Just a few days ago I posted pictures of the colorful trees in the neighborhood. All it took was a windy rainy day this week and many of those leaves have now fallen. As you walk through the neighborhood now, the ground is covered in yellow, red and orange while the trees are more and more bare.
More leaves on the ground meant more leaves to play in for the kids … and me! We certainly have had our share of fun jumping in the piles in the yard. It’s funny how different the kids are in regards to the leaves. Ella wants to be surrounded or buried in them.
Andrew, on the other hand, really doesn’t like to be in the pile much. I tried to get him to sit in the pile a few times, but once he is in there, he wants out! He’d rather pick them up and throw them.
It was just as fun for me to get down and play in the leaves with them.
Of course, it didn’t take long for the two of them to start throwing leaves on me!
The wonderful thing about these moments – they don’t cost a thing. I hope that when my kids look back at these blogs, they will remember with joy the fun that we had just being silly together.
The simplest things can bring about a smile and happiness – and this picture is proof of that:
Never be so busy that you don’t jump in the leaves!
Every Autumn God grabs His palette and paints such beautiful scenery! Here in Michigan, we have so many wonderful places to see the fall colors. My friend Stacey was just posting pictures of the world famous “Tunnel of Trees,” which is something I have yet to witness first hand.
My friend Jennifer recently moved to the Upper Peninsula and posted photos of Tahquamenon Falls, which is just beautiful in the fall. It has been over 20 years since I have been there, but when I was there, the fall colors were just spectacular.
Any trip to work I take now allows me to see some wonderful colors all along I-75, too. The colors are especially vibrant this year. There is more red and pink than I think I have ever seen.
What is great about Michigan is that I don’t have to go very far to enjoy the colors. There are plenty of beautiful colors right in our neighborhood. Here are just some from recent walks with my kids and just sitting in the yard.
The beginning of the reds coming in on the maple next to our house.A little bit green, a little orange, and a little redGolden beautyThe leaves on the maple tree were mostly yellow, with a twinge of red at the tips of the leavesPink and red on top and yellow toward the bottomThe variety of color behind these houses is just amazingThe bright reddish pinks this year are simply beautifulAnother wonderful bit of mixed colorsYellow with pinks My favorite tree in the neighborhood. It is always the brightest and sadly, always seems to be the first to lose its leaves. Very Pretty this year.Such an amazing look to these red leavesOne of the coolest leaves in our back yard. It almost looks like someone drew on this with a yellow marker or paint.
I have walked a little slower the past few neighborhood walks, just so I can take in all the colors. I am in awe every Autumn as I stop and just stare up into the the colorful trees….
These pictures were taken with my cell phone, and they don’t really do them justice.
I’m not sure I’d ever have what it takes to be a photographer. Oh sure, many people comment on the pictures I take with my phone and post on Facebook, but they are far from professional.
There is a local photographer close by that has never disappointed us with her photos. She took Ella’s First Birthday pictures, Andrew’s helmet pictures, and recently Andrew’s First Birthday pictures. Her name is Beth and she owns Enjoy the View Photography.
I am always amazed when I look at the pictures she gets. I know the chaos that was happening when the pictures are being taken, yet she is able to grab that perfect split second in time that makes it frame worthy.
For Andrew’s session, she set aside some time for us to get a few of both kids and the family. The autumn colors were not at peak, but the outdoor photos still look fantastic!
She got pictures of the whole family sitting, standing, with Ella on my shoulders, and more. It is hard to pick a favorite and which ones to put on canvas.
Then there were photos of the two of them together. Some truly amazing shots of them sitting, but the one that both Sam and I love is them running from the camera.
There is one of Ella grabbing Andrew and hugging him that makes me laugh …
…and one that makes me tear up….
Beth got a couple solo shots of them, which wasn’t easy with Ella. She was way past being done, however, there is one that just came out perfect…
…my favorite solo picture of Andrew captures him in all his sweetness…
We headed inside to get birthday and cake pictures. Again, Beth was able to get these split second moments perfectly. Andrew was not really about sitting still, but you’d never know it by these pictures.
As far as a cake “smash,” we didn’t really get that for pictures. We got some at home on his birthday, but he was just to careful during the photo session. It was almost like he was saying, “I’d rather not make a mess…”
My kudos again to Beth and Enjoy the View Photography for these wonderful pictures which we will look back and enjoy for years!
Yesterday was the perfect fall day, although chilly. We have a membership to the Children’s Zoo and knew that around Halloween they did Zoo Boo. Originally, we had planned to take the kids up one weekend. However, with all that’s gone on in the past week, and with the colder temperatures, Sam suggested just taking Ella for some one-on-one time. It was going to be too cold for me to take Andrew.
I packed up the stroller and put it in the car. Packed a bag for her and I, and we took the short trip up I 75 to the zoo. The colder temperatures kept some of the animals indoors and not out on exhibit, but that didn’t seem to matter. The zoo was bustling with all kinds of parents and children- some in costume and some not.
All along the walkways of the zoo are little areas that people can decorate for various seasons and such. There were so many wonderful little Halloween displays. There were many pumpkins, ghosts, mums, sunflowers, all dressed up in Fall colors.
When we walked in, Ella was handed a trick or treat bag for a lot of the various stops and games throughout the zoo that day. We were only a few feet into the zoo and she heard the trains whistle and took off because she wanted to go and ride the train.
The train was already out riding along the tracks, and the line for the next train ride had already started to form. Very close to the train depot was a little traveling coffee truck. I decided to go over and get a coffee to warm me up, and Ella asked for some lemonade.
After our train ride, LOL wanted to go and play on the little playground. She wanted to go down the slide, and wanted me to as well! I joked and said that I didn’t think that my butt would fit on the slide. (Earlier last week we had stopped at a park, and Sam got on a swing and Ella had told her she was proud that her butt fit into the swing!) When I slid down she was at the bottom of the slide to greet me saying, “Yay, daddy! Your butt fitted the slide!” Then she asked to go down again!!
After visiting the prairie dogs, the otters, the wolves, and the alligator, Ella wanted to ride the carousel. She was talking about in on the ride there. She was going to ride on the bunny (there are actually 2 of them, thank goodness). As soon as the opened the gate for us to get on the ride, she was looking for the bunny. No other kid was on it yet, so she claimed it for her ow.
After riding the carousel twice, she asked to go home. On my way out, she said, “I wanna see the animals again.” Thankfully, we hadn’t walked out yet. We walked back through and she played a few games that were set up along the way and in one of the tents. She won some stuffed pumpkin looking guy and a lamb, which she loves.
After walking through again, I was glad she didn’t fight me when I said it was time to go home and warm up. As we walked outside, we once again passed by two bear sculptures that were donated to the zoo. They are pretty awesome. The won awards at ArtPrize. You can read about them here:
Ella wanted to stand by the big brown bear and she started roaring like a bear! It was so cute!
There has been so much going on in our lives that getting away for a bit to share some fun with Ella was nice. I missed having the rest of the family there, though.
I hope to get the whole family out together for an outing before fall gives way to winter.
It only took like 26 different pictures to get one where we were both looking at the camera!
After three weeks off work, tonight I have to return to the grind. I was lucky to be able to take some time off to be with Sam and the kids. While showering yesterday, I realized that the time I’d be home was coming to an end. Sam joked that I was probably happy to be able to get away from the crying and craziness, but that isn’t true. I know that I am going to miss them and want to be home instead.
I am looking forward to getting back into “the norm”. Things have been “on hold” for a few weeks while I’ve been home. I’m behind on my Bible reading, my classes, and other things, but know that once I am back into the swing of things, I’ll get everything caught up.
One thing about being back at work that will be nice – lack of snacks. Over the past three weeks, I feel like I was always eating! Potato chips, cookies, fast food, and candy seemed to be everywhere. I am glad to be back at work where I have a packed lunch and a bit more control of what I am eating.
AJ
Our baby boy has kept us VERY busy. We took him to the ENT to discuss his lip tie and tongue tie. While in the office he snipped both (which freaked us both out – because they literally just clip them with scissors!) and he has been doing much better. Sam and I discussed things and we’ve decided that he will eventually go to all formula. He has no trouble with bottles and is sleeping much better. He still has the GERD, so he will be on meds to help with that.
Sam has all her pictures saved on her iCloud. She found picture of Ella and took a picture of AJ and they could be twins. It’s really amazing how much he is starting to look more and more like her as a baby.
Ella on top. AJ on bottom. Both about the same age.
He still gets cranky, but he is starting to take time to look around. He’s more and more alert every day.
Great Neighbors
I don’t recall if I blogged about it, but this summer a neighbor had posted on the neighborhood Facebook page that they needed someone to mow their lawn. I reached out and said I would help. She asked whether I had children and explained that I had two sons from my previous marriage, a daughter with my wife and one on the way. She asked if I knew what we were having and at the time I knew it was a boy.
Last week, Sam was on the couch breastfeeding and there was a knock on the side door. She freaked out, because the couch is right by the door! She asked if I was expecting anyone and I told her I was not. When I opened the door, it was the lady whose lawn I mowed. She asked if I remembered her and I told her I did. She told me that she wanted to drop something by for the baby. She had a little gift bag and handed it to me. Ella was standing there saying “Hi” and “Bye Bye,” so the visit was cut very short. I felt bad because I couldn’t even introduce her to my wife.
Anyway, she made a beautiful sweater for AJ. I can’t even begin to imagine how much work goes into something like this, but it is so nice. I can’t wait to get a picture of him in it to send to her.
Halloween Weekend
For Halloween, we had to make sure to let AJ wear his “My First Halloween” onesie. Ella happened to be wearing her Halloween dress, so we snapped a few pictures of them.
As I began this paragraph, I started to write “my youngest son came over…” I realize that I can’t say that anymore, because now AJ is my youngest son!
Anyway, my second born son came over for Halloween weekend. I picked him up on Saturday and he stayed Sunday night to trick or treat. He brought a bag with two or three costume ideas. He decided to go as “an old man.” As he trick or treated, he told people who asked that he was “my dad when he was younger!” That got quite a few laughs.
Prior to trick or treating, I took Ella on a walk around the neighborhood. I had to stop and get a picture of one tree, because it was just breathtaking. So much color to it.
Ella had her first round of Trick or Treating and didn’t quite get what to do. She went as a ladybug and was so cute. At the first house, I got her out of the wagon, handed the bag to her and she walked up to our neighbor. I told her to say “Trick or treat” and hold open her bag. Once the neighbor started to put the candy in the bag, she dropped the bag and grabbed the candy from them! It was quite funny.
We walked just our street with Ella and then took her home. She didn’t get her afternoon nap, so she was getting pretty tired anyway. I then drove Dimitri around the rest of the neighborhood. I was glad we drove, because it got very windy and very chilly as the night went on. My aunt had some things for the kids and actually found us while we were out trick or treating. She stopped by when we got home and got to see them.
Because he had school the next day, I had to take my son back home. My oldest son had gone out trick or treating with his friends and was at his friend’s house. The house is pretty close to ours, so I met them there and he took his brother home. By the time I got home that night, I was in bed and fast asleep!
As far as weekends are concerned, it was a good one! It’s always nice to get to see all of my kids and spend time with my family!
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 