Yesterday was a perfect
suburban afternoon. The weather was decent and Lex and I both
needed to get out of the house, so we went outside to rake and
bag leaves. We have more leaves than you could ever imagine and
apparently they are slowly, but surly, killing my lawn. Lex was
very helpful with the leaves, scooping up large armfuls and
stuffing them into the bags. He helps with the laundry this way
too. Large armfuls into the washer or dryer. Very helpful kid.
After 45 minutes or so an 8 year old neighbor boy came home
from school and asked if he could play. Of course! He played
catch with Lex and they jumped into the huge leaf piles. Then,
maybe 20 minutes later, the 20 month old next door came home
(with his dad) and they came over. The boy and the dad played
catch while Lex and the other baby fell over into the leaf
piles, found big sticks, used the sticks to drum on a big ball
I had brought outside, chased the neighbors dog, etc. All the
while I was able to keep raking and bagging leaves. It was
great. Then the 3 boys across the street (5yr, 4yr, and 15mo)
came home. The 8yr old went over to play with them and the 15mo
old made a bee-line for my yard. It was soooo nice and idylic
and suburban. We ended up outside for almost 2 1/2 hours before
Lex started getting fussy. Turns out he was starving!

I know I’m a little behind on updates and
photos and the like. Life is busy. Lex’s naps are unpredictable
and I try to spend every free second I have finishing up the
house. We still have no doors/drawers in our cabinets (those
low-cost cabinets are soooo not worth it!!), there are boxes
everywhere and our to-do list grows longer every day. Needless
to say, I don’t find myself with much free time to sit around
and blog :( Things will settle down someday though and I’ll be
back to frequent updates about the little man (and little one
inside). For now, enjoy these photos and happy November!

Pictures from top to bottom.
1. Lex
and Julie making calzones.
2. Playing in the
leaves.
3. Cool dude in his dinosaurs and
shades!
4. Snack time on the job site (raisins and
milk, his favorite!)
5. Little Devil
6.
Oh, there he is again.
7. Chillin’ with some
friends.
8. This cabinet is just his size.
9. Hanging wall cabinets takes three strong guys!
10. New stairs – thanks Dad!