Pumpkin Fun

Larry's work in progress

Today was a pumpkin kind of day. Larry carved our pumpkin, and I baked a pumpkin pie and roasted our pumpkin seeds.

The day started with a great service at Grace Community. We went to the 8:30 service to allow plenty of time for pumpkin festivities, plus Walmart grocery trip and visit from Meme.

After church we went for a walk outside, found some neat looking leaves, found two new bell peppers on our pepper plant and oodles of new tomatoes. What a crazy October for gardening.

Toasted pumpkin seeds

We went inside and Larry got busy carving. Anna Claire loved playing in the pumpkin goo, and loved her job of separating the seeds from the goo. She did a great job! I really wish I had pictures of this, but I didn't want to get the camera yucky.

After the carving, Anna Claire helped me mix the pie filling, evaporated milk and eggs and pour it into the crust. She helped wash the pumpkin seeds by swishing them around in a sealed ziploc bag filled with water. Then we cut a tip in the bag and squeezed all of the water out of the bag.

pumpkin pie fan.

She enjoyed licking the pumpkin filling off the wooden spoon, and trying raw pumpkin seeds despite my advice not to. ;)

 As soon as I got her up from her nap, she declared, "I eat pie now! Yum yum!"

my pie!

We made our way downstairs, and tasted the yummy roasted pumpkin seeds with butter and sea salt. "Taste like popcorn!" Anna Claire noted.

Then we each devoured a warm slice of pumpkin pie with a dollop of vanilla ice cream. I have honestly never made nor liked pumpkin pie in my life, but my pie was delicious. Anna Claire approved with lots of  "Mmmmms," and the best compliment a cook can receive, "I have more please."

Not My Friend Anymore...

I am dumbfounded that I had this conversation with my two-year-old:
AC: (mentions friend's name)
Me: She's your friend, huh?
AC: No Mommy. (Friend) not my friend anymore. (Friend) no "hello" me anymore. (Friend) no hug anymore. (Friend) get time out.

No, you can't.

Anna Claire has been telling her toys and character friends they "can't" all day today. Larry and I both have completely different reactions to this, which I will share once you've read her convos:

Talking to a Ni Hao, Kai Lan! YeYe sticker: No, YeYe. You can't Halloween.


Talking to Rosie in her Caillou book: No, Rosie. You can't trick treat.


Talking to Blues Clues characters while watching the Steve Goes to College episode: No, Tickety. You can't go college. Pail, you can't go. Shovel, you can't go. No, Blue, you can't go.

Talking to her rubber duck at bath: Mommy, we have tea party. No, duck, you can't have tea party. You don't. Here Mommy. You have tea.

My take: I am worried Anna Claire is going to go to school tomorrow and tell her friends they "can't" do something and make them feel sad.

Larry's take: He thinks she's learning to make a distinction between real people and imaginary characters.

Pumpkin Patch and Fall Festival

Pumpkin Patch

We have had such a fun fall weekend. The trees are beautiful, and the temps perfect. Fall is my favorite season!

We wisely chose to go to Boyd's pumpkin patch Saturday morning. There was only one other family there. Anna Claire could run all over the grounds, up and down the rows of pumpkins, freely. She did enjoy that.

Anna Claire always enjoys when we go to Boyd's. She remembered us bringing her for corn during the summer and was telling us about it when we pulled up. She remembered the swings, and immediately began looking for them as soon as we got out of the car. She remembered sitting on the porch steps, waiting us to pay for the corn, and thought it important to re-live that as well.

I do think she was frustrated that the pumpkins were so heavy. We found a small one that I thought she could hold, but even it got the reaction, "No, Mommy carry it. It heavy."

She loves seeing the large pumpkin on our front porch as we come and go, and we also have a small one just for her upstairs which she enjoys. She has been asking me when we are going to cut it and put on a face. Answer: When Daddy is ready to do this!


Fall Festival

The Owen Fall Festival is fabulous. I'd recommend it to anyone with kids. We love Riverview Mounds Century Farms as well, and some say they think Owen is much better. I would just say it is a different experience. They both have their advantages!

Owen had inflatables, which AC wanted to get in, but ultimately told us she was too scared once we got her shoes off. We didn't force the issue.

Anna Claire enjoyed seeing all of the animals: chickens, ducks, goats, donkeys, pigs, cows, and rabbits. Our favorite was the "stunt goat." He would climb across a super high bridge with nothing below to catch him, should he fall. Over by the baby goat's pen was a big pile of mud. I remember thinking, "Knowing our luck she will fall right in that with her white shirt." I was later proven correct. Thank God for Shout.

The corn box (sand box type situation) was a big hit! Anna Claire loved walking in the corn, scooping it, and just holding it and lining kernels up along the railing. I was much less leery of the corn vs. sand, since you don't have to worry about them getting it in their eyes.

While we were there, we hit up the concession stand. Got her some Sun Chips and a hot dog, both of which were a hit, and drinks for us all.

They had a barrel train, pulled by a tractor. Anna Claire ran over to it many times while we were there and said, "I ride train." Then once we would lift her to put her in a train car, she would cry, "No! I don't!" As we were leaving, she finally got up the nerve to ride it. Good brave girl!

There was a little area with inflatable horses that the children could sit on and bounce on. Once again, Anna Claire wanted to, but cried when we attempted to put her on a horse.

Owen also had a painted wooden cow with faux udders filled with water that you could "milk." Anna Claire was amused by this. We explained to her that this is where milk comes from and reminded her that cows make milk, at which point she held her head under the udder and said, "Mmmm! Milk! Yum!" Larry and I both cried, "Nooooooo!"

We did not explore everything Owen had to offer, but it was enough to leave us with one happy child in the end.

Destin Vacation - continued...

For Monday and Tuesday's excursions, see previous post. :)

Wednesday: Went to the beach in the AM for our family beach photo shoot. Such high hopes I had. Fail. SO WINDY. The wind had our hair whipping us in the face.

Larry went to go change into his swimsuit and I changed AC into hers so she could just play.

That night was definitely a highlight. We went to Old Bay Steamer. Best meal we had the whole time, with the exception of the meal Larry made Tuesday. It was also the most enjoyable experience I've had dining out with Larry and Anna Claire since she was born. Everything was so thoughtful. They gave her crayons, there were crackers, little plates for her to try our food, and her meal even included fun kid food like string cheese, oreos, and berry apple sauce. Larry and I devoured lobster, crab, beer, and more Royal Red shrimp. Can't get enough of those!

Thursday: Spent the morning at the beach. Windy, but not as bad as yesterday. Anna Claire is so much more comfortable getting in the water and playing in the sand. We did not stay out long, as she seemed somewhat fussy, and we had many things on our agenda for today and didn't want her to be too tuckered out.

We thankfully decided to go to Destin Harborwalk. It is wonderful. It reminded me of being back in San Francisco near the Fisherman's wharf and Aquatic Park area. I loved to share that type of atmosphere with Anna Claire. She was able to see the boats docked at the harbor, and there were ramps everywhere so we could just relax and push her in the stroller. We stopped at a little cafe there and had a picnic lunch outside. Anna Claire loved eating outdoors and enjoyed her first ever smoothie. She had a children's pizza and we had sandwiches and chips, but of course everyone shared one another's food.

Back to the condo, then dinner. We went to AJs, hopeful that it would be a good dinner spot. It was outdoors, at Destin Harbor. The view was spectacular, but the wind was rough and they had no high chair. Anna Claire wallowed all over Larry. We did get to split 2 dozen oysters and down a beer. Despite our best efforts to occupy her, (taking her for walks and even buying her a stuffed monkey at their gift shop) she really worked us over. She was pretty good though considering we waited for an hour 20 minutes for food. We finally left, as it was getting close to her bedtime, settling for McD's. McD's is never "settling" in AC's mind though. I'm pretty sure if you asked her what her favorite restaurant is, that would be the answer.

Friday: My goal for the day was to somehow figure out a way for Anna Claire and her best friend Abby to somehow meet up before leaving Destin. We knew they were staying within 10 minutes of our condo. However, when I texted Abby's mom, she said they were already headed home. So disappointed.

We decided to venture out to Destin Commons, an outdoor mall with a fabulous play area for toddlers. We had just placed our lunch order at Johnny Rockets, and I was walking AC around the grounds to occupy her while we waited for our food. She saw the choo-choo train that tots can actually ride, ran over to it, and we saw a little girl there with her grandpa. I looked up at the little girl and said, "Abby?" It was Abby! The grandpa looked up at AC and said, "Anna Claire?" He remembered her from Abby's birthday party last month. :)

The girls had a ball riding the train, picking flowers, playing in the fountain, and climbing in the play area.

Then it was time for Abby to eat lunch and go home. We knew there were sprinklers built in the ground there, so we planned ahead and had packed a swimsuit. We changed AC and let her play in the water. Once we changed her back, we did some shopping. We got her new Crocs for winter, Coldstone Creamery ice cream, Starbucks, an Icee, and other things to spoil her I'm sure, that I'm just not remembering right now. Other people spoiled her as well. The Sephora lady gave her free samples, and the concessions lady saw how pitiful she was when I stopped her from eating a gummy bear she found on the ground. The lady gave her an entire cup of gummies!

We went back home for a bit, then went home and did some laundry and packing before hitting the sushi buffet. AC did try sushi. She will try anything which is fabulous.

Saturday: Headed home. Had to load up car and check out by 10am. We stopped off at Walmart to buy AC her first laptop (My Own Leaptop). She is liking it! It says and spells her name and we can even email her, and choose the music it plays.

We stopped at Sonic for lunch before heading out. Made stops at Peach Park (loved it - I could write an entirely separate blog just for it), and a nostalgic dinner stop at the O'Charley's at Fultondale exit, where we always ate with my dad.

At O'Charley's we tried having her sit in a booster seat. This lasted about 10 minutes. By that time we were begging the waiter to move us to a table where we could have a high chair.

Our big girl kept the same pull-up the entire 10 hour car ride home. She went potty in every public restroom we stopped at.

Destin - First time at the beach

Our trip began with a conscious decision to try to enjoy the journey of getting there as much as the actual vacation.

We are so proud of Anna Claire for keeping the same Pull-up the entire trip! She was such a big girl, using all of those public potties. She's never seen so many potties.

We made a nostalgic breakfast stop at Stan's Country Cooking at the Columbia Chapel Hill exit, where we always stopped with my dad en route to see his family in AL. We also stopped at the Alabama welcome center so AC could see "the rocket". We had planned to stop at Peach Park on the other side of Birmingham, but she was asleep when we passed through.

We arrived in Destin around 4 pm. We received a call from the condo owner that a seagull flew into one of the glass panels, shattering it, although I probably worried more about this during our stay than I should have. Anna Claire rarely passed by the panel.

Type-A as I am, we spent our first hour there just unpacking and getting settled in. We were all hungry and ill-equipped to cook anything in our condo, so we headed out to eat.

Anna Claire had requested noodles, so we picked nearby Carrabba's. There was a bit of a wait to get a table but she did great. We shared a plate of spaghetti and meatballs, and Larry got a different pasta dish that we could all share. They had 2 for 1 beer special too, which we took full advantage of. About midway through our meal, AC insisted on being held. From then on, we pretty much were counting down minutes til we got our check. :)

The next morning we awoke with coffee and doughnuts on our minds, so we headed out to Starbucks, and from there, to Destin's Donut Hole. The wait at the Donut Hole along with the wait at Carrabba's taught us to be a bit more strategic about our restaurant choices and what times we visited for the remainder of our trip.

Across the street from Donut Hole was Walmart. We agreed that we wanted to stock our kitchen from the get-go so that we would could pick up fresh fish from markets any time during our trip and be all set to prepare it.

At this point, I'm looking at a child who's been told she's at the beach, but 24 hours later, her little feet have yet to hit the sand. Poor baby. We would make it up to her later. We made many trips to the beach during our stay!

From here, we head back to our condo, and let baby bear take a nap before heading out to the water.

Larry carried her down to the beach, and we tried putting her down to walk. She gave it a go, but quickly got frustrated with losing her balance and asked to be carried. Larry tried putting her down once we got to the water, but she still wanted him to hold her, albeit with a big smile on her face. She loved being by the water. After a few minutes, she did allow him to put her down, and shortly thereafter found a seashell ("shea-sell"). It was misting rain and completely overcast, but we didn't care. We were bound to get wet anyway! It was a great first experience and I got some great pics out of the deal.

Talking to herself before nap.

We don't really NEED to use the monitor anymore, but we like to. I love to hear Anna Claire talk to herself  before she falls asleep.

I'm listening to her right now, and she is obviously excited about our trip to the beach, "I go beach Saturday. No. Monday. Tueday. Wedday. Fwiday.I go night night. I go sleep wight now."

My Favorite Videos This Week

It's so hard to choose which videos to share because I love them all! If I had to pick, these are my favorites for the week.

Video #1: Happy Daddy's Home. I have never received such a homecoming, but thought this was absolutely precious. Enjoy.

Video # 2: I love just sitting back and listening to her make up a dialogue for her toys. "Where is Pooh Bear? Where is Pooh Bear?" So cute.

Fun Saturday!

Today's agenda: "Foymahs Moyket", "Libawy", "Mac Donald", "Cotton ball" (translation: farmer's market, public library, McDonalds, carnival (Oktoberfest))

Farmers market: Got some ground beef from our Circle J guys, heirloom tomatoes, and we scored a farm-raised chicken, although I think Anna Claire is a bit scarred from the farmer talking about how most chickens are raised and how they eat their own poop. Gross.

Public library: I love when Larry and I both go. It's so much easier when one of us can pick out books and the other can watch her.

McDonalds: The child's favorite. She did great considering they were slammed and we had to wait 15 minutes to get our food. Getting to be such a patient big girl.

Oktoberfest: Fail. She couldn't ride any of the rides and was scared to go in the bounce house (so was I), which resulted in an extremely fretful little girl. "I wide airpwane! I wide motuh-cyco!"

Um, hell no. You're not riding it when I'm watching a boy a year older than you screaming, "Mommy, I don't like it! I get off!" and about to fall out of "airpwane".

She did enjoy funnel cake, pretzel, and the live music. Loved watching the dancers and all of the attention she got from the older folk.

I love fun Saturdays!