Pumpkinland

Being that Christmas is right around the corner, I thought now would be a good time to share pictures from our first pumpkin patch trip this fall....

It was pretty exciting for Amelia to run into a friend from school at the pumpkin patch!

Her favorite part?  Throwing the hay, of course.

Yep, Henry was there too. Were you wondering?

A Pillowcase Dress...or two

 This summer and fall was filled to the max with stuff for me.  It mostly involved planning a charity benefit for a friend who lost her husband to cancer.  I took a short break from soliciting donations to get reacquainted with my poor, neglected sewing machine.

Since I'm fairly familiar with pillowcase dresses and I seriously love their cuteness (and Amelia's days of wearing them are probably numbered....) I decided to try my hand at a few more for the fall/winter.


I saw a similar jack-o-lantern dress online and couldn't locate the fabric I wanted at the store.  I settled on this orange and it turned out okay, but in all, this is not one of my favorite dresses.  And to add insult to injury, I need to change out the (already fraying) ribbon for next year and probably lengthen it a bit as well. But, with that said, it held up for the season and a trip or two to the pumpkin patch.

The second dress I made, though, is one of my all-time favorites.  Copied straight from an internet dress, it wasn't really my usual taste.  I actually made the dress itself LAST fall and it sat for an entire year waiting for it's elephant applique.  I love the black, white, and red (I even used red thread for all of the stitching).  It is definitely a dress that works year round and I've received many compliments.  My only problem?  It takes some convincing to get my little lady in the dress--you know, since it lacks the color pink or anything "fancy".

(I'm not sure why she is modeling with a cup, please just go with it)

Side Note: Do you see all that stuff in the background?  That is not how my dining room typically looks.  That, my friends, is the beginning of what helped raise over $20,000 for my friend who lost her husband.  My dining room was Donation Central and it got so crowded that I couldn't even walk through the room.

Custard and Choo Choos

One lovely fall morning, Henry and I had a little errand to run in downtown Kirkwood.  We arrived slightly earlier than we needed to and the store we needed to visit wasn't yet open.  I've always liked that area and thought we would walk around a bit.  Our parking spot was right across from a fire station--a big hit with Henry, of course.  After we had enough of that, I took him over to the train tracks, hoping to kill a few more minutes there. 

 

Well, it must have been our lucky day!  We walked by the custard shop near the tracks where the owner was hosing off his porch.  A little while later, he came over to the bench where we were sitting and asked if Henry could have some frozen custard that his wife had just made.  I have never been one to turn down a treat of any sort and the fact that it was not yet 9:00 am was certainly not going to stop me.  

And if that wasn't awesome enough, while we were waiting for our custard to be delivered, along comes a huge train don the tracks!  Henry could hardly contain himself. I think he was a little surprised at how loud the train was and confused that it never actually said "choo choo" at all. 

Needless to say, it was a pretty special morning for him (and me).

Summer Fun List 2011

Ugh! I know that I will go to find this post about our Summer Fun list and never think to look in the month of December for it!  Yikes!  I am ridiculously behind!

Regardless, this was our list of 22 ideas to do this summer.  We created it waaaay back in May and did pretty good on the list!  As you can see, we completed all BUT 5 items (and we ended up both camping AND picking up litter on a family walk this fall). We are still finishing up our ABC book.

I love making these lists and having Amelia decorate them--having the list so visual keeps her interested and holds me accountable!

She Wears Many Hats

While planting mums this fall, Amelia decided it was necessary to have a "gardener's hat". Luckily we had an old sombrero laying around that she felt was appropriate. She even added the ribbon herself.

Henry at 21 months

 Oh the mommy guilt I have for having far fewer pictures of the second child.  It's sickening, really, but I am trying to be better.  Mostly in spurts.

I have very clear memories of spending many days doing mini photo sessions with Amelia.  Particularly during that first year while we were in Chicago and had nothing better to fill our days.  Playgroups, walks to and from Lake Michigan, and mini photo sessions at the park.  Or the university.  Or our apartment. 

My days with Henry are much busier leading to far fewer quality pictures.  At least his sessions are done with a better camera?  Yeah, we will go with that.

One day after dropping Amelia off at school, we stopped by the park to play. I was thrilled to spot my camera in the backseat while I was unbuckling Henry.  Amelia gets dropped off at 7:30 AM, so we were the only people at the park except for those crazy, early runner types.  I was lucky things fell into place and I could snap a few pictures of poor child #2.

Fall Party

 Apparently Amelia's dollhouse family decided to have a "Fall Party" a few weeks ago.  I was surprised to find the house decorated when I walked into her room.

 

And apparently when I discovered the decorated house, that was only the beginning of Amelia's plans.  To reel the plans back in a bit, I offered to let her use some of the clay I picked up awhile back on super clearance.  She enjoyed making some additional "fall" decorations for the house and then we baked them in the oven to harden them up.  She even made a fancy cake--see it with the heart on top?

 

From what I hear, it was quite the fall bash.

My Little Artist

Just a little picture Amelia drew for her teacher about a month into school.  You know, right about the time she fell head over heels in love with her. 

The tall person is Mrs. Bell and all of the kids are leaving church.  They have the red circle stickers on because they were ALL the star student.  She has since drawn many a picture for Mrs. Bell..and several others in her class.

Big Foot

 

Henry is not at all picky about the shoes he will place on his feet.  Most of the time he goes for Jason's (because those are the ones most left out...ahem). But he has put on my heels or Amelia's slippers many a time without cause for concern.  On this particular day, he grabbed a pair of Jason's shoes and put them on his feet in the laundry room.  Then, he walked (rather well I might add, he had his own his own shoes on inside Jason's shoes, after all) all the way to the family room.  I caught about half the journey on video.  I wonder if he will be a bit of a big foot himself and eventually catch up with his size 15 daddy!

Apple Picking: Part 2

One of the many things I like about fall is going apple picking.  We've gotten into the tradition of taking the ferry to Grafton--2 ferries actually--and stopping at a small pumpkin farm in between the boats.  There are so many adventures, it seems, before we even reach Eckerts!

It's hard to believe, but Amelia is the "big kid" now among Jason's family.  She loves to mother all of the little ones--especially Miss Olivia.

Poor Henry, subjected again to his mother's wardrobe mishaps while she still figures out how to dress a little boy.  Note to self: Henry's pumpkin hat is a wee bit too small, order another.

Not that he seemed to mind wearing it one bit, so there.  As you can see, he is hard core, pumpkin hat or no pumpkin hat.  He gets it from his daddy.

Uncle Dirk sprung for pony rides all around--well, at least for those 5 and under...

One of my favorite things in the fall (besides apple picking) is to ride along the river road.  It is so beautiful and relaxing.  Especially with a belly full of delicious apples.