October 10

My MOPS group had its annual visit to the pumpkin farm today. 

Do you remember last year's visit? I love taking the kids to the same places each year because it reminds me how much they've grown and changed. For example, last year Daisy slept in her wrap the whole time. Not this year!

(Warning: prepare for photo overload. If you need to use the restroom, now might be a good time. Also, grab something sweet to munch on. You may need the sustenance.)

Caleb chose his outfit. I had something else picked out for him, but he insisted on the pirate sweater. I really do enjoy his new desire for independence!

The pumpkin farm has chickens. Because, why not? Caleb was so excited about the chickens, and ran up to them, saying, "Chickens must run free! Chickens do not belong in cages!" 

It would seem that his good friend Louise, the adventurous chicken, has thoroughly indoctrinated him. Good thing we returned that book to the library today! (Actually, it's not a good thing. He doesn't realize yet that I returned her. He will be quite upset about it!)

Daisy loved all of the animals, although she seemed to prefer them from the safety of her perch on my back (via the Ergo carrier). When I put her at ground level, she was a bit hesitant.

(Side note: she has an apple in her hand. I grabbed three apples before we left the house - two for the kids' lunch, and one for me to snack on while I drove. But the newly forward-facing Caleb spied my apple and immediately demanded one of his own. And once Caleb got an apple, Daisy insisted on having one, too. By the time we arrived at the pumpkin farm, twenty minutes later, Caleb had gnawed his apple down to a nubbin. Daisy had finished half of hers and fallen asleep. She woke when I put her in the Ergo, and in a panic she shouted, "Ah-puh! Ah-puh!" 

So I gave the girl the half-eaten apple and she carried it around with her for the next two hours. Not even kidding. She occasionally gnawed on it with her seven little teeth, dropped it a few times, and eventually consumed most of it. Funny girl.)

I asked Caleb to stand next to Daisy so that I could take a picture, and he did this. 

And then my heart melted.

What a sweet boy!

Daisy really liked the baby cow.

Sometimes her sweet brother gave her more help than she needed.

Then we moved on to the corn boxes. These things are awesome, even if Daisy did end up with corn down her shirt and in her shoes and in her diaper.

Caleb was feeling pretty bold this year.

This may or may not be related to the fact that Daddy has been helping him practice cannonballs on our bed.

He was pretty pleased with his giant leaps!

Another crowd-pleaser? The ride-on mini-tractors. I think Caleb is shooting a threatening glance at whichever child is scheming to get the tractor away from him.

How did the corn end up down her shirt and in her diaper? Oh, yes. That's how.

Also, please note that her feet are completely buried in corn. That's how it ended up in her shoes.

This boy, who is often so hesitant and timid and shy, had so much fun playing with his MOPS friends!

My sweet MOPS mamas. This was only a quarter of the group here today, but it's almost all of the ladies at my table. We rock.

Caleb loved the horsey swing. Daisy wanted nothing to do with it.

Daisy also wanted nothing to do with this tractor, but she didn't realize that until she was up in the seat.

(Do you see the apple still in her hand?)

Then we took a tractor-wagon ride. Yep, still eating the apple.

And then Caleb found the giant tunnel slides. Normally, Caleb would look at something like this and really want to do it, but be too afraid. After lots of  coaxing and encouraging from me, he might be willing to try it if I went with him. Not today. This kid saw the slides and took off running, going down over and over again. (Almost like a normal kid!) He was so, so happy.

And me? I was so, so happy, too.

And though the afternoon involved rough naps, I had the joy of watching my children (and my husband) play on our swingset while I made dinner. I had our handy men (Dan and Terry) position it so that I could watch Caleb and Daisy play from my kitchen window. What fun! When I saw this happening, I had to come out and snap a few pictures.

Chris tucked Brown Bear into the swing with Daisy, and she was beyond pleased.

Brown Bear seemed to enjoy it, too.

And this boy? Well, the key component of his Halloween costume arrived in the mail today. I'm pretty sure it was his best day ever.