Weight Gain

Weight is such a difficult thing to manage. It's funny how hard I work to lose weight, then how easily I gain it as soon as I fall off the wagon. Aside from my issues, my daughter has been working hard at gaining weight. Avery was in the 5th percentile at her 12 month appointment so the doctor prescribed Zantac for her acid reflux and told me to get more calories in her. Well, I guess it worked. I took her to the doctor again today and she's gained 2 pounds in the last 6 weeks. She went from 17 lbs 13oz. on May 18 to 19lbs 14oz today. It's amazing what happens when a kid keeps her food down. The doctor said she's doing great.

Home at Last

Our cross-country trip has finally come to an end. We arrived home Friday afternoon. We spent the weekend recovering. Scott went back to work today.

We had an awesome vacation. We spent lots of time with my family and friends. Unfortunately, there were some people and places we didn't get to. It's hard when you only go home every 2 years. Scott and I went to CitiField to see the Mets' new home. We found our brick on the sidewalk, too. :0) We went to a Binghamton Mets game as well. That's where we both worked when we met. There are only a couple of people left that worked there when we did but it was great to visit.

I tried to give the girls a taste of Binghamton. They got to go to the Discovery Center, Ross Park Zoo, and a carousel. I thought Ryann would love the carousels but she refused to ride because she said, "it hurts my ears." Avery enjoyed the ride though.

Scott and I made sure to hit our favorite food joints while we were there. We went to our favorite pizza place, my favorite Chinese place, and, of course, a spiedie place. For those who don't know what spiedies are, they are delicious chunks of marinated meat in sandwiches. Mmmmmm!

On the 2oth, we had Avery baptized in my church. We did the same for Ryann 2 years ago. We had cake afterward with some friends and family. It was hot and sticky but a nice experience nonetheless.

We headed for home on the 21st. It was sad to leave but we certainly were happy to get back to our house on Friday. We stopped in Hershey, PA on the way. We went to Hershey's Chocolate World. Then, we went to the battlefields in Gettysburg, PA. The rest of the trip back was driving and staying in hotels. Overall, the girls were pretty good. They were surprisingly patient in the car most of the time. There were a couple of times we had to stop for sanity purposes as well as a potty break. We were pleasantly surprised that Ryann didn't ask for many potty breaks. She's a real trooper.

When we arrived home, we were reminded of the whole "dry heat" debate. We agree that NY feels way hotter than AZ at a similar temperature. It was in the upper 80s most of the time we were in NY but we were hot and sticky. 110 didn't feel that bad when we got home. Don't get me wrong, it's hot. It just doesn't make you feel greasy and sticky. I went outside and got a sunburn working in the yard this morning. I sweat but it wasn't that uncomfortable, probably why I stayed out too long.

Anyway, it was a great trip. We loved it but we're very happy to be home. The girls are too. Avery promptly climbed the stairs, which she never did before, and Ryann pedaled her tricycle for the first time this weekend. It's great to be back.

We Made It!

We traveled over 2,400 miles in 4 days but we finally made it to New York. We arrived at my dad's house Wednesday evening. Being as insane as we are, we headed off on another trip on Thursday. We took the girls to their grandma and Scott and I headed to Flushing. We finally made it to see the new home of my NY Mets, Citi Field. We watched the Mets play the Padres. It was a nice day for baseball. It got a little overcast but never rained on us. We even caught a glimpse of Lady Gaga, who sat about 100 ft away in a suite. The Mets lost the game we saw but played another game that night and won. We found our brick outside the stadium. I was ready to give up when I just happened to see "AZ." There it was, "Let's Go Mets! Dobbins Family, Avondale, AZ." I was excited. We got our picture taken in front of the old home run apple, too. It was a nice trip. The only bad part was the drive home. We left the stadium at 4:30 and got home at 10:00. We listened to the whole 7:10 game as we drove. Traffic was ridiculous due to construction, etc.
Friday, we decided to stay home and do nothing. Ahhhhhhh!!!!!!
Today, we took the girls to the Discovery Center. Ryann seemed to really like it. They have all kinds of areas to play in. Her favorites were the restaurant and grocery store. After that, we had lunch at my favorite Chinese food place. This afternoon....naps for everyone. I love vacation. :0)

Cross-Country

Well, we've survived 3 days and 2,073 miles in the car with the kids so far. We left Arizona on Sunday morning just before 6 am. We got 4 hours in before anyone needed the potty or a diaper change, not bad. We lost 2 hours due to time zones along the way. We drove until around 9:45 pm and stayed in Amarillo, Texas. It went really smoothly until Santa Rosa, NM. We came upon an accident that had just happened. We sat still on the freeway for over an hour. Luckily, the kids were pretty patient. After that, we were all ready to be done for the day but we pushed on to Amarillo.

The next morning, we were up and on the road by 7 am. We went all the way to Vandalia, IL. It was a pretty smooth day, as well. Ryann was really good about not needing the potty much. She must have been tired, though. She slept a good portion of the morning. We drove until about 8:30 pm.

The next day, we left at 5:40 am and headed to Ohio. We met up with a friend of Scott's just before Cleveland for lunch. We arrived in Cleveland around 4 pm. Scott's "Michigan family," Len & Julie met us there. We went to the Indians game with them. It was great to spend some time with them and the girls were thrilled to be spoiled for the evening. It turned out to be a late night. Ryann and Avery were still giggling and jumping/crawling around at midnight when we decided it was lights out. They're both pretty sleepy this morning. :0)

We're getting ready to head out now. Today is the last leg of the trip to NY. We should be at my Dad's by 4 or so, depending on stops. We've already decided that lunch will be at Friendly's. We don't have them in AZ. We used to go there together a lot when we both lived in NY. Well, off we go... Wish us luck!