Baby Duffy's Shower!

Today was the day of Jill's baby shower hosted by her MIL, Denise!  I've been looking forward to it for quite some time, and I recently realized that shopping for a baby shower is about 10,000 times more fun when you've just finished the 1st year with your own little one.

Jill's shower was at noon in Troy at Maggiano's Little Italy.  Jill looked amazing rocking a flattering pink dress in keeping with the color scheme of the day!  When we arrived they had appetizers out to nibble on which included fried zucchini that was to die for.  Here are a couple shots of the tables:

The menu:

 A couple shots of the centerpieces.  The were too cute for words:

The favors where little soap bird nests.  And all guests were asked for fill out a "Baby Wishes" card for Baby Duffy to read when she gets older.  Those were placed in a bird cage on the center table.

Throughout appetizers and the meal instead of playing games they called out names for prizes which included the centerpieces and some awesome gift cards that Denise picked up!

After lunch was served, the real fun began....GIFTS!!!

Somehow they managed to fit this all in the back of their Jeep!

Jill, Maddie's future BFF, me & Maddie

And a couple pictures I stole from Andrea because I missed getting a chance to take them (thanks Andrea):

Mom & Dad To Be

The girls:  Mer, Me, Maddie, Andrea, Jill & Cathy

The yummy cupcakes and birdcage I spoke of:

Ryan and Maddie

We had a great time and were so glad to be invited.  Can't wait to meet Baby Duffy when she decides to make her arrival!!!  Love you guys!

Halloween Party!

Last night we headed out to Shelby Twp. for a Halloween Bash that Andrea & Ryan were throwing.  They generously provided a keg and guests brought food! 

M was a hit at the party.  She got picked up and ooh & ahhed over.  Everyone seemed pretty surprised that she was walking.  She was also quite excited about the balloons on the floor -- her first time ever playing with them.  She went to bed pretty easily for us, so Ryan and I were able to stick around until after 1 a.m. which is by FAR the longest we've ever stayed out since M was born.

We had a great time and it was really nice to get out and mingle with friends!  Here are some pics from last night:

I'm not sure how we didn't end up with a boys picture...but we had a rocker couple, Juno & Bleeker, Housewife & Old Man, Flo & Duff Man, and then Skeleton & Magnum PI.  A few people showed up later and were not pictured, including the cheerleader that had M shaking some pompons with her!

In other news, Jill and Aaron have their anatomy scan on Monday and we're all SUPER excited to find out what they're having!  M needs a new BFF!

Cider Mill with Jill & Aaron

One of our annual traditions is to head to the cider mill with Jill & Aaron.  We go to a mill we've never been to before every year.

This year we headed out to Three Cedars.  Ryan and I were there last weekend to get pumpkins, but we've never actually been there for cider and doughnuts.

It was kind of a gross day today, but it was really nice because Three Cedars has indoor seating with HEAT!  YAY!  Jill and I both had to use the bathroom and were surprised to see it was a building and not outhouses.  Except, when we got in there they were just outhouses build into stalls.  LOL.

Here are some pics Jill shot of our trip!

 They had a whole paved circle with various tractors for the kids to ride.  I found a bitty baby one for M...

 I don't think she was a fan.

 Chickens!  She kept trying to pet them and wasn't happy I wouldn't let her stick her fingers in the chicken wire.

 Sack of potatoes!

I'm glad we got to hang out with Jill and Aaron!  It's always one of my favorite things to do!  Next year we'll have TWO little ones to bring to the cider mill!!!

RenFest Redux!

We were supposed to go to the RenFest with Jill and Aaron two weekends ago, but I ended up with the plague and Ryan had a last minute training all weekend down in Detroit so we had to cancel.  We were able to reschedule and move our tickets to this weekend (the very last day of the Fest).

My parents were kind enough to offer to watch Maddie for the day so Ryan and I were able to go out on our first baby free date together since December.  LOL.  We might not want to wait so long next time.

Anyway, we dropped M off with my parents in the morning and drove out to meet Jill and Aaron at their house and then headed out to Holly for the fest.  It took forever to get there with traffic, but we lucked out with a decent parking spot.  And, while we were 10 minutes late, there was still a line of people waiting to get into the castle for the feast so we were golden.

Let me first say that the food was FANTABULOUS!  Here's the menu:
Appetizer: Chili Sea Scallops on Belgian Endive with Chocolate Citrus Vinaigrette
Soup: Butternut Squash with Mole Sauce
Salad: Chocolate Vinaigrette Salad
Intermezzo: Zesty Lemon Sorbet in a Dark Chocolate Cup
Entree: Cocoa Rubbed Beef Short Ribs, White Chocolate Mashed Potatoes & Roasted Asparagus with Cocoa Nibs
Dessert: White Chocolate Cheesecake with Dark Chocolate Ganache & Chocolate Dipped Berries

It was by FAR the best food we've had in the 6 years we've been going to the Feast of Fantasy.  We actually had one of the servers recognize us and say, "Hey!  I know you!  You guys come every year!"

The delicious soup...omg, Jill and I wanted 3rds!  

Jill and I all smiles after our yummy soup:

 Our souvenir cups!

 The queen!

 Lemon Sorbet in a chocolate cup.  Mmmmm...

 We liked our chocolate cups:

 Jill and Aaron.  We love them like swhoa!

 Some of the entertainment.

 These guys are called Tartan I think, and they've performed every year we've gone.  They're awesome.

This guy was awesome!  He played with crystal balls like David Bowie in Labyrinth and he played with fire...including eating it!

 This guy is one of our favorites.  He's one of the "hosts" of the feast.  He's also been there since we started going and he is INCREDIBLY inappropriate and never in any way PC.  He's hilarious!

We had a great time.  I'm so glad that we all started this tradition and I really hope we can continue it for a long, long time! 

Last Cider Mill Trip!!!

We went on our annual cider mill trip with Jill and Aaron yesterday.  And, as always, we had an absolutely fantastic time.  We love those two!

This year, we decided to go to Spicer Orchards.

 It's about an hour drive from each of our houses, so we decided this year that we'd just meet at the mill instead of one of our houses.  The weather yesterday was less than desirable (which after discussion, we decided that many of our mill trips have had cruddy weather) as it was SUPER windy and pretty chilly.

We arrived and immediately went into the store to check out what they had.  Right at the entrance was a giant cart full of acorn and butternut squash.  They were honestly some of the biggest butternut squash I've ever seen...and they look delicious.  Jill ended up getting one to make some soup with!  The store was full of apples, honey, jams, dressing, baked goods, etc.  We grabbed some cider and went to check out the donuts.  They had PUMPKIN SPICE ones!  We picked up our treats and headed to the other side of the store where the wine tasting section was.

I was a little bummed that I couldn't participate in the wine tasting as they had several flavors and looked delicious!  Jill picked up a bottle of Pinot Grigio.  Ryan and Aaron got a growler each of their own cider mill favorite, hard cider:

Aaron and Ryan both agreed that the hard cider from the first mill we ever visited was the best, but that this stuff was pretty good too.

After the tasting, we headed outside to the pavilion to enjoy our donuts and cider.  Let me tell you, that pumpkin spice donut was like HEAVEN!  I know I couldn't have eaten one, but I did.  I also had a small glass of cider.  The wind was so bad, there we points we thought that it might life the pavilion off of us and take it away.  After about 10-15 minutes we were all cold and sick of trying to hold our napkins, glasses, and bags on the table.  For reference, the wind was so strong it was blowing the bag of wine off the table.

To warm up a bit, we decided to check out the cider viewing area.  This mill had all new equipment and we watched for a while how exactly everything was working.  At some point, the chute for the apples became clogged and apples started falling from the top of the machine to the floor.  The kid running the machine didn't really seem to understand what was going on and ended up getting pegged in the head by apples.  We were laughing so hard we had to leave.

We then took a quick walk of the mill and decided that it was too windy and cold and we should cut the visit short.  Instead, we drove to a nearby sports bar and watched the MSU v. UofM game.  After MSU was a beautiful victory against the maize & blue, we decided to head back to Jill & Aaron's to hang out, eat some dinner, and watch the Tigers.

We ended up playing Settlers of Catan which Jill and I were a bit apprehensive about seeing as it seemed an awful lot like Risk which we hate playing.  The boys opened the game and started setting it up while us girls ran to the store to get groceries to make dinner.  When we got back, a half hour later, the boys were STILL trying to figure out how to play the game -- not a good sign.  But, in the end, it actually was pretty fun to play:

Basically, each player is a settler on an island and your goal is to build settlement or cities and earn enough victory points before anyone else to win the game.  My fellow settlers were very effective in blocking my ability to obtain wood for a significant portion of the game.  Here's a shot of Ryan's depression when he realized that we had all effectively blocked his ability to expand one of his settlements:

Ryan ended up with a from-behind victory.  Everyone was worried about Aaron winning because he was totally dominating.  I think we all had a pretty fun time playing!!!

After the game, Jill cooked dinner and we ate a scrumptious meal of spaghetti w/ turkey meatballs, broccoli & garlic bread - yum!  Just as dinner was getting done, I found a text on my phone.  And here's what it was:

"Hi Aunt Melanie"

How absolutely adorable is he?!?!?!  I just want to kiss that little face all over!  Blake Louis was born weighing a whopping 8 lbs. 3 oz. in the evening on October 13th.  I can't wait to see him and his parents in February and introduce him to his new pre-arranged BFF, Maddie!

After dinner, we watched the Tiger's game and what may be considered the worst half inning in playoff history.  When the game hit 10-2, Ryan and I decided to call it a night and head home.  All in all, we had a fantastic day!!!