Berry Fun Day

We finally had some humid-free beautiful weather this past weekend and wanted to take advantage of it.  Mike has been talking about berry picking for months now and we finally got our act together and went.  We found a place all the way out east on Long Island (about 1 1/2 hour ride from Queens) and took along Jenna's grandma, aunt and her #1 favorite first cousin (Jenna seriously ADORES her cousin Ella, who is 3 1/2 years old).

I found the farm by checking out this site which gives lists of local farms in your area. We picked Patty's Berries and Bunches because they got the best reviews and talked about some "family fun" being across the street. They did not disappoint.  This was seriously a highlight of our whole summer.  We got to pick the most amazing raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries I have ever seen and eaten.  It was like candy.  The girls had a blast - The bushes were right at their eye-level, so picking was easy for them and since they don't use pesticides or spray, they could eat right off the bushes.  Needless to say they both had messy hands and faces!  Mike apparently knows a bit about berry picking (which was news to me) and "taught" the girls how to know if the berry is good for picking and they both filled up their own baskets. 

After about an hour and a half of picking berries, we headed across the street for some "family fun" at Harbes Farm and Vineyard. And it was awesome. We had some great snacks (corn on the cob, muffins, cookies) that were all delicious.  And then we went to the farm area where the girls could pet the animals, do a potato sack race, watch a pig race, ride a pony, check out a bee hive....the list goes on. 

I feel like an advertisement for these places but they were really that good.  It was a bit of a drive for us, but well worth it.  And we stopped along the way at some farm stands and picked up some amazing cucumbers, tomatoes, and peaches. 

I picked the winning pig &  won some kettle corn!

Car Sleeping for Both My Babies

Funny story which will be filed under "reasons I love my husband"...

This weekend we went out for breakfast with my parents and planned to go straight to the pool nearby but Jenna fell asleep in the car and we figured we would capitalize on her naptime and head to the supermarket.  (We've done this before - one of us stays in the car, the other does the shopping).  I was the shopper this time. 

Fast forward about 45 minutes...

I come out to the parking lot and Jenna is waving at me from the backseat (so freaking cute) and daddy is FAST ASLEEP in the front seat.  And I mean head against the window and feet up on the driver's seat...OUT COLD!

INSERT PICTURE I SHOULD HAVE TAKEN HERE

(AND HUBBY REFUSED TO "STAGE" IT FOR ME)

I knock on the window and he smiled as he wiped the drool from his face (okay...slight exaggeration, but he knew he was busted).  I mouth to him "SHE'S UP"  and the "oh shit" look was priceless....

I guess both my babies needed naptime.

Car Tricks

We lived without a car for many years and about 2 months ago, we decided that it was time to get one - I'll need one for when I go back to work in September, but decided to get it earlier so we can enjoy the summer and get to places we want to go easier. 

That being said, Jenna was barely in a car for the first 12 months of her ilfe, so this whole car thing is kind of new to her and we're constantly trying to find ways to make it more pleasant for her (and for us!) 

This past weekend, we took several long car trips (6 to be exact) and I really don't like sitting in the back seat unless I absolutely have to.  So we got together a bag of tricks to help us out...
* Goldfish, mum mums, puffins, and anything else she could eat independently and that were not very choking-hazard-ish.  When we first got the car I swore she would never eat in it - how quickly I changed my tune!

* Baby Tad - It's big enough for her to hold onto and me to pick up if she drops it on the floor

* Music Together CDs - We kind of wanted to shoot ourselves after hearing them over and over, but it kept her happy and a happy baby = happy parents on long car rides!

* Cell phones - we give her old ones that still turn on to play with

With our new bag of tricks (and naps along the way) the car rides were actually pretty enjoyable!

VOTE FOR ME!!

Car Riding

We just got our first car in over 10 years...by choice, hubby and I have been car-less for a very long time.  We live in the city where everything we need is just a walk or a subway ride away and anyplace that we need to drive to is handled with zip car.  We recently leases a Honda CRV...very exciting for us - nice and big enough for all the baby stuff you inevitably lug around and big enough for a potentially 'growing' family. 

But here's the thing - Jenna is not used to being in the car and by not used to I mean not happy in it.  Especially since she's been able to walk she doesn't really appreciate being strapped into anything (strollers, carseats).  So even though I always said I would never plan my life around her naps, I'm finding myself doing just that (how many things do we say we'd never do and end up doing them anyway) - but you know what - that doesn't always work!

We took a day trip to Pennsylvania this weekend to visit some friends and family.  It's about a 2 hour car trip door to door.  We left in the morning and timed it with Jenna's morning nap - and she did nap - sort of...closed her eyes for a bit then would open them then close them again (not sure that it really counts as a nap if she's never fully out).  And then when we had about 15-20 minutes left to our trip the crying and whining began. Fun times! On cue, hubby looked over at me and said "why'd we get a car?" (getting the car was more my push than his).  So we listened to her Music Together CD - well just the first song (it's her favorite) over and over until we finally got to grandma's house.  Okay - not horrible...but not wonderful either...

Coming home - probably left too late, but c'mon she typically goes to bed on the earlier side (I'm talking 6:30ish) - we're not going to leave a barbecue on a beautiful Saturday at 6:00!  So we ended up getting on the road around 8ish...it was really dark by then but again, Jenna was in and out of sleep the entire ride home.  To the point where I had to climb into the backseat to keep her in sleepy-land....Again, not horrible, but certainly not relaxing either...On the bright side she transferred into her crib pretty well - only took a few minutes to get comfortable and then slept through the night. 

I'm not really complaining, well maybe a little bit!  I'm thinking it could be just getting used to being in a car a little more often or maybe getting used to her new big girl carseat (facing forward now!), or maybe she's just not into road trips!