a tethered ball, a fleeting fall + the adorableness of turning two.

At the end of September, I flew to Knoxville for the weekend to celebrate Bird's 2nd birthday where Kara transformed their driveway into a full-on carnival, complete with a carousel + popcorn machine {that's a whole other blog post in the making!}. It was such a lovely celebration full of many moments to love + dote on little Reeseybird that extended throughout the entire weekend!

Kara knows all the best places to celebrate every season + my favorite memory of the weekend was taking Reese to a pumpkin patch just South of Knoxville to indulge in all things Fall. Two-year-old toddlers + their amazing imaginations are my absolute favorite and Reese's exaggerated reaction to just about everything makes even feeding smelly goats just the cutest thing you've ever seen. 

Be still, my heart. 

Good gracious, this was one fleeting Fall. I turned another year wiser on the eve of the start to another Autumn quarter.  Pumpkin patches sprouted up along roadsides and I overused the phrase, "Happy Fall, y'all!" getting lost in corn mazes. I drank my weight in pumpkin spice lattes every morning on my way to work + stopped to admire the red, orange + yellow leaves that peppered the hilltops in every neighborhood. I exclusively wore a variation of the oversized sweater + leggings + boots combination and wandered aimlessly through the streets of Seattle taking in the perfect crisp air that was coupled with the superfluous sunshine that is September in the PNW's best kept secret. I became addicted to consumed a bowl of butternut squash soup {Local 360's with that delectable dollop of pumpkin-flavored greek yogurt is my favorite!} at least three times a week + curled up with a wooly scarf to watch college football every Saturday. It was perfection.

Aside from the fact that next week is finals week, the subtle cues that  usually signal an encroaching winter have been sorely delayed this December being trapped on a tropical island, an isle that I have endearingly renamed Hellwaii. But if there is one place that always feels homey + cozy and has been up to its stockings in holiday spirit since November 4th {when she put up the Christmas tree}, it is the Williams residence. I am counting down the days (less than two weeks) until I return to Knoxville to settle in for the holidays and experience Christmas through the eyes of a very imaginative 2-year-old + ring in the new year with Grams, Creed + Kara waiting for baby boy W. {Dub, as I like to call him} to arrive...
...but little mister, you better stay put in that perfect little womb of yours for these next couple of weeks! We are anxiously awaiting your arrival and absolutely cannot wait to meet you, either... but grow bigger + get stronger to the cadence of your mama's heartbeat for just a little while longer. The world awaits you.