Playing Catch Up with a Month of Posting Thankful Thoughts

 

 

Welcome back!  It's been almost exactly 2 years since I last wrote a post and often I have thought of getting back into it as I want to one day publish these blog posts to record our family's history/scrapbook. 

 

And now it's November and after Halloween it always takes me a day or two to realize it's that month where we are reminded a bit more than usual to count our blessings.  I've always thought of writing a thankful thought a day...so instead, I thought I would try to catch up on life posts by associating them with my thankful thoughts. 

 

Thankful Thought #1

I'm thankful for fall and the beautiful colors that the midwest is graced with in the fall.  Fall of 2012 seemed to fly right by us though as we had a big temperature change without much gradual transition into cooler weather.  Regardless, Kenny, Charlie and I have enjoyed some nice fall moments together, doing some of our traditional fall activities that I will likely be posting about in more detail as the month rolls along.

 

 

Above is our "not so little" Charlie, who is 4 now, posing for me with some pumpkins at the Farm Heritage Festival that we try and get to each year.  It's near our house and has many tractors that Kenny likes to study and teach Charlie about.  We roam around for the afternoon, taking in the smells and tastes of fall activity and let Charlie enjoy more of the activities there each year.  This year, as Kenny and I stood together watching Charlie take off on a tractor barrel ride, we both had moment that we realized how big our little guy is getting and that more and more he doesn't need us for everything.  It's amazing watching him grow up and learn.  We are so grateful to be his parents. 

A WARM Fall Day

Extra warm November days.

Swinging in short sleeves.

Playing with the pumpkins.

Learning to throw the leaves.

Touch a Truck

October is such a busy month in our house!! Touch a Truck is a great event put on locally and they had some pretty awesome stuff there this year. Flight for Life arrived and Charlie loves this helicopter he got for his birthday, so seeing one live left him in awe. Again, he spent a lot of time pointing and saying "tuck." He's definately got the car gene in him.

Pumpkin Picking

Pumpkin Picking.

A favorite event in the Friedrich house.

Something about it is just fun and makes it feel like fall, regardless of the weather we may or may not be having.

And this year...it's extra fun because Charlie is a wee bit older and not that he understands it yet, but he's getting closer to understanding it.

We found a great place near us to go last year and decide to revisit it this year.

Last year, pumpking picking was a great event for the three of us, as it was one of the first outings we took with Kenny post surgeries and he had the energy to get around for the few hours we were there.

This year, it brought back lots of memories, but we made them good ones because Kenny is here this year, able to carry little Charlie around.

We are sure next year will be even better!!

Chicago Botanic Garden

Early this fall, we met some of our favorite friends (that we don't always see as often as we would like) at the Chicago Botanic Garden. It was a great day and a great place for the kids to play and the adults to talk and enjoy the beautiful grounds. Whenever I go there, I think I should get membership...maybe one of these times I will.

Charlie learned the word duck there and now all birds are ducks. He loved watching them though.

The kids even let us sit through the majority of a 30 minute talk on food. I was impressed Gwen and Charlie did so well...but they had fun entertaining each other...taking Charlie's hat on and off, putting it on Gwen's head, playing with leaves.

Probably the best part was we got to meet baby Claire and boy is she a cutie. So little and light to hold...I miss those days. :)

Lake County Farm Show

At the end of September, one of our local forest preserves hosts the Lake County Farm Show. Of course, it's one of Kenny's favorite events of the year because he gets to go and look at tractors. We've been in years past, but this was the first time we got to take Charlie. And he LOVED it as much as his Daddy. He got to say "tuck" (truck) alot that day.

They also have a cool sheep herding show that we knew Charlie would love because he loves "do" (dogs) so much and knows they say "ooff" (woof). Sure enough, he loved it! In one of his profile pictures, you can see his lips puckered up -- he's saying "ooff." :)

The day we went there also happened to be Charlie's 15 month birthday. We are so proud of this little guy and so happy to call him ours. Below are some of the shots I took in and just outside of the Lake County Museum (on the forest preserve property). I wanted a great one for his 15 month birthday picture...and I got one.

Fall Days

Fall Days.

Must enjoy the sun while we can.

Soon enough the snow will be here and we won't be able to swing again until spring.