Fall Leaves and Other Discoveries

Our warm-season summer vegetable crops have perished.  There are still warm days yet, so I cleaned out the garden beds and planted a few fall crops (Swiss chard, beets, snow peas, and some pansies for color).  They are doing remarkably well, despite the occasional frosty morning.  Thankfully, our plethora of sunny days quickly perk them up again.
When I work outside, I often give Ezra a spoon so he can play in the dirt too.  Now that all the big summer vegetable crops are gone, his quantity of accessible dirt has doubled, which, of course, he wants to eat.  This is his adorable, slightly mischievous, "I probably shouldn't have done that, but I'm so glad I tried it!" look.  What a sweetie boy; he makes me laugh.

 The Ash trees were among the first in our area to change color and drop their leaves.  Ezra was most intrigued with the crunchy piles of yellow leaves at the park near the house.  He loved grabbing a fistful and flinging them in the air.  At thirteen months, everything is fascinating and everything needs to be explored.  The pea gravel base at the playground is fascinating.  Flowers are fascinating.  Animals are fascinating.  Flying birds are fascinating.  The flight-for-life orange and red helicopter is especially fascinating.  And the lawnmower is an obsession.  We have to touch the lawnmower every time we go outside.  The vacuum cleaner and the hair dryer need to be examined on a regular basis too.    

 

 Ezra says hello and goodbye to everyone, random passerby, grocery store check-out lady, children playing at the other end of the block.  He is fascinated with people, though, usually only at a comfortable distance.  Ezra's latest trick is identifying his "tummy" with affectionate pats.  He will now say "na-na" for banana, which he often eats at breakfast.  "Out" is a favorite word (as in get-me-out-of-this-crib/highchair/carseat), but his version of "out" sounds more like angst-y vowels with marbles in the mouth.  I get it, though.

He is a joy!  A happy, curious, intentional learner, who is truly in love with life.  Oh, and very ticklish, especially on his feet--just like daddy.