My Little Pumpkin

Today is my birthday! Part of something I wanted to do for my birthday and for the Hallquist Oktoberfest was to go to a pumpkin patch and take some fun pictures of Stone and us with Stone. We took these pictures on Monday and they turned out great. Stone wasn't sure what to think of the pumpkins, but more interesting to him was the dirt in which the pumpkins rested. He tasted dirt for the first time and rather liked it, so we had to put an end to his early snack! At the pumpkin patch where we visited, there were also apple orchards you could go through to pick out your own apples, a corn maze (really, it was a "corn trail" as you couldn't get lost in it because there was only one trail through the "corn maze" with signs of apple facts posted along the way, just in case you did get lost in the corn trail, i mean maze), you could take a hay ride and there was an area where kids could play that included hay bales, and there were farm animals to look at (not pet or touch) such as pigs, a donkey, goats, cows, chickens, turkeys, a lama and peacocks. Okay, are peacocks and lamas really farm animals?? Whatever, they were there. We had a fun time and it was a good autumn day--overcast, cool but not too cool, and just kind of lazy. I love fall, partly because my birthday is in the fall, but also because of the changing leaves, the cooler weather, the crispness in the air, hayrides, bonfires, football games (in moderation) and the anticipation of Thanksgiving and Christmas, which usually mean quality family time spent together. I'm thankful to be able spend the Hallquist Oktoberfest with my husband and son.

This coming weekend, we plan to travel to WV to visit my family and celebrate Stone's 1st birthday again as well as ours. I look forward to visiting with my family and some dear friends and also look forward to even cooler weather. (sidebar: My mother-in-law thinks we've had cool weather here in SC, but she's also never lived farther north than SC before! She hails from Louisiana and Mississippi where they barely have a fall or spring and for that matter, a winter. I just smile at her when she says she's cold and then tell her that I'll inform her when it actually gets cold here!)

Here are the pictures of our pumpkin patch adventure!

Stone's 1st Birthday!

Hooray! Stone turned 1 yesterday and we had the 1st of 2 birthday parties for him. He wasn't sure what to think, but had a good time, despite teething and not feeling too good. I don't have any close ups of him eating his cake on my digital, so those pictures will have to be posted later. He wasn't sure of that either, but finally got into it and thought it was neat sticking his hands and fingers into yummy icing. He also wasn't too interested in opening presents, so he left that up to me. His grandma got him a laptop computer, since he likes ours so much. The picture of him with the red toy that looks like a laptop is what he played with most of the time. They also got him a cool red wagon, that he and his cousin Mercy climbed into. Later that day, their Aunt Meredith took them for a ride around the neighborhood in it and she said they had a ball. It was a fun time and we rejoice in celebrating one year with our little one. We also got him a yellow school bus pop-up tent that he seemed to enjoy too.

On other news, it's Kevin's birthday today. His biggest wish for his birthday is a full-time job. I wish I could produce that for him, but all I can do is pray. I did brighten up his evening by giving him the 6th season of the West Wing, which he enjoys watching the episodes over and over again (thanks to family, he already has seasons 1-5). He also enjoyed leftover cake from Stone's massive cake I made (I got a little ambitious!). I told him I'd make us a birthday cookie in a few days, once the rest of the cake is gone.

So, the pictures are below. I'll hopefully be able to post more, as I get some back from my non-digital camera soon. Oh, on Stone's shirt, it says "It's fun to be one!" in case you can't read it. It sure is a lot of fun being one, instead of 32! Oops, I just gave away my age.. well, at least I'll be 32 in a few days and not there yet! Ha! Happy Birthday Stone! We love you!