Pumkin Carving

Tonight, we carved our pumpkin for Halloween.  I really thought that Carder would enjoy dipping his hands into the pumpkin guts and pulling out a handful of seeds and pulp.

Derek ran to the store for some newspapers to spread on the floor to contain the mess and I did my best to convince Carder that the big orange sphere on the counter was NOT A BALL while I sketched our design on the front.

We sat in the floor and got started.  He was a bit skeptical of the orange gooiness and preferred to sit on my lap and watch as we cleaned the pumpkin out.

He was much happier stirring the seed/pulp mixture with the scoop than he was with getting his hands dirty.

After the carving was finished, we turned out the lights and lit up the Jack-O-Lantern so that he could see the masterpiece we had just created as a family and was prepared for him to stare at it in awe.

He still thinks it's a ball...  Oh well.  Maybe next year he will understand the difference...

A Visit to the Pumpkin Patch

This year, Michigan had some spectacular fall colors.  I had purchased an awesome plaid shirt with the idea that we would take Carder to a pumkin patch and get some incredible pictures...

But the weather didn't cooperate.  The first 2 weekends of October were cold and very rainy.  The third weekend we were in Georgia and the weather in Michigan was perfect for Pumpkin Patch-ing.  That left us with the weekend before Halloween...

The weather left something to be desired - it was quite cold and windy.  So, the plaid shirt that I had purchased remained in the closet and was replaced with a warmer sweater.  It wouldn't have been seen under his winter coat, anyway.

Our first stop was at a corn maze/pumpkin patch and there were about 10-15 pumkins left.  There was a horse drawn carraige ride, but since Carder had missed a nap and wasn't in the best of moods, we decided to skip it.  This stop was a total bust - with the exception of the fresh donuts we bought...

Then we drove to another location - it wasn't quite the "patch" I had envisioned as the pumkins were spread out on their front lawn and the actual patch was no where in sight.  But, the owners had built this neat Pumkin Castle out of hay bales and pumpkins.  It was actually a perfect location for a 16 month old.  The castle had a single entrance, the walls blocked some of the wind, and we had the place to ourselves. 

Carder ran all over the castle looking excitedly at pumpkins (or "Balls!" as he called them) and attempting to pick them up.  It was quite amusing to watch him wrestle with the heavier pumkins in his attempt to throw them.

We did FaceTime with both sets of Grandparents, snapped a few pictures, and purchased a couple of beautiful orange pumpkins.

Other moments not to be forgotten from this adventure?
At the first stop, Carder ran excitedly towards the corn maze and face planted getting a mouth full of dirt...
At the second stop, Carder managed to step in some sort of poop and get it all over my pants leg while we were there, too.