Fall Updates

We have had a wet, sick fall so far. A lot of rain and some snow.
And then last week we were all sicker than dogs. Only Dave was
spared, but he got to take care of all of us, which couldn't
have been very exciting, either.

Because the summer was very dry, the fall colors this year
weren't as dramatic as in past years. And the snow confused
us all even more. One thing remained constant, though -
the leaves did fall off the trees.

First they were green



and then, as we got a little bit of color


we had some yellows

and finally the browns and ochres.
This was today's leaf pile




and today's bare branches
and today's (fleeting) brilliant blue sky.

Unrelated, Kate has been using the potty. At first we were
dismayed that she would get in the bathroom and play with
the potty chair Jenna uses. After a while we realized
she was on a mission, so we played along. She is happy to
sit and if we peek in at her, she says to us, "private". Today
she successfully used the potty three times at least, and for
a variety of er.. needs. We are proud of her, and slightly
taken aback that we now have two children in potty-training
and no pull-ups that can be bought in the 18-month size.