One of these days I'll get my act together enough to write more frequent, normal length posts, keeping up with our adventures and my pictures so I stop posting massive epics. Today is not that day.
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First Fall Adventure
I love the fall. It is, hands down, my favorite season of the year. Pumpkin Spice coffee? Yes please! Orange? My favorite color! Fresh apple cider, cozy wool sweaters, the crisp breeze, boots, scarves and hats, mouthwatering roasted turkey and stuffing, swirling leaf cyclones, Penn State football, absolutely anything pumpkin flavored...the list could go on. This season affects me on a deeper level, in a way I don't entirely understand. My energy completely shifts and settles into a content state of peace. I am calmer, and happier in the fall. Always.
In keeping with the spirit of the season, Milani and I met up with Ariana, Jake and crew at Miller's Farm. Although we didn't make it onto the hayride we spent several hours playing hard, breathing deeply lungfuls of fresh autumn air, squishing our boots (and once a tush) into the soft mud.
Milani is brave. There isn't much that scares her, and aren't many things she isn't daring enough to attempt. I mentioned that the slide is quickly surpassing the swings as her favorite playground attraction, and I'm not only talking about the mini, little kid slide. No, sister doesn't discriminate. She'll ride the mini slide, then the tallest straightest fastest one, then the spiral, making her way back through the lineup.
So I'm not entirely sure why I hadn't anticipated that she would come flying down one of the long, fast tube slides at Miller's.
She didn't even pause, in fact, she caught me completely off guard the first time she came cruising down, shooting out the bottom long before I was prepared to catch her. And her awkward landing didn't deter her in the slightest from taking the plunge again, and again.
We watched the boys debate and negotiate their pumpkin selection until they unanimously selected the most gigantic pumpkin of the bunch. And we devoured the apple cider doughnuts that Ariana graciously shared with us. Next time we'll take a trip on the hayride and make sure to bring some extra apple cider doughnuts home, but all in all it was a perfect first fall adventure.
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Bath Time Funny Faces
If you ask Milani if she'd like to get in the tub, her answer is always an enthusiastic head nod as she heads for the stairs and hightails it toward the bathroom. I have yet to see her turn down a bath invite. She loves sloshing around in the tub, dumping water from one cup to another, stomping and splashing and making puddles. Her enjoyment and happiness, as she plays in the water, are so pure and simple that they're infectious. And her faces are so expressive and charismatic, it's nearly impossible to watch her play without smiling and laughing along with her.
While bath time is one of my favorites because it's a sure bet to put girlfriend in a good mood, always littered with giggles and grins, I've grown to cherish the purity she radiates through everything she does. Whether she is excited and happy, or angry and having a total meltdown, she is always honest and genuine. She feels every emotion and sees it through, spends time with it and then moves along. There's never an internal struggle to change the way she feels, or stuff an emotion down so she doesn't have to deal with it. She doesn't pass judgment or wonder what anyone else will think about her emotions. I have room to learn from her honesty, to be authentic with myself and my emotions the way our little ones are before they learn from us that certain emotions are better kept bottled up. I hope she will keep that innocent joy in her heart and authenticity in her soul, that she will always be in tune with the honesty of her feelings, and keep making funny faces in the tub.
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Downtime and Funtime
It's so easy to get swept away in the daily grind, to get caught up in the errands and the chores, and fall into a rut, and I try to remind myself often that I have control over how each of Milani's days unfold. I determine whether we'll spend the day at home, playing with blocks in the living room, or at the playground in the fresh air, or on an adventure with the Mom's Group to the butterfly house.
Don't get me wrong, I truly believe that the substance of life, the real beauty, is often found in the unplanned, the in between, the downtime. That many of life's most sparkling moments are nestled right in front of us among the familiar details of an ordinary day. Milani is so laid back, she is completely content scattering crayons across the living room floor, collecting them back into the bucket and dumping them out again.
Building towers with her blocks, dressing up in her favorite hats, and loving on her stuffed animals.
She can kill an hour engrossed with a box of plastic silverware, and some days these quiet afternoons at home are restorative and relaxing. Sometimes they are exactly what we both need.
But some days we need an adventure, a little bit of excitement, something so special that as Milani drifts to sleep at the end of the day she is thinking "Man today was a great day!" Sometimes it's fresh air and sunshine we're craving, and the way a couple hours at the playground leave us both breathless and happy.
Sometimes it's a meet up with the Mom's Group, an activity we wouldn't normally do on our own, and the good company of other moms and tots. Last week we visited the Steamtown National Historic Site.
We tried on the conductor's hat and wandered around the museum checking out the old steam engines and poking our heads into the train car displays.
We took a short ride on the train, and watched out the window as old passenger cars and modern freight box cars decorated with graffiti passed by in the train yard.
We nibbled on goldfish and pretzels and listened as the guide described how these tracks years ago would have carried eager travelers to New York City dressed in their finest. Milani would glance back from her perch at the window to throw me an excited grin, or a fish face kiss, and by the end she had the "Choo Choo" nailed.
It's those moments, when I catch sight of her face all lit up, that reaffirm why we scramble to devour our cheerios and get ourselves dressed in the morning. Why we pack our bags full of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and goldfish snacks and water bottles and cameras, and scurry out the door to get to a meet up; that fish face kiss makes it worthwhile.
Happy Weekend!
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First Fall Adventure
I love the fall. It is, hands down, my favorite season of the year. Pumpkin Spice coffee? Yes please! Orange? My favorite color! Fresh apple cider, cozy wool sweaters, the crisp breeze, boots, scarves and hats, mouthwatering roasted turkey and stuffing, swirling leaf cyclones, Penn State football, absolutely anything pumpkin flavored...the list could go on. This season affects me on a deeper level, in a way I don't entirely understand. My energy completely shifts and settles into a content state of peace. I am calmer, and happier in the fall. Always.
In keeping with the spirit of the season, Milani and I met up with Ariana, Jake and crew at Miller's Farm. Although we didn't make it onto the hayride we spent several hours playing hard, breathing deeply lungfuls of fresh autumn air, squishing our boots (and once a tush) into the soft mud.
Milani is brave. There isn't much that scares her, and aren't many things she isn't daring enough to attempt. I mentioned that the slide is quickly surpassing the swings as her favorite playground attraction, and I'm not only talking about the mini, little kid slide. No, sister doesn't discriminate. She'll ride the mini slide, then the tallest straightest fastest one, then the spiral, making her way back through the lineup.
So I'm not entirely sure why I hadn't anticipated that she would come flying down one of the long, fast tube slides at Miller's.
She didn't even pause, in fact, she caught me completely off guard the first time she came cruising down, shooting out the bottom long before I was prepared to catch her. And her awkward landing didn't deter her in the slightest from taking the plunge again, and again.
We watched the boys debate and negotiate their pumpkin selection until they unanimously selected the most gigantic pumpkin of the bunch. And we devoured the apple cider doughnuts that Ariana graciously shared with us. Next time we'll take a trip on the hayride and make sure to bring some extra apple cider doughnuts home, but all in all it was a perfect first fall adventure.
**************************************************************************************
Bath Time Funny Faces
If you ask Milani if she'd like to get in the tub, her answer is always an enthusiastic head nod as she heads for the stairs and hightails it toward the bathroom. I have yet to see her turn down a bath invite. She loves sloshing around in the tub, dumping water from one cup to another, stomping and splashing and making puddles. Her enjoyment and happiness, as she plays in the water, are so pure and simple that they're infectious. And her faces are so expressive and charismatic, it's nearly impossible to watch her play without smiling and laughing along with her.
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| Milani's "Squeeze the Washcloth" Face |
While bath time is one of my favorites because it's a sure bet to put girlfriend in a good mood, always littered with giggles and grins, I've grown to cherish the purity she radiates through everything she does. Whether she is excited and happy, or angry and having a total meltdown, she is always honest and genuine. She feels every emotion and sees it through, spends time with it and then moves along. There's never an internal struggle to change the way she feels, or stuff an emotion down so she doesn't have to deal with it. She doesn't pass judgment or wonder what anyone else will think about her emotions. I have room to learn from her honesty, to be authentic with myself and my emotions the way our little ones are before they learn from us that certain emotions are better kept bottled up. I hope she will keep that innocent joy in her heart and authenticity in her soul, that she will always be in tune with the honesty of her feelings, and keep making funny faces in the tub.
**************************************************************************************
Downtime and Funtime
It's so easy to get swept away in the daily grind, to get caught up in the errands and the chores, and fall into a rut, and I try to remind myself often that I have control over how each of Milani's days unfold. I determine whether we'll spend the day at home, playing with blocks in the living room, or at the playground in the fresh air, or on an adventure with the Mom's Group to the butterfly house.
Don't get me wrong, I truly believe that the substance of life, the real beauty, is often found in the unplanned, the in between, the downtime. That many of life's most sparkling moments are nestled right in front of us among the familiar details of an ordinary day. Milani is so laid back, she is completely content scattering crayons across the living room floor, collecting them back into the bucket and dumping them out again.
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| Graffiti a la Milani (i.e. mom fiddling with the camera and not paying enough attention) |
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| "What's the problem with the graffiti? Michelangelo painted on the ceiling." |
Building towers with her blocks, dressing up in her favorite hats, and loving on her stuffed animals.
She can kill an hour engrossed with a box of plastic silverware, and some days these quiet afternoons at home are restorative and relaxing. Sometimes they are exactly what we both need.
But some days we need an adventure, a little bit of excitement, something so special that as Milani drifts to sleep at the end of the day she is thinking "Man today was a great day!" Sometimes it's fresh air and sunshine we're craving, and the way a couple hours at the playground leave us both breathless and happy.
 |
| The view looking down (and I had to bend forward to even see my feet) The view looking up. Love this tree! |
Sometimes it's a meet up with the Mom's Group, an activity we wouldn't normally do on our own, and the good company of other moms and tots. Last week we visited the Steamtown National Historic Site.
We tried on the conductor's hat and wandered around the museum checking out the old steam engines and poking our heads into the train car displays.
We took a short ride on the train, and watched out the window as old passenger cars and modern freight box cars decorated with graffiti passed by in the train yard.
We nibbled on goldfish and pretzels and listened as the guide described how these tracks years ago would have carried eager travelers to New York City dressed in their finest. Milani would glance back from her perch at the window to throw me an excited grin, or a fish face kiss, and by the end she had the "Choo Choo" nailed.
It's those moments, when I catch sight of her face all lit up, that reaffirm why we scramble to devour our cheerios and get ourselves dressed in the morning. Why we pack our bags full of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and goldfish snacks and water bottles and cameras, and scurry out the door to get to a meet up; that fish face kiss makes it worthwhile.
Happy Weekend!