Pumpkins Galore

October ... the month of pumpkins.

Picking them.  Posing with them.  Carving them.  We did it all.

Each of those activities were not necessarily all done together as a collective family unit.  It seems that we are starting to branch off more and more these days -- splitting our time with different activities for the kids.  James is too little to partake in the picking of pumpkins and definitely the carving of them.  Samantha was at a friend's birthday party the day that Steve took the kids down the orchard to pick pumpkins and the girls were in school on the day that I chose to get a few impromptu pictures of the boys with one of them.  Yes, the days are getting busy.

We didn't have a very good crop of pumpkins at the orchard this year; the summer was just too hot at the time that the seeds were planted.  So, the grass was tall and not well-maintained down in the pumpkin field, but that didn't stop Sophia and Jack from finding some nice orange ones that were worthy of picking and being brought back to our house.

A little muddy, but perfectly-shaped with a beautiful stem.

What is it about this girl and her modeling poses?  She was born for a life behind the camera.

And this boy?  Well, he can win you over whenever he turns on his sweet smile.

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On a whim, I grabbed one of the pumpkins from outside one morning for Jimmy to be able to experience.  Still wet with morning dew and a little cold, but he loved it.

Sometimes I wish that I could read their minds when they stare at each other like this.

Jimmy was the most interested in the stem.  Such a fun texture for him.

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Carving pumpkins before Halloween.  Don't let the lack of coats fool you.  It was downright cold that late afternoon.  The kids DID start out with coats on but opted to shed them when they got in the way of digging deep into the pumpkins for guts and seeds.

A good old-fashioned spoon always seems to work the best for us for cleaning out the insides.  We then collect the wet, slimy mess and dump it in the woods for the deer.

Jack took his role very seriously.

Steve likes to go for efficiency and managed to "carve" several of the pumpkins using various drill bits.  The kids were impressed with the mere minute that it took him to accomplish that.

The kids hands were cold and wet in no time, but they were troopers and kept on working.  We even carved a few green ones for some variation.

So proud of his masterpiece.

In the past, we have always carved our pumpkins inside ... where it is warm.  But, we opted to invite the neighbors over this year, set up a table in the driveway and let everyone get messy without a big clean-up.  It was a great idea and it was a lot of fun.  It was just cold.  (Good thing Jimmy was napping inside this year!).

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Jack's Field Trip

Jack went on his first official school field trip this week.  His preschool class went to Andy T's for a hayride,  a pumpkin, a gourd, an ear of indian corn and a snack.  Since it was right before Halloween, the kids were invited to wear their costume, or part of it, to the farm.

I opted to have Jack just simply wear his Spider-Man headpiece because I had visions of him tripping in the wet (it had rained the day before!), muddy field while traipsing around for his pumpkin.  With true motherhood intuition, Jack tripped promptly after exiting the wagon and would have completely soiled his costume mere days before the big holiday.  (I rolled my eyes and silently patted myself on the back at that point).

Pausing for a quick picture before boarding the wagon for our hayride:

All ready to go:

It was chilly, but this little boy did great!

Choosing his pumpkin in the field:

So proud of it:

Looking for a good ear of indian corn:

The stalks were pretty well-picked over, but Jack found one and immediately opened it up to show me:

Posing for picture with his Momma:

Snacks inside where it was a little warmer for all of us:

Jack was so excited over this wagon that they had on display as soon as we pulled into the parking lot.  It is identical (but so much bigger!) than his at home!!!

Feeding the goat an ice cream cone with corn inside.  I am still wondering how the goat managed to fit through that fence.  Hmmmm ...

I asked Jack to sit on this pumpkin so that I could take his picture.  He then proceeded to tell me that he couldn't because it was "all wet."  So we compromised.

And then two minutes later, he was over in the sandbox riding around on a bunch of toys that were just as wet as that pumpkin.  Silly boy.

Early Trick-or-Treating

Sleepy Hollow does early trick-or-treating for their campers each year and this was the second year in a row that we were invited to attend.  We met up with one of Steve's coworkers (who was camping there) and brought along two of the girls' friends with us.

Last year when we went, the weather was not very nice -- rainy, cold, muddy, etc.  But this year, we prepared for the worst (boots!) and found that the weather actually surprised us.  We managed to go to many more campsites and the kids filled their buckets with lots of candy.

And a quick kudos to this momma that had the Halloween costumes all ready to go ... considering that the trick-or-treating weekend was four weeks BEFORE actual Halloween. 

Our crew of kids, patiently waiting to get into their costumes:

In their costumes, ready and rearing to go:

My littles:

Cleopatra:

An angel:

Spider-Man:

A tiger:

And they're off!

They LOVED this spider and its web!

Such a fun way to kick off the month of October!

Jack's First Day of Preschool

Tuesday was Jack's first day of preschool.  It was a long-anticipated day for him, as he has watched his sisters go to school every day for the last six weeks without him.  His book bag has been sitting in the closet, ready to go, and we have driven past his school numerous times.  We even went to an Open House there last week so that he could become familiar with his classroom.

He has been SO excited (and understood that his school was starting a little later than the girls' this year because his teacher -- Mrs. Merrill -- had a baby in August).

Strapping on his book bag for the big day:

Just look at that smile.  Yes, he was one happy little boy!

He loves that book bag.  No doubt since he is fascinated (obsessed) with construction vehicles these days.  Geesh, he looks like he is 8 years old instead of less than 3 1/2 in this picture.

He found his cubby inside (the one with the blue lizard) and hung up his bag and his coat.  Then he put his shoes underneath and waved before heading down the stairs into his classroom.  He barely looked back at Jimmy and me. 

He will attend preschool two mornings a week (Tuesday and Thursday) this year and then we will decide where he will do his second year of preschool next year.  We have several options, including his current school, but we will wait and see how this year goes first.  Right now, it seems to be going great! 

James is Eight Months Old

James is 8 months old today and is developing quite the personality.  Every day, he seems less like a baby and more like a growing little boy.  He's longer, leaner and is more alert than ever.  He likes to take in all of his surroundings, often craning his neck to make sure that he doesn't miss a thing.  He smiles for ANYONE, and those two bottom teeth are quite prominent now.  It is only a matter of days before his top two teeth poke through -- you can tell just how swollen it is up there and he is constantly rubbing his gums.  Not to mention, he continues to soak at least six bibs daily with drool (if not more).

The biggest milestone for Jimmy this month is that he is officially sitting on his own.  A couple of weeks ago, I began placing the boppy pillow behind him for a little extra support.  He would do well for a while, but then he would become distracted and fall backwards.  The pillow was great at catching him, especially if I had wandered outside of the room.

Pretty soon, he got the hang of it and I started inching the pillow out farther and farther away from him.

And now?  Look at how happy he is!  It could be the new shoes that he was sporting that day too.  Yes, he got his very first pair of shoes -- at 8 months of age.  My girls had owned no less than about 30 pairs by now! 

Jimmy continues to do so well with his napping/sleeping.  He takes a morning nap and an afternoon nap (with a catnap thrown in right after dinner).  He is in bed by 8 pm at the latest and then sleeps until 7:30 am-8:00 am.  He never wakes up screaming; it is more babbling.

Sometimes, I have to get him up earlier than that because we need to take the kids to school or have an appointment.  If that is the case, Samantha usually begs me to be the one to go and get "her cuteness."

I always hate to wake a sleeping baby.

She is so gentle with him.  I just love the bond that they have.

After dinner one night, I was cleaning the kitchen and left James on the floor in my room.  It was time for his usual catnap, and I figured that I would put him in his crib once I was done with the dishes.  After a while, I didn't hear anything and I walked in my room to find one tired little boy sound asleep on the floor.

Yes, he's a thumb-sucker.

The boys spend quite a bit of time together these days while the girls are in school.  Jack is so kind to James -- never a harsh word or any kind of aggression.  He loves him dearly.

And this picture?  I melt whenever I see it.  Just two brothers with an incredible relationship.

Jack is never too far from his side.

Forever smiling. 

The other fun part of this age right now is the various foods that we are introducing to Jimmy.  I am not really making too many purees for him anymore.  He basically eats whatever we are eating -- pasta, burgers, pizza, taco meat, chicken, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, grilled cheese, etc.  His fruits and vegetables get mashed up a bit for him and he loves yogurt. 

I am able to set him up on the floor or his highchair with some cheerios or puffed cereal and he self-feeds independently.  It is a wonderful thing, especially when I am getting dinner together and/or getting ready for work.

Next month, we will head back to the doctor for his nine-month check-up, and then I will blink twice and the holidays will be here, followed by his first birthday.  It's hard to imagine, but as I pick out 12-month clothes for his LONG body, I am reminded just how fast time is flying for me with my last little baby.  He definitely completes our family and is one loved (and happy) little boy.