Fall in New England

The fall has always been my favorite season.  But we especially love the fall here in Boston.  Apple picking at one of our many local farms is one of the best parts of it - cider donuts, hot cider, fresh apples, hayrides, pumpkins, changing leaves, and crisp fall weather.  We went to a couple of different orchards this fall and we loved our day at Tougas Farm with some good friends - it was a great way to spend my birthday!  Jude loves his good friend, Nora, so it was really fun to watch them picking and eating apples together.  Here are some photos from the day - our friend, Paul, captured a fantastic moment of the day - Jude getting his diaper changed mid-air, mid-apple-orchard.

A Closet Chore-Doer

So, I've become a closet chore-doer.  This is still a little bizarre to me as I expected to maybe become a closet ice-cream eater, coke drinker, or anything-I-don't-want my-toddler-to-see-me-do doer.  Unfortunately that has become the chores.  I can eat or drink anything in front of him, but I can't do the chores without him wanting to take over.  So I find myself doing them in secret.  I sneak around to do the laundry.  I only load/unload the dishwasher when he is asleep or confined in a high chair (but even then he starts saying "all done" very emphatically so that he can get down to run to the dishwasher).  I sweep and mop only when he is asleep.  And the groceries - well, I can't get around unloading the groceries while he's awake so it just takes me about an hour longer and finding stray produce around my kitchen later.  I hope he loves to clean for life - if only this will last to an age when he can do them without destruction, I will be utterly grateful.

Here are some glimpses into my world.  We went from "sorting" the laundry when he was 15 months old to putting dirty clothes into the washing machine at 19 months old.  This would be fabulous if he understood the concept of what the washer does. But yesterday, I opened the washing machine to find 2 books, several hangers, a shoe, and a toy car.  Likewise, in the kitchen sink today, I found my slippers, Greg's loafer, and a football.  We've got some tweaking to do. 



This is grocery unloading help at its finest.  I can loan him out for short periods of time if you need some help around the house :)

Greg finally turned 30 yesterday - October 1st!

well, greg finally joined the ranks of the 30s yesterday.  it was a great day celebrating as a family and with our close friends.  we had a yummy breakfast of bacon, egg and cheese biscuits (greg's favorite), greg and jude had some daddy-son time watching college football, and in the evening, we had a "surprise party" for greg where we got to share a meal with our close friends at our house.  happy birthday, greg!  your life is a blessing to so many people.