Is that a patio down at the bottom of the yard?
If it is..... make the stream longer or start it further 'forward' so the pond
is next to the sitting area - you'll have a lot of enjoyment of the pond if you can sit next to it and watch the fish and critters.

It is a patio, and I was going to, but I wanted to keep a large
portion of the backyard for the baby to play in - plus my wife isn't
so sure she wants a pond, so she "informed" me it could go over there.
My thought is that since this one isn't really intended to be a koi
pond (hence the shallower depth) I can use it for the falls and plants
and such. My goal is to then dig a deeper one next to it for koi (in
the future) and link the two via underground PVC.

You've got a lot of greenery in your yard so plan, when you build, for an easy
way to net the pond in the fall. You might sink some pvc in the ground to set
poles in to attach your netting to.

You are referring to putting a net over the pond during the fall, not
just a net to skim out the leaves -- I have never seen that (granted
I'm new). I dont get many leaves that land where the pond is, which
is why I chose that side of the yard, the vast majority of them are
blown into the front yard by the prevaling breeze.