Fall is for ...pumpkins!

We love October around here...sunny days, brisk evenings, the trees are getting glorious...and the festivals! We were able to take in a few fun fall things this season. Here are some pics from his class visit to the local church pumpkin patch.

This is Shepard's face when we came around the corner and he saw all the pumpkins. With his friend Grayson.

Soccer

Fall soccer season! Our first time with a team sport (any sport, I guess). We got to play soccer "games," like volcano, run like a cheetah, red light/black light (dancing)...after a rough few weeks, he ended up really enjoying it. Or possibly enjoying the trip to McDonald's for a chocolate sundae after he went on the field. We love ROAR sports. They do a great job making it really fun for the little ones.

Miscellaneous summer fun

Super-Boy on his bike at Riverwalk

More matrix

Sweetness

In the middle of Gigi and Mommy

Carousel ride GIF

Painting in the driveway

Doodling

Back to the books

Here I am in front of my school. Ready to learn!

Growing up. Sniff. Sniff.

I will hold it up high, like this!

Hi new friends. Ms. Chamberlain and Ms. Boone pictured. Ms. Milem, not pictured

Summer fun

We wrapped up summer with lots of fun. Found a cool park in Salisbury about an hour away and had a blast hanging with Gigi and Pops.

"Picnic with friends"

Carousel boy

Carousel buddies

How does it work?

Cutie.

Come on!

Animals.

Hi, rooster.

Hi dear. I mean, deer.

Donkey.

The Matrix.

July visits

We are just going to pretend that I didn't take a 7-month break from this blog, upload and back-date everything, and keep moving. Right? Right.

Uncle Harry and Aunt Suzi came to visit! And we had the weirdest wet and cold weather in JULY in SOUTH CAROLINA. Aunt Suzi had to wear a fleece the whole time. Just bizarre. But we tried to eek out a little fun anyway. I did a fairly poor job of getting a whole-group shot, so here are some highlights. We attempted a visit to the botanical garden, but were only able to view some sculptures and the indoor orchid house before the rain came again.

veggie tacos

CHEEEEESE!

They are now BFF's

Mommy attempted to take cool flower pictures. She mostly got pictures that resemble cool flower pictures.

Daddy made a snack run to the car for little man.

Pops in the rain.

Men on a mission. Uncle Harry is actually an undercover botanist.

Four. More four.

Statistics for the four-year-old:

HEALTHY! Praise God, we didn't go to the doctor between July 2013 and July 2014. And he's in full-time preschool. Miracles, y'all.

Height: 44.25" (98th percentile)

Weight: 39.2 lb. (72nd percentile)

So, long and lean. And yes, he has outgrown almost all of his summer shoes. We're in about an 11.5 now.
 

Discovering the simple beauty of a McD's sundae.

 

His eating has gotten pickier and pickier. He loves chicken and rice. He prefers raw veggies over cooked, and will eat broccoli, carrots, peas and anything with marinara sauce. He will also eat Thai curry and Mai Fun noodles like a champ, but will not touch a hamburger. His favorite is probably pizza or spaghetti or "cheesy noodles" (fettuccine alfredo). Loves chick-fil-A nuggets and any form of ice cream and chocolate.


Bedtime is a struggle. Astonishingly, when the lights go out, he is "STARVING!!!!!" (in a dramatic fashion)

Matching pajamas (same size, even) with cousin Micah.

"Mommy, my tummy is squishy. I'm STARVING."

"Ok, do you want a banana or applesauce?"

"Not that food, Mommy. I need cheese crackers..."

And on and on we go. He likes to have company when he falls asleep. Usually in the form of Mommy. No matter what we try, he says he scared of being in his room by himself. Extra lights, stories, special teddy bears, checking in every few minutes...sigh. It's been a long year or so with that. We're tired.

Google made a SWEET GIF of his candle-blowing at the party! (photos by mommy)

He recently began doing somersaults. Just flips right over. And climbing EVERYTHING. His favorite climbing apparatuses are sofas and dressers.

Shepard and cousin Madeleine enjoying the Fourth of July

His favorite toys are anything that he can involve someone else in. We've discovered the joys of a watergun recently. He likes all of his cars a lot. He really likes to paint or color or cut paper. He likes to build walls with his Gigi at the Lego table. He likes to play store, fashion show, light show (dancing around with glow sticks and light-up shoes), build-a-castle/house, and catch.

Squirtgun + tub o' water = happy

Favorite shows right now are "Sammy 2" (Turtle Tale 2), "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," and "The Reef/Reef 2."

Favorite books are "Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site," "Knuffle Bunny" (1 & 2), "The Foot Book," "The Lorax," and "Llama Llama, Red Pajama."

Climbing

A conversation we just had: We talk about putting all our questions for the day into a "question box" so our brain(s) can rest and go to sleep. This is his side of the conversation with my um-hums and return questions omitted.
"My question box is tight, Mommy...It's very full of questions. And it has lots of buttons...My 'whys' are fragile...when you say 'I don't know,' they break...my 'whys' are made of green glass...and they're fragile...there are lots of buttons on my question box, and they are automatic." 

Mommy shed a few tears thinking about the beauty of all of that. I get so worn out from answering the non-stop flow of questions. But they are so precious to him. We asked him recently why he asks so many questions. "Because I need to know things I don't know yet." Well, when you put it that way...

Love and hugs. I love to watch you grow and learn. ~Mommy & Daddy