Seattle

We had our first real adventure as a whole family last weekend; we went to Seattle to visit some of our good friends Ben and Deadra from Chicago [who (obviously)] recently moved to Seattle.  And, they recently had a baby boy, Jackson!  So of course it was sooo good to meet him, and Avery looooved meeting her new boyfriend. :)

A common question I've been getting is, "How did Avery do?" 

For starters, she was a rock star on the plane.  People were practically asking for her autograph.  ;)  She LOVED LOVED to just LOOK at people.  STARE, more like it.  Completely entertained. 

 Wanted a bite of my kit kat. 

 Cuddled with daddy. 

 Hung out in our never-before-used-got-it-from-a-garage-sale sling.  For two seconds. 

Thought it would be the "miracle" to getting her to sleep somewhere other than her crib or pack and play... but what you can't see in this pic is that her legs are totally hanging over the side. :o)  But it was fun for like fifteen seconds.  She even took her pacifier for a minute or two!!  Anyway, I'm SO saving this sling for baby #2.  I think it's much nicer than my other one.

Avery did end up taking about 2, 40-min naps on both plane rides, which was way more than I even expected, so good job baby.  One kind of funny thing happened... well, since we have her, we got to board the plane first, so everyone (namely moms and grandma-types) who walked by was ooooing and aaaahhing her.  She was ALL smiles.  The open mouth smiles.  Then enter Mr. Scary Flight Attendant.  White hair.  Deep voice.  He's all up in her face for a bit.  She just stares.  Stares.  Stares.  BURSTS into sad tears!!  It was (sorry Ave) soooo funny. 

Friday morning, Deadra watched the kiddos while Matt and I went on a chocolate tour of Theo Chocolate Factory.  He and I were both SICK at the end of the tour from all of the chocolate samples.  Tried fun (and semi-gross) flavors like cayenne and bread. 

Deadra and baby Jackson.  He is such a chill baby.  I wonder of the saying "Chill mom equals chill baby" is really true...

 Did lots of relaxing.  And no, we did not bring our jumper.  They have the same one. :)

 Avery spent 95% of the time we were there in the bjorn and loved every second. 

Went to the market and got the BEST garlic-rosemary dry pasta that Deadra cooked up for us (did I mention she is a chef?!) 

 Baby Jackson had his first encounter with the jumper.  Isn't he to die for?

 Ate chowder and fish-and-chips.  Felt very Seattle-ish.

Saturday was pretty chilly, and we didn't bring a ton of warm clothes for Avery, so she borrowed some of Jackson's.  The flower clip is my attempt to make her look girly for the beach pics.  She was too enthralled with the rocky cement to look up. 

Finally, Deadra's mom watched the kiddos Saturday night while we went to an adult dinner at Flying Fish.  They had the best risotto cake.  It tasted like macaroni and cheese dipped in panko and fried.  Might have to try this...

All in all, SUCH a fun weekend.  Thanks Ben and Deadra for all of your hospitality.  We definitely miss you already.