More autumn loveliness

We've pretty much hit and passed "peak leaf change" here in our neck of the woods. Here are some pics I have taken over the past week or so. We have all really enjoyed the Autumn this year. Gemma has really gotten into finding and collecting pretty "leafs". She especially likes the red ones it seems. And she has certainly enjoyed the pretty weather and opportunity to spend ample time outdoors. We are excited for winter in that it means getting closer and closer to the arrival of baby...not so much looking forward to the long stretches without the opportunity to go outdoors.

Happy Fall to one and all!
Be sure to check back soon for Halloween costume pics...

Of rocking chairs, puppy hats, and shoes

I have lots of pictures to share this time, so I'll try to keep the commentary to a minimum (yeah, good luck with that). As I mentioned in my previous post, we recently attended my nephew's third birthday party. Gemma was particularly taken with his rocking chair, as evidenced in the montage below. Check it out, I can even play with toys from the comfort of my (Ira's) chair!AHHHHHH, some tasty plastic peas. This is the life!
Standing up to give mom a sweet, sweet smile. But notice she's still touching the chair!!
Here she is definitely intrigued by what the big kids are doing, but she doesn't waiver...the chair it is!
Posing for a pic with uncle Drew...while keeping a death-grip on the chair.
Such a cutie!
And here's a flashback for you...Gemma-goo in the very same chair at about 6wks old. She's changed just a bit, eh?! Still the same sweet smile though, if I do say so myself.
In other news, the weather here STILL isn't warm for good. Grrrrrrr... In fact, the other morning we had record lows. But never-the-less daddy and Gemma decided to brave the cold for a walk with her in the "honey". What, you may ask, is a honey? Well, it is her front carrier, which Aaron calls a harness, which Gemma pronounces "honey", so now we all call it the honey. And now you know. At any rate, the wee-one donned her trusty cap and mittens, and off they went. As you can see, she was just THRILLED by the prospect of wearing these cute little puppy-dog accouterments. NOT!!!!
Picture 1: looking a little worried
Picture 2: These mittens have GOT to go, guys! Seriously, where are my THUMBS?!!!
Picture 3: And this hat. Come ON!!!! (I absolutely love her expression in this one)
Oh well, at least daddy was able to hold her close in the honey and keep her warm. I will be sad for the day when she outgrows that. She's really too heavy for me, but Aaron LOVES wearing her around, and she gets a pretty big kick out of it too... as long as she's not wearing a hat and mittens.

And last but not least, Gemma's fascination with shoes has again surfaced. Only now they are more than just a cool toy with strings, she realizes they go on her feet. And TRY. AS. SHE. MIGHT..., she just can't quite figure out how to get them on. Even still she tries and tries bless her heart. She tries with her shoes, with my shoes, with daddy's shoes, with just about any shoes on which she can get her little hands. It's pretty cute to watch, I just love seeing her figure out new things.
WHEW! This was much longer than I intended for it to be, but wanted to get these pics out of the way as I'm sure we'll have all kinds of Easter photos to share come next week.

May God bless you as we celebrate the Passion, Death and Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.