Updates . . . continued

Just to clarify, I'm "catching up" my blog to the present day . . . right now I'm only 4 weeks behind! So, these entries are not representative of what I am doing right now (which is mainly play with Eva/work/sleep/blog - the lack of /eat/ could be why I haven't had to go back to WW yet). So, on to the past!

Oct.12-Oct. 26

The cold season is officially upon us, and with it, snotty noses. John caught Eva's cold and ended up staying home from work on Monday, 10/13, which worked out great for me, since I got WAY more sleep than I usually do sans child care. Eva's nose was running full-force as usual, especially after waking up from naps, and when I finally woke up from my sleep, John shared this joyful moment with me (this should help all you moms of boys feel a little less nice-clean-girl-envy):

Eva was playing on the floor with her toys and John was laying on the couch. He looked over and saw that she had some kind of string that she was playing with, pulling it through her fingers and stuffing it in her mouth. He rushed over to take it away from her, only to discover that it was not a string, but rather a long line of . . . snot. Delicious! John is usually really good about keeping her nose wiped, but the copious secretions just got the best of him this time. Ah well, it will be a childhood memory we cherish forever.

On Thursday we headed to the pumpkin patch with Annie, Dylan, Eli and Eric. We thought it would be a good time to go as far as crowds - who else is out picking pumpkins on Thursday at 10 am? Turns out, every child in daycare in Champaign/Urbana. Apparently, day cares take buses to the pumpkin patch - who knew? So, after touring the grounds of Curtis Orchard amid small, screaming children and the rare adult, we headed out to the patch. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a hike, but we were just sure it would be worth it - what better way to capture fall memories that to snap candid photos of the kids amid pumpkins on the vine? Upon our arrival to the "patch" (and after seeing it, I would use that term loosely) we discovered that there were approximately 3 pumpkins left that had not been picked. There were several rotten, exploded pumpkins available for backdrops, but that just didn't have quite the right ambiance. Also, it had rained about 2 inches over the previous 48 hours, so the ground was pretty much pure mud. See below for the fantastic picture I was able to snap of Eva and Uncle Eric "enjoying" the fall setting:

You can see how much she loved it! Luckily, after the trek back to the main orchard grounds, we were not only able to take some much cuter, smiling pictures, we also stocked up on all kinds of delicious fall goodies. Eric and Annie both got apple cider slushies, and everyone had some apple donuts. Eli especially enjoyed those!

Fall is my favorite time of year. I love so much about it: cooler temperatures, the leaves changing, comfort foods like apple pie and soup, and of course, my birthday! This year was typical of my birthday celebration - it lasted for over a week. I am very lucky to have such great friends and family. I went out for birthday dinner, birthday breakfast, birthday lunch, and then had a home-cooked birthday meal including cake from my mom! Awesome!

After cleaning out my house for my garage sale, I have learned that I would rather have memories than things - easier to store and I still like them after a year or two!

Other Eva highlights:

10/14 : Eva put one of her stacking toys on her head - surely an important milestone.

10/21 : I put a bite on Eva's spoon for her and put it in her hand. She ate it off perfectly, and then threw the spoon on the floor and now I cannot find it. I think it is under the bookcase.

10/25 : I created a life-long phobia of pumpkins for Eva by placing her naked (except a diaper) in a cold, slimy, REAL pumpkin for pictures. She got over it.