seasons past.

Even if only for a brief moment, when walking through my neighborhood this weekend with my 3 ducklings... the sound of leaves rustling under our feet and the smell of burning leaves in the air... I am taken back- way back- to my youth, a young girl walking to school in the crisp air that is "fall" in Western New York State...

I am quickly brought back to reality however, at the sight of my nearly-7 year old running through the park in shorts... in November. The fall in the mid-south is nothing compared to that that I remember of fall in WNY.

peek-a-boo...

... Jack sees you!

october, where did you go?

For as much as I resisted the season's change in September, I sure am sad to see October move behind us. We so enjoyed all the preparations for Halloween: decorating the house, a trip to the pumpkin patch, getting costumes ready, and we even hosted a fun evening with our neighbor friends before all heading out together to trick-or-treat!

Moving on though... Thanksgiving is upon us and right behind that Christmas is waiting. I find myself already about half finished shopping and now I am mentally planning our decorating. Can't wait for that fresh smell of the tree to fill the house!

first things first.

We have been busy these days and I am almost certain that has everything to do with the fact that we recently added another living, breathing thing to our number. Finnegan is doing great... he has such a sweet personality and he has fit in just fine with our bunch. Dublin doesn't seem to mind his presence, but will not hesitate to "scold" Finn if he is misbehaving. Our kitty boy, Smokey, is completely oblivious to the puppy's presence however- which is a stark comparison to how he feels about Dublin (which I think is Dublin's fault, just by virtue of being a dog). We spend much of our day working on "little" things like potty training, keeping fuzzy slippers and running shoes up out of his reach, and really just enjoying him. Like my 2-legged children, the 4-legged ones grow up and old way too fast!

Here is a picture of the boys from this morning, just sitting on the patio enjoying the warm, sunny morning:

October has turned my baby boy 2! We had a very small celebration in honor of Mr. Jack Patrick, complete with chocolate cupcakes,

... a big birthday candle,

... chocolate cupcakes,

... and a small handful of good friends!

So those were the first things that I needed to put first. I have loads of pictures to share- as I mentioned, October has been very busy in these parts... visits to the pumpkin patch and the botanic garden, decorating for a most beloved holiday, and just enjoying Fall!

More soon...

faithful companion in training.

As promised, an introduction to our newest 4-legged family member, Finnegan!

Finnegan, Finn, Finnie, whatever you like, is a 7 week old boxer baby boy. We are all in love, especially Dublin- our almost 9 year old boxer boy. Or old man, really. He greeted Finnegan yesterday upon his arrival home as if he had been waiting everyday of his (almost) 9 years. Great friends already.

Today, Finn's first full day being a Bray, he is busy learning rules. And one of the number one rules is that when it is snack time for the 2-legged kids,

... it's naptime for the 4-legged ones.

At least until snack bowls are emptied. All done! Wake up puppies!

on being out-numbered.

It is early Sunday morning. The child-care center at the gym will open at 8:00. Ideally, I would like to be there at 7:59, greeting the sweet young women who will entertain my 3 while I try to stop this weight-loss pendulum from swinging in the other direction. I feel like I *might* be treading into dangerous territory these days; seeing recent pictures of myself that seem to indicate my cheekbones are in the process of disappearing again. This time I have no excuse: there are no more babies, there is no more nursing. I may have unwittingly used up all that momentum from the first few weeks of weaning Jack- the weight loss that was jump started by the simple fact that my body was no longer supporting an additional human being.

But I am out-numbered this morning. I hate hate hate to make excuses. My husband is in bed at the moment, coping with the gastro-intestinal side effects of 10 days of Septra, and my 3 have made it abundantly clear they are not going to be left in some child-care center this morning while I run off to do something foolish and frivolous like work out.

Out-numbered. Not a good place to be when you are a mommy.

On a different note, watch this space because very soon there will be pictures of our newest family member. Later today we will pick up our 7 week old boxer puppy, Finnegan! And then I will probably never work out again because the child-care center at the gym probably won't watch the puppy for me while I work out and anybody who has had a puppy knows that you cannot leave them alone for more than like, 2 and a half minutes.

Still out-numbered. But very, very happy. Happily out-numbered. Because "this too shall pass". All too quickly even.

Right? Maybe out-numbered is a good place to be so long as you can have fun at the same time. And we all know there is no shortage of fun at our house.

it's raining? again?

We have umbrellas! Let's go to the zoo!

Brian has spent the last few weeks recovering from a series of "flu-like" symptoms and when he is not resting in an effort to recover, he is often in the process of catching-up on all his work-related business. To do my part to help him along in the resting, recovering, and catching-up efforts, I tried to keep the kids un-bored this rainy weekend. Saturday found us watching Mariachi music at a local performing arts center and Sunday we headed off to the zoo!

Yes, it was raining. But from my days working at the zoo I have the fondest memories of the most rainy days. The zoo is (mostly) empty when it rains, making lots of room and time for just watching the animals and perhaps learning a little more about them than you would on a busier, sunnier, warmer day. We had nothing but time and in an effort to stay (mostly) dry, we lingered in the buildings making lots of new discoveries... spent some time in the Herpetarium, the Aviary, the small museum at the Farm, the polar bears!

a rainy day is a great day when you are creature of the tortoise-variety! this fella had his head buried in the mud when we came upon him.

the komodo dragon.

margaret, a bit surprised at what she is seeing.

the great big handsome silverback, mwelu.

a visit to the zoo is not complete without visiting my old friend chickie.

totem poles at the entrance of the polar bear and sea lion exhibit.

graceful: characterized by beauty or grace of form, manner, movement, or speech; elegant. yes, i would describe elephants as unbelievably graceful and elegant.

china!

seems to me that ya ya has the right idea... a nap on a rainy sunday morning!

Thankfully, the new week finds Brian doing much better and headed off to work. Keeping our fingers crossed whatever he has been dealing with doesn't affect the rest of us like it has him!