end of summer

I get the same feeling from the end of summer and end of winter. It's that feeling that a change is coming - change in weather, change in routines and, if we're lucky enough, change in wardrobe!

But, as you can imagine, the emotions between the two are opposite: at the end of winter, we are excited that sunny days are around the corner, but are filled with a feeling of dread that the rain may drag on. At the end of summer, we are filled with a feeling of dread that the rainy season is fast approaching, but are excited each time we have yet another sunny, perfect day.

This past weekend was one of those end-of-summer, exciting, sunny days. The end of summer also means end of reno projects (woo! hoo!), so on Sunday morning, we found ourselves with no plans and a beautiful sunny day ahead. We saw lawn signs around town for Queensborough's Urban Fall Fair. I remembered seeing signs for it last year, so we thought we'd check it out.

It was actually a perfect way to spend a couple of hours with Josh. It was a nice, small fair with plenty to do for little kids. There was a pony ride, a swing ride, a bouncy castle and even go-carts. Josh didn't want to ride on the ponies because he said they were "stinky". Same went for the animals in the petting zoo! The Home Depot had a booth where you could build different things and Josh and Brian built a little race car strip. Josh got to sit in a fire truck and, really, for a 2.5 year old boy, do you need to do anything else after that?!

The start of Fall also marks the start of craft fair season and they had a few booths for me to peruse. Now, I can't wait for the big Circle Craft Fair in November!

We had lunch and listened to some of the live entertainment and then it was time to head home. It was definitely a perfect way to spend an end-of-summer morning with the family. I hope all of you are enjoying this beautiful early Autumn weather that we're having and spending some quality time with your families, too!

Daddy and Joshie cooking breakfast for Mommy - See?! I told you it was a perfect day!

Josh on the swing ride - all was fun until his hat fell off

Hit the ball through the wicket and you get a prize!

Is this part of our home reno?!

This is called "wood", Mommy

DEFINITELY needed binky and lambie to see the snakes!

Can this go faster, Daddy?

This is like Uncle Mike's truck!

Just hanging out...

kid-free or not kid-free?

That is the question. And the answer is NOT kid free. Sigh. Well, in all honesty, we haven't really worked on it.

Brian and I finally tried to have a night out without the kids for the first time since Avery was born (Avery is 5 months old now). Kim, Brian's cousin, graciously volunteered to babysit for us as part of Brian's birthday gift. I was SO looking forward to a night out where I didn't have half my attention always focused on a child.

I'm exclusively breastfeeding - Avery hasn't had a bottle of breast milk since she was a month old. And she is usually fussy in the evenings as it is, so I was a bit nervous at leaving her with someone else - not to mention that "someone else" would also have half her attentions stolen by a 2 year old! It makes for a busy, stressful evening.

But we tried it anyway. Avery had her last feeding at 5pm and went down for a nap. Brian and I left to go for dinner at a friend's house at 6pm. I had a GREAT evening - thanks Zita and Jesse for the fabulous meal and great company!

But at 11pm, my cell phone rang. It was Kim. She said that Avery woke from her nap at 7pm. Kim tried to give her the bottle and she just played with it in her mouth - I don't think she really knew what to do with it! As it was, Kim managed to get a couple of ounces into her that way. But that was all she would take for the rest of the evening. She wouldn't drink more at bedtime and she wouldn't go to sleep in her bed. So, Kim was still carrying her when she called me. Avery was basically cat napping on Kim and each time she woke up, she would suck vigorously on Kim's shoulder or on her own hand! She would not sleep soundly until she was breastfed.

When we got home, I took Avery right away and she drank quite a bit. Then, she went sleep soundly in her bed. Now, I know that babies will not starve themselves, but the thought of her exhausting herself because something just wasn't right leaves me unsettled. So, Brian and I will have to work on the bottlefeeding thing if I want another kid-free night out. Until then, I had a good five hour stint and soaked in the peace and adult conversation for all that it was worth!

Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention that Joshie behaved well for Auntie Kim. He gave her a bit of a hard time at bedtime, but he eventually went to sleep on his own. I'm still curious, though, by what he meant the next day when he said to me, "Auntie Kim said Mommy was naughty later, before her come home."

i wonder...

...if I'll do alot of comparison posts like this. Josh and Avy are both 5 months old here.