Pumpkin Patch 2014

Of course now that we have a kiddo, we'll be joining the ranks of sharing pictures of kids & pumpkins together! :) But we just have to show him off as he takes in his first real time at a Pumpkin Patch {and by patch, I mean that generically as they're all just stacked together}. While he was there last year too, he's just now realizing what's going on and taking it all in.

Watching him experience everything and seeing it through his eyes was SO much fun!!! It was seriously incredibly special.

So on Saturday morning, we went to a nearby pumpkin patch, farm, cafe, etc, that holds an annual Fall Festival with tons of goodies and animals everywhere. We didn't do any of the rides or animal stuff yet since Elijah's not old enough, but we did take a peek from the sidelines and I reminisced about 3 years ago when we first took our little buddy Parker there!

Such sweet memories. And now there are many more!

Elijah enjoyed helping choose 8 little pumpkins to donate to his daycare classroom. What fun!

Grandpa & Grandma were with us too! Such a special treat!!

We tried taking him around to the corn and places where you could stand and take pictures behind random cartoon characters, but he wasn't the least bit interested. He just wanted to run back to the pumpkins!!

First time touching a real, big pumpkin!

Our lil' fam

Not quite sure how my mom managed to grab such a great pic as it was so crowded and we were feeling a bit rushed, but isn't the look on his face priceless?!?! :)

Yum, yum!

Elijah was quite enthralled with the camels

And the giraffes in the distance!

Aww my sweet boy

Funny faces with daddy

Before we left of course we had to get some yummy treats - including fresh hot apple cider, some coffee for Grandpa, fresh apple cider donuts, and freshly made kettle corn. Super yummy!

And finally, here's our big boy walking with Grandma back to our car. Love this. :) 

A truly wonderful experience on a perfectly gorgeous Fall day!!

It is amazing to watch the world through a child's eyes. I'm floored every day by something he sees or does or exclaims "whoaaa!!" to. He's growing and changing so much, I can barely keep up. He's almost 16 months old and I'm not sure how to process that.

We are trying to soak in every beautiful Fall day, and every chance we get to experience something new with Elijah in this stage... because all too soon we'll be stuck inside for the Winter. For a child who looooooooves the outdoors, this will be a challenging season!

So Fall, please stay around just a little bit longer.

Early Welcome to Spring

This year's weather has been crazy! The winter was so mild, and Spring hit us early. In Chicagoland, the first warm day for breaking out the sandals was March 13th, wow!! That is super early for sandal-wearing weather! Since I HATE socks and shoes, this was my favorite part of the heat wave.

I knew it was coming so I even painted my toenails the weekend prior. :)

Then our croci, daffodils, and tulips started popping up and it was amazing! So early. It was technically a bit too early in my mind, but still who can complain, it's been fun!!

One of my favorite things about our house is our front tree. And every Spring it reminds me that if I have to stay in this house another year dealing with this commute, I can do it. There are things here to be thankful for, things that I do love about this home we've spent 8 1/2 years making memories in, things about this area that I cherish, and special things like our front tree that help me focus on the positives.

But I couldn't believe it came into full bloom one month earlier than ever before! It's a joy to see it, but come mid-April it's going to be weird to have it green instead of white!!

On Friday night March 16th, I was hanging out at my friend Brian & Monica's house after work where Parker was running hog wild in his diaper as he played in and out of their kiddie pool. We had a GREAT time and enjoyed the 80 degree temperature day!!

I mean really, isn't he just crazy cute?!?! 

"Shell, drink water?!" -

Parker said to me as he reached up with a fistful of water from the sprinkler to see if I'd drink it off his hand. Which I did. How can you resist that face?!

Nolan enjoyed the fresh breeze with us too upon waking up. Isn't he just precious?! Oh how I love that little face and sweet, quiet, laidback spirit!!!

Happy Early Spring, friends!!

A Few of My Favorite Fall Things

A couple of weekends ago, I spent some time decorating our house for the Fall season - one of my favorite things to do all year!!

{I know the Doughboy napkin holder doesn't quite belong with the Fall decor, but it's a staple in our home/kitchen and I didn't want to move it! If you've been around here long, you know I have a serious love of the Doughboy!}

{Yes, that plant moves its way inside and out depending on overnight frost predictions. It was a plant from hubster's family for Grandpa's funeral, so it's really special and I don't want it to die, but I tend to kill indoor plants :(}. 

And of course, I love watching the change in the leaves! The timeframe between the same areas in the pics below is only a little over a week! It still amazes me sometimes how quickly the change occurs and then the leaves drop. So beautiful, so quick. Don't blink or you miss it.

 

The next pic is a bit dark but the tree is mostly still green except the upper right where just a portion of it is bright red. I love trees when they look just a bit sunkissed, but turn a bit more slowly.

Here's our front side tree from the front and back. It's disappearing fast and in the meantime filling our driveway with leaves, which I absolutely love. Walking and driving on the crunchy leaves is SO fun! I prefer that we wait to do the raking until they're really good, dead, and brown. For now it makes me smile to hear and see them, or to watch the neighbor watch me purposefully stomp, kick, or smoosh down the leaves just to hear them crunch or see them fly through the air.

Fall has always been my favorite season. I can't get enough of all the good things about it, but it always does pass by too quickly. I know not all of you live in areas that have Fall foliage, so I hope this helps give you some enjoyment to be able to see it all from a distance. For those who do live in Fall states, enjoy and soak up every moment of it that you can! Winter is going to come awfully fast.

And then... Christmas.

Arg, can't think of that yet!

My Favorite Month

Hello October - I'm so glad you're here! :)