Cheese and Da Bears

This past week, Avery and I flew to meet Nate's parents in Chicago, only to rent a car and drive to Wisconsin to spend some time with Grandma Noyce. 

It was the first time she had met Avery and we spent a lot of time just sitting around and talking. 

Avery even got to go to Cracker Barrel on the way back to Chicago!

On Friday we made the drive back down to Chicago to pick up Nate and his brother Kyle and girlfriend Jill. That night we met up with the entire family at Giordino's to have some pizza. 

After dinner that night, we got some fantastic news, that Kyle had proposed to Jill!!! Avery is very excited to be getting a new Aunt!

It was really nice to catch up with some family that we don't get to see nearly enough. The next morning, a really good friend of mine from college, Jill, drove out to meet us for breakfast. 

After breakfast we made the drive out to the Lithuanian National Cemetery to have a memorial for Nate's Grandma Rulis. She was an incredible lady and the amount of people that travelled from all over the country to be there is a testament to that. She will be missed dearly.

In Lithuanian tradition, we all went across the street for a shot and a beer, and then it was on to Duke's Grand Restaurant for lunch with the whole family. The food was great, but the company was even better. 

I definitely wouldn't say the weekend was "fun", but it was wonderful to see family and share stories about Grandma Rulis. It was very sad to leave everyone and come back home, but luckily we'll get to see Nana and Papa for Thanksgiving!

6 Month Stats (a little late)

Hi all! I know I'm a little late, but I wanted to post Avery's six month stats. As of last Thursday, Avery weighs 14 lbs 4 oz (13% percentile) and is 25.5 in long (25th percentile). She's growing bigger and stronger every day and the doctor says she doing fantastic! We actually saw a new doctor for the first time and we LOVE her. She took lots of time with us and never made me feel stupid for asking questions. Hooray for the bug getting big!

Do It Yourself Tutu

I've been wanting to get Avery a tutu for about a month now, but haven't been able to bring myself to pay $30 for something that, to be honest, she'll only wear for pictures. So, what's a mom to do? Make it yourself of course! For $7 and about an hour, voila! Granted, it's not the greatest of all tutus, but it'll definitely work for some really cute pictures. I couldn't wait until tomorrow to try it on her, so here's a sneak peak...

Steve and Anna Get Married

This past weekend we made the trek back to LA for the wedding of our friends Steve and Anna. I have to say that Steve was the cutest groom I've ever seen. He was so excited he couldn't contain himself and he was grinning from ear to ear all night long. It was great to see our friends and spend time celebrating. On Saturday afternoon I drove to Malibu to meet my best friend Sarah for lunch. It was eerily familiar driving down PCH towards p-dine. Nothing has really changed. It even smelled the same. Apparently on 9-11, they put of a flag for every person who died in NYC and DC 7 years ago. It was beautiful and I'm really happy I got to see it. Unfortunately, the pictures doesn't nearly do it justice. Here's some pictures of the last few days (the last one's for you, John):

6 Month Pro Pics

Hi all, we just got Avery's 6 month pro pics back and they're great! She has some classic expressions. Here's a few of our favorites!

Avery's 6 Months Old!!

Today is Avery's Half-Birthday and we celebrated by going to class at Gymboree, a trip to Baby's R Us, and a picnic at the park for her first time on the swings! It's amazing how quickly the last 6 months have gone and how big Aves has grown. She doesn't go to the doctor until next week, but we're estimating her weight to be about 15lbs. and her height to be about 25 inches. She is sitting up all by herself, rocking on all fours and even scooting backwards. She LOVES sweet potatoes and her two bottom teeth should pop through any day now. The last 6 months have definitely been the best of our lives, but we know that we have even more exciting days to come. Here are some pictures of our day and the ones at the bottom are so you can see just how far she's come.

San Gennaro Feast

Tonight was the start of the annual San Gennaro Feast. Although we're not Italian, we love indulging in fried ravioli, cheese-steak sandwiches and funnel cakes. The highlight of the night was definitely Avery's first Carousel ride. More pictures tomorrow as we celebrate her Half Birthday!

Beautiful Lady

Real Men use Straight Razors

...though, as of yet, I am not a real man. I am, however, attempting to learn. They say it takes 100 shaves to master the learning curve, and I have 1 down 99 to go.  I have a new found respect for older generations and barbers everywhere. 

Restaurant Review - STRIPSTEAK

Tonight we had an opportunity to take advantage of Restaurant Week here in Vegas. It's an annual event that includes some of the best eateries in the city. If you're going to be in or around the Vegas area and for more info, click here. 

So we thought we would expand the blog a little and since we love good food, we thought we'd start reviewing some of the places we eat at - so that you can either take advantage or avoid them. The first is STRIPSTEAK at Mandalay Bay...

STRIPSTEAK is Michael Mina's first fore into steakhouses. It features a menu rife with imaginative interpretations of steakhouse favorites. Mina uses only the highest quality ingredients, and the menu includes three kinds of beef, Certified Angus, American Kobe, and "A5" Japanese Kobe.

We arrived early for our reservation and were greeted by a welcoming hostess. We took seats at the beautiful bar and ordered a pear martini and bourbon, respectively. The pear martini was excellent and soon we were being taken to our seats. The dining room is very comfortable with the tables far enough apart to allow for privacy in conversation. 

Our first hint that this would be a good meal was when instead of your typical bread and butter, the chef sent out a trio of "duck fat" fries, accompanied by three dipping sauces. Nate's favorite was the white truffle fries, while I was partial to the smoked paprika. 

The server was wonderful and gave fantastic suggestions. She even poured Nate a small portion of a wine he was contemplating, in order to better help him decide. 

My first course was Sweet Onion Soup with Maine Lobster. It was excellent and the flavors were spot on.

For an entree, I chose the prime rib. It was a perfect medium-rare, and perfectly seasoned. Although the beef was good, what truly made the dish were the sides, which included white truffle mac and cheese, creamed spinach and Jalapeno creamed corn. Can we just talk about the creamed corn for a minute? The server suggested it, billing it as "the best thing on the menu", her words did not disappoint. It was incredible. 

Finally on to dessert. We both had the beignets with butterscotch pudding. It was the perfect end to an awesome meal. 

 Overall, the service was impeccable and the food was exceptional. In a world full of Morton's, Capital Grille and Ruth Chris, STRIPSTEAK does what these others only make an attempt at. This is not your grandfather's steakhouse....thank goodness.

Fun Filled Weekend

This weekend we had the pleasure of spending time with some really good friends, the culmination of which was John & Lauren's amazing wedding on Sunday night. It was great to see so many people that will miss. The best part is, we get to do it all again in two weeks! We are super exhausted, but here are some pictures to hold you over until later.

xoxo,

N, B & A