Goodbye summer! Helloooo Autumn!

Oh how I have missed the cooler weather! Northern Virginia is currently making its slow, reluctant march into the most wonderful months of the year. I am pretty pleased with it. Though a more even and steady decent of the mercury would suit me better knowing that these last few warm days are fairly soon to be followed by lovely, chilly beauty puts a smile on my face. It's not that I dislike the sun. Sunshine is wonderful! Heat and humidity are the dreaded adversaries that crush my spirit during these long summer months. But to everything (turn, turn, turn) there is indeed a season. And this last month has been quite full as we prepare to welcome back our jeans and boots and scarves.

The biggest news of course is that Rowan started kindergarten and Katie began preschool. They are both quite enjoying themselves and miss Evelyn is enjoying her little pockets of one-on-one time with mama! Poor Katie only has three days of school a week to Rowan's five and she is often asking, "Is it my school day tomorrow?". She is always thrilled when I can answer yes and many times crushed when I have to answer no. She's sort of a heart-on-the-sleeve type of girl. The good news is she's also three years old and emotions are fickle things.

 First day of school!

Goodmorning sunhine!

First day clothes hanging ready

 Ready and set to go!

Rowan on the porch was taken about a minute before I heard the bus and realized that I'd not double checked the arrival time for our stop. That was the first and only time so far that we almost missed it. Quite memorable.

While Rowan was off embarking on his scholastic career the girls and I decided to make a day of it and went to the park!

Swings are a favorite, tire and otherwise.

I love how pleased she looks in this picture

Busywork

They spent quite some time sweeping gravel in between those slats. As well as tossing it out of the little boat thing they were sitting in. Playgrounds are wonderful places for exercising little bodies and minds.


Another day another interesting thing...

Chalk crushed by car totally trumps pile of grass clippings

More swinging

A bit of beauty from the yard

I just love the colors on those hydrangeas.

I've titled this next one "Real Life", messy room, snacking in PJs whilst watching Sid the Science Kid.

 

notice the pointed toe...

 I did not coach this pose whatsoever. I imagine she is going to be dancer and/or in the drama club and/or a parenting adventure.

You can see the few colorful leaves making their debut on this tree. The neighborhood is still predominantly green but these little splashes of color around our house make me smile.

After school activities often include a bit of wii playing but I try to encourage a bit of outside time as well. Rowan didn't really draw much until last year at preschool. I'm so pleased that he is doing it more now. I remember the first time I tried to encourage him to color something for me at around 2 years old I think... he just used the crayons as drumsticks. He's come quite a ways!

This is Dad inside a heart because Rowan loves him.

This next one thrills me because he's depicting himself in relation to objects with fairly proper scale. I'm a pretty big art nerd but even so I think for any mom these little steps forward in understanding and accomplishment are exciting.

 

 

He said, "It's me sitting in a chair"

 After he got to take a picture of his chalk drawing I let him take a few more. On the condition that he put the wrist strap on his wrist properly (you can see it dangling in the previous shot). So he secured the camera and off he went. Most of the pictures were blurry but a few turned out.

I love that last one. I think the subject, the colors, the detail, and the composition are really really cool. I know he wasn't thinking about all that when he snapped it of course. Which makes it very sweet and endearing to me. Though that also might just be because I'm his mom. I like to think it is a little of both.

And there's September for you! Next up October which brings pumpkin patch trips, school pictures, and Halloween, which Rowan informed Katie recently is "not about candy or costumes, it's about love". I later discussed it with him and discovered that by "love" he meant "fun". He was trying to say that we do not have to be scary or creepy in order to have fun and take part in the holiday. I tried to explain that love was not exactly the word that he might want to use to say that but he insisted.

And so it is that this year at our house-

Halloween = love.

I have to say I think it's all rather cute.