little mind

We walked to Wegmans today to purchase plates for a very important purpose: birthday cake! We are getting ready for Ambrose's 4th birthday party on Halloween morning. I'll save more details for after (and of course some photos too).

During our walk Ambrose pointed out a maple tree with yellow leaves and spotted a hornet's nest in one of the branches (pictured below). He asked me if I knew that the nights are getting longer? When I asked what he meant, he fully explained that it is darker sooner, we have less daylight and this is because it is fall going into winter. I think the only thing he left out was the time change this weekend!

What is inside that little mind? What influences/suggestions/books/etc. have entered his mind and now are being uttered in questions/thoughts/observations? How fascinating!

Our little mind was at work again at Wegmans. He decided (and I went with this) that we needed a few things from the store (and I here I thought plates were enough). We also purchased apple cider (you can't go wrong there), Swiss cheese for grilled turkey and cheese sandwiches and finally catfish. Yes, you read that right - catfish. I'm not sure why but he wanted fish and when we went up to the counter and I was reading and pointing to the various fish, well I guess catfish sounds pretty cool. So tonight for dinner we are having catfish; I think this shall go nicely with our leftover homemade mac n cheese and winter squash and bean stew.

Here are the details:
Dredge catfish fillets in Italian dressing and then roll in finely crushed corn flakes. Bake at 375 for 12 minutes.

maple tree with yellow leaves and snow just starting to fall - does that mean snow is coming?

fall activities

apple picking at Whittier Farms

enjoying the colors of fall

picking the perfect pumpkin on a preschool field trip to Stokoe Farms

riding the train at Wickham Farms

playing in the leaves in the neighborhood

loving cousins

Our boys sure have a lot of love for their cousins. While Ambrose loved holding Margaret Rose; Blaise had an agenda of making sure I knew that he was still my baby. They miss playing with their cousins and Ambrose asks frequently when we are going to their houses. Christmas will be here soon . . .

Margaret Rose

Maxwell

a whole new view

Blaise turned 20 months this past Tuesday and found out the same day at the doctor's office that he is over 20 lbs. Today he was able to face forward for the first time!

He looked like a big red marshmallow grinning from ear to ear as he tried to figure out what to look at first; all while babbling. Now if only we could have understood his 'words' during this momentous occasion. . . . I'm still wondering what he was saying.

sky ride

A trip to Bristol (local ski resort) for their Fall Festival this weekend took us on a fun trip to the top of one of the mountains. The four of us climbed onto the ski lift and were treated to breathtaking views. A perfect fall day with the sun out, barely a cloud in the sky and crispness in the air.

The boys giggling with glee as we snuggled together on the lift and they pointed out the 'sights'. Blaise pointing just to point and Ambrose fascinated with the lift kept pointing to the wires and mechanisms. He also noticed the 'bra tree' on the way up to the mountain (hmmm, now try to explain to a 3 1/2 yr. old why there are hundreds of bras in one particular tree).

We rounded out the day picking up some apples which tonight we will have as homemade applesauce. Tomorrow morning we have pumpkin muffins that we made . . . gosh, I love fall foods and how wonderful the house smells from all the baking!

indeed it is.

A trip to Wickham Farms in Penfield to feed the chickens (or the grass), ride the train, get lost in the 'short' corn and drive the tractor. But here is the best part on the drive there Ambrose said, "Mommy isn't it nice to look out and see the beautiful trees?" Indeed it is.

back outside

Last week we were indoors thanks to a round of family shared flu (well, Damian escaped).

NOW we are back into the groove and enjoying my favorite season, fall. On a bike ride today we spotted a tiny tree that said goodbye to all of the leaves pictured here. The boys played in, rolled in and counted the leaves. They can not wait until all the trees say goodbye to their leaves and we can make a humongous (Ambrose's new favorite word) pile to jump in.

Meanwhile I'm thinking of picking apples, apple pies, homemade applesauce . . .