It's Fall

That means time to play in the leaves!

For some reason, I'm really loving fall this year.  I usually hate it because I know it's a precursor to a long cold winter, but this year I'm trying to embrace it and not dread what's coming next.  Plus, the weather has been amazing this year and I think that helps.  The leaves have been so pretty and they have stayed around for a long time.  The other day on our walk I took Archer out of his stroller, made Austen get off his bike, and had an impromptu photo shoot.  It was actually fun and Austen's only complaint was that he was too hot!

Brothers are the best!  I never knew that their bond would be instant, but these two boys have a bond and a love like I've never seen before.  It's been so fun to watch them together!

Austen had to throw the leaves of course.

And Archer had to try and put them in his mouth.  Yum!

I love this tree.....aren't the colors so beautiful?!?

 

Another Comparison Post

I KNOW my kids are two different people, but for some reason I just LOVE to put Archer in an Austen outfit and take pictures to compare.

Archer 6 months

Austen 9 months

(Those grey pants Austen is wearing don't even come close to fitting Archer....they are way too tight!)

I've drawn some conclusions.....

1: Archer is really fat!

2: Austen had  a really big head!

3: My new camera is AMAZING!

and

4: Maybe they DO look a little bit a like

It's Time For Some Solids

I figured at six and a half months old, it was time to try some solids for little Archer.  I have been dreading this moment because eating makes him seem too old.  I put it off for as long as I could, but we finally tried some rice cereal a couple of weeks ago.

He was so happy to be sitting up in his high chair.

 Then we mixed the rice with Mommy's milk

 And tried the first bite.  He had no idea what to do with it once it was in his mouth, but he finally swallowed it.....

 and HATED it!

 He was not a fan.

 He still wasn't a fan when I tried again the next day.  I love these next pics because his face gets progressively worse with each bite.

He is doing better with his rice cereal, but he doesn't love it.  I give it to him before bed and he'll eat some, but he spits a lot out and he definitely doesn't get excited for it.  It's so different from Austen, when he first tried food he LOVED it.

These Guys

My kiddos are growing up so fast!

My Archer is pretty much the best thing ever!  He makes me want two more babies just like him.

He waves and claps and sits up by himself.  He is still the happiest kid I've ever seen.  He loves to smile at anyone and he laughs at just about everything Austen does.  He doesn't crawl yet, but he rolls all around to get where he wants to go.  I predict he's going to be a late walker because he's just not that interested in going places.  I also predict an early talker because he's super good at imitating noises we make and he loves to jibber jabber.

Austen is four going on sixteen.  He wants to be able to do the same stuff grown ups do and he wants to be able to do it by himself.  Independence is such a great quality to have, it's just super hard to parent!  He is a challenging kid to raise.....I'm hoping it's just a phase.

He is really into the ninja turtles right now, so the other day when we went to the farmer's market he went on his bike as a ninja turtle, shell and all.

 He loves to take his own money and buy stuff from the vendors.  It really is the cutest thing.

The Big 3-9

This guy had a birthday and is now in his last year of the thirties.

I know I brag about my amazing man all the time on here, but I have to do it again.

He is a truly remarkable person and I feel so lucky to be able to go through life with him right there next to me.  If I told you all the wonderful things this man does for me, our family, and complete strangers, you probably wouldn't even believe me.  He is the man I most admire in this world (next to my Dad) and he helps everyone around him become better people.  Not to mention he is the BEST Dad!

I LOVE this picture!

Happy Birthday sweetie!  I love you more than I could ever express and I hope this year is even better than the last!

Someone Is Half A Year Old!

Time goes by way too fast!  Here are some pics of Archer on his half year birthday.

He was just figuring out the whole sitting up by himself thing and not too great yet.

 Going....

 down

 He is just the happiest little guy in the world and he balances out our family perfectly.  We really did need him to feel complete.

I Didn't Die

But my computer did hence the lack of blogging.

I was so sad because I had some great pictures of our fall adventures, but now we will just have to play catch up.

I'll start from the beginning even though a lot has happened.

We went to pick apples from an apple orchard.  (can you think of a more fall family activity....I couldn't)

 My cute almost 5 year old.

I am super proud of this picture because this is exactly the way it came out of my camera...not cropped or lightened or retouched one bit.

 He was high up on a ladder which Mommy did not like one bit.

 We bought all the apples Austen picked and they were so yummy.  We definitely found a new fall tradition.