The FUN of FALL

I know I have blogged it before, but I love the seasons in Michigan...and every year, every time it changes to a new season, I get excited. Alan and I laugh, because you are truly a Michigander if you love the season you are in, but after about 2 months start to complain and look forward to the next one. This is totally me. So, now that we are in the beautiful Fall days, I have to show some pictures (these go back about a month). We have had so much fun at the pumpkin patches, apple orchards, drinking lots of cider (mostly Oak and me:), watching football, taking great walks through the leaves and enjoying every minute of the fresh, crisp (actually quite cold lately:) outdoors when it is not raining:) The colors this year seem to be especially bright and beautiful...can't stop looking at them!!

Alan and Oak picked apples together and Alan said it was such a special moment for him with his son...

Pumpking carving with Grampy and Grammy

Hurry, Oak, they might run out of pumpkins!

Beautiful evening walk with the family

Wagon ride through the orchards

The Klackle Express train- remember last year, when I had to hold Oak on my lap for the cow train...now he can drive his own car while I hold Isla...time flies!!

Sweet Izzy at 2 months

Isla turned 2 months old on September 28! (Now that it is October 21, she is almost 3 months old...but, in the busyness of everything it has taken me too long to post these pictures.) So, here are some of our sweet little miss at 2 months (next week I will put some new 3 month pictures up):) At that time, she was just beginning to smile a lot and always at her daddy, she just loves him...and she began to be more alert, staying awake for an hour or more at a time. I have been telling people that I really feel like we hit our groove, life with two became a little easier, at 2 months (it might have been due to her moving into her own room, Oak into his new big boy bedroom, and everyone getting more sleep:) No matter what, Isla really has a sweet personality, the softest skin (and some rolls that Oak never had), and she loves to snuggle. At two months, she was 12 pounds, 12 oz. and 23.75 inches...she is so beautiful and we love her. I told Alan the other day, that maybe it has taken me longer to get to know our little girl, just because she has a big brother that takes the center stage so often...but, boy has she taken my heart. I love her so much, more every day!! Great Grandma Buehler (Great MeMe as Oak calls her now) came for a visit-it was so wonderful for Isla to meet her. Thank you Grandma! Chillin' with Uncle Tim

Sleeping peacefully at Grammy and Grampy's house

Goofin' around with her big brother

A little scared, but who wouldn't be of Thomas the Train tooting down the tracks

Watching the first U of M game of the season- GO BLUE!!

Alan's Birthday-32 Years:)

Alan had a great birthday week...at least, he says he did:) I got him some surprise gifts, we had a family Mexican dinner on Thursday night, took cake and balloons (that Oak asccidentally let go of outside the car. His response was "uh-oh, ballons go to the sun...bye bye balloons..." and then he cried when he didn't have them to give to daddy-tender hearted boy) to school on Friday, and we had a great date night downtown (with Isla in tow), enjoying the sights and having yummy seafood. My words in his cards throughout the week did not fully express how much I love him and how proud of my husband I am. He is an AMAZING man, son, brother, husband, father...and continues to strive to be better every day in so many new ways! I love you, Alan Lowell and I hope you know how special you are to all of us!

Oak and Isla

A friend offered to photograph the kids for Isla's birth and Oak's 2-year pictures...these are some of the most precious pictures, in our opinion, of our two kiddos.

Holiday Away

Well, it was our first "vacation" of the summer and it was to celebrate the official end to summer, Labor Day. We rented a house on Lake MI with my family and it was a great time of sun, beach, very cold water, cards, food, and trying to rest with 4 kids around under the age of 4:) We had a lot of fun and the change of scenery was refreshing for us-although vacations are not what they used to be before kids...Alan and I still really needed the time away and felt refreshed coming home. We didn't get time for the planned moonlit walks, but we had some really precious times as a family early in the mornings by the beach, snuggling in our family bed, and watching Oak play with his "cousins" and Isla snuggle and coo at her Grammy and Grampy! Now, we are back and beginning the fall "routine", as routine as it can be around here:)

A couple of notes for future remembrance:

Oak has been talking up a storm and amazes us with what he knows and remembers-also cracks us up a lot of the time...one funny thing this weekend was his recognition that Grammy and Grampy have different last names than he does...this was a whole new thing for him. So, now my dad is "PePe Aners", not just PePe:)

Isla is holding her head up very well and loves to look into our faces and give big, open-mouthed grins. She seems to be growing like a weed, we will see in 2 weeks at her 2 month appt. how much:) She was so exhausted after the weekend that she has been taking long naps the past two days...but, then waking up looking thankful for letting her rest:)

Oak at Duck Lake-where my brothers and I used to play for hours when we were little

Thomas, the towel, was a great companion on the beach

Where are you Shaunee? Timmy had to build drip castles without you...:)

Grammy and Oak playing in the sand-Mom was incredible, as always, this weekend to play with one kid or another to give us some alone time

The men wanted to prove something by swimming in the freezing water out to the "far" sand bar

One of Oak's many sandcastles

Isla resting peacefully as the wind kept her cool and the waves lulled her to sleep-do you see that smirk on her face?:)

The view from the deck of our house-yes, I did have to climb those stairs a lot to continuously feed Isla:)