarten in the fall!

Avery just loves my neice and nephew-they were doing group hugs for awhile when we got there: Sibling love:

Pa with Owen and Bianca (Avery wanted to sit this one out!):

Owen has been big into collecting all sorts of bugs these days. He caught some butterflies and Avery was very interested in them!

Before dinner, Owen opened his gifts....

and Bianca got a few as well:

The sticker/activity book we got Owen:

Avery also got a gift from Pa and Grandma:

After dinner, it was cake time! Owen's plane cake:

Singing "Happy Birthday!"

Once we sang to Owen, Bianca wanted to blow out the candle too, so we also sang to her!


Happy 6th Birthday Owen! Hope you have a fabulous year!!

Three Down, One To Go

My work schedule in August is all over the place! I typically work M, T, Th each week, but pretty much the entire month of August my schedule is different. Last week I worked M-Th then got "rewarded" with a 4 day weekend (I swapped W last week for M this coming week). So, it's Sunday night-I'm usually in bed by now gearing up for work tomorrow, but tonight.....tonight I'm gearing up for another day home with my baby!

We had a very busy weekend this weekend as well.

Friday Avery and I went for a walk in the morning. After lunch we went to the library and she played in the playroom for a little bit, then we went on the playground for awhile. After her second nap, we made a trip to Barnes and Noble. While I was getting dinner ready, she decided to rearrange our shoes (yes, all of those shoes are for 2 of us-and that's not even all of them we have in that area-how crazy is that?!). She liked my flip flops the best!

Yesterday Gabe went running in the morning, then I went to the gym. After we both showered and Avery napped, we went to the public market with Gabe's Dad. Even though we went late, it was still very crowded! But we got a lot of great deals as usual! In the early evening, we went to our cousins' newly built house for a housewarming party. We didn't stay too long because we had Avery and she needed to get to bed. It was nice seeing everyone and their house was very nice!

This morning I met an old coworker of mine for breakfast. We tried a new place called James Brown's. It was very yummy! If you go there, just a warning that there is no AC inside-it was pretty toasty in there! After Avery's nap, we went to the Park Ave fest and walked around for awhile. Just as we got back to the car it started pouring so we timed it just right! From there, we met Gabe's parents and his sister (and family) at Pier 45 for dinner. We have never been there and it was very nice. It's right on the water and we sat outside on their very large (and covered!) patio. We ordered a bunch of different tapas and shared them. They were all very good! We'll have to go back again sometime and try some of their entrees.

So I'm off tomorrow as well and really have no plans besides going grocery shopping. I haven't taken Avery in awhile so that'll be interesting! We'll see how the weather is before planning the rest of our day!

The other day, Gabe's friend brought us some very large zucchinis and today Avery was trying to carry them around! It was pretty funny because they are really big for her to try and pick up!

I tried taking a video of Avery dancing the other day. She is so funny when she dances standing up! She didn't do it very long, but I decided to post it anyway because I haven't posted a good video of her walking yet. So at least you'll get to see that!

Mommy's Helper

Typically when I have laundry to fold, I either fold it when Avery naps or when she's in bed for the night. There have been many times where the laundry basket is out with clothes in it, but Avery usually doesn't pay attention to it.

Today....she decided to be Mommy's little helper!

She spotted a bright red pair of her socks in the basket and for 40 minutes she took those two socks out of the basket, then put them back into the basket. It was too funny. She would stand up, lean over the basket, grab the socks, throw them out of the basket, then sit down, pick them up off of the floor and put them back in. Repeat that for 40 minutes-it was comical!

I decided to have some fun and put Avery in the laudry basket as well:

You can just see the corner of her red sock in her hand here:



Red sock!

Out of the basket looking for that sock!

Tonight I was folding the laundry and again she came over looking for the red socks and helping me once again! This is her ripping a bib off of her head:


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In other news, our weekend was pretty good.

Friday night Gabe's parents called us up around 6pm to see if we wanted a last minute babysitter so we could go out for dinner or something. We hadn't eaten yet, so we took them up on their offer and went out for some Chinese food...it was a very nice surprise!

Yesterday I met an old coworker of mine for breakfast then ran to Party City and started to buy some things for Avery's birthday party (can you believe it?!). While I was doing that, Gabe took Avery to the public market and met his parents there. Then last night we met our friends Julie, Richie and Carly at the Lilac Festival for dinner. It was a tad chilly, but we had a good time and Avery was very well behaved even though we were out past her bedtime!

Besides folding laundry today, I just did our grocery shopping and then we took Avery swimming at our gym. She wasn't overly thrilled with it, but we managed to keep her in the water a little over a half hour which was good. We'll take her again soon and see how it goes next time!

Tomorrow starts week 2 of me working 4 days each week covering for a coworker who is out for a surgery she had done. I'm not looking forward to it, but hopefully this is the last week that'll happen!