Pumpkin Patch!

Today was Matt's preschool pumpkin patch trip that they invited the whole family to.  I was seriously SO excited to go, I'm not gonna lie, I love pumpkin patches. This pumpkin patch in particular was probably the best that I've been to.  It was Lakeview Farm which was about a 15 min drive from our house.  Nate and I decided that Oregon has really cool pumpkin patches because there is so much competition they have to keep one-upping each other.  I for one am really glad because everyone that we have been to has been great.
Matt was nervous the whole week to go to it though, which is kind of funny.  We told him about the boat ride and the train ride that would be there and showed him pictures, which to our surprise just made his anxiety worse about going.  You see, Matt doesn't really like the idea of new situations and will get really upset about trying new things, something we've been trying to help him overcome.  He started to get a little better as the week went on, probably because there was a lot of excitement from the other children. However, once we arrived at the farm and started to buy our tickets he had a complete melt down.  We decided to eat our picnic lunch near where the boat was so he could see how slow the boat went and how much fun the children were having riding it.

He was giggling with excitement as he watched the boat and we were feeling pretty confident that he would be okay with that aspect of the pumpkin patch.  The next obstacle was the train ride.  This pumpkin patch is unique in the way that it takes people by train to the patch and takes them back by boat (or the other way around, depending on what one prefers).  Luckily Matt saw one of his friends from school get in line for the train with his family and Matt was set on us getting in line.

He was so happy waiting in line for the train:

Getting on the train was a different story:

You may not be able to completely tell from this picture but he was pretty sulky and wanted to get off.  Before we even started going.

The rest of us were all smiles:

After the train started going, Matt realized it wasn't a fast train and his worries were subsided.

What a cute train:

Everyone, especially Matt loved the pumpkin patch itself, especially since there was an adorable little hay maze.  Matt went through it three times all together, twice by himself.

Matt and Nate made it their goal to find a "double pumpkin", basically a deformed pumpkin that looked like two were stuck together.  Here they are with their much sought after double pumpkin:

Lydia was super content the whole time looking for her pumpkin and everyone just loved watching her wander around picking up pumpkins, then setting them back down again to look for a better one.

What a doll!  I just can't get enough of her, she's such a cutie!

We were all smiles until we got on the boat.  Matt totally freaked out and Nate and I had to hold him back from running off the boat, all the while he was screaming "I want to get off!"

We got him to relax a little once the boat started going, but he was completely still and gripped Nate's hand as tight as he could.

Surprisingly Matt told us the boat ride was one of his favorite parts of the trip.

The boat ride was probably my least favorite part.  A bumble bee flew into my hair and got caught, I didn't know what was in my hair, I just felt something like a bug and tried to grab it out.  Nate didn't want to tell me what it actually was and I'm glad it didn't sting me.

All in all it was probably one of my favorite pumpkin patch experiences and I would definitely go again next year!

Here are just a couple more photos, unless you've all been visually overloaded by the massive amount of pictures shared.

Happy Autumn!

Preschool Year 2

Our Matt man has started school again.  He pretty much gets to go to the BEST preschool ever!  It is affiliated with Pacific University's early childhood education program and is right next to Nate's optometry building. Matt obviously loves going there, making the separation of Monday-Friday 9-3 a little more tolerable. It has a large play room for dramatic play, an art and science room- since they teach reading and math through art and science- class rooms where a lot of core learning is done, a giant playground with multiple gardens that the children plant and harvest and a kitchen where the kids can learn to prepare and cook the food from their garden.  In all honesty, I would love to play there all day!  It is a really good fit for Matt since he is excited to learn but needs constant stimulation and structure, something I'm not always able to give him.  Since this is his second year going there he is more familiar with how the routine goes and is better at solving problems with kids at school.  Nate and I are so happy with the progress he's made since going there and love hearing all about the fun things they get to do everyday.  Here's a few pictures of Matt at school:

Toddler Bed = Singing Time

So, my precious little Lydia has been moved to a toddler bed.  Mind you, she is still my baby and I'm refusing to refer to her as anything else until her little sister comes in December and we have another little baby. We decided to move her so young because once little baby sister comes we will need the third bedroom for her and will  need Matt and Lydia to share a room.  I would have loved to keep Lydia in a crib forever but all good things must come to an end.  She's actually surprised us with how well she's adjusted.  The first week she would open and shut her door then run back to her bed; though, once I started taking her baby doll away for her naughty shenanigans she wasn't so keen on doing that anymore.
I love her little nap/bedtime routine: first we rock together in her rocking chair until she decides it's time to go put her baby doll to bed.  She has me swaddle her baby nice and tight then she lays her down in bed and climbs in next to it.  After she feels she is sufficiently tucked into her blanket, she tells me to hold her hand, which then is followed by her telling me the songs she would like me to sing her her: "Sunshine", "Child of God" and "Spider".
Lydia has always been a little singer and loves to imitate sounds and this week she has surprised me by singing along with all of the songs I sing to her.  She mostly babbles most of the words except for the word that is held out longer, which she gets every time.  One of these days, if Nate is home while I put her down I'll have him record her doing it so everyone can hear.  After I shut the door she usually sings all of her songs to herself for a good 20 minutes or so until she falls asleep.  I really love my baby girl and just want her to stay my baby for a little bit longer.