Fall is here

I LOVE fall,  LOVE LOVE LOVE.  It's my favorite time of year because of the smells, activities, and of course food.  I'm excited experiencing Alex's first fall with her.
 
Going Apple picking and picking out pumpkins is a part of fall that I love.  It's weird to think last year when we did these things I was 7-8 months preggo and now I have a sassy, happy, tornado of a 9 month old.  It's fun experiencing these things with Alex even if she is a little too young to do these activities.  They're mainly for mama and papa with Alex along for the ride, but it's all about making memories :).

What I've learned about my child is that leaves are NOT her friend.  People get on my case and say, let her get dirty, it's good for her, who cares, etc.  I honestly don't have a problem letting Alex get dirty.  Ok, I do a little, but I still let her because I know it's good for to get dirty.  My issue isn't with her playing with leaves and getting dirty, my problem is that every time she eats leaves, she gets pieces stuck in her throat and mouth and ALWAYS throws up.  It never fails.  Hopefully when she's a little older she can play in the leaves and not try to swallow them and projectile vomit everywhere, that would be nice.

Another funny thing about our child is she is her mom when it comes to her internal temperature.  I have no idea why, but I've always run warm.  I rarely get cold hands, I'm usually in a t-shirt when everyone else has a sweater on, I will NOT wear socks until absolutely necessary, and I sleep with the window open in the winter. I'm probably part Eskimo.  Alex seems to be the same way.  We keep out house warmer for her, but when she has multiple layers on she sweats.  At night she only needs light cotton pajamas and cotton sleep sack.  If I try putting her in fleece or something warmer, I get a sweaty baby with flushed cheeks.  It's actually really nice not bundling her up at the slightest breeze.  We'll see how she does in the winter.

Basically I am loving everything about fall.  We're busy and it seems always on the move, but I'm enjoying every new experience with Alex, with the exception of teething.  I REALLY dislike teething and everything that comes with it.  But I digress.  Now it's time to find her Halloween costume, but that's an ongoing debate between her father and I.  We'll see who wins out, I have a feeling I know the outcome :)

Technology Overload?

I wonder sometimes if we are so obsessed with technology that it's taking the "human" part of interaction away, and I wonder how it's going to be for Alex when she gets older.  I realize the irony of this statement as I'm blogging online and posting it on Facebook, believe me, it doesn't escape me.  The differences from my childhood to now in terms of what's available is insane, and I think 20 years from now will it be even more advanced?

Oooh a big TV!

Growing up we didn't have cell phones, blackberrys, iPhones, iPads, iPods, Playstations, Wii, and the list goes on and on.  The most technology we had as kids was our old school Nintendo.  Most of the time however was spend either in extra curricular activites/sports, or playing outside.  We didn't need texts or GPS or anything, my mom had to stick her head out the door and call us in.  Granted we lived in a culs-de-sac, so we were never far.  In the summer we'd be out until 11-12 at night playing kick the can, or capture the flag with the neighborhood kids.  It was a simpler life before Twitter, Smart Phones, and yes even Facebook.

The bottom of the chair is fascinating

It's just such a different culture.  At practice I have a cell phone box.  Yes, I make all the girls put their phone/blackberrys/whatever in the box and they're not allowed to text, tweet, facebook or use them at all during dance.  If there is an emergency, my phone is the only one on.  The best way for me to communicate with my girls is Facebook, so I have a separate page for the dance team.  The nice thing is only dance team members and parents are allowed to view it, but the fact that I have a page dedicated to the team to communicate, that in itself is telling.

Sticks are fun too!

Are we destined to lose that human connection?  When Alex is a teenager will she have the ability to communicate well with people in person?  Or will it be an endless stream of posts, tweets and texts?  Although technology is wonderful and I for one am happy for most of the things it grants me, where do we draw the line as parents?  What we know now, will most likely change in the next 10-15 years as she becomes a teenager and a young adult.

Trying to play with Rambo, like usual

It's hard to educate yourself about everything out there especially now with the internet.  You don't just need to have the birds and bees talk with your kids, now you need to include sexting and cyber bulling and a myriad of other things we didn't have to deal with.  I know we had video games when we were younger, but how violent can you get playing Mario Brothers and Bubble Bobble?  I personally think it's finding that right balance of education, communication, and allowing technology.  I don't want our kid to be that weird child that has never heard of an iPod and teased for being ignorant, but that's a road we'll cross in a few years.  I know it won't happen for a while, but it just got me thinking.