Recently we went for a long walk and enjoyed the changing colors in our neighborhood.

I love these old homes in our neighborhood.

Murphy sees a rabbit in Wicker Park.

I love the house below on the right. It looks like a country house in the middle of the city.

Wicker Park at dusk.

Halloween! Judah was a lion again this year (same costume still fit!).

His first experience trick-or-treating. The lady was kind enough to let us take a picture.

I LOVE fall. Enjoy this season!

Guess what? We traveled again recently! I know, you just swooned. This time, we were in Dallas since I was the maid of honor in my dearest friend Sasha’s wedding. Of course, in the meantime, we didn’t at all mind hanging around Jackie and Greg’s house to spend some cuddle time with my sweet new nephew, Chase.

The week was packed…and not just because we stayed in a house with four children under the of four. There was a bachelorette party one night with Sasha and her bridesmaids, the U2 concert with Jackie and Greg, a pumpkin patch, great dinners, dress fittings, afternoons with friends, lunch with my sisters… It was a fun and packed week. I’ll share with you some of my favorite pictures of the week. Enjoy!

He’s a redhead! Could he be any cuter?

Oh the perils of family pictures when there are three children to contend with. There were better ones, but I love me some out takes.

Sasha’s rehearsal dinner and wedding were wonderful.

We’ve been back home in chilly Chicago for more than a week now, missing our friends and family in Dallas!

We went apple picking in Wisconsin again this year (read about last year’s trip here) with Jared’s cousin Dave and his wife, Missy.

This year we went to a more popular place called the Elegant Farmer, where, incidentally, the Food Network taped an episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay. The challenge? Apple pies. The winner? Elegant Farmer, of course. We bought one of their famous apple pies baked in a paper bag. Best apple pie I’ve ever eaten, hands down. We also bought their apple-cider doughnuts that day (amazing) as well as apple butter and apple cider. We made caramel apples that night. Mmm.

Dave is a photographer (check out his website here), and he captured some great pictures of the day. Here’s Judah with doughnut sugar all over his face.

Judah could not get enough apples. Fortunately, Elegant Farmer lets you eat as many apples as you want while you’re picking.

He occasionally shared the goods.

Little Olivia loves Judah! Actually, all three of their sweet kids could not get enough of him. He enjoyed the attention.

The wagon came in handy later on when it came to toting our apples.

Dave also took a few family portraits. (I took the one of Judah with Dave’s camera, which is why it’s the only one that’s blurry!) This photo of Murphy made me notice, for the first time, that he’s getting more white on his face, particularly around his eyes. Poor old pooch is getting old. Let’s not say anything about the white in Jared’s beard, shall we? Ahem.

Between the two families, we picked a bushel of apples (that’s over fifty pounds’ worth!). They were all sooo good. I wish I could remember all the varieties they had, but I know I loved the Jonathan, MacIntosh, and Cortland varieties. I love me some tart and crisp with a little sweet.

I’ve put my 20 or so pounds of apples to good use this week. I’ve made some amazing applesauce, apple cake, and apple-centric dinners including pork chops with sauteed apples and apple cider gravy (available here) and pan-seared sausages and apples over polenta (here). We’ve also eaten a raw apple every day since coming home.

I love fall!

If you have children, or work with children, or think about having children someday, read this article. It will debunk everything you’ve ever been taught about praising children as a way to boost their self-esteem and thus increase their success. Overpraised children are more likely to become insecure adults whose main concern is image protection, not hard work or genuine success. And why do we overpraise? Guilt, of course. We don’t spend enough time with our kids, so telling them they’re good at everything is a panacea for our under-involvement in their lives.

Seriously, you will be fascinated. (I read about 80 percent of the article aloud to Jared. You can read it yourself.)

So I work what essentially amounts to a full-time job from home. I simultaneously watch an incredibly active 20-month-old, while doing my darnedest to keep his noise level down (thanks to a lovely note from one of our neighbors). And did I mention that we take out-of-town trips nearly every stinking weekend? All of this can tire a girl out.

But that’s not why I haven’t blogged in three weeks.

I haven’t blogged because I’m lazy. Last weekend was our first weekend at home for a month, and we spent it being lazy. Just like we’ve spent every weeknight being lazy. It’s been heaven.

But here I am, back to blogging, needing to tell you about our most recent trip to Denver. I had to attend a writer’s conference September 17-20, so Jared and Judah tagged along. We left Tuesday and stayed with Jared’s brother Barry and his wife, Alyssa. My only full day to hang with them was Wednesday, so we spent a full day touring the U.S. Mint building, walking around downtown, and driving through neighborhoods. Oh, and of course, nibbling on my precious and adorably chunky niece, Kendyl.

I was at my conference all day on Thursday (we’re talking, 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.) as well as most of Friday and Saturday, so while I was gone the gang enjoyed the sights (and some amazing weather). They visited Red Rock Amphitheater, drove to Boulder, hiked around nearby mountains, went swimming, and enjoyed the scenery.

It really is a beautiful place, and Judah did NOT. STOP. RUNNING. the entire time that we were there.

That kid has some bottomless energy reserves and a serious love of the outdoors. Sweet that we’re repressing his active nature and likely ruining his childhood by forcing him to live in a city. Awesome parents.

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We had such a great time when we were there, and it was exciting see Barry and Alyssa and get a glimpse into their new life in such a beautiful place.

Jared gave me the best gift for my birthday this year. Yes, the iPhone is amazing, but even better was the surprise trip to Kansas City last weekend to hang out with our dear friends of more than eight years, Dave and Melody! Jared bought the tickets weeks ago, and while he admitted we were going somewhere, he left me to guess where. Needless to say, I never guessed KC. Both he and Mel were somehow able to keep it a secret. I hadn’t seen my dear friend in a year and a half, so I was beyond happy.

Dave and Mel live in Fayetteville, Arkansas with their two precious boys, Micah and Levi, but we met at Mel’s parents’ house in KC for a weekend of swimming, great food, and free babysitting.

It was also an extra celebratory weekend since Mel’s birthday was August 31, Micah’s was September 5, and mine was the 7th. And it was Labor Day weekend. Can you get more festive? I love that we celebrated Micah’s birthday at Red Lobster, then had a lobster-themed cake (his requests). Boy’s got expensive taste!

We made great meals (Dave and I make a power team in the kitchen), Mel and I did some shopping, our boys played in the huge yard and the warm pool (Judah is officially a fish), and we grown-ups hit downtown KC not once but twice. Our adventures involved but were not limited to: hearing a fantastic Dutch (!) jazz pianist (“I love you, for sent-ee-mental reasons”), sharing chicken liver and tofu appetizers (we love our friends’ adventurous palates), eating little bits of heaven (AKA bacon-wrapped figs) at Lill’s, sipping free St. Germain digestif (mmm), and having our dinner repeatedly interrupted by an overeager fire alarm (hilarious). All of this, of course, combined with great conversations. We love our talks with these guys.

Of course, since were were with Dave, the perpetual musician, our time also included an impromptu Irish instrumental jam session as well as a fun rendition of “Down By the Bay” on David and Holly’s back steps.

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Great times. You can read Mel’s recap (and see more pictures) here.

These past couple of weeks have been heavenly for us and for Judah (our little social butterfly), filled with a visit from family and a trip to see friends.

Two weekends ago, my brother, Rich, and his wife, Andrea, came to visit from the Cleveland area with their nearly eight-month-old, John.

Judah and John could be brothers, though Judah got Jared’s brown eyes and John got Andrea’s baby blues.

Weekends with Rich and Andrea always include amazing meals, and this one was no exception. We made great tri-tip, polenta, and asparagus the first night and went out for cheese, wine, and French food the next night. (Left the kids at home for that one.)

We also spent some time downtown and learned first-hand that toddlers and the Art Institute just don’t mix. We enjoyed the fantastic sunny weather on Sunday with brunch and a walk to church, and then we all headed to visit Rich’s and my grandma in Indiana, who was recovering from an illness in the hospital.

This past weekend we made a trip to New Jersey to visit our friends Dave & Sarah and Ryan & Shannon.

It was originally supposed to be a guys’ weekend, so the menfolk spent the weekend at Dave & Sarah’s apartment while we selfless womenfolk and children stayed with Dave’s in-laws. The guys went into NYC one day and to a Giants game the next, and we girls (thanks to David’s saintly mother) were able to do some shopping and see a movie (Julie and Julia–highly recommended). The guys came to spend a couple of meals with us, one of which included some surprise early birthday pies and gifts for moi.

Judah had so much fun playing with his new friends Jackson, Alexia, and Naiya. From morning till night we kept the kids entertained–a bit of a feat for us moms since the weather prevented us from draining any of their energy outdoors.

Here are our kiddos almost a year ago:

And here they are now (same sofa!):

Just three months apart, Judah and Jackson cemented their friendship over the weekend. Jackson would yell “Doodah!” every time Judah entered the room, and they played (and sometimes fought) all weekend long.

Something tells me these two could be best buds someday, just like their fathers.

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I walked into the living room the other day and promptly suffered a cuteness-induced heart attack.

They lay like this for a good several minutes, too. Long enough for me to grab the camera, anyway. We keep telling Murphy that someday, when Judah’s throwing arm gets a big stronger and his aim with the ball a bit better, it’ll all be worth it.

Today was the perfect day.

It all started with a morning walk to the farmer’s market (our new Sunday morning routine) to pick out some veggies for dinner.

Judah’s favorite part of the farmer’s market is the playground nearby.

We walked home, enjoying the scenery. I love our neighborhood.

We got ready and enjoyed more scenery on the walk to our beautiful church, which is just half a mile away from our apartment. Afterward, we walked home with some church friends who live a few blocks from us and ate lunch with them. And of course, we got to walk home.

Judah took a long nap while Jared and I read, had some tea, and relaxed. When Judah woke up, another trip to the park was in order. Then dinner, which included some of our farmer’s market fare.

The perfect day must, of course, end with another walk after dinner…

…to the local Dairy Queen for an ice cream cone.

Did I mention it was eighty degrees, breezy, and sunny today? And that Judah is finally getting enough hair to grow a curl in the back of his head?

Life is good.