Free Range Family

Last Sunday October 27, we all piled in the car with Aunt Ariel and Dad, on our way up to the pumpkin patch and corn maze at Sartorie Farms. Its a nice big farm way up in the heights. They are somewhat different then the Grandpa's Maize farm on the west end, but we thought we would try this new place out. Grandpa's Maize is always closed on Sundays and that is usually Lon and I's only free day in the week. So Sartorie Farms seemed like a much better option for us. It was just waaaaaaaaaaay out there lol! Felt like I was driving in the farming community in Townsend again! Sartorie Farms has two corn mazes in front of the plot, and a huge pumpkin patch in the back. They had also set up a mini golf course that looked so cute, but there was a bunch of teenage boys hogging it while we were there. :/ We did get to get lost in the maze, only because my crazy husband thought it would be a good idea to start running and taking random turns lol. He's wild like that sometimes. :...

I attempted to take Anna's three month old photos just before Halloween. I say attempted because in my  opinion, they did not turn out as nice as I had wished but they were good enough. For Alan's three month photos, we put him in a stocking as it was so close to Christmas. I love those pictures and wanted to try and think of something equally cool. That's when I thought of the pumpkins. I figured we would cut out little holes on the bottom of the pumpkin and put her in it like a Bumbo seat. Well after trying this with not a lot of luck (I kept getting her stuck in it and upset) we decided to just take pictures with her next to it. So here are the first set of pictures, unedited still. I will posted the edited versions later. I like the way the natural sunlight makes shadows on everything, this makes for a cool effect when I edited them. I think they turned out pretty decent, for how crazy the whole photo shoot was. Here is the edited versions too: ...

We had a good Halloween this year. Alan was finally old enough to truly enjoy everything and it was Anna's first Halloween. To answer all my curious readers, Alan was the Incredible Hulk and Anna was a cupcake. :) I dressed up as Anna's birthday girl and she was my cupcake. I woke up Hallween morning to this wonderful post on Facebook from a great friend. I instantly shared it on my own page, but for those of you who are not my friends, here is the post: Tomorrow, a lot of creatures may visit your door. Be open minded. The child who is grabbing more than one piece of cand y might have poor fine motor skills. The child who takes forever to pick out one piece of candy might have motor planning issues. The child who does not say "trick-or-treat" or "thank you" might be painfully shy, non-verbal, or selectively mute. If you cannot understand their words, they may struggle with developmental Apraxia of speech. They are thankful in their hearts and minds. The ...

Thursday the kids and I met up with my friend Jessica and her family at our town's corn maze and pumpkin patch. Anna had her last weight check up with her pediatrician that morning, so we got the jeep for the day. Alan and I were so excited to be able to get out around town some! Anna's appointment went really well. Anna weighed 10 pounds and 8 ounces, a whole pound more since her last appointment with them. The nurses seemed very pleased with that progress. They asked me if we had changed anything and I filled them in our own recent work with the Lactation Consultant. She told me that I was right to have contacted her and Anna was lucky to have such a dedicated parent. Made my day, just a little bit. I'll be honest with you. Then we saw our new doctor (one randomly picked from our clinic this time) and what a surprise that was! It was my old school friend Rosa, the girl who actually gave me the idea of Rosalie's name when I was pregnant with her! Wow what a coincide...

Lon convinced me that going to the pumpkin patch the Saturday before Halloween would not be a good idea, as all the good pumpkins would be gone. So today when I finished teaching my art class, the three of us went to the Maize at Grandpa's Farm, the local fall festivities headquarters, for some Great Pumpkin hunting! The main attraction there is the corn maze, but they also have a pumpkin and a squash patch, hay rides, pig races, hay jungle gym/ play ground, cow train and pedal car. We had quite the time exploring everything and experiencing the wonders of fall. :) Upon first arrival, we set Alan down to walk around a little and he was immeadiately off! He proudly led us to look at the tall cornstalks, the pedal cart track and then to the hay jungle gym, where he tried to climb the crickety old stairs! That gave me a bit of a heart attack lol, so we distracted him with pumpkin picking. Which Alan loved, by the way! :) He had too much of a hard time walking around on the uneven gr...

My husband thinks I'm absolutely insane for making such a big deal out of this year's Halloween, but what he forgets is that I'm like this every holiday, lmao! :D Holidays have always been very important for me and even more so now that I have my own son to celebrate with. This year's Halloween though is very special and important to me because this is Alan's first Halloween where he's able to participate. So I am going to be very particular about how we spend our night, er nights lol. :D I know, I know, I'm a total geek but here's my plan: Our Halloween celebrations will begin Friday October 29th. Alan and I have professional pictures in our Halloween costume (you gotta love Sears, they're so cheap I can get ridiculous pro pictures like these done lol!). We have yet to buy our costumes but should have by the end of the weekend. *Crossing my fingers* Alan and I are definitely doing a pair costume, either BoPeep and Sheep or Princess and Frog Prince...