Happy Fall!

It's October! And right on cue, we have been experiencing noticeably lower temperatures (accompanied by fantastic breezes) and a generally festive feeling (probably brought on by the fact that I have displayed all our fall/harvest/halloween decorations).

Since it's dropping into the 50s at night, we have been leaving the windows open, meaning that Turtle is in long-sleeve pjs. My mom and stepdad provided him with these adorable ones - these are firefighter themed, and he has another pair that are sheriff themed.

Anyway, since the mornings have been so lovely, we popped Turtle into his wagon and went for a little ride. He wanted a puppy with him. Molly drew the short milkbone, so she was elected for ride-along privilege.



She was totally plotting her escape.



After a while, she realized that she wasn't going anywhere, so she put herself in the role of captain, and attempted to enjoy it.



And now, we come to the "problem" part of today's post. Look at this next picture. Are you looking?

It seems that somehow, practically overnight, my little Turtle grew from a wee baby into an actual little boy. Would you believe that I had to call the pedi to make his 18 month appointment for next month??? What madness is this???



Here he is making silly faces. Or kung fu faces. Or whatever. Can you tell? He has a thing for his bat.



Practicing his puppy dog eyes. Yeah, I'm in trouble. I'm well aware.



Since the weather has taken a turn and DH has been so busy, I've been a little bit busy in the kitchen. I don't know what's wrong with me. It's like if I'm not baking or cooking something... well, I don't know what will happen, but it's probably just for the best if I bake or cook.

First, I made soft, hot pretzels. OMG, yum. I don't have any pictures (mostly because there is only one or two left). But I will make them again. After that it was turkey and dumplings. Tonight was boneless mojo pork with crispy noodles, and I also...

Baked a pie.

DH had been asking for one, and I was stalling because I wasn't sure what kind to make. I posted the question on Facebook, and got a wide range of suggestions, but I opted for coconut custard. DH has never had a real one. His experience is solely Entenmann's.

So here is the side by side. Entenmann's...



And mine.



I'm not going to lie. It was really good. I'm thinking next time, I can melt some dark chocolate into it, to give it a sort of Mounds bar feeling.

DH wanted to share with Turtle, so here you have it. Turtle's first pie tasting experience.



He could not have opened his mouth any wider to get it in there.



Ok, here's more of the big child who took away my baby. We took advantage of the gorgeous afternoon to play with sidewalk chalk.



Carrying his big bucket to the best space of concrete.



Focus.



Serious face.



I mean, seriously. The posture, the demeanor... it's all different and so grown up. ::weeps::



I don't know if you can tell, but he has chalk powder on his lips. He has to taste the colors before he can add to his artwork.



Happy Fall, everyone!