Fun in the leaves

There are a few things that I love about living in Tennessee. We are close to Nashville, which offers so many things to do and see. We don't have summers with humidity so thick you could cut it with a knife. (I moved here from Arkansas, which has some awful humidity) We definitely have our hot days, but most days still have a constant breeze. But my absolute favorite, is Fall. Arkansas is pretty flat for the most part and is so hot during the Summer that all of the beautiful colors you see in Fall don't stay around very long. It is so much more vibrant and stays around a little longer here. Throw in all the hills and mountains and you've got me. 

I mentioned a few days ago about the dreams I had when I found out we were starting a family. One of them was to just play in the leaves. Simple, I know, but sometimes it's the little things that end up making the biggest impression on your heart. I'd be lying if I said it would be a natural thing for me to go throwing myself into a pile of leaves. It's a little out of my comfort zone to put my head in grass without a blanket. Weird, no? It's just the thought of dirt and whatever is crawling around on the ground starting to get in my hair that totally grosses me out. With that said, I have boys. I don't want my boys to be afraid of getting dirty, so out of my comfort zone I go. Plus, you see all these adorable pictures of kids rolling around in leaves laughing and I wanted that memory! 

 Therefore, when Saturday rolled around and I realized that we were going to be home, the weather was amazing and we had a huge pile of leaves in our front yard I knew it was time. Thankfully Matt was home, too, so he was able to help me with our crazy toddlersome pictures. Well, that and a tiny little thing called bribery. Pop-Ice in November, anyone???

I took some pictures of Cade first while Daddy and Connor got some leaves piled up for me. I am dying at that sly look Cade is giving while munching on that leaf. Oh, and do I need to even mention the rooster hair?!

While I was taking pictures I hear Connor saying, "Say, CHEESE Cade! CHEEEEESE!" I look over at him to see this

The kid kills me. My little budding photog.

If you are wondering if my bribery worked on Connor, you tell me? Cade, on the other hand, was not amused with the whole situation and just wondered why in the world we wouldn't just let him eat a leaf already. 

Oh, daddy. You so cray cray.

Usually it is Connor that I can't keep off of Cade, but this time it was the opposite. Cade would put his hand on Connor's shoulder and just look up at him. It was so sweet. In the other picture, Connor is saying, "Look at his chunky cheeks." Poor guy. His time is coming, I guess!

After getting some good shots of them, it was time for the beautiful pictures of beautiful kids with big beautiful smiles laughing because beautiful fall leaves were falling all around them. Instead, this is what I got. 

And yet, I am dying laughing because I can hear Matt saying, "Is this what you envisioned? They look terrified." Oh, Mr Negativity (or Realist as he would try to claim) don't you know that it IS going to work?! So, after pulling a little switcheroo, this is what happened when I took over the leaf throwing

He just didn't know that you had to act like a total fool to get them to enjoy it. My neighbors might think I am crazy, but that has never stopped me. 

Shall we just call these HIS CRAZY TONGUE?! 

After our photo shoot, I did let him pile some up with the rake and throw them up himself. 

We even made a huge pile for him to jump in, but he much preferred bringing some and throwing them on our heads. But, really, could you deny this face? I know I couldn't and didn't! 

Side note: This spot is my picture taking spot. The light is generally pretty good and it's in the shade since it is under a tree. In fact, I took some pictures of Con-man in this exact spot a little over 2 years ago :) Which leads me to the ever popular comparison pics. And, yes, I put them in the exact same shirt for that reason!

Bless. Poor Cade is going to have a lot of these shots because sweet thing has every single item of clothing that his brother wore. Down to the gerber onesies!! HA! Part of being a second child, I suppose!

I'm so glad we took these pictures, because after a big storm on Sunday night it has become quite chilly. Or freezing as Connor says. Better get out and enjoy the rest of those leaves while we can!