Basking in the leaves

Most of the leaves have fallen off our trees, so we've taken advantage of playing in them before they get picked up.

Then we enjoyed some warm apple cider (apple spider, Esther calls it)

E drew on the a whiteboard on the fridge for almost an hour last night. If you have a toddler, you know that is a long time. Wouldn't it be great if your whole refrigerator door was whiteboard?

A few nights ago, Esther was very quiet, so Ben and I went to investigate. She was quite resourceful in using our MANY books to make a tower. It is so neat to see her come up with creative ways to play on her own.

Even though it has been quite cold the last few mornings, I've enjoyed some nice hikes in the woods. Yesterday, a few ladies from work enjoyed a refreshing hike on the Bot. Garden trails. This morning E and I went over to Lake Herrick to hike around after running some errands and letting it warm up a bit. Since the time has changed, our walks have been cut out and greatly missed. I need to make a point of taking these morning hikes, as they are very invigorating.

And lastly, preparations for the upcoming birthday (2yo on the 13th)! I'm not sure if I've mentioned Esther's obsession with the color orange. She loves it! She wants everything to be orange, right down to her birthday cake (I think we're going for carrot cake). So this morning we went and picked out some fabric for her birthday skirt (see corduroy below). I'm also going to appliqué a '2' on an orange shirt I bought her. And then (as if that wasn't enough orange), she will have an orange multi-colored felt crown like this one. I'm trying not to go overboard, but it is just so much fun now that she can get excited about her birthday.

And we still have Christmas to prepare for....