Apple Picking

Last weekend, we packed up the car and headed to County Line Orchard in Hobart, IN for some fall fun! One of the family traditions that I want to start is "apple picking" and after our experience, we are off to a good start. Catherine, David, Josh and Eliza joined us and it was great - despite the fact that all of the kiddos were a bit under the weather - we still managed to get a few hours in. We took the tractor to pumpkin patch first where we were all able to pick out the "perfect" pumpkin, then it was off to the apple fields for some picking! The trip would not be complete without a trip to the barn store that had any type of "apple" product you can think of and then lunch in their restaurant! We had a great time and can't wait to go back next year:)

Hammer time

Andrew has found a new talent...household repairs...we hope this hobby sticks as he gets older. However, I think that we are going to be wishing that this hammer had an "off/on" switch!

"OG"

Andrew came across my gold necklace this morning and loved the sound it made when he would shake it in his hands. Since it has several thick gold chains and Steve keeps using the phrase "Original Gangster", we thought it would make for a good look for Andrew. I'm not so sure he fits the mold of an OG and since he is mistaken for a girl on a regular basis, we'll hold off on any more gold chains! However, I'll let this little guy run our neighborhood and he can fend off the real gangsters with cuteness!

Papa's Birthday Celebration

We had a great long weekend and one of the highlights was celebrating Papa's Birthday! The entire gang headed to La Scarola (one of Papa's favorites) for a wonderful dinner. The best part was watching Josh, Eliza and Andrew. Eliza is absolutely fascinated with "Ann-do", this occasion was no different as all Eliza wanted was for Andrew to touch her eyes and ears. Andrew happily obliged by poking Eliza in the eyes multiple times. At the end of the evening, we tried to get all of the kids together for a picture with Nana and Papa (easier said than done). The first one is the best out of the bunch, but I think the last one should be their Holiday card this year, I love Josh and Papa's expressions!

**The pictures were taken on our phone, so they are a little blurry**

Eating Extravaganza

Since Andrew began eating foods (around 5.5 months), his habits have been less than stellar. I followed the books and started out with rice cereal - he didn't enjoy this experience one bit. We stuck with it (approx 10 days) and could barely get him to take any. He would shake his head no and whimper every time he saw the spoon coming close to his lips. So, I tried oatmeal - same reaction - very frustrated - I decided to skip the cereal phase and go to the real stuff! I pulled out the Beaba, went to baby food making class and was ready to go. I had been told not to expose Andrew to sweet foods first as then you may have a problem giving them vegetables later, so we were going to start with Butternut Squash. The squash was prepared and we started the adventure...at first Andrew took a couple bites and seemed to enjoy it or at least tolerate it. However, that quickly changed - this little man was simply not interested in food - the head shaking and whimpering would start as soon as he was placed into the high chair. On rare occasions, he would relent and allow us to shove some pureed mush into his mouth. Extremely frustrated, I caved and bought some peaches. Imagine the surprise to us when he took the first bite with much hesitation, swallowed and then opened wide for another bite. I was so excited, I no longer cared if he was only going to eat peaches for the rest of his life, he finally was accepting "food". So, I decided to go back and try an array of foods since he now "liked" to eat. We had avocado, sweet potato, banana, oatmeal (again) and it wasn't happening, this little man likes his peaches and only peaches - well, mangos too, but he can definitely tell the difference. This has been the hardest part of motherhood thus far, worrying that Andrew wasn't eating enough, but Dr. Starr has assured me that he will eat when he is hungry and will not starve. I've come to accept it and go with the flow as much as possible and hope Andrew doesn't turn orange from all of the peaches he is eating.

UPDATE: We have had a couple of great food days with Andrew. He is now eating 2 meals at daycare - breakfast (oatmeal and yogurt) and lunch (a veggie and peaches). He has dinner at home and I couldn't believe my eyes last night when he actually opened his mouth as he saw the spoon coming towards him and didn't flinch when it was filled with green beans and rice. Let's hope this was not just a one-time deal as I'm about to stock up on more veggies!

Baby of the Month!

Over the weekend, Creme de la Creme had an open house, so we stopped by for a little fun on Saturday. Nana and Papa joined us, but we didn't get there until the tail end of the event, so there was not too much going on. It looked like they had a fun line-up earlier in the afternoon. Andrew scored his first balloon animal, a yellow teddy bear and we were able to snag the last bit of guacamole and a couple pieces of pizza. On our way out, one of the directors mentioned to us that Andrew was Baby of the Month, we had no idea! His picture is featured on the rolling computer screen that keeps the families updated to what is going on...clearly we don't look at it! Here are a few of the pictures from his "Baby of the Month" photoshoot.

Cape Cod/Greenwich Trip

At 6 months old, Andrew has become quite the traveler. Last week, we packed up and headed to Greenwich, CT to visit Nick, Nikki, & Isabel for the first time since they moved in November. This also marked the first time Isabel and Nick were going to meet Andrew. Andrew absolutely loved Nick and Isabel. It was so fun to watch Isabel with Andrew as well, she is going to be a great big sister in just a couple of months.

Nikki and I had always wanted to visit Cape Cod, so we thought this would be the perfect getaway for all of us since they now lived so close.

First up was Greenwich, it is absolutely beautiful and the Hartman's really seem to like their new city! After one night at their place, we packed up the kids and two car loads and made the 4 hour trip to Cape Cod. The road trip went very smoothly on the way there and Andrew checked off plenty of states on his list of where he has been. Once we arrived, we checked into our hotel/condo at The Ocean Edge Club Resort, perfect accommodations for our stay (a little bit more updated would have been nice, but it was great)

With limited time to spend we made the most of the trip...here is the summary:

Pool, Beach, Shopping in Chatam, Seal Watching, Ferry Ride to Martha's Vineyard and Eating a ton....the lobster rolls and the Chicken Pot Pies from Oprah's Favorite Centerville Pie Company were my favorites.

On Thursday, we made the drive back home to Greenwich - seemed a bit slower on the ride home and we had one blow out from the little man in the back. In Greenwich we continued the fun and ate a ton. Steve accompanied Nick on the train into NYC on Friday so he could take pictures while Nikki and I dropped Isabel off at camp and then went to breakfast and managed to slip in some shopping on Greenwich Ave. We went out to a great place for dinner right by the train station in Rye NY that evening. Saturday, we headed to Greenwich Point to see the beach and the park, so beautiful - this will be great for Nikki when the baby comes, beautiful area for long walks! Then, we headed to a little beach town for lunch where I had a lobster grilled cheese that was to die for and then we went back to the Hartman's to gear up for a great BBQ that evening complete with cupcakes from Crumbs, which were outstanding! We made it back to Greenwich avenue on Sunday morning for brunch before we left to come back home. It was a great trip and we cannot wait to get back to the East Coast for another adventure next year(we decided that we'll do an annual trip with the Hartman's)