Model much, Little S?

My little lady totally has a little boyfriend. They go way back when they were both in the infant nursery at our daycare. Annika and S. sitting in a tree... Isn't he adorable? He is totally cheesin' for his future mother-in-law. (Eeek, that thought just made me have a mini heart attack.)
It isn't easy taking pictures of a little boy who is full of energy and never.stops.moving! Oh boy! It helped a lot that he was just so fine with the camera being constantly in his face. I wish Annika was like that, because the moment I pull out a camera she is like, so would you rather I hit you in the face or smash your lens?
Here are just a few pictures of S. and his family. I totally have some goofy ones that I will save for the wedding day (mini heart attack, part dos).

Fall.. Yummy!

It's mid-October  (in case you were wondering), and you won't believe it, but I am yet to have a pumpkin spice latte or take the little lady to a pumpkin patch. I haven't yet made chili with corn bread or carved pumpkins. In my defense, this fall has been so temperamental. Just a couple of weeks ago it was rather warm, and tonight we are on freeze watch. I think it's time to get going with my fall to-do list, because the thoughts of Christmas are already starting to creep in. Ah know!!! I've already looked at Christmas stockings online and have picked out... wait for it... matching mother-daughter Christmas PJs. AH KNOW!!! Squeal! 
But no-no, I have to make sure I enjoy fall, because that was actually one of my resolutions this year. We are going to carve pumpkins with friends this week, and I'm going to attempt chili and corn bread for everybody. Woot! I'm so excited. 
My small group lady friends and I are reading a book by the hilarious Jen Hatmaker called 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess. Jen writes about an experiment she conducted in order to get rid of materialism and excess in her life. Over the span of 7 months she gave up certain things (like television, shopping, Internet, and others), in order to "make room" for spiritual growth. Today we discussed food, which is the first thing Jen fasted in. Why and when is it that food takes so much room in us that it pushes out the Holy Spirit? We don't see food as a means to an end, but rather something we can't imagine having an enjoyable life without. Do we put too much emphasis on food and thus forget the real "nourishment" we should crave? Oh, I'm just thinking out loud.  Food is such a  huge prerequisite for this season, I guess it just stirred up some of these thoughts. Or maybe it was my little bestie, whose favorite phrase as of today is "food...yummy!" Or I'm just hungry, because my dinner consisted of arugula leaves and tomatoes. 
And below are a few fall photos that have nothing to do with food:)

Chris + Brandy = 3

Meet Chris and Brandy. They are hilarious and dorky and we love them. In March, they are expecting their first child and I don't want to seem audacious, but could we please applaud Greg and me for that? I'll explain a little, you'll see...
When Greg and I got married and moved to his hometown (which is Chris' hometown too), we instantly decided that Chris should move back too and meet this tall gorgeous single blond. We knew right away that they were going to work out. Chris moved back and we set up a few gatherings and introduced them to each other. I think things got a little awkward for both of them, because we obviously couldn't keep our mouths shut about how perfect they were for each other. They were pretty cold towards one another at first, but we (yes, we!) did our magic and now they are about to become happy parents. Eeek! You are welcome!
*the story may have gone a bit differently, but that's how i remember it. hehe!*

          

Busy nothings

Despite this gorgeous, peaceful view that we get to admire every night, our evenings are a little cray. And before you, moms of multiple kids, tell me to "just wait" until I have more kids, let me just say this - don't say this.
It's just me and the lady at first (walk, snack, play, dance, run... the whole shebang), and then daddy gets home. He starts the bath right away and while he does that, I run around like a squirrel in a wheel (that's a Russian expression) picking up books, toys, tupperware, straws and any and all contents of kitchen cabinets from the floor or bath tub, and occasionally even the toilet.
I also start dinner. Bath is done, then it's jammie time, Bible time, warm milkie time, and teeth-brushing. A couple of "Twinkle-Twinkle Little Stars" later the sweetie blows us kisses, and reaches for her crib (I know!!! She loves going night-night!). Freedom starts with making lunches for the next day and finishing up our dinner. When the craze is over we are like, so now what do we do with ourselves?
My favorite nights include loading up our dinner plates (usually with something grilled + veggies) and watching some silly movie. We love watching silly movies more than we want to admit. Don't judge.
Last night was one of those favorite nights. We grilled some fish and peppers, made a salad, poured ourselves some red (fish goes with white wine, but white wine is just ...meh!), and plopped on the couch to rust our brains for 2 hours of Iron Man 3. Usually we want 2 hours of our lives back, but most of the time we feel like we deserve that leisure time, we are entitled to it, and we must have it. Our type of hectic is pretty awesome though, but even Iron Man in the end said "screw it!". He threw away his magnetic transmitter, drove away on his iron man mobile, and decided to start enjoying life finally.
But in the very-very end you see him hauling his Jarvis with him, which is a hint that tomorrow he will wake up and happily do it all over again, dirty diapers, food on the carpet, pacifiers in the toilet, and all.

Oops, when I'm tired, "at the end of the sentence I say a wrong cranberry".

October summer time

So, I've seen quite a few fall season in my life, and this one is my absolute favorite, by far. There are so many reasons for that. I can think of 80 off the bat. Oh, those wonderful 80 reasons, that we call degrees Fahrenheit! If you live in Florida or Georgia or wherever else in the south, you are probably not impressed. But listen, I'm from Russia, and let me tell you this - it is impressive. Not to support the common misconception about Russia (the one where polar bears walk in the streets), but according to my Instagram feed, it has snowed there already.
Everybody is a little tricked by this wonderful warmth and hasn't gone into hibernation yet, so we've had quite a bit going on. Last week for example, we had an awesome gathering with friends at our house. And the best part - I don't think I did a thing that night. Someone was cooking in my kitchen, others were grilling outside, and somebody else was washing dishes. Someone even read to Annika at bed time and put her to sleep. I mean!!! Communal living at its finest.
Last night our wonderful Oma and Opa took Annichka for the night. Gregster and I had ourselves a nice dinner with drinks at the Boathouse and then went to the movie theater (first time in over a year). We watched Gravity in 3D. Have you seen it? It got great reviews and was entertaining, BUT! I had nightmares all night and, according to Greg, I didn't have a good night's rest - I was talking in my sleep and even sat up gasping at one point. The movie confirmed my negative 100 desire to ever go to space. No, thank you!
But I digress... Oh yes! Warmest October in the history of ever! I think my little lady knows it too, and it's only her second one.