Jack-o-lanterns

This was out first venture with pumpkin carving.  Since Avery's not quite old enough to draw shapes or understand the concept of drawing and cutting out a face, we decided to go with something a little more recognizable to her.  She liked the idea of doing the same thing that Jeremy and I were doing, but she was not into the "guts" of the pumpkin.  I had her tough it, and she promptly replied, "GROSS!"

She decided to do a little "carving" of her own by simply poking tiny holes in the pumpkins.

So, while Avery poked holes, I traced and cut out the faces.  Jeremy and Avery eventually got tired of waiting on me to get them done, and went out for dessert while I finished up.  They came back to find two completed pumpkins...

Mickey and Minnie!

Fall Fun

This fall has been picture-perfect as far as weather goes, so we have been taking advantage of it.  Who would have thought that we'd still be wearing shorts at the end of October, but it sure made the fall festivities more fun to do in the warmth.

Jeremy and I used to go to a local corn maze every fall, but haven't been so loyal the past few years.  I really thought that this would be the year that Avery would get a lot of enjoyment out of the corn maze, but unfortunately it wasn't the hit that I had hoped for.  The trip started out great...

Avery was really excited to see exactly what a maze was and how it worked.  I had anticipated her loving the ability to control where we went and being able to just run around, and she did...for about the first 5 minutes!

We also found a bridge that went up over the corn field to connect two paths through the maze...I think that was Avery's favorite part of the entire trip.

After the bridge, the trip to the corn maze went downhill quickly.  The ability to run around freely lost its appeal, and Avery wanted to be carried, which wasn't exactly what Jeremy and I had in mind.  So, we had a short stay at the corn maze and instead went home to play in the backyard...a much bigger hit.  Maybe next year!

That evening, we had our first official "movie night" with popcorn and everything.  Avery got to choose her own movie, "Rio," and she watched the entire thing.  She has really developed quite the attention span considering her age.  It seems that she has the ability to really focus on most things in front of her for an extraordinary amount of time, this night it happened to be a movie.

Another amazing fall weekend led us to the Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival.  We went last year as well, and had just as much fun this year as we did last year.  The woodworker's group was there again this year providing cars for the kids to make and take home...Avery loved it!

Driving her new car!

We took pictures next to the giant pumpkins...

climbed stacks of straw bales...

and most importantly, rode horses, which were new this year!  This was Avery's first time riding on a "big horse."  I thought she might be a little afraid, but she surprised us all.  She climbed right up there and was ready to go with no need for Jeremy and me to be around.

She's turning into quite the little rider.

Yet another fall weekend involving horses...the Homecoming Parade.  As you can tell by the attire, the weather wasn't quite as nice this weekend, but we had a great time anyway.  It was no surprise to us that Avery's favorite part was the policemen on horses (they even beat out the candy).

Jeremy provided a perfect breakfast consisting of cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate.

Yet another fantastic fall weekend led us to Peach Tree Farms for their "fall festival."  There were lots of goats to feed and pet,

baby chicks to look at

and sunflowers to run through.

This goat promptly ate all of the food in Avery's cup then proceeded to devour the cup as well.

This was the closest thing that we could come up with to a real horse at this particular location...a straw horse.  Avery didn't seem to mind that it wasn't real.

Avery also had her first experience with face-painting.  It went really well, and she loved looking at the balloon on her face for the rest of the day.

Happy Half Birthday

 The day didn't really start out as a celebration of Avery's half birthday, but in the end it kind of ended up that way.  We started the morning with a safety event at Home Depot that included a landing of the medical helicopter in the parking lot.  The special build for the day was a wooden helicopter that Avery is hammering away at.

We met McGruff the Crime dog and got stickers and balloons from him...she didn't want to get too close though.

Then it was time to wait for the helicopter landing.  It was very loud and windy, but Avery loved it.

Once it landed, the kids were able to climb into the helicopter, look around and ask questions of the pilot and other members of the flight team.  Everyone was so nice and Avery just thought the helicopter was the coolest thing.

Smokey the Bear also made an appearance.  Avery was a little less apprehensive of him and actually gave him a hug.

After a busy morning and a nap to refresh, we went back outside to enjoy the fantastic weather.  It was so nice outside that Jeremy and I decided to give Avery what we decided to call a "half birthday present," but what was actually a Christmas present that we bought early and got so excited about that we ended up giving it to her early.  It was just such nice weather that we couldn't resist.

While Avery got a bicycle for her second birthday, she still hasn't been able to pedal the bike.  So, Jeremy and I thought that while technically a back-step, a tricycle would probably be a good idea.  Once we picked one out (by actually letting Avery sit on them and choose which one she liked), we just couldn't wait for her to have it since the weather was perfect to be outside and would not be come Christmas.  It was a success!  She loves it!