Fall and Big Stuff

How beautiful was the park last weekend, huh? Well, it's all brown and crusty now. Autumn here is spectacular-- so brilliant it actually makes me gasp when I walk outside, so surprised and delighted am I to be greeted by rust, gold, and burgundy everywhere I look. For two days. Then it's cold and gray and barren. Until June. No wonder I get fat in the winter.

My parents came to visit, and we had a lovely Saturday afternoon/ Sunday morning with them. We went to an old favorite restaurant Saturday night that was so good we can't believe we haven't been there in 2 years. This realization, in turn, made us marvel at how long we've lived here-- that we can have neglected old favorites already. Ben and I had a brief afternoon date-like childfree encounter, which was novel. Then, on Sunday, we finally got a Costco membership.

That's where the big stuff in the title comes in. I don't need 5 pounds of Oreos or 350 linear feet of Glad Press and Seal wrap, but I am sure happy to have them.

My parents bought me a really cute Juicy sweat suit (it does NOT say juicy on the ass-- that would just be yucky) at Costco (which has the BEST random stuff in addition to all the outsized cans of tuna and vats of mayonnaise), and when I got it out of the dryer this morning, Harry, hands on hips, said "I don't like that Mama. It's really dorky."

"Really dirty?" I asked, hoping I misheard him.

"No. Really dorky."

Where did he learn that? Also, who taught him to say he was digging for treasure when he picks his nose? Because he doesn't understand that's just an expression, and he's really into pirates these days, so every time he gets a wad of snot on his finger, he contemplates it sadly and says, "It's just a booger." Then he shoves his finger-- up to, like, the second knuckle-- back in his nostril to try again. Dreamy.

These pictures are all from my mom's camera (and she emailed them to me using iPhoto-- nice work, Mom!) because my internet is down at home (grumble, grumble, you suck Charter Communications), and I am doing this from the lovely, peaceful, grown-up quiet of my office.


Harry is still mastering the art of drinking from a straw...

Harry happens to be eating the best cookie in the world here-- I used the recipe on the back of the Nestle chips bag, but I added a bag of butterscotch chips, a hearty sprinkle of cinnamon, and an extra teaspoon of vanilla. Very fall-ish.

While Ben and I enjoyed a couple of hours at a coffee shop where we could both catch up on work and use two hands to type emails, my parents apparently let Harry play some indoor baseball.

Harry has a running inventory in his head of all his teeny little Matchbox cars, and from the crabby look on his face, he was probably playing with this one in lieu of another that he couldn't find. Probably the taxi. He loves his taxi, and he's always stashing it somewhere weird.

Oh! And this has nothing to do with fall or big stuff, but here is a picture of Harry in a similar position from March of 2007

Okay-- back to our weekend:
Jack had a snack

And a moment with his Grandma over some rice cereal and prunes

Ha! What a mess!

This kid has been waiting to rake leaves since the first ones fluttered off the trees a week or so ago. Every damn day, he would say "Mama may I please make a leaf pile?" And every day, I'd tell him to wait for Saturday when there'd be more leaves on the ground. The part I didn't tell him? Yuck. There are totally spiders in there. Also leaves stink. And another thing, I don't want to rake them, so wait until your dad's off, and please don't track little crumbly leaf pieces all over the house. Anyway, I think it was worth the wait.

So cute with Grandpa in the leaf pile

Not sure what he's doing here, but I love how bossy and self-possessed he looks

Jack sat in a restaurant high chair for the first time

He liked it, as you can see

Ben and I had a super fun time with this things. Like so fun we might come back to this park without the kids...

Harry was being Diego in this picture-- note the rescue pack and the way we are waiting instructions. I had to be Alicia, Diego's sister, and my mom was apparently an animal in trouble. Harry is very bossy at the park-- he must begin each trip by locating his rescue pack, spotting scope, and camera. Then he swings on his tummy and claps his hands while demanding "Clap with me!" Then he screams at me to "Say activate, Alicia," and we are off to rescue animals and avoid the grumpy old troll who lives under the bridge. If Ben is with us, he gets to be the troll, and Jack occasionally makes a cameo as Diego's trusty sidekick, baby Jaguar.


I hope it is still gloriously autumnal wherever you are. I am going to go enjoy the brown view out my window and eat one of the 745 packs of Dora-shaped graham crackers we snagged at Costco. And also work.