Fall-Leaves-Pumpkin Carving-Halloween

 I love fall.  

 

I love bundling up my babies for the first time.

  I love the hats, and the gloves, and the warm cozy clothes.

  I love having a fire in our fire place and the pretty fall colors.

The colors were absolutely Beautiful this year.

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My kids love to be outside.  In fact, a certain little boy asks to go outside first thing in the morning.  He has yet to realize that Mama isn't up for outside playtime before coffee.  

Fall is the best outside play weather.

Plus...it is just so pretty out!

I though I could sneak a fall picture of Miss Ellary in my Mom's flower garden.

She had other priorities than smiling at Mama...

...like trying to eat leaves.

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All those leaves eventually fell off the trees.  And they fell fast.  DJ would pick up the leaves in the front, move to the back, and by the time he was done, the yard was covered again.  We had a beautiful 70 degree day, with freshly fallen (dry) leaves a few weeks ago.  Perfect for playing in.  So much so that we skipped nap to get as much time outside as we could.

My outside loving babies were in Heaven...and Ellary tried to eat as many leaves as she could.

I am sorry Sweet Girl...but as a Sister to 3 brother...you are doomed to a lifetime of getting leaves thrown over your head.  Just wait until he throws you off the front porch into the snow...

I love when I catch a glimpse of them paying attention to each other.  It has taken Karson a while to decide he likes being a Big Brother...

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I am all for traditions, and doing Holidays BIG.  Halloween is not my favorite, but I am beginning to love it with kiddos.  And, thankfully, they have a Daddy who loves carving pumpkins.  Because, well, their Mama doesn't.  I love watching...but you will never find me with my hand in a pumpkin...not gonna happen.

Karson was content to watch with Mama.  He didn't like the "ickies." We couldn't keep Ellary out of the pumpkins.

DJ convinced him to try and touch the "ickies."  We immediatly washed his hands.

 

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Halloween was cold.  And rainey.  And cold.  DJ kept reminding me to be thankful.  We still have a house.  We still had power.  The only impact we had from Sandy was a little rain on Halloween.

Ellary went as a ballerina to Story Time.

For Trick or Treating...she want as a baby in a snowsuit.

Karson went as a Choo-Choo Driver.  Complete with his very own Train.

DJ converted a water heater box and his wagon into the best Halloween Train for my Choo Choo Driver.

 

He even had a working light...

Trick or Treating at Nana's.

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And with that my babies who are so messed up with this time change are up... 

The Pumpkin Farm

I like coffee.  A lot.  Not because of the caffeine.  I just love the taste of coffee.  I crave a cup of hot, strong, black coffee.  Decaf coffee tastes bad.  Yes, I can tell a difference.  In college I drank coffee all.day.long.  Probably a few too many cups.  Occasionally, I would get a caffeine buzz.  My body telling me I have had a bit too much caffeine.  This morning I had two cups of coffee.  Strong, black, Keurig, a.ma.zing coffee...and all morning I had the i had too much coffee jitters...the same ones I got when I had pots of coffee in college.  Not 2 cups...pots. All that to say, I am losing my coffee tolerance.

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We went to the "Pumpin' Farm" last week.  It was a beautiful, sunny day  We decided to throw our plans of cleaning the house aside, and take a family day making memories instead.  We were taking risk.  A 2 1/2 year old with no nap, comes with no guarantees of a good time, and an increased likelihood of a major meltdown.  He surprised us.  He loved every second of it.  And Ellary, she is terrified whenever she is in crowds.  I always put her in the Ergo with the hood up and she immediately calms down.  Combine the Ergo with her love of being outside, and you have a content, sleeping Ellary.

First up on our trip to the farm, was the hayride to the pumpkin patch.  We rode behind a tractor.  My little boy was in heaven!

We picked out four pumpkins.  One for Mommy, Daddy, Karson, & Baby Ella.  

Karson instructed us "Baby Ella 'dis one...riiiiiiight here."

Proof that Ellary was, in fact, at the pumpkin patch for the first time.

Next, a visit to see the "horseys."

And just like last year, I was nervous to put my little boy on the Pumpkin Train.  Put Train behind anything, and it has Karson written all over it.  But the rides at the town fair did not go over well...and landed us with a sobbing little boy that we couldn't get off the ride.   I asked before it started for the driver to keep an eye out for him to c-r-y.  Of course, he surprised me with his huge smile.  He even rode it two times.  

We ended out trip to the Pumpkin Farm with pumpkin donuts and the best apple cider around.  

So, so yummy!

And after Miss Ellary woke up, we got a few quick family pictures.

"baby ella have pumpin' tooooooo'

Halloween 2011

I will be completely honest.  I am not a huge fan of Halloween.  Not because I think it is evil, or because I have a problem with littles dressing up in costume.  I do not like all of the scary that is associated with Halloween.  I do not like that, for whatever reason, girls think that just because it is Halloween, they get to dress sleazy.  I don't like that people think it is ok and funny to smash little's pumpkins. Yes, I am talking to whoever stole my kid's pumpkins, and smashed them last night!!!  

However, there are too many good  parts of Halloween  to completely write it off.  Going to the pumpkin patch to pick pumpkins, was fun.  Carving Karson's pumpkin last night cracked me up!  Watching him try to walk into neighbors houses when they opened the door, made us laugh.  We made good memories, and our little 'goggie' had lots of fun.

So...Halloween 2011...

Halloween started off rough.  Something was up with our Munchkin.  He hadn't been feeling well all weekend, and the rolling around the living room floor screaming and flailing for two hours in the middle of the night was a red flag to Mommy and Daddy.  Something was definitely hurting, and every symptom pointed to his ears.   He slept about 5 hours on Sunday night, which meant we slept less.  Called the pediatrician as soon as they opened and made him an appointment.  He was sad, and Mommy had the perfect fix...

    

Chocolate chip pancakes!  Because on Halloween, you might as well start the sugar buzz first thing in the morning.

And because it was Halloween and all, I though my Munchkin would like pumpkin shaped Chocolate Chip Pancakes.

He didn't.  Well, he would have.  Had he stopped crying long enough to try them.  But all he was interested in was snuggling Mama, and drinking his milk.  Poor baby.  We went to the dr., and of course, no ear infection.  Which is a good thing, but means he doesn't have anything wrong that is treatable.  Love that he didn't need an antibiotic.  Hate that he was still in pain, and there wasn't anything we could fix.  Ugg!

After a {short} nap and some Tylenol, he was a little better.  But likely, because Daddy was home, and Mama made him Pumpkin Shaped Pizza for lunch.  With a side of cheese, because he asked for it.

After lunch, it was pumpkin carving time....

Mommy does not touch the insides of pumpkins, so Daddy helped, while Mommy took pictures.

...and Molly begged for us to throw her tennis ball.

Happy Pumpkin Carving was interrupted when Karson dropped the spoon in the pumpkin.

The melt down ended when Daddy rescued the spoon.

 

Karson & Daddy with their finished pumpkin!

That some ridiculous kid stole while we were out Trick-or-Treating

And when it was time for a picture with Mama, Karson made it clear he would rather play fetch with Molly...

Throwing the ball off the deck, and watching Moll run for it cracks him up!

He was absolutely exhausted, and still didn't feel well, when it was time to Trick-or-Treat.  I was glad we had a fun  Trick-or-Treating plan for him.  We drove him to Nana's, Aunt Katie, Auntie Leesh, and DJ's parents to Trick-or-Treat.  He didn't need much candy, and we thought he would have more fun Trick-or-Treating at family's houses.

 

I would love to show these pictures to the kids that stole his pumpkins...yes I am a bit bitter about it still...

He figured out pretty quick what Trick-or-Treating was all about...CANDY!  He kept signing 'please' for more candy!

We didn't tell anyone we were coming to Trick-or-Treat at their houses.  We all live in the same-ish  town, so it was easy to drive from house to house.  We parked around the corner from Auntie Leesh's, so they wouldn't see us. 

Karson and his sad, tired eyes!

 I love that when Auntie Leesh opened the door and came out, Karson went running to her.  He hadn't quite figured out the Trick-or-Treating yet, so he had no idea he was going to get candy!

Walking up to Nana's house, to Trick-or-Treat.  He scored big on candy with Nana! :)

Karson loved getting to see the people he loves, and had fun eating his candy!  We stopped at Aunt Katie & Uncle Shawn's last, and he even got a popsicle.  I am looking forward to next year, when he really gets it!