Last summer hurrah

We took advantage of the reasonably nice weather to head to the boardwalk one last time this year! September is our favorite time of year at the beach - smaller crowds, cooler weather, and free beach access. The girls both had a lot of fun and didn't want to leave!

Ellie playing in the sand

Audrey hated the sand and insisted on sitting in my lap the entire time so that the sand touched no part of her body!

Audrey went on her very first ride! It was so sweet - Ellie kept her arm around her the entire time.

Then Ellie went on a few rides by herself (enough of baby sister tagging along!)

Ellie was so proud of herself on this ride. She and I went on it together last time because she was afraid to use the handle and make it go up. This time she went alone and made her elephant go up and down the entire time. She kept yelling it to us whenever she went around. We told her that now she's ready for Disneyworld!

Ellie played her first game of Skeeball today!

We're sad to see summer go, but we've made the most of this one! Now on to apple picking, pumpkin picking, and Halloween!

Too much excitement!

Well, we had quite an exciting weekend! I had plans to meet two friends at Carlo's Bakery (of Cake Boss fame) on Saturday afternoon. I brought Ellie with me and on our way there we got into an accident. We were turning left and a car hit the front of our car on the passenger side. Luckily, the accident was right in front of a fire department and across the street from the mayor's home so we had help instantaneously! I didn't even have Ellie out of her car seat before three firemen were there and the police and EMT were there in less than two minutes. We were also fortunate that we were almost at my friend's house so she met us at the scene within a few minutes. When she got there, she informed me that the kind woman who came and sat with us on the curb was the mayor!

Luckily, Ellie and I were not seriously hurt. We were both very shaken up and I was terrified that Ellie was hurt and not telling us because she was scared they would give her a shot (that's all she kept asking). At the advice of the EMT, we spent a few hours in the nearby emergency room getting checked out (while Lori anxiously paced the floors back at home!). Today we're both sore and stiff but mostly tired.

Our car is repairable but not drivable. While we were in the ER, my friends picked up the stuff from our car and took pictures for us. The car will be towed tomorrow from a lot to a body shop, where we were told it will take at least two weeks to repair. My friend generously gave us her car to use this weekend and tomorrow morning we'll pick up our rental car. We are thankful for our friends and insurance coverage!

So after our visit to the emergency room, we weren't going to let an accident ruin our weekend and still made it to Carlo's! If you haven't seen the show, the cakes that they make are amazing. We all ordered samples of their pastries and they were delicious. We tried the creme puffs, napoleons, lobster claws, canoli, and chocolate covered strawberries - all were great! We won't be heading to that area for a while, but we'll stop there again next time.

Ellie and I outside of Carlo's - the line was out the door!

Ellie excited to see all the yummy treats

My friend ordering her goodies

Car accidents and emergency room visits - BAD!

Chocolate covered strawberries - GOOD!

Labor Day BBQ

Yesterday we basked in the cooler September weather with some friends at a BBQ! We had a wonderful afternoon with two of my friends (since high school!) and their kids. Among the kids, Ellie is the oldest and Audrey is the youngest with three little ones in between. Ellie loves when we see them, as do her parents!

The gang

Our sweet Ellie

Will and his best girls



Audrey sucking her baby's tag, as usual!



Our little speed racers






And back to sucking the baby's tag :-)


Enjoying another great dinner by Mike and Christine!

(Don't you just wonder what they actually talk about when they're sitting without the grown-ups?!?!)

Audrey update

As second time parents, we unfortunately find that we do indeed take fewer pictures of Audrey so this update will be filled with pictures only of our sweet second born!

Audrey turned 14 months old this week and she is a girl on the move! She is walking all over the place and is quite proud of herself. She is also using new words every week. Her latest words include book, baby, belly, bye-bye, apple, no, mine, this, and that. However, she mostly says mama (meaning any adult who takes care of her or "I want something") and nana (food or eat). She is also our very good eater and puts her eight teeth to good use! She is still allergic to soy and dairy so we have to get creative at mealtime in order to exclude three major food groups now (dairy, soy, and egg). She L.O.V.E.S. any type of meat, especially Mimi's pot roast and chicken. She also loves her special cookies; we keep the box on top of the refrigerator and every night after dinner she points up there and calls, "That, that, that, that,...", until we get them down. She is a strong-willed baby and she wants what she wants! There have been a few time-outs already :-)

Audrey apparently hasn't gotten the spatial thing down yet! She spent an entire day trying to figure out how she could sit in Ellie's rocking chair with this toy in the seat next to her. After many, many, many attempts, she still couldn't understand why they couldn't both fit and boy was she upset!

She has become a bit obsessed with her belly!

This is her baby (which is actually Ellie's baby). She absolutely loves this baby! She sleeps on top of it every night and wants it with her most of the day.

Looking out the window at Lori and trying to tell her to come back inside....

Weekend in PA

This weekend we took a quick trip to see a good friend in Pennsylvania. We had a great time hanging out and Ellie loves the "vacation"! This morning we even got to have breakfast with our friend's niece and nephew, which the girls enjoyed.

We spent Saturday afternoon at the pool in the 90+ degree heat. Audrey fell asleep on the walk home clutching her water bottle.

Saturday night (which was followed by a very early Saturday morning)....

Audrey on the way home - the girls both did so well in the car!

Evolution of Audrey's movement

In one evening, Audrey went from the "spider crawl"....




to practicing walking with her toy...




to her first steps!!!

Pictures from our trip to Virginia

We spent this past week in VA meeting our new niece, Addie, and seeing her parents, Aunt TT and Uncle Ty. She is adorable! We all had such a good time seeing her (well, maybe except Audrey who was a little jealous!). The girls did great on the 8-hour drive there and back and they loved staying in the hotel. We didn't take as many pictures as I had hoped and unfortunately we didn't get any pictures of the three cousins together. It's difficult getting a 4 week old, a 13 month old, and a 3 1/2 year old to sit still together long enough to get a picture! We can't wait to see Addie and her parents again soon!

Sweet Addie

Cousins

Aunt Jana and Addie

Hanging out at the farmers' market and downtown

Audrey flirting with Aunt TT at the coffee shop

Aunt TT took Ellie to paint pottery, which she loved!

Audrey was so exhausted during the pottery painting that she was acting drunk!

Ellie's completed cupcake