An Autumn Afternoon Walk

The days following Riley's emergency room visit were spent mostly at home. The emergency room doctor prescribed an oral steroid medication which Riley hated. He only took a lick then didn't want any part of it. I sat there trying to convince him to take it and how important it was but my efforts were useless ... even after mixing it with hawaiian punch he still didn't drink it. So I gave up, whatever. Nights were less than restful. Although he no longer had that barking sounding cough his breathing was loud and kept me up and stressed out. I'm sort of a light sleeper so I had a hard time falling asleep during all these nights.

We took him to see his regular pediatrician for a follow up and he said that his lungs sounded good. We told him Riley didn't take any of the oral steroid medication and so he had him take some during this visit and to our surprise Riley took it without any trouble ... darn kid. I swear, next time I'll just request for his doctor's office to give it to him instead of me having to get a headache over it.

Every day Riley would ask if he was gonna go to school and every day I would tell him no. He was sad about that, he really likes going to school. Once the weekend came around he was feeling tons better. And since we were mostly cooped up at home I felt a little crisp fresh air was necessary.

We went on a leisurely walk at the Seattle arboretum.

It was a pretty walk. We saw lots of families taking Fall pictures.

Jacob and I talked about Reagan. He's always very present in our minds. I am finding that I am slowly able to think of him and not get completely devastated. These instances are rare though. The Autumn colors help brighten up my mood. There's so much beauty in this season, it's so vibrant! To me, everything about Autumn is cozy and full of tradition.

Those yellows and reds back there, gorgeous!
Riley's hair is definitely the shortest it's been in a long while. Hopefully now it'll all grow even and next time he gets a haircut they'll be able to give him a decent haircut. But I couldn't tell him I didn't approve of his haircut because he pretty much liked how it looked. Long hair or short really doesn't change how cute he is so I told him he looked handsome like always.
As he continues to grow he's looking more like Nathan. It's so crazy to me.

Here I am wearing that pink & blue ribbon pin with pride.

After the arboretum we headed over to the waterfront. It had been a while since we were here. I saw a mexican fruit stand. I was like, what??? They were selling those yummy mango's & pineapple cups drizzled with tajin and other mexican spicy yumminess. I hope to get one next time.
Whenever we come down to the waterfront it never ceases to amaze me how pretty it is here. Too bad it's not a red state, it would be that much more awesome to live here. And if it were a red state I'm sure not so many transients would be hanging out here making camp. But what can you expect from a liberal state right?

This, the Puget is why I like hanging out here.

Spending the afternoon out was exactly what we needed. It helped clear our minds. Seeing those Autumn gorgeous colors and breathing that crisp sea air filled my heart with happiness.

In the midst of movement and chaos,

keep stillness inside of you.

-Deepak Chopra