Pumpkin Time!

October, 2008

October, 2009

A year ago, we toted our chubby pink-bunny-to-be to the Pumpkin Farm by Grandma and Grandpap's house and let her explore all the excitement of Fall, holding onto our fingers to walk unsteadily around in her very first pair of shoes. I couldn't wait to see what this year would bring for our soon-to-be-lovely-ladybug at the Farm, this time with some additional family. Papa Sam was in town, so we planned to go with him, Nonna, Aunt Mia, Uncle Les and the cousins to share in the fun of hay stacks, old tractors, face-painting, kettle corn, hot apple cider, the ever-daunting corn maze, and of course, piles and piles of pumpkins!

What a busy day! Lyla's day actually started out bright and early (or should we say dark and early?) in order to get her 18-month pictures taken with Kristina from Visual Empathy. We met at the Botanical Gardens in Ft. Worth and had a wonderful time wandering around and snapping pictures wherever a good shot caught her eye. Lyla managed a good hour of spotlight action before she got tired and hungry. As always, we can't wait to see what beautiful moments Kristina captured.

We then met up with the rest of the Q's for a picnic at a local park, since the Pumpkin Farm didn't open until 1:00. We stuffed our faces and ran care-free around old Kidsville, played some sand volleyball and of course, I snapped a few pictures. We hopped back over to the Farm shortly after for all the aforementioned fall festivities. Napless Lyla wasn't quite as exuberant as I had anticipated, but a good time was had by all. She went through the corn maze with her Uncle Les, we snacked on fresh kettle corn and apple cider, played on the old tractor, posed in the farmer cutouts, picked out some pumpkins and packed ourselves up to head back to our place. Of course, I took some pictures along the way... Lyla crashed before exiting the parking lot.

Have a gander at the additions to my October album.

Beach Baby!

Well, we just returned from our first family vacation! It would be a bold-faced lie to say we're happy to be home, with a new workweek looming just 8 hours away, a dishwasher to unload, laundry to tackle, carpet to vacuum, poop to scoop and bills to pay...

On Wednesday night, we packed my sister's Tahoe up with beach clothes, enough food, toys, and games for a long weekend. Thursday morning we dropped the dog off at Grandma's and headed southeast about six hours to Surfside Beach. We were a bit nervous about how Lyla would fare being in the car for so long, but she managed to shock us with a surprisingly painless trip. She cat-napped a few times, snacked, busied herself with toys and books, and of course, a couple Elmo videos. Just as we were reaching our limit, we arrived!

The weekend weather wasn't all that great, but even being inside from the chilly rain was relaxing - how can it not be with the gulf coast waves rolling in just over the dunes? We were fortunate enough to have a couple of afternoons in the mid to upper seventies - what we deemed "sitting on the beach" weather. The rest of the time, we took short walks and I, of course, experimented with the camera, all the while adoring my curious toddler as she explored all the wonders of the seashore. We collected some shells, traced letters in the sand, made sand "cakes" and sang "Happy Birthday" (then blew out the shell-candle and ate the cake, of course), poked at a dead jellyfish, filled the bucket with water, buried our feet and then tried to find them, got especially sandy, and all in all had a lovely, relaxing time.

Sunday, getting a little stir crazy from being stuck inside, we decided to take a little nap-time drive into Galveston to go to the Moody Gardens Aquarium. Being nap time, we thought our girl might actually sleep on the hour drive there, but she opted out, making for an interesting trip through the exhibits. She seemed a bit more interested in pushing her own stroller, climbing on each and every bench and hanging from any and every railing, than in watching fish through glass. The penguins caught her eye a bit more, and so did the one giant sea turtle that swam over us inside the water tunnel, but mostly she was just crabby and testing the limits. She took it upon herself to nap on the way home, instead.

Monday, we had to pack up and head back to life... back to reality (yes, it's been stuck in my head ALL DAY!). This time, the drive was a little less smooth, since our girl knew what she was in for, but we made it, thanks to Elmo and Shannon's fancy DVD-playing SUV.

It was a much needed vacation! I think we should do it every week. Well, maybe not every week...

More pics at Picasa, as usual!

The 18-Month Mark!

One of my little girl's favorite things to do is "watch Lyla." She grabs my finger and leads me to the office, guiding me to the computer desk, upon which sits the "watching device" - that magical thing with all its snippets of digital video that some crazy woman has collected over the last 1.5 years. At random throughout the day, even in the midst of some of the most exciting toddler-geared activities, she will emphatically nod while asking (demanding), " 'atch 'yla?!" Whether it be the techie side to her (thanks, Daddy) or her egocentric 18-month-old ways, she sure knows what she wants. She's even figured out how to browse the thumbnails and point out exactly which video she wishes to watch, very rarely selecting anything from her younger year, as she doubtfully recognizes the strange blob inching her way around on the carpet, drooling and making strange gurgling noises. No, that's not Lyla. That's a baby.

That doesn't stop Mommy, however, from reminiscing about that precious blob. It seems so very long ago and hardly a glimpse of it remains in my memory, so I am ever-grateful for that crazy woman and all her video-taking.

No other year will make such a difference in her life. At no other time will she not be able to
recognize herself or at least make a connection from one September to the next. How odd! Looking back just one year ago, the changes are astounding. Here is a snippet from this time last year, when I was utterly shocked that the first six months had already passed.

And here she is now:

Daycare update: We were just hitting smooth waters when both of Lyla's teachers left Premier. She has had to transition again, now to two new teachers. Thankfully, one was able to shadow Mrs. Ashley before she left. She hasn't been crying at drop off this week, but for some reason cries when the class goes on their walks. And her teacher asked me today if she ever talks. HA! It made me laugh because well, yes. She talks non-stop at home. But it made me sad, too, because she is clearly not herself when she's there. Maybe a few more weeks and she'll open up a little more.