May you always jump in the leaves...

Just a few favorites from Fall leaf fun!

Love this....

"To speak truly, few adult persons can see nature.  Most persons do not see the sun.  At least they have a very superficial seeing.  The sun illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and heart of the child.  The lover of nature is he whose inward and outward senses are still truly adjusted to each other; who has retained the spirit of infancy even into the era of manhood."  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Harvest Fest

We have been so crazy busy with selling our house and buying a new one...it's really been a whirlwind but hopefully it will all be worth it in the end!  We did manage to get some fall fun in at Harvest Fest in downtown Arlington Heights....our new hometown!  Here are a few shots from the day! 

Grandma Montesano met us at the fest!

At the petting zoo

Daddy and baby Jillian

Sugar and Spice...

"Sugar and Spice and everything nice...that's what little girls are made of."  We've all heard this timeless quotes/rhyme from a million years ago.   Although I don't buy into the old fashion gender specific roles of "Little girls should play with dolls, love dresses, and cross their legs and sit pretty"....  I must admit that we definitely have our fair share of pink in our household and I'm a sucker for any cute hair bow for my girls!  I do however try to provide some balance of "boy toys" and "girly toys", include black and blue colored outfits in their wardrobe, try to purchase primary colored toys when possible, and try to steer clear of the gender specific cliche's in our daily language.   As the years go by I will make a conscience effort to provide both my girls with all sorts of experiences,  let them decide what they enjoy and most importantly not assume just because they're a girl that they'll be interested in something. 

That said...there's no denying Mallory is already showing signs of liking "girly" things. I was painting my toenails the other day and she was fascinated with what I was doing.  A few minutes later we had a mother/daughter girly moment as I painted her toenails for the first time.  It was a wonderful feeling to see the joy in her face as she admired her little painted toenails but I did have little thoughts running through my head..."Oh no am I innocently perpetuating some sort of beauty image...and am I really doing this for her or me?"  Do I secretly want her to love shopping, makeup, and shoes...just like I do?!"   Yeah, I know she's only two, get a grip right?  I guess if I'm being honest I do want her to like some of those things and I have dreams of us having many more mother/daughter girly moments and I do think as long as I balance those moments with a few trips to Wrigley Field and catching frogs in the pond it'll all be okay!      

So proud of her painted toenails

The most important gift anyone can give a girl is a belief in her own power as an individual, her value without reference to gender, her respect as a person with potential.

-- Emilie Buchwald

Making Applesauce

So many apples...my first attempt at homemade applesauce....

Mommy cut and peeled the apples!

Mallory added the lemons, sugar, and salt!

Smelling the cinnamon!

Admiring the ingredients. 

 The finished product hot off the stove! Yum!!

Apple Picking

Over the weekend we went apple picking at a local "no frills" family operated orchard.  It was the perfect little orchard for a family with little ones and although the day was unusually hot for September we had a great time.  It was Mallory's first time apple picking and she loved it went daddy held her up to pick the apples!  Poor baby Jillian slept the entire time...next year she'll get her turn! Afterwards, instead of sipping hot cider we went to Oberweiss for ice cream due to the hot weather! 

Mallory was able to reach some herself!

Daddy helping Mallory pick an apple!