Our 4th Wedding Anniversary

In some ways it feels like we got married yesterday... in others it feels like we've been married for much longer. This year we celebrated 4 years of marriage by traveling on our first overnight trip away from baby! (Thank you AGAIN a million times over to our dear friends Alyssa and Tony for watching Avery).

We went to Asheville - a quick but fun trip. We kept driving into serious patches of fog and rain on the way there, but we were not going to let a little bad weather deter us. It was amazing how quickly we would drive in and out of fog. One minute we couldn't see more than a 1/4 mile in front of us, and then less than a minute later it would be clear as day.

One minute:

The next minute:

As we were driving in I noticed the temperature dropping, dropping, dropping - we hadn't seen temperatures in the 60's in what felt like a million years! But, man it felt so good throwing on a sweater! We are definitely ready for fall. (OK, so it stayed in the 60's only for a brief moment and then went back into the 70's, but I documented it):

We had a leisurely dinner and drinks at Asheville Brewing Company and then headed to the Asheville Civic Center to see Coheed and Cambria (AKA Jeff's favorite band. Sidenote: we get to see one of my fave's - The Black Crowes - in September!)

Asheville Brewing Company not only had some yummy beer and seriously good burgers, but they also had an outside patio area that made Jeff swoon. The patio area was under a large overhang and they had all a plenty of space for bar/outdoor games, a large screen for football watching and plenty of tables/chairs.

Jeff was super-psyched for the show. Here he is on the way in...

It was a good time. After the show, we celebrated with candy from the hotel vending machine. Woo-hoo! Can you tell we don't get out much any more? :)

This past Thursday, on our actual anniversary, we celebrated again... this time with Avery. She got to take part in the flowers (she quickly yanked on the petals) and treats (chocolate covered strawberries!). Because we REALLY love cupcakes we selfishly saved them all for ourselves.

It's Football Season!

We are so excited... it's that time of year again!

To get geared up for the new football season, we went to the "Carolina Panthers Fan Fest" with Chad and Adrienne last weekend.

We forgot to pack sunscreen, so Avery promptly received a brand new baseball cap (that she took off every 2 seconds), and got her arms lathered with cheap team store sunscreen (yuck). Even with the heat in full force, she was still in good spirits to cheer the team on as they practiced.

She also got to see her friend Cole (Sean and Caroline's little guy) again at Fan Fest, and this time they were a bit more out of control together. They were running out in front of people in the concourse and getting in the way of the flow of traffic. However, the two walking around holding hands was pretty priceless.

GOOOO Panthers!

Our little Gemini... Avery is 14 months old!

We've never really been into astrology at all, but from what we've heard Avery is a true Gemini. I read a blog that said "life with a Gemini is never dull." I would say that phrase is true.

She has new two sides to her that have developed. One is an attention-seeking, and somewhat clingy side. At times Avery gets pretty clingy to Mommy... she pulls at my legs to be picked up and trapses around the kitchen with me (holding onto my pants) when I'm getting dinner together. She likes to be a part of the action and surrounded by people - just as long as Mommy and/or Daddy are close. Luckily the attention-loving side also comes with lots of cuddles. We are hoping the clingy stuff is just a phase.

The other side of Avery is this independent, spirited kid that runs away from you to do what she wants. She can be very determined and once she gets her hands on something it's HERS. She also makes GREAT messes. She can make a room a disaster area in 30 seconds flat.

Her new nickname is "Hurricane Avery." Hurricane Avery makes huge messes with her toys, runs away naked after baths and generally doesn't sit still to get herself photographed.

Hurricane Avery in action:

She uses combinations of running, falling, crawling and squirming to get away from us (especially when she is naked after bath time).

However, if you have snacks, she stays still and behaves so she can mooch:

Avery knows when she is being funny. She tries to entertain us and make us laugh. She also very-much knows when she is in trouble, and is very sensitive to a disapproving tone (even if you are yelling at the cat).

Thankfully Avery is still a great snuggler, even with her newfound independence, and we find lots of quality time to snuggle together and read books. She actually shakes her finger when we read "No more monkeys jumping on the bed" to reprimand the monkeys (and I didn't even realize I did that until she picked it up).

Avery now initiates kisses with Jeff and I - too sweet for words! Now we don't feel like we are "making" her kiss us, she actually wants to! Yippee!

She also enjoys trying to "help" with things around the house, such as unloading the dishwasher:

New word this month: "Tongue." OK, so when she when she says it it kinda sounds like "dung." But, then she sticks her tongue out and does "la-la-la-la" sounds. Other new words include "car," "hot" and "more."

We are continuing to stay busy... and life is certainly NEVER dull. I think our little Gemini will continue to keep us very very busy!

The Grand Tour, 2010 - Part 2

Memories/Highlights from Medina, OH

July 28th - August 2nd, 2010

We traveled from New Jersey across the wiiiiide state of Pennsylvania, to a little town I still refer to as "home" from time to time... Medina, OH.

With a good mix of relaxing and playing, it was another successful family visit... this time with Grandpa and Grammy Bricker, as well as Aunt Megan.

Avery was obsessed with the cows in NJ, but in OH, the ducks were the highlight.

"Duh, duh!"

"Quack, quack!"

Here she had a close encounter with a swan out back:

This was her post at the back windows looking for ducks/swans/geese/bunnies:

We spent more time at the pool, one of our summer faves:

Wading in the kiddie pool was new and different... and I swear Avery had a lot more fun than this next photo suggests:

Man, the pool is exhausting... nap in the shade, anyone?

One day, we visited the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland:

No photos were allowed inside, but we saw a great number of fabulous artifacts including lyrics to songs hand-written by the Beatles, one of Elvis' cars, Michael Jackson's famous glove... and much, much more.

After the museum, we went to the Great Lakes Brewery:

Avery knew exactly what to do with the crayons without us showing her... I don't know why this was so shocking to me?

Cheers to great company and good beer:

Cheers to salt and pepper(?):

Cheers to the joy in saying "cheers":

And then chugging down water with much gusto and enthusiasm:

The next day, we went to Melt Bar and Grilled Restaurant in Lakewood. This restaurant was featured on one of Jeff and my favorite shows, Man v. Food. They serve up lotsa sandwiches, all of which are recommended grilled and super-cheesey. Who can resist THAT?

You can also get your sandwich beer-battered and deep-fried:

Or, you can play with your spongey toy-sandwich:

Jeff enjoyed his first-class seat in the car:

One night Aunt Meg and I took Avery over to the church to see the kids show for Vacation Bible School.

Avery stood in the back of the church and danced along to the songs!

She also got a sneak-peek at the Medina County Fair animals the night before the fair opened to the public:

Hello, baby goat!

Hello, pot-bellied piggy!

Other highlights include sitting in the newly refinished baby chair that was in my great grandmothers house...

... filling LeBron's shoes as the new Nike endorser...

... learning to climb up and down stairs...
... drumming with Grandpa...

... and Avery even found a kitty to play with:

All in all, a busy and successful visit! We concluded our trip with the long trip back to NC, driving home with mixed emotions. Getting back in a routine always takes a couple days!

We had such a wonderful time on our Grand Tour, 2010... thanks to all of our family and friends that made it such a fun, relaxing, exciting and comfortable time for us!