Alright, Ann, this is for you. I'm envious of you at this time of year, living in New England. And with 90% of your state forested (I learned that little fact when Caleb did his state report last spring,) you get to witness quite a spectacular show.

Even living in the mountains of the west, you just look up and get to see the amazing displays of fall color on the mountainside.

Over the years, I've embraced the massive agricultural valley I live in and its flatness. While I've enjoyed all the fun splashes of fall color around town each autumn, this year I decided to embark on a formal fall foliage tour with my baby boys. We could have wandered around forever soaking up the stunning colors but we had to pick Maryn up for kindergarten:)

A golden moment

Levi turned 17 months on the 17th of this month:) Okay, so I like my numbers. In fact, while I'm at it, here he is at 17 days and at 17 weeks:

AND, 17 things I'm loving about my little man right now:
when I come home from a meeting or errand, he toddles right to me declaring a cheerful, "Mommmmm."
he loves to rub my arm when we're cuddling and he's getting sleepy
all his car noises, a la Joshua
his hair that always wants to stick up in the back
walking around the house holding someone's finger
his obsession with playing outdoors
can dig in the dirt for hours just like big brother
playing with Joshua as buddies
collapsing onto any pillow or spread-out blanket for a quick "rest"
climbing on the couch, and sitting there pleased with his "maturity"
his chubby little hands
his Frankenstein-esque speed walk
draping himself with big-kid clothes
all his attempts to imitate everyone else doing everyday things
using a domino as a cell-phone, when he can't find mine
stopping to listen and figure out a loud noise (from a car or airplane, etc.)
he loves to cuddle

Once upon a mid-November morning...

(on a walk with help from my phone camera)

Wrapping up October

Here are a few more favorites from October

The stars aligned...

yes, they did, and here we are at 11:11 AM on 11.11.11. I'm pretty proud of myself for this feat:) and it didn't even take bribing or too many threats:) Our big "11" party plans didn't go as planned, though, because poor Levi was miserably ill and was pretty much on my lap cuddling the whole day.

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Who knew?

Who knew October could be filled with so many fun things?

Having camped so much this summer, Kade decided, instead of camping for his birthday, that a trip to Yosemite was in order:) We love Yosemite in the fall, and this trip didn't disappoint.

Our annual trips to Del 'Osso Farms wouldn't be complete without the "races." Maryn was so into racing this year, that I think she was oblivious to everything else, including the pumpkins.

I got brave and battled crazy Bay Area traffic to get over to the coast for some sun and sand with the honeys and one of their friends. I have to go to the beach at least once in October, when the weather is glorious and beach conditions are perfect.

It wouldn't be October without ending the month with some dressing up and loading up on sugar. I think this was the best Halloween weather I've ever experienced. It was such a pleasant, warm evening, and so fun to be out with friends and neighbors watching all our children having a fabulous time.

Lake Antigua

There's nothing like waking up in the morning after a rainy night and being able to enjoy having lake front property for a day (only a day because we don't want mosquitos:). Parks around here are not only designed to accommodate soccer-obsessed Californians, they also double as giant drainage containers to prevent/minimize the risk of flooding. The J-man wasn't the only one who had a good time. As we pulled into the garage returning from Activity Days, the four middle honeys were out of the car and "swimming" before I could even get Levi unbuckled from his car seat. Kade arrived home from work shortly afterward and got some great footage on his iphone. Yes, I'm sure our whole little development was jealous of our reckless abandon.

And switching gears (okay, that was a good pun,) doesn't my Chunkalicious look like a natural? :) I'm hoping he doesn't ask for a real jeep for Christmas.