Fall time

We played in the leaves.  All afternoon.  Despite little K's ear infection, and R's nagging cough.  It was just too beautiful to stay inside, and well we have been nursing sickness for a month, seriously, so it was time to get out.

My favorite picture of the afternoon outdoors.  Little R enjoying fall, even sporting a running form that would make his daddy so proud.

and even little bundles of energy have to rest every once in a while.

But the rest is shortlived.  Soon new adventures are discovered.  R finds that his legs are finally long enough to reach the pedals of his trike, the trike he got last year for his 3rd birthday.  Only took a year...

and a frog...R was too timid to pick it up, so I did.  I couldn't get a picture quickly enough before the little green dude jumped away, making my R squeal like a sissy girl.

Sweet little K is on the move.  He is still super wobbly on his feet, perhaps related to an unrelenting issue with ear infections.  Today we found out his ear infection from a month ago never cleared up, so he is starting round 2 of antibiotics.  Hopefully this one does the trick.  Perhaps then his balance won't be so wonky. 

Watching a baby learn to walk is so cute.  The deep concentration, the goofy things he does with his mouth when in deep concentration, those flailing arms that help to keep him upright, the pronounced left foot-right foot over exaggerated steps.  I love it all.

Here are the flailing arms, and his pronounced right foot over exaggerated step.

This is that little face.  The way his little mouth makes this funny face when he is thinking.  Then every once in a while he will glance ever up ever so quickly at me, with that smirk.  The smirk that says hey mom, I'm really doing this!  

and then, those little legs get tired.  So bear crawling begins, and big brother giggles.  

until he realizes that walking gets him around more quickly.

So he clumsily makes his way back up on his feet.

Sadly this ended in a face plant on the sidewalk.  Mouth injuries are such bloody messes.  And so ironically our "fall time" outdoors - as R kept referring to it - really turned into that.  We abruptly had to bolt inside which I think made K more mad than actually hurting himself.  His two front teeth almost went all the way through his lip...Here he is just after the bleeding stopped.

and later during the bath, the swelling begins.

and one just cause it is cute...

and our little dragons.  R at 12 months

K at 14 months