Leaves, leaves, and more leaves this month! I love the colors of the fall leaves. I know we live in California, and it is nothing compared to some parts of the country, but every year I am reminded again of how amazing our Creator is, and how beautiful it is when our trees' leaves change to deep reds and oranges. These pictures don't do it justice.. The boys loved running around in the backyard before daddy blew down all these leaves. They were thick, dry, and no worries of messing up someone's tidy leaf pile so they had a grand time.
This pile was an exception - the neat pile had already been ruined by a big truck driving through it, so I let them have at it.
It's a lemon year! Our orange and lemon trees alternate years with one always producing far more fruit than the other. I love it when its a lemon year. :)
Yardwork and leaf collection day - Though Jimmy was able to lace these tight enough for them to stay on Caleb's legs, he could hardly lift his feet they were so heavy for him!
We have neighbors on our block with a beautiful garden and a huge Koi Fish pond in their backyard, and every now and then the boys will go back and look at the fish. This day Caleb was enjoying finding the fish Barbara pointed out and named for him, and he told me all about it when we left. Jack and Barbara are in a club for Koi owners and they know a lot about them so its interesting for Caleb when they share things and he can see the fish in the water.
Caleb is playing with something called 'Kinetic Sand' - coolest stuff ever. It looks like real sand, but it doesn't stick to you, it moves in a really cool way (almost like its alive...), and can be molded and shaped without being damp like real sand. Its super cool. A great winter activity inside of a metal casserole dish to contain the sand!
Loved this one of our nephew, Beau! Go Giants!
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Clapping out a beat for the boys as they play their 'instruments'
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On a night when I was out to dinner with my girlfriends, Jimmy decided to have some fun with the boys and set up our four-man tent in the living room. The boys loved playing in it, but after Jimmy carried out all their bedding and mattresses, too, they decided they weren't so into sleeping in it.
Landon is working on getting the hang of his balance bike...
Landon had his 2-year checkup. Its clear he knows where his belly button (ombligo) is :)
Caleb's preschool had a Thanksgiving feast, which the kids helped prepare during school that day, rolling out balls of dough for the bread, grating potatoes for a casserole, and making place mats with something they are thankful for. Caleb's says he is thankful for "Going to Landon's Birthday Party." When I asked him why he was happy he got to go to the party, he said "because there was cake."
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| Side note: In general I feel like Caleb has more of Jimmy's features than mine, but is it just my perception or does he look a lot like me here??) |
David, Dana, Deacon, and Delanie were in town for the Thanksgiving weekend so we enjoyed lots of time hanging out with them, loving on sweet Lanie (she's filled out so much since we last saw her in August!), and watching how much fun the boys had all playing together. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the fam at Christmas. :)
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| Caleb took a moment to try to love on Delanie a little. He's a busy 3-yr-old who doesn't usually take time to talk to the little ones as much, so it was cute to see him checking her out. |
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| You can see a cute little smile behind that paci... |
Had lots of fun having Deacon, Aunt Dana and Delanie, and Nonni join us at the WOW Science Museum. It was Deacon's first time and he was so excited he didn't know where to go first. :)
Sometimes we forget how musical my Grandpa Howard is because we don't often hear him playing, but he can play the accordion, the harmonica, and the piano. On Thanksgiving the kids got the old harmonicas out and grandpa played a few songs for them. It was so fun to listen to him play, and Deacon was fascinated watching him. Afterwards, grandpa, Caleb, and Deacon all played at the same time. :)
<Video below, or click here >
Happy Thanksgiving!! We are so thankful for our family, even when they wiggle and won't sit still long enough to even get ONE good shot! :)
