These two are goofy. I love them.
 

We drove out to Millennium Park this afternoon and enjoyed the nice weather. It's probably the last sunny and warm-ish day for awhile, so we took advantage. 
He had lots of fun tossing things into the water and watching all of the ripples.
 

We had a busy day! We put up the tree together.
We made cookies!
We enjoyed sitting next to the lit tree.
And enjoyed some outside decorations we set up.
 

He was so excited to start in with the Christmas decorations that we pulled out the his tree with felt ornaments. The 5 year old immediately decorated it and put "presents" under it.
 

Thanksgiving is a little different this year, but we were still able to celebrate and have fun.
We ate together with my parents and talked about things.
And in the afternoon the 5 year old went off to play video games but didn't way to say goodbye, so we added a third device so we could keep the group conversations going.
 

It's getting colder but that won't stop us from taking our regular walks.
 

We spent some time in Minecaft playing a Harry Potter world built by fans.
 

It's a Harry Potter  movie night! The little one is so excited!
 

It's snowing on the east side of the state, but nothing here so far.
 

He's always loved dress up. Today he's a cat.
 

We've been taking daily adventures during my lunch break. He's enjoying rediscovering all of the different parks within walking distance.
 

We really are enjoying our fall walks. The weather is cooler and he seems to really enjoy the adventure more than in the peak of summer.
I'm sure the change in the season makes it interesting, plus it's not nearly as hot. I'm happy we live near several nature trails so there's lots of variety for us to explore.
 

This guy likes to cuddle a lot, but he's been especially snugly this week.
 

It's a minecraft kind of day.
 

We've finally received the box he's been most excited to receive, since staring the subscription. He's wanted the restaurant set for months and months. He was so excited to start playing with it today.
 

It's windy and rainy out, so we opted to stay indoors. We've had several small branches come down from all the wind, so that's been fun to watch. I'm glad we did the majority of the raking yesterday. 

In the morning while the little one was playing Minecraft with friends I made some donut sticks with the twinkie pan we have. One of these days I will buy a donut pan, but for now, we get twinkie-shaped donuts.

I played some Pillars of Eternity on and off throughout the day. I have it on PC, but I loathe clicking to move. It's hell on my wrist. So I started over on the Xbox, thanks to GamePass.
I also started work on the Minecraft Creeper hat to go with the TNT scarf. I don't crochet or knit nearly enough to remember what all the acronyms are, or different stitches, so I have to keep re-watching youtube videos and reading websites. I'm happy all of these tools exist, otherwise I'd be harassing my mother non-stop because I can't retain basic crochet info.
 

Today is the last day of his theater class. He's enjoyed it, but this has been a mix of 1st and kindergarten kids and it was obvious that this session was just a smidge old for him - he struggled to stay engaged like he had the previous classes. We shall see how it goes in the winter when they offer another session.
Today was the first day of playing PC-only game Townscaper. It's basically a point-and-click city builder with nothing complicated like power lines and traffic congestion as found in Sim City.
In the afternoon while we were out raking I noticed that some bulbs I planted for next year have sprouted, thanks to the unseasonably warm weather the last week. Here's hoping that doesn't cause any issues with them coming up next year.
 

I finished up a Minecraft TNT scarf I've been crocheting for the 5 year old today. He's been enjoying running around with it on for awhile now. I found the pattern on Ravelry.

Batman joined me for our lunchtime walk today.
It's colder out than earlier this week, but the sunshine really helps to make things bright and cheerful.
 

I finished the junimo plushie today and the 5 year old was over the moon. For those who don't know, junimos are forest spirits from Stardew Valley. I used this pattern here.
 

It's the last warm day for awhile, so I took the day off so we could run around and have fun together.
We ran around outside, enjoying the warmth even though it started to sprinkle a bit part way through the afternoon.
Late in the afternoon I started crafting a junimo plush for him, which is a little forest spirit from the game Stardew Valley. He stayed up late waiting for me to finish it. I finally convinced him to take it to bed and I'd add the legs in the morning. He was happy and passed right out.
 

It's sunny and 72 degrees farenheit today. We took a few walks today and soaked up some sunshine.
 

In the morning we headed out early. I raked the backyard while the 5 year old set up Stardew Valley crops with his toys. He had a ton of fun.
We played a little of Stardew Valley together in the afternoon, before syncing up with Uncle Jeff in Minecraft. Stardew is a little over the 5 year olds head (questing is still a tricky concept) but he loves wandering around on his own horse and just exploring.
 

It is an absolutely beautiful day today. And it is made so much better by the election finally being called - Biden has won. He's not my favorite by a longshot, but it is a relief to know that someone is going to take the pandemic seriously instead of ignoring it and and golfing.
We ran around at Palmer Park in the afternoon, where the weather was in the 70s. Unseasonably warm.
I made some butter chicken in the afternoon in the instapot. I am enjoying this new kitchen gadget. It has a lot of extra stuff I really don't need (making rice, for one) but the pressure cooking is really nice.
And on top of all the other wonderful things for today, the Stardew Valley Collectors Edition I ordered arrived. The 5 year old and I have been playing more of it recently so he and I both enjoyed this package in the mail today.
In the evening we played with Uncle Jeff in Minecraft. They've been crafting fun things in this creative world and I'm basically just re-creating my childhood home. It's not as fun as giant lava and water sculptures, but its something to do. I'm glad they have each other to play with, because I'm definitely more of a survival person in Minecraft myself.

This guy was absolutely done with this morning's activities, and opted to hide in the office until my workday started. He stayed with me almost the entire time, leaving briefly at lunch and then returning again in the afternoon. 

In other news, it is now Friday and they have still not declared a winner for the presidential election. It's clear Biden won the popular vote, and it's clear by the leads he has in several states that he will likely win, but everyone is being cautious it seems and no one wants to call the race.
 

I've started work on a Minecraft TNT scarf for the little one today. With my tendonitis this is going to be slow going.
 

It's Wednesday, the day after the election, and as expected no winner has been called yet since they're still counting votes. Due to the pandemic, a lot of individuals voted absentee and several state legislatures across the country refused to allow ballots to be pre-processed so they'd complete counting by election day.
 

It's election day! It's a day we've been waiting a long time for. We sent in our absentee ballots about a month ago, so we've been looking forward to the election to come to a close.  The 5 year old build the White House in Minecraft in the evening, while we were on a video call with my parents and brother.

With the time change, everyone was up early and there was more than enough time to make cinnamon rolls from scratch before work started. I know it won't last, as we adjust to the new times, but for a few days the mornings are at least productive. The evenings, not so much.

We opened up October's Sago Mini box. It was a fun city set up, complete with a mayors desk, laptop, coffee, glasses and phone.
We took a brief run around outside, although it's been cold all day. He loves those glasses from the box.
I made some homemade pizza, which everyone enjoyed. I'm really loving adding flavoring to the crusts and using cornmeal. I can't believe I never thought to use cornmeal before.
We had flurries on and off all day, although they stuck around for the longest in the afternoon. It's supposed to be much warmer later this week, so we have a few cold days and then back to excellent raking weather before the cold sets back in.