Trick-or-Treat

What a fun day! Daniel couldn't wait to put his costume on and get his treats. He has finally gotten to an age where he can fully participate and understand what is going on and boy was he ever excited!

We ran some errands during which Daniel told everyone he came in contact with that he was going to be a puppy dog. You can imagine his excitement when he received his first official "treat" from the greeter at Walmart.

That evening, we gobbled down some food, threw the costumes in the car and headed over to our Halloween Party at the Halberg's. As we waited for some late stragglers and had cupcakes to celebrate Will's birthday, Daniel could do nothing but pace around the house. He was ready to go! We had such fun walking around the Halberg's neighborhood watching the kids trick-or-treat. Our little pumpkin, Sofia, enjoyed the evening from the comfort of her stroller and even got to trick-or-treat once herself.

Dan and Misty (okay, so really it was all Misty) did a great job putting together a fun night for the kids, complete with goodies, crafts, and the monster mash. We are very blessed to have such great friends here and are so thankful we have such fun Halloween memories.

Sofia's sweet ride

Birthday boy, Will, and Daniel needed a break

How We Spent Our Weekend

If this post really lived up to its title, I would have nothing but pictures of the four of us in our pajamas watching television. It really was quite unproductive and lazy. Those are the best kinds of weekends. However, Fernando got a burst of energy and motivation and decided to help Daniel carve our Halloween pumpkin- his first one, ever. Of course, the words "help Daniel carve" means, quite literally, doing the entire job himself while Daniel plays with the pumpkin guts, throws seeds everywhere, and sings the theme song to the Imagination Movers. Alas, here are the fruits of Fernando's labor...(no pun intended) Or is a pumpkin a vegetable?

To the Pumpkin Patch We Go

One of the great things about living in Little Rock, is all of the family activities that go on here and how accessible they are. We are literally minutes from lakes, hiking trails, parks, and farms that host myriads of events for kids. Last Fall, as we watched the leaves begin to turn, I wanted so badly to take Daniel to the pumpkin patch. As a scrapbooker, I had a pumpkin themed layout already planned in my head and was determined to capture the most adorable pictures of my son amidst a countless array of pumpkins. My in-laws had planned a visit for the end of October and I hoped they would join us for our pumpkin patch extravaganza. Weeks and weeks went by but I was determined to make this a memory for all of us, so we postponed our trip to the pumpkin patch until Nana and Tata arrived. The weekend they were with us, we loaded up the car and drove out to the pumpkin patch only to find that the rain we'd had the previous week had flooded the entire farm and the pumpkin patch was closed. Gritting my teeth, I got back in the car and we turned around to head home- no pumpkin patch, no pictures, no memories...

This year, I was not about to let the same thing happen. So, this morning, we made another attempt to go to the pumpkin patch. Scrapbooking page still in mind, I grabbed the camera, made sure the memory card was cleared, and out the door we went. Anyone, however, who knows our son, knows that when we get him to a public place like that-especially one geared towards kids his age- he becomes completely schizophrenic. We could not get him to sit still or look directly at the camera to save our lives. We spent the entire visit saying, "Daniel, stop." Daniel, look." "Daniel, smile!". But, alas, Daniel found the dirt, rocks, and sticks lying on the ground decidedly more interesting than the pumpkins themselves. The only consolation was that we heard similar phrases from the mouths of EVERY other parent there. There were a lot of frustrated scrapbookers at the pumpkin patch today.

All in all, we did have a really great time. Daniel loved the hayride, the petting zoo, the pig races, and picking out his very own pumpkin, which I'm fairly certain outweighs him by about 15 lbs. Daniel especially loved being outdoors and we certainly didn't mind spending some time out on a day like today- sunny and 70 degrees (we know all of our friends and family back home are jealous...isn't it supposed to drop down into the mid-nineties for you this week?). It was a great day...and we even managed to get a few pictures.

Ode to Fall

Fall is officially here and I, for one, am thrilled. We finally get to experience Fall in all its splendor here- it is one of the things I love the most about living in Little Rock. There is so much to look forward to and love about this time of the year.

What I love about Fall...

• Changing leaves
• Cool, crisp mornings
• Pumpkin Spice lattes from Starbucks (although they always get trumped by the Peppermint Mochas that arrive with the holiday season)
• Apple cider
• Pumpkins
• Warm sweaters
• Hot soup on cold days
• Watching "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown"
• Spending the evening in front of a roaring fire
• Dressing up my kids for Halloween
• Trick-or-treating
• Meals prepared in the oven
• The Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade
• Thanksgiving dinner
• Black Friday shopping
• the onset of the holiday season

This Fall will bring many other blessings as we celebrate more of Sofia's "firsts" and, Lord willing, receive news of our future with or without Verizon and another possible relocation. Yes, Fall brings a lot to look forward to and I'm so glad it's here!