Colorful Fall Leaves and Warm Autumn Memories

Alina found a leaf and held it up beaming...so cute!!

Beautiful fall leaves



Elise had fun exploring and collecting leaves



Vibrant orange oak leaves

Autumn foliage

Bright red maple tree leaves

Two cute sisters enjoying the day at the park

Adorable three-month-old baby Alina!

One of the nice things about fall and the cooler weather is that it keeps us relatively homebound. While we do love to travel (and believe me we are in dire need of a vacation - fingers crossed for next year) there really is quite a bit of beauty close to home and we need not look further than our own neighborhood with all the vibrant fall leaves outside. This is perhaps one of the highlights of November, and I hate to admit that before now I've never paid much attention or taken the time to go out and take photos. Thank goodness for the occasional lazy weekend afternoon! We took the girls on a walk to the neighborhood park and I took photos of all the colorful fall foliage to my hearts content. Of course, a beautiful setting like this was the perfect backdrop for some great photos of the girls. They were all smiles and loved spending the day outdoors in the autumn sunshine. Elise was her usual on-the-go and inquisitive self, running through the park in exploration and collecting leaves. Alina was so happy the entire afternoon, and she is such a photogenic baby! She actually picked up a leaf and held it up smiling for over a minute, as if she knew exactly what would make the perfect shot.  I absolutely love taking photos of my daughters, especially when they are out in their element and enjoying life.

More vibrant fall colors

The three of us girls - outnumbering dad since '09 hah

Everyone IS thankful for me! Love her genuine smile :)

Happy little Alina doll enjoying the autumn sunshine

I LOVE this!! Elise always knows how to make Alina smile

Incredibly vibrant fall foliage

The colorful trees at the park

Daddy cuddling his littlest girl

  

Posing by another gorgeous fall tree

Happy Thanksgiving 2011

Baby Alina's very first Thanksgiving. She's now standing!

Sweet Thanksgiving moments

Elise having fun with her Play-doh

This year, we have so much to be thankful for. I think it is often easy to lose sight of just how special each and every moment is, especially when working full-time and trying to just keep up with the day-to-day hustle of raising young children and maintaining a functioning household. Admittedly, there have been many times that I find myself overwhelmed and frusterated, because I have a constant to-do-list embedded in my brain and some days when the routine isn't running smoothly it's easy to feel defeated. However, when I sit back and think about all the things our family has to be grateful for, it puts any little routine complaint in perspective.

First off, I am thankful for the little moments of wonder that make raising kids so special. It's been these moments that have most captured my heart. Elise coming up and saying, "I love you mommy/daddy/baby sissy" or simply expressing one of her favorite phrases, "I'm happy", with a huge smile and love flashing in her eyes. Alina cooing and babbling, and staring up at me with those adorable babydoll eyes and precious toothless grin as if to say, "you're doing everything right mommy" and "my little heart is content". Moments like these are what we are most thankful for; just knowing that our two girls feel immensely loved and want to share that feeling with us.

I am thankful for our new family of four! With the long awaited arrival of little Alina, our family now feels complete. I am especially thankful that she is such a healthy and happy little girl. I am also quite thankful that I have the chance to once again experience the joys a new baby brings. I'm thankful that Elise is the BEST big sister imaginable and that daddy is truly one-of-a-kind and loves his three girls with all his heart.

I am thankful for each and every person in our lives. Not just our wonderful family and relatives, but friends and those that we choose to accompany us in life, simply because we enjoy their presence and desire to share special moments with them. Our family is shaped by those around us, and we are incredibly thankful for all of you bringing special significance to our lives.

I am thankful for the grandparents! I don't say this enough, but they (all four of them) are incredible people and very involved in our daughters lives. Elise LOVES taking turns visiting both her grandparents every Friday. She looks forward to it all week long, and gets so excited waiting for them to pick her up in the morning. When the doorbell rings she immediately squeals with excitement! I'm sure Alina will feel the same once she is old enough to start making full day visits. I know that spending time with my grandparents brought some of my absolute best childhood memories. I am thankful that our girls will have the opportunity to build a close bond with their grandparents. 

Lastly, I am thankful for all the Thanksgiving turkeys. You poor souls give your life, so we can enjoy a delicious meal. PETA may hate me for this, but I could never imagine a Thanksgiving without turkey!

Enjoying our Thanksgiving family dinner

More Thanksgiving sweetness

Our beautiful three-month-old doll, Alina

Halloween Festivities 2011

All four of us on Halloween 2011

Trick-or-Treating at The Fountains, Roseville - Halloween night

2011 - Alina's first Halloween!

This year, we didn't celebrate Halloween in just a single night, but rather an extended weekend of fun festivities. Elise was in the Halloween spirit all month long, and I can't tell you how many times she tried on her Tinkerbell costume and begged me to start trick-or-treating before Halloween night. Her holiday excitement brought out the best in us, and we found ourselves consumed all month long with Halloween and fall activities. She had the best time at her preschool Halloween party and trick-or-treating. This year, was also Alina's first Halloween and she wore three adorable costumes! Her official costume was a ladybug, but mama couldn't resist the baby pumpkin and beautiful little Princess Belle get up. Elise wore two costumes on her first Halloween. They're only babies once, so why not make the most of it!

The perfect little Tinkerbell

Babydoll Alina dressed up in her pretty little Belle costume 

Our adorable ladybug on her first Halloween!!



 

 Cute baby pumpkin

The girls having fun at their preschool Halloween party

Elise playing pin the nose on the jack-o-lantern

For trick-or-treating on Halloween night, we first took the girls to The Fountains in Roseville with some friends. We had a nice time and loved seeing all the cute kids in their costumes. Afterwards, Elise was still energized, so we headed to another friend's neighborhood for even more trick-or-treat fun! Elise met up with her little friend Zuri and had so much fun going door-to-door and filling up her treat bag. Elise was hysterical that evening. Being the littlest trick-or-treater of the the group, she did her best to run and keep up with the bigger kids. Whenever she fell behind, she made sure to exclaim "HEEYYYY...WAIT FOR ME!". It was so funny. She was also very polite and cute, saying "Happy Halloween", "trick-or-treat" and "thank you" at all the houses. She did have a moment where her world came crashing down, when she didn't see someone put candy in her bag, and came back in tears declaring, "they...didn't...give me any...candy". At that very moment, it was the absolute worst injustice imaginable; fortunately she got over it quick and continued on trick-or-treating until she was no longer physically able to carry her treat bag. She made her way through the neighborhood trek like a little champ, and didn't want the night to end. Our teeny-tiny ladybug Alina, and first time trick-or-treater, was perfectly content sleeping the entire evening. She looked adorable, and stayed warm and cozy all bundled up in her stroller. It was such a fun and festive night. Happy Halloween 2011!!

Our jack-o-lanterns and the girls all ready to trick-or-treat

 Peek-a-boo little ladybug

The cute kiddos trick-or-treating on Halloween night

Zuri and Elise in their twin Tinkerbell costumes

The little troopers on a candy mission; nothing slowed them down!

Elaborately decorated house; complete with Bride of Frankenstein

Elise running house-to-house - she had the best time!

The end of a very fun Halloween night

Night of 1,000 Pumpkins - Sutter Street, Folsom 2011

Night of 1,000 Pumpkins - Sutter Street, Folsom

The girls posing by the huge pumpkin

This was definitely the best jack-o-lantern on display!

In celebration of Halloween, we took the girls to Night of 1,000 Pumpkins in Folsom on Sutter Street. It was our first year at the festival, and we had lots of fun! Elise loved stopping to inspect all the jack-o-lanterns lined down historic Sutter Street. There were tons of other kids roaming the streets; all dressed up in adorable costumes. Elise wore her Tinkerbell costume (of course) and Alina went as a baby pumpkin. The girls got TONS of attention from adoring passerbys. They stopped to oogle over Alina in her precious pumpkin costume and to compliment Elise on what a perfect little Tinkerbell she made. We had a great time and look forward to going again next year!

Elise loved the pirate and Hello Kitty jack-o-lanterns

Awesome white tiger costume!

The kids LOVED the tiger!

Three smiling jack-o-lanterns