Welcome Fall!

The return of college football, leaves changing colors, the smell of pumpkin spice wafting throughout the house, cooler days and crisp nights, pumpkins, and Halloween can only mean one thing...Fall is near! Here in the Deep South we may not get to experience the beautiful foliage that cooler autumnal temperatures can bring, and we may not get to enjoy many crisp nights until November (if we're lucky), but we still welcome Fall and gladly slam the door closed on another sweltering Summer.

For us Fall promises to be full of firsts and special occasions---Gillian's first trip to the pumpkin patch, her first trip to see the St. Paul's Lower School Halloween Parade, her first Halloween (although we'll stick to answering the door this year), her first hostess gig at Gammie's as we honor and introduce her to our Pensacola friends, her church baptism, her first Thanksgiving, and many more. As I prepare to decorate our home for Fall, I thought it only appropriate to adorn our blog with a little Fall bling as well. With so many cute backgrounds available, I look forward to keeping our blog seasonally up-to-date.

Speaking of Fall and firsts, Gillian fell in love with Grandad's pool during her first dip over Labor Day weekend. Since the pool is basically a super-sized bathtub and knowing how she loves her bathtime, we felt confident that she'd enjoy this new experience. Even the cooler water temps brought about by a few consecutive days of rain didn't phase her as she laughed and cooed from the time her first tiny toe hit the water. Crying only when we got out of the pool, Bret and I chalked this up as another successful first for our lil' Gilly Bean.


Gillian is ready for her first swim!


Gillian and Daddy enjoy the water.

Grandad provides some much needed shade for his Snicklefritz (one of Gillian's many nicknames).

Mommy stealing some sugar from her little girl.