The Pumpkin Patch

No, we didn't go to the pumpkin patch in November. We went before Halloween. By now we already know that I am not proficient at writing posts as they happen. But I still want to record all the fun adventures of our little family.

Kate loved the pumpkin patch--she talked about it for weeks afterward. It was the first time since Brett and I have been married that we picked out pumpkins and carved them, so it was equally as fun for the two of us.

First we went on a little train that circled the pumpkin patch. We tried taking pictures of Kate on the train, but she was just way more interested in looking around at everything that was happening.

Kate kept on going up to various pumpkins and trying to pick them up. Then she would declare that they were "too heavy". 

It was exciting once we found some that were more her size!

We kept on trying to get Kate to pose for various cute pictures. She had about zero interest in looking at the camera.

Once Brett and I found some we liked Kate helped push the wheelbarrow around.

She loved watching the bees on the flowers.

And at the very end of our trip Kate got to pick out her very own little pumpkin. In truth she had picked out many pumpkins during our wanderings around the patch, but this was the one she got to take home.

It was the perfect fall outing for our little family.

Mommy and Me

Do you know how hard and frustrating it is to be a mom and have almost no good pictures of you with your kid? Yeah, I spend almost all day everyday with Kate, but when she looks back at the photos she might never know it. One day I was taking pictures of her and she decided she needed to sit in my lap, so we tried to take some together. We learned that clearly I need some help in the photography department. But at least we have some pictures to prove that we actually hang out together!

I originally started taking pictures because I thought she looked adorable in this dress

Classic finger up the nose pose

Terrible lighting, but I just love that smile

Together

Yup, mom rocks at this

Love this girl

Birthday Videos

And here is the birthday fun we were able to catch on video:

Happy Birthday 2 You!

My baby is now 2. And yes, I am writing this birthday post over a month after she had her birthday. I could make up lots of excuses for why that is--but I'll skip that. Here's what I was thinking about on and around her birthday:

I was thinking about the actual word: birthday. The day she was born. The day I gave birth to her. I was remembering that day, and reliving all of its sweetness in my mind. It was the day she grew our family. I could not have imagined how much joy she would bring to us. Her smile and laughter light up my life every single day. Sometimes I just look at her and kiss her and think about how beautiful she is. Everything about her little self is so amazing. I love watching her grow and learn. I love how I grow and learn when I am with her. Two years ago, I could never have perceived how I would be able to love someone as much as I love her.

Ok, now that I have released a small fraction of my mom emotions, I can write about her actual birthday. Like her previous birthday, it was a nice relaxing day. We opted to skip a party and just celebrate as a family.

 

We spent a good deal of the morning playing with Play-Doh. It is her favorite "toy". Sometimes she even asks to kiss the Play-Doh goodnight before she goes to bed.

Play-Doh was literally the only activity I had planned. Other than that I just let her take the lead and did pretty much whatever she wanted (including eating cinnamon toast crunch). Then when Daddy came home we had dinner, cake, and presents.

 

I am so grateful for the past two years I've spent getting to know this amazing little girl.

Conversations with Kate: Phone Call to my Belly

Kate: (Picks up my phone.) "Call Daddy!"
Me: "We can't call Daddy right now, he's at work. We can call someone else. Who do you want to call?"
Kate: "Annabel."

Annabel is the name we chose for her baby sister. Yup, my heart just melted.

Conversations with Kate: Sad Girl

I decided I need to start recording some of the hilarious things this girl says. It happens quite frequently, and I hate forgetting them. So I hope to start doing this more regularly.

Bedtimes have been rough recently, mostly because Kate tells me she just has to go potty, conveniently as soon as I put her in bed. Even if we literally just got off the potty. Of course, eventually she has to go to bed. And then the tears come. I have tried various tactics to avoid the whole crying thing. Here was what I said the other night:

Me: "Ok, Mommy is going bye-bye now. I want you to be a happy girl."
Kate: (In a very dejected voice) "All done happy girl."

Well, at least she's honest.

Our "staycation"

Note: I found this post lurking around in the "drafts" section of Kate's blog. Apparently I forgot to publish it after I wrote it. So it is actually from mid to late July. Oh well, here it is!

So Brett has had (most) of this week off of work. Tuesday was his first full day off and we were supposed to go to my midwife appointment, but my midwife had someone in labor and so she canceled last minute. But I was already wearing makeup before 10am - I was not about to waste all the effort it took me to stand in front of my mirror for five minutes. We decided we would take Kate and Deacon on a little "walk" to get out of the house. A walk turned into a 3.5 mile hike. But hey, at least I was wearing makeup for the excursion! It was a fun start to the week.

The next day we went to Santa Cruz to go on another hike around the cliffs of the ocean. It was so breezy and beautiful. Kate fell asleep in her stroller for maybe the second time in her life.

Today we meant to go to the Gilroy Garlic Festival. However at about midnight last night Brett and I did some research and discovered that the festival includes a lot of dirt, heat, long lines, crowds, and traffic. I don't like dirt and heat. Brett can't stand long lines or big crowds. Kate prefers exploring to being strapped into a stroller. And nobody likes traffic. So we decided this was probably not a good fit for our family and instead took Kate to Happy Hollow Zoo. So fun! Kate loved seeing all the animals, getting to run around, and going on her first "rides". I'm glad we decided to stay local today.

And tomorrow we are off to El Dorado Hills to visit family there and to let Kate hang out with her cousins Gemma and Marek before they move to Texas. Kate is very excited about this and keeps on saying, "See Kira! See Kira!". Kira is Grandma's dog. I think she might be Kate's favorite relative (just don't tell Grandma that).

Another note: These first three pictures of Kate on the boat are from around July 4th, not during our "staycation". But I think they are cute :)

Hanging out with cousin Emma

Chilling on the wake surfboard

Hiking along the coast in Santa Cruz

Some seals we saw on our hike - Kate liked watching them play in the water

At Happy Hollow Zoo

Feeding the goats

Going on her first ride. After it was over she was yelling "again!"