Fall is in the air!

Fall has arrived! I've been photographing the changing leaves since mid-October, and now there aren't many leaves left to photograph. Yes, I mean that in two ways: 1) I've photographed damn-near all of them, and 2) They've all just about fallen off the trees now. Time to start the snow watch!

The crisp fall days have been gorgeous. Our highs have been in the 60s and 50s, with overnight lows typically in the 40s, sometimes 30s. We had an unusually warm Halloween though. I had worried that Cece would need a coat over her costume, but it was so warm that night (around 70!) that Marino went out in shorts. Go figure. Cece had a blast trick-or-treating in her Jo Jo costume. She managed to a few dozen houses before getting tired out. She walked most of the way, too -- but Daddy pulled her and her buddy Shonjoy in the wagon in the home-stretch.

Cece's Grandma Cheryl & Nana Gail came to visit us for a week, and just flew home to California last night. Cece was so happy to have the company, and to be showered with all that attention. Everyone had a nice time touring D.C. and seeing the monuments. We decided to have an early Thanksgiving dinner so that we could enjoy the holiday with Nana & Grandma Cheryl. We had a delicious feast on Friday, complete with all the trimmings. The highlight was the best turkey gravy I've ever made! :)

Cece is looking more like a young lady every day. Her hair is now well past her shoulders, with just a flip of a curl at the ends. She is taller & leaner than she was even just a few months ago, and is (we think) very mature for her age. Her new favorite word is "actually." She's still as dramatic as ever, and knows just how to play up her disappointment with an "Oh, man!" She's a funny little girl.

We just learned that Cece's best buddy from CA, Alex Beckner himself, will be bringing his mommy & daddy to see us in a couple of weeks. We're all so excited! So stay tuned for pictures of their Fall 2004 reunion!