Lamaze reunion brunch #2

Last Sunday, we got together again for brunch to see everyone now that all the babies are 6-7 months old. We plan to do it again in 3 months or so when the babies are all around 9 months old. We went to Henry's for brunch this time, which was nice for us because we could walk there since it is close by.



The parents admiring the stroller parade:



Avery especially made friends with Ernesto. They held hands (cute!) and shared Avery's dinosaur doll:

(here it looks like Avery is crying and Ernesto wants to give him a hug to cheer him up!):

(They are sharing Avery's dinosaur here):


The boys: Ernesto, Oliver, and Avery


The girls: Reagan and Lydia

Avery is 7 months old, and Mama turned 29!

Enjoying a shoulder ride with Mom:


Avery now reaches up his arms when he wants to be picked up:



Aunt Sarah and Mama turned the big 2-9!

at the Children's Museum of Manhattan

An Evening Chez Avery

First evening activity: Practice sitting (and some standing) while playing with toys. Avery doesn't seem to ever stop drooling so his shirts get soaked if we don't put a bib on him:




Dinner time! Avery continues to do well with the solids. Tonight was his first time eating bananas. He LOVED them! I think the only thing he's tried that he hasn't seemed to absolutely love is peaches. He wants to feed himself and hold his own spoon and bottle of water. He has also grabbed his bowl of cereal and dumped it onto his highchair tray AND Ruby is starting to figure out that Avery drops food occasionally. This is making her way more interested in him than she has ever been before!



Bathtime for Avery! We like to sing his bathtime song: "We're gonna wash that boy, gonna wash his little (tummy), gonna wash that boy, gonna wash his little (tummy), gonna wash that boy and get him nice and clean . . . and now you see what I mean" replacing the appropriate body parts in parentheses as the bath continues.


Tummy Time. Avery is looking at a book . . . or at least chewing it:



One last jump in the Jumparoo before calming down for bed:


Reading stories before bedtime:

Fun with Friends

We had another busy but fun weekend. On Saturday we went out to Queens to see Kim, Jess, and Olivia. The weather was nice enough for the kids to play outside which was nice. Then very late Saturday night/ early Sunday morning, we ended up having to take Avery to the ER for croup! This was his second episode of croup and it totally took us by surprise. He seems fine now (and he doesn't look sick at all -- this picture was taken Sunday evening). Hopefully tonight we'll all be able to sleep and he'll be healthy for the week ahead!

swinging in riverside park

I am at home hanging out with Avery today. It is a crazy warm (but windy) day for January, so we took a walk to the park with our dog Ruby and decided to try out the swings. The swings were a very popular place for kids and their nannies this morning, and we met some nice kids, adults, and some nice dogs too (the dog in these pictures is not Ruby, he's a lovely dog named Oliver that Avery got to pet). Avery LOVED the swings! He laughed and laughed as the wind blew in his face. And he enjoyed seeing the other kids and dogs too.

books and beans

We had a very busy weekend, but we enjoyed some peaceful times at home too. We have started reading books often with Avery, and we are continuing the adventure with solid foods. He adores green beans! That's what he's eating here (that's why it looks disgusting). He grabs the spoon and tries to feed himself. Also, here is a picture of his new trick: standing by himself while holding onto something. We are wondering if he might skip crawling altogether and just start walking (apparently some babies skip crawling). Finally, the last picture is him concentrating on a new toy from Aunt Sarah and Danielle. It's a really cool toy, and the best part about it (in my opinion) is that it can flip up and become a "walker" for Avery to push and help him keep balance once he is ready for that. Fun!

Hershey, Penn.

We got back to New York yesterday and it is good to be home! During the seemingly endless drive through Pennsylvania, we spontaneously decided to check out Hershey since we were driving right by it and we'd never been there. January is clearly not the time to visit, but we walked around Chocolate World a little bit and drove by the zoo and the amusement park. We will definitely return when the weather is warmer! And a true New Year's miracle: we came and went without eating a single piece of chocolate!