I'm sorry for being MIA over the last few weeks. I couldn't believe when I realized that my last post was just about a month ago...um, how is that possible? The last time I was missing for such a long time, I had some big news to announce. No big news this time, but just life running by oh so quickly. I've spent the last few weeks seemingly slogging through the weekdays (albeit on autopilot some days) and really taking time to soak up our weekends...living in the moment, without whipping my camera out at every turn. It's been fun, but I've missed blogging! This post is a long one, so hang on to your hats!
This past weekend, we took Penelope pumpkin picking. It's like an annual right of passage before Halloween, and it was made significantly more fun this year with a little one in tow. We weren't sure how much she'd really enjoy the experience, but being the inquisitive little baby that she is, P practically ate it right up.
We drove a bit North to Hillsdale's Demarest Farms for the pumpkin pick. The farm is complete with hayrides, pumpkin and apple picking, some small animals for feeding and an extensive farm store with many delectables for its visitors. We planned the day to wake up, get ourselves together and head out in hopes of beating the crowds. I'm happy to report that arriving by 10:45AM really made a difference. Just after we arrived, the lines seemed to get significantly longer for both the farm store and hayrides!
We started out our trip with a hayride to the pumpkin patch. Being a neurotic first time Mom, I was a little nervous about taking my 8-month-old on a hayride, but I just held on tight and we made it. Penelope had no idea what was going on, but she loved looking around at everything!
When we arrived at the pumpkin patch, we headed straight for the animal pen. We showed Penelope the baby cow and little goats.
Shaun also purchased some feed to entice them over our way!
Though the animals were limited, I know Shaun was beyond excited to bring Penelope to see them. He's one excited Daddy ;)
We then wandered over to the pumpkin patch for some photo-ops and to pick out our pumpkin, of course. I found the grassiest patch I could so that P could sit and play (and I could hopefully catch some of it on camera).
Of course, the first thing she did was try to get grass directly into her mouth. It took a little coaxing to get her to see the pumpkins, but once she did, it was all over.
Despite many {many} attempts to get her attention for a little pumpkin posing, she was completely smitten with the pumpkin. Since she loved this giant one so much, we decided that was the one she needed to have. (And I have a fun plan for what we're going to do with it, so stay tuned!).
Take a hike, Mom, I'm busy!
After we were properly pumpkinned, we hitched a hayride back to the farm and to snack on some of the local eats.
No fall farm visit is complete without apple cider and apple cider donuts. We also shared this amazingly delicious (yet somewhat greasy) potato pancake.
Even Penelope had some of the soft potato and she agreed that it is one of life's greatest treats.
All in all, it was a great day. Penelope was a champ...she saw her first cow, played in the dirt, picked a pumpkin and we had a fun time just being a family of 3 on an autumn weekend!