Feeling Fall.

I know this is probably going to come back to bite me, but lately, life with two has been flowing nicely. We seem to have come up with a nice routine - and it works for all of us. We've all been getting a decent amount of sleep - and a decent amount of play time outdoors.

It does a body, and a mind, good.


I love this weather. And, finally, I can say that Fall is my favorite season.

I always wanted this time of the year to be my favorite. There's so many reasons why I love it: the weather, the colors, birthdays, fires, warm sweaters, and all the food.

Yet, it never seemed to work for me. There were always certain triggers that set my mind to sadness. Anniversaries of tragedies and deaths. Anniversaries of a failed marriage and divorce. Eventually, all the sadness, combined with the early setting sun, would get me down and I'd feel that way for weeks.

A few weeks ago, I realized my boys changed all of that.

This is now officially my favorite time of the year.

This is when my boys grew big in my belly. This is when I spent lazy days nesting in my home - getting it ready for a baby. When I'd find my way to the couch to enjoy some time with my growing belly and the baby I'd waited on for so long. Have I mentioned how much I loved carrying Lane.

This is when I prepared Lane for his brother. When I learned to embrace the idea that I would have two. When I would hold my baby close and feel his brother kick from inside.

This is the time of the year that my life changed - twice - and brought so much happiness. Much more than I ever could have imagined.

November will always remind me of that.


In a few weeks, I'll cross into my mid-thirties. Then, Lane will turn three. Shortly after, Evan will be one year old. How is all of that possible.

These babies of mine are growing so quickly. I can't get over it. I've loved watching them these last few weeks - entertaining each other, playing with each other, growing.

I can't get enough of their little bodies surrounded by the falling leaves and fall colors.

Last week, James left work early and we took them to Red Top Mountain.

Lane's got such a strong willed, smart little mind working in there.

As soon as he saw the lake, he wanted in.

There was only one thing to do. Let him take off his clothes and feel what the water feels like in Fall.









So he did. We let him splash in the water and enjoy himself. We might have enjoyed watching him more than he enjoyed playing. When another family came close, we could hear them reprimanding their children for getting near the water. We could only laugh at our idea of what they must have thought of us.


But we didn't care.

Recently, a friend of James' suggested he find one beautiful moment each day - and then verbally recognize it and grasp it for just a minute.


I've been trying to do the same.


These boys, right now, make that so easy.

This month, during this time to recognize all we have and all we are grateful for, I, as always, am thankful for them - my boys, all three of them.

They changed my life. They made me a mama.

They allowed me to see just how beautiful my life truly is - and always will be.

Fall Scavenger Hunt.

Last week, once my boys were feeling better, I decided to take them on a Fall scavenger hunt. I did a little Googling for some ideas - came up with a few of my own - and then began telling Lane about the special outdoor hunt we were going to take.

Once Evan went down for his morning nap, Lane and I prepared a list of 14 items we might find outside during Fall. Some, I knew we could easily find: a red leaf, an acorn, a rock, stick and pumpkin. Others, I thought might be a little harder: a chipmunk, a bird's nest, a feather.

I explained to Lane that some of the things we would find we could bring home with us. Others, I told him belonged in nature and would have to stay where we found them.


I packed a picnic lunch for the three of us and off we went to the playground at our very favorite neighborhood.

With our list in hand, we set out to find a few items.

Showing me his acorns.

Right away we found an acorn, a rock, a red leaf and a stick.

Kissing the red leaf he plucked from a tree.

After our fortunate, and very quick, finds, my little hunter needed a break. So, we took some time to play on the playground and eat some lunch.









Then we got back to hunting. Lane knew about acorns - how they fall from trees and chipmunks eat them - but he didn't know about pinecones. I took a few minutes to find a pinecone. Show it to him and tell him all about them. Then he set off to find his own pine tree, as he renamed them.

It took him a few minutes but he finally found a tiny one and was so proud of himself.

Evan was there that day but the little guy must not have been back to 100 percent because he wasn't his normal happy, bubbly self.

Lucky for us, the weather was beautiful that day. Not a cloud in the sky. Unlucky for us, there wasn't a cloud in the sky. So, we couldn't check that one off our list.


I knew we wouldn't find some of the items on our list, like the turtle Lane insisted we would find outside in Fall, or a feather, which I added. Can you believe we really did find a feather. What luck. While I was showing Lane a mushroom, which wasn't on our list but will be added on future hunts, I looked down and there it was.

James even thinks it is a hawk feather. How cool.


It wasn't hard to find some red berries. I explained to Lane that we could just take a picture but he insisted on picking a few.

Right there in the red berry bush - a bird's nest. I lifted Lane up to see and told him how mama birds keep their baby birds in nests. He wanted to bring it home but I explained that nests must stay in trees.

(A few days later when we went to the zoo, he was thrilled when he got to play in a giant bird's nest.)


Once we tired of the playground, and I knew we wouldn't find any more of our items, including a pumpkin, orange flowers, and a chipmunk, there, we set off on a walk around the neighborhood.

We found pumpkins right away. Lane was so cute. When he would find a pumpkin on someone's front porch, he would run to it and give it a kiss. Again, I explained that some of our finds had to stay where we found them.

Especially when he spotted these pumpkins.

Buzz and

Woody!!!

Good thing we found them on our way back to the car because getting him to leave those pumpkins was quite a chore.




He was so happy to see his two favorite cartoon characters.

How he wanted to touch them and bring them home.

Once I finally convinced him to walk away from the pumpkins, we headed back to the car and all three of us had a good rest that afternoon.

A week later, Lane's finds are sitting on a plate in his room, and we are still talking about our hunt. This is such a simple, fun and free learning activity for a nice day and can be suited toward your child's age and ability.

Next time, I have a few more items to add incorporating our listening skills - the sound of wind chimes, or a train whistle or even birds chirping.

Hopefully, we've inspired some of you to take a Fall scavenger hunt. Or, you can join us on our next one!

Happy Halloween Partner.

Evan.

I'm having a hard time admitting that my little babe is now in his tenth month of life. I posted some pictures of him last week - and then never got around to telling you about this little boy with a smile that takes up most of his face.

If I had to describe my youngest child in one word, I'd say happy. He's got a beautiful smile and is almost always sporting it.

He gets attention every where he goes - flashing his smile and flirting with anyone who will flirt back. I sometimes worry he takes too much of the spotlight from his older brother. Then I realize that my boys, as much as they resemble each other, have two totally different personalities. While Evan loves to soak up attention, Lane has always preferred a quiet, more intimate, social setting.

Not this guy, he loves to be out and about. He's happiest when we are not at home. Last month, unfortunately, he had to spend a little too much time at home, as both boys came down with pretty nasty colds.

Now that he's feeling better, Evan's showing us a whole new side of his very active, very vocal self.

He's a talker. A phone talker that is. He's obsessed with phones and will whine and yell until whoever is actually talking on their phone hands it over to him so he can talk to. This can create a problem when his papa is at home on work calls. If it happens to be a friend or family member on the phone, Evan is happy to listen to his loved one talk to him while he flashes a smile and occasionally talks back.

If there isn't an actual person on the phone, that is alright too. He knows exactly how to hold the phone and will just have a conversation all on his own. Oh, and if there isn't an actual phone, he'll find something that will work - his hand, one of Lane's cars, the remote control.

The remote. He's obsessed with that too. Don't be shocked if you are at our house, happily watching 60 Minutes only to find the TV flipping channels. It is not a ghost. It is Evan with the remote again.

When he isn't talking on a phone or using the remote, he's playing. He doesn't really have a favorite toy - he has made up a few of his own games. He loves to play chase. You can chase him or he can chase you, just be warned he crawls fast. Speaking of crawling, he has this funny little habit of always having something in one hand while he crawls - a toy car, a wash cloth, a piece of paper. He'll use his found object as an anchor of sorts and push it along with him as he moves around the house.

Bath time time has become a lot more enjoyable now that Evan actually enjoys cleaning himself. One night, something changed, and now our babe loves getting a bath. He moves around the entire time, playing with toys, splashing water, and his favorite, watching and talking to that adorable baby reflected in the water faucet.

I don't know what to tell you about his diet. He eats. A lot. Baby food is totally out. He loves chicken and rice, meat loaf and hamburger. He gets his own slice of pizza and his own Happy Meal now.

I could go on and on about this baby. How he is the spitting image of his papa. How he still doesn't have a lick of hair on his head. How he can now sip his water from a straw. How we swear he says his own name when referring to himself - and to his brother. How he waves good-bye, always a few seconds short of the person leaving to see. How he is such a great sleeper - still naps any where and sleeps a full 11 to 12 hours each night. How he's just so big - wearing 12 and 18 month clothing.

Most of all, I'll tell you that we just adore him and everything he's brought to our family.

I do believe I'm addicted to sweet baby boys. I've got two of the sweetest boys ever made - and if they keep growing up so quickly, they are going to make me want just one more.

Giggielicious.