I love Sundays. Avery loves Sundays. If you ask either one of us what our favorite day of the week is, we'll both undoubtedly reply "Sunday!" I love it for the peaceful energy it brings; the hustle of the weekend is dying down, the work week ahead is looked upon with a refreshing outlook (or in some cases, people may try to make the most of their Sundays because the dreaded "Sunday Night Syndrome" is upon them...). Avery probably loves Sundays, because I am always saying I do...or maybe it's because she learned that day of the week first? Not entirely sure, but whatev. It's cute!
(Sunday Night Syndrome - it's when the afternoon starts to slip away and the night comes creeping in and you realize the "fun" is over and tomorrow starts five. days. of. WORK! (Or school, as it so applies.))
Maybe I love Sundays because they were always nice when I was little - a day for church, donuts and a resting and relaxing afternoon - maybe a few hours spent with friends, maybe a drive with the family, always a good dinner and a game or some TV. Jeff and I try to do the same in our family and even though Jeff thinks I'm crazy for loving Sunday the most, he can't deny that he enjoys them too.
Okay, so my point of this blog? This Sunday Jeff and my Dad had blocked out a few hours in the morning to get some home improvement things done, so I knew I was on "Avery duty." As soon as I woke up this morning I thought, "what should Avery and I do today?" I wanted something low key since no one in this family is 100% - we're all battling a lingering cold - not bad, but definitely not fun. Anyways, I thought a trip to the library would be great. We could read books, maybe check a few out and you know, have a good ole time. Well, the libraries nearby don't open until noon on Sundays, so on to Plan B. How about a train ride? We were talking about that a lot yesterday and thinking about taking the train to the Encinitas Street Fair (we ended up driving since the weekend train schedule is at half mast). Avery was bummed about the lack of train riding yesterday, so BAM - that is it! Let's go on her first train ride!
We got there 10 minutes early. She didn't want to sit down and wait. She stood with her toes touching the "DO NOT STEP PAST THIS YELLOW LINE line staring down the track the entire time. Priceless.
So excited!!
Eating it up.
This cracked me up. Avery was so giddy after we got to our destination - Solana Beach - that she was literally hugging most of the plants and flowers once we exited the train.
Since it would have been awkward to hug this palm tree scrap, she decided to befriend it and take it on our walk.
My pint-size acrobat.
Love.
Train ride back home.
What's the fun of a train ride if you don't take advantage of being able to walk around?
Charging down the aisle. Barefoot. Yikes.
So, a few things to mention:
1) I didn't look at the train schedule for our ride back home until after we got to Solana Beach. Funny how just the day before we were commenting on the lack of trains on the weekends and it never crossed my mind today. Uh oh. Thankfully, there was a Northbound train coming through the station in 1.5 hours (and then not again for many, many hours). Can you imagine me calling Jeff and saying "Babe, Avery and I are stuck in Solana Beach. I forgot to figure out a way home. Any chance you can stop the productive morning you're having and come get us?"
2) After we exited the train in Solana Beach we decided to get some breakfast, so we found a little cafe a few blocks from the station (proud to say it wasn't a chain, but a family run place with amazing food). Avery and I had breakfast together like two buddies. I am loving our time together lately and look forward to more Mommy and Avery outings.
3) After breakfast we walked to the beach and then moved on to a park at the beach's bluff (the beach portion lasted 5 minutes - we weren't in the mood to get sandy today...). Avery is getting more physically confident and not only swung on the big kid swing like no one's business, but also climbed up the mock-rock climbing wall all by herself. This is a big deal for us and I was so proud.
4) Avery had to use the potty once we were back at the station waiting for the train home. I'm not going to lie, she peed right there...well, behind a bench, but nonetheless, she popped a squat like a champ. This was especially hilarious, because a maintenance guy had just come by and told us we were making a mess with our crumbly muffin and asked us to move so he can blow the crumbs down the drain. Well, maintenance guy, how do you feel about toddler pee? (P.S. I always carry wipes with me and thankfully so - this isn't the first time she has shown us her impeccable timing.)
5) Avery wore flip flops. Her first time. Some may say I am crazy to take a toddler on an adventure when wearing a new pair of flip flops for the first time...without a backup pair of shoes, I might add. Well, again, I'm thankful - Avery rocked them hard and never once complained.
I think the above is a perfect example of our love for Sundays. No huge agendas, spending time with family and doing something new and exciting. What a perfect day with my baby!
FPT
She is on the mustache bandwagon. Her favorite kind? The mustaches that are made from the chocolate on your chocolate covered strawberry.
The Goad family introduced us to awesomeness. Yes, that's right. A Friday evening spent outside with friends enjoying delicious food truck dinners (and desserts) and wine whilst listening to live music and watching the kids play, dance and laugh is truly awesome. Go ahead. See for yourself.
Catching up after a long week.
Avery and Will exploring...
Avery and Quinn loving their cookies...
Ha!
"Think we can do it??"
"Come on! We can do it!"
And that, dear friends, is how you go under someone's legs.
Great fun with friends we don't see often enough!
A little acrobatics to round out one Friday evening.
Due to a slight scheduling oversight, Jeff and I planned a trip to Monterey with our friends over Easter weekend (the trip was planned many moons ago and it wasn’t until the trip was set that we realized Easter was on the “early side” this year). Long story short, in order to celebrate this wonderful holiday with Avery the Easter Bunny conceded to come eight days early to the Simpson household this year. Thankfully, most of the family was available to “play along” so we planned our Mock-Easter celebration for Saturday the 23rd, which happened to be the day our community was hosting its annual BunnyPalooza. Pretty much perfect for being not-Easter. Photo time!
Easter basket score!
Easter egg hunt?! Wait for meeeeee!
Papa and Helen - love
Bunny time!
We love our nieces to pieces! And, Avery loves her donut.
Danda and her girls
Head, shoulders, knees and toes...knees and toes...
We started our weekend a little early with a morning drive to Big Bear last Friday. A weekend away with Jeff's folks, Uncle Lindsay and Uncle Pat was just what the doctor ordered, so up to the mountains we went! Jeff, Lindsay, Pat and I went skiing on Saturday while the grandparents played with Avery. I didn't last past 11:30 a.m. - how sad, right?! My feet hurt, I was super tired, the slopes were 50% ice and 50% slush...and a beer in the lodge sounded amazing. Those who know me well know that a beer never sounds good to me, so I must have really not been feeling the skiing situation. As it turns out, no one else was feeling it that much either and within an hour we all ended up enjoying a few brewskis in el lodgo.
While we "ski bunnies" were drinking beer, Avery and her devoted grandparents built an awesome house/fort in the yard behind our cabin. So much fun! Here are some pics from the weekend starting with a shot of said house/fort.
We all had fun playing in there!
No caption needed for these hotties.
Cute. Ness.
Sweet kisses...
What a good mommy!
Warming up the hands during our snowball fight.
Fierce snowball fight competitor.
Sledding!
It was a great weekend with our family and if it wasn't for our Sunday plans to look forward to we all would have been depressed about leaving Big Bear.
Our wonderful realtors hosted a taco truck night for our neighborhood on Sunday (tacos on Saint Patrick's Day? Only in San Diego...). Most of our neighbors were able to come and we enjoyed watching the kids play while getting to know each other over tacos and cervezas!
A few of the neighborhood boys and Belle. This was taken right before she ate right of the kids' plates. Belle!
Party in the cul-de-sac. Love this neighborhood!
I had to take one picture of Avery eating straight from the cheese dish before ushering her along!
Tacos, quesadillas and Coronas. Just how Saint Patrick intended it.
Apparently you couldn't buy in the neighborhood if you weren't a 5 year old boy with a toy lazor.
Papa and Avery sharing secrets. =)
FPT
Let's be honest. Funny Picture Time should really be called Cute Picture Time this go around. Look at these two!
Three days a week I drive Avery to my parents’ house or daycare. On the drive we play “I Spy” (our fav as of late), watch videos (Avery only, I swear) and chat about the day and who she’s going to see. This was part of our convo on Monday morning’s drive to my parent’s house:
Me: Who are you going to see today? Avery: Papa and Danda! Me: Yup! Papa and Danda. Avery: Say "Papa." Me: Papa. Avery: You sound like Danda. Me: Why, thank you. Avery: You're welcome.
Ha!
This next conversation was during a rest stop at Starbucks on the drive back from Big Bear last Sunday:
Me: We have a big day ahead of us. We have to get home, take a bath and get ready for the party. Avery: Party? Okay! Me: Yeah, we get to eat tacos and play with our friends, but we have to take a bath first. Avery: That’s a nice idea. FPT
Morning dance routine practice on the counter. And a 5, 6, 7, 8.
We made the big move 4.5 weeks ago and are slowly starting to feel settled. Moving with a youngster has proved to be slightly challenging (read: unpacking with Avery around is literally counterproductive). We take out; she puts back. We move the empty boxes to the living room, she slides them all over the house whilst putting random objects inside said boxes thus providing for more unpacking. It was all fun and games until Jeff and I realized we’ve been here for over a month and the place still looks like we’re squatters. Okay, maybe I’m being a little dramatic. And really, I shouldn’t blame the slow progress on a two year old. It’s more than just her, but she’s more fun to talk about than the fact that Jeff and I work a lot, have busy lives and do enjoy a little late night mindless TV without our attention being on the boxes at hand.
The house is one thing, but the neighborhood?! Well, that’s just Candyland hopped up on Skittles and milkshakes. There are 18 homes on our cul-de-sac, which in and of itself is great…not a lot of cars driving through, plenty of room for the kids to play, etc. These 18 homes have all been built within the last five months, so everyone is the “new neighbor,” and we’re all in the same boat with unpacking, settling in, meeting each other and so on. Want the kicker?! Within these 18 homes are 21 kids between the ages of one and 12 with the majority landing on the younger side. Oh, and you can’t forget about the two babies on the way, which will make the count 23 come June. This is kid paradise. Jeff calls it “constant recess.” And, along with lots of kids come lots of awesome parents. Score!
Here are some photos of our house and neighborhood. I will take more once our place is picture perfect.
The night before the big move - pizza and family at our new home!
The Simpsons chowing down, planning the move. Blurry and all.
Ready for some more big news??
Avery is potty trained! Wahoooo! She exceeded my expectations completely and “got it” within an hour. I have to be honest though, “getting it” is close, but not exactly the same as “getting it and applying it.” We’ve had a few accidents, but way less than I anticipated. I almost cried when she officially went potty for the first time…partly because I was so proud and amazed and partly because she looked so proud and amazed.
In related “big girl” news, Avery is now sleeping in a toddler bed. While this is a great feat, it was spurred on because she jumped out of her crib twice in three days. Thankfully, she never got hurt, but minimizing her risk was a top priority. Avery has had a little trouble adjusting to nights in our new house and our once perfect nighttime sleeper is currently battling some nighttime woes. We are making progress and are keeping positive that Sleeping Beauty returns soon.
Things come in three, right? You betcha! More news - Avery’s hair is now long enough where we can put it in pigtails! So stinking cute. As long as you distract her with candy or TV, she will let you “do a do.” It’s fun and she looks adorable! Jeff and my Mom wanted us to grow her hair out. I was hard to convince because I love her pixie cut. We’ll see what she prefers. She is bound to have an opinion shortly.
Pigtails and potty training. Busy weekend at the Simpsons!
We will keep the updates coming, so check back soon!
FPT
Cooking with Papa during one of our last nights with my folks... =)
Jeff and I met on a blind date in December 2004 and were married in October 2007. He is the apple of my eye, the hop in my step and the love of my life. In September 2010 we proudly welcomed our first child, daughter Avery Elizabeth and this site was created to share with our friends and family, near and far, Avery's journey through this magical thing called life.
