Here's some pics from the 2nd part of our trip to Rochester! It was a great time and we can't wait to get back in September (this time Daddy will be joining us for part of the visit)!
Chloe with her sweet cousin Madeline! Getting ready to go to the Strong Museum of Play. I mentioned this in the post about our May trip to Rochester, but this time we saw some different things and Chloe was more able to enjoy some of the fun things!
Chloe and Grandma in the Butterfly Garden. Amazing!
Look! Berenstein Bears and Little Bear! The Bears united!
Organizing some fruit at the fruit stand
Playing in the "sand"
Playing the piano in Elmo's World (a new favorite of LB)
Cookie!
Another fun carousel ride
Swimming in Grandma and Grandpa's pool
Blowing "bubbies" with Grandma
Chloe and Grandma at The Holley Falls. It's beautiful here, and not too far down the path there's a great playground and park, right on the canal.
Enjoying a sweet potato wedge at Hose 22 in Rochester. Delicious food and plenty of room to walk a toddler around while you're waiting for said delicious food.
Lots of treats...gelato at Oriens Cafe in Greece, NY. Grammy and Nonno's favorite place. LB loved the mango!
Playing in the sand and "surf" at Ontario Beach Park. The beach was extremely clean, the water was clear, and there was no sewer smell, as there often was when we were growing up. Thanks Army Core of Engineers! This is a great place to come now!
Whew! Again, my apologies about the lack of posting. Chloe and I were in Rochester for 10 days and we've spent this past week fighting nasty molars/the start of temper tantrums/night time wake ups and trying to get back into our routine. And LB is starting to walk. These things happen, all part of the fun, right?!
As promised, I thought I'd do a couple of posts and tell the story of our visit, as well as give some fun suggestions of things to do up in the WNY! The easiest way to do this is probably through some pictures:
Riding in the John Deere wagon at Grandma and Grandpa's
At The Sandbox, an indoor playground in Fairport, NY. This was a giant play area with every toy you can imagine, bouncy houses, a puppet theatre, and a lighted dance floor. LB LOVED this rollar coaster ride!
Me and Dad at The Buffalo Bills Training Camp at St. John Fisher. It's over now, but if you're in the area next year it's free! Fun to watch the players close-up, even if we did get stuck in a nasty rainstorm.
Adeline Park in Greece, NY, near my parents' house. This was the park we went to when I was growing up, but they have redone the playground and it's really nice now!
Pineway Ponds Park sprayground! I think Nonno Z had more fun in the water than LB, there was a little fluffy dog named Martini and she was more intertested in petting him. But the park is wonderful.
Walking with Grammy and Nonno! Along with the spraypark, there is a beautiful playground, several pavillions, and a pond for fishing. Love Spencerport!
Really apologize for the serious lack of posts lately! The Bear and I were up in Rochester for the past ten days, and my in-laws were in town for five before that...Chloe had many adventures with her grandparents, started walking (!!!) and started work on three new molars (OUCH); all in all, we had a wonderful time. And I am exhausted. So no details tonight, just a quick hello, a quick picture, and and a quick overview of what to expect!
I'm thinking I'll break the posts up into two bigger picture posts to explain what we did (lots of great places for our Roc-city readers)! Until then...here's a picture!
It's no secret that LB's favorite veggie delight is brussels sprouts. She's hesitant about the Annie's Organic Bunny Fruit snacks, but the brussles, she gobbles. Not that I'm complaining, just one more piece of proof on what a character she is!
Since she is such a fan of the green guys, I figured that I'd try a recipe from a book my sis-in-law gave me for Christmas: The Best Homemade Baby Food on the Planet.
LOVE this book! Unlike other baby food cookbooks, this one has recipes for young children as well, which is great for us, since Chloe stopped eating anything in the form of "fine purees" a long time ago. She has discerning tastes, what can I say?? (wink wink) This book has a lot of easy ideas, and the recipes can be enjoyed by adults too, or if not, the ingredients usually lend themselves well to something adult-friendly! (Hence why there are two recipes in this entry)...so here's what I made (recipe adapted just a bit):
Hand-in-Hand Cabbage and Apple (because every Brussels lover is a cabbage lover too)
1 gala apple 1 cup shredded cabbage 1/2 cup water
Combine ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer, cover and cook for 5 minutes.
It was a hit, and made enough for 3 nights of veggie/fruit servings! Give it a try!
And, because I was left with most of a heat of cabbage and a bag of apples, I made a cabbage apple slaw that I got from here, just used regular instead of red cabbage. It was good!
You may have read my FB post a while back about Fairfax County Public Library. At the last event we had been to, they mentioned that they were cancelling all activities designed for anyone under two years old, the reason being that they were going to focus more on early literacy, to which I replied, "UNDER TWO CAN'T GET ANY MORE EARLY!" I was really upset, because the programs are great and engaging and Chloe loves them. Library events are a great way to get kids of any age into reading!
Anyways, I'm not sure if folks complained (I did), but the month of August still had events that we were able to attend! On Monday, LB and I went to the Jammin' Beach Party Concert featuring Cody & BJ and their parrot. Chloe had a great time dancing and clapping and doing the limbo. Yup, she pulled me up to the line with the big kids and (holding onto my fingers of course) stayed right in the line and walked under the limbo stick. She is too much!
Today, we attended the Lunch Bunnies program with our friends Cate and Ali! Now, this is the program that they had specifically said that they were getting rid of. They didn't mention anything about it today, so I'm really hoping that it comes back again next month! (For a quick link to Ffx County's library activity sign up, click here) We had a fun time listening to stories, singing songs, eating cheese sandwiches, and thieving sippy cups. All in a day's work!
Our little sweeties at Lunch Bunnies
As I said, I'm so hoping that there will be more of these wonderful programs for little ones!
Two quick things I wanted to share, and then later in the week I'll post more about our own week!
First, if you look to the right of the page, I've added a few "databases" for places we've gone, recipes, and our at-home activities, so you can quickly link to either place pages or my own blog pages to find what you're interested in. I hope this also gives new visitors a chance to look at things we've already done without having to skim the entire blog. I feel so bloggy.
Second, LB and I were at the library the other day and a very nice mom handed us a business card with her website (and I believe there's a FB page too)! She has started a website for moms in Northern Virginia with a calendar of free and cheap events, as well as seasonal activities, shows, and indoor and outdoor activities. It's really wonderful so I wanted to pass it along...
I'm going to pass along this blog to her too...I'd love to have more visitors and build a network (ahem ahem followers, make yourself offical and follow me)!!!!
