Happy Halloween!

Avery's second Halloween turned out to be a gorgeous and warm day! He wore his monkey costume to daycare:

Carolyn and I picked him up early so that we could see all the kids in their costumes enjoying their Halloween party. The older kids made Halloween decorations, and everyone got to eat Halloween cookies. Belen also made goodie bags for everyone to take home. We decided kind of at the last minute to go to my aunt and uncle's house in Katonah. They go all out for Halloween; it is a big event at their house. They have over 2,000 trick or treaters and their entire front yard is transformed into a creepy haunted house! Avery just wore his skeleton pajamas this time, and we took him trick or treating around the neighborhood. I think we went to 4 houses. He didn't really get it (he kept trying to go inside of people's homes, and of course he has no idea about what candy is) but he seemed to enjoy seeing all the kids in their costumes.

On our way there, we stopped at the A&P to get a couple of bags of ice and a few other supplies, and Carolyn ran in while I waited in the car with Avery. We were silly and taking pictures, but I realize that this is evidence of some lazy carseat buckling. Oops! Normally he is fastened in much more securely, I swear!



Avery really loves his fruits and veggies. He did not get tempted by candy and treats, choosing instead to munch on carrot sticks and this same damn apple that he insisted on carrying around even as we were trick or treating, occasionally gnawing on it. By the end of the evening, it was brown and bruised because he kept dropping it (or throwing it like a ball), but he still wanted to carry it around.




"Creepy Pete's" place is of course the coolest home to go to in the neighborhood, but some neighbors got into the spirit this year by building a crashed UFO in their yard and dressing as aliens. They really got into character though, speaking in robotic "alien" voices. When an adult asked them "Are you nice aliens?", they replied "What is 'nice'?" and when Avery crawled onto their porch, they looked down at him and said "What is this earthling doing?" Avery got a treat (an entire Hershey bar! Not even the miniature kind!) and we continued on our way.

Fall Festivities 2

Carolyn got some free tickets from work to go to this event: http://www.hudsonvalley.org/content/view/195/198/.
It was really cool; there are thousands of jack o'lanterns lit up and some of the most impressive ones were built together to make snakes and dinosaurs. Avery was SO good. He was so calm and quiet in his stroller that we assumed he had fallen asleep, but he was awake the whole time, just taking it all in, I guess.

Fall Festivities

Checking out the pumpkins at Stew Leonard's:





Riding on the Stew Leonard's hayride:

We went to the Bronx zoo, and every child there was wearing a costume! There were lots of Halloween festivities, but we just walked around to see the animals. Avery wore skeleton pajamas and the top part of his monkey costume.
My favorite part of the zoo is the petting zoo area of the children's zoo. Avery LOVES feeding the animals! He is not afraid and loves having goats, llamas, geese, and probably just about anyone else eat out of his hand.



Gogo with Avery:

Avery was SO GOOD all day, except when we tried to take him on the bug carousel. He started crying and squirming in line. We thought he'd chill out and be happy once the ride started, but nope, he had a full on hissy fit-temper tantrum. If you squint here, it looks like he is smiling, but he's not. He is MAD. As soon as we got off the ride he stopped fussing and was in a great mood the rest of the day.

After the zoo we went to Arthur Avenue, which is the "Little Italy of the Bronx." We ate great pizza and Italian pastries, and just walked around. Avery got a lot of smiles and waves since he was wearing his skeleton costume. Since we weren't at the zoo anywhere, no one else was wearing a costume. But he was adorable:

Such a good helper!

Avery loves to do chores. He is currently into sweeping and swiffering, which is cute, except for when we are actually trying to clean. He has been obsessed with the toilet brushes (yuck) since forever and likes to "help" (by getting in the way) with the dishes when we're in the kitchen. He also likes to walk the dog, and all we have to do is say "Should we take Ruby out?" and he runs to the front door trying to open the door handle to go outside, even if he is only wearing a diaper and Ruby is nowhere to be seen. He insists on holding the leash, pushing the elevator buttons, and giving Ruby her cookie when we come back inside. Such a good helper! He's still afraid of the vacuum cleaner though. We're kind of doing a lot of home improvement stuff right now (well, Carolyn has been hanging curtains, getting new furniture, rearranging things, etc. and I sort of help) and Avery wants to participate. It is adorable.

Belen remarked that Avery is now dancing with more of his whole body when he hears music. He mostly dances by moving his shoulders but he also moves his feet. If we start to sing "ABCs" he starts to get his groove on immediately.

It has been a busy week and we're all tired. Grandma Gogo is coming for a visit this weekend and we are looking forward to her company as well as her babysitting! Carolyn and I might enjoy an evening in the city while she is here to watch Avery. We both got to take Tuesday off, actually, and we enjoyed going out to lunch for sushi and seeing a movie ("The Secret Life of Bees"). It is nice to sometimes do the things we used to do all the time before Avery. But there is nothing better than playing with him, watching him dance and laugh, getting hugs and kisses from him, and reading stories with him.

Avery sweeping:



Avery taking care of the dog:

Rebecca and Carolyn Plus Three

We got together with our friends Julie and Marni who brought their 4-month old twin girls, Risa and Dori. The girls are precious! Avery was very interested in them; he took off their socks and enjoyed watching them kick their bare feet in our Pack n' Play. We all had lunch at our apartment and took a walk around the campus and our neighborhood. And then Julie and Marni left to run some errands and we offered to watch the twins for them. Having three babies (well, two babies and a toddler) for a couple of hours was fun! The twins were very good, and so was Avery!

"Avery just got a new haircut . . .

. . . and it's a pretty nice haircut!" (Doesn't he look like a big boy?!?!). The hairdresser said that Avery was SO good and that most kids cry when they get their haircut, but Avery sat still and didn't cry at all! And why would he? He got to sit in a car with a steering wheel, watch a Dora the Explorer DVD, and get all handsome!

Avery's Apples

Avery is feeling much better (still not 100% though). But he was well enough to go up to Newburgh today to meet up with Sarah and Danielle AND meet Danielle's sister and her family. We all had lunch together and then went to a farm for pumpkin picking, apple picking, animal seeing, and donut eating. Lately apples have become Avery's favorite food -- he often walks around our apartment with an apple in his hand covered in teeth marks. So he was thrilled to see apple trees!

another sick day at home . . .

. . . means time to blog. I actually feel fine now, and Avery is, I think, feeling better. He threw up yesterday evening but slept all night and except for a little diarrhea this morning has been okay. He's been drinking small amounts of liquid (water and Pedialyte) and eating small amounts of bland food. He's actually been in a great mood today. Carolyn stayed home with him this morning so I could go to a doctor's appointment I didn't want to reschedule, and then I have been at home with him ever since. We have walked the dog around our building twice, read lots of stories, I taught Avery to play "Ring Around the Rosey" when I was sick of reading "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" for what seemed like the 20th time, and Avery has finally mastered the skill of pointing to his nose when asked "Where is Avery's nose?" He suddenly is speaking more too. He has said "Hi!" today and "Whoa!" and "Wow!" I think he might have said "I love you" too. Well, I said "I love you" to him, and he replied something, so it might as well have been "I love you." Our apartment is messy but clean, if that makes sense (ie. there are toys and books everywhere but everything that was vomited/thrown up on has been washed and changed). I am trying to grade a huge stack of French compositions. If Avery has to stay home again tomorrow, Carolyn will stay home with him since missing another day of class will put me and my students too far behind schedule. But hopefully he'll be all better. We'll see. Having a sick child is no fun. But it is kind of fun to stay at home with him, especially since he is being all cuddly and in a good mood. He's a trooper!

Walking Ruby around our building:




Aren't these slippers silly? Our little bookworm doesn't really look sick, does he? He grunted and pointed at our front door earlier so I would let him into the hallway to walk up and down. He gets cabin fever sometimes, same as me!