Pumpkins, Soccer & Fishing for Cat Food

It must be fall. The whole family has the sniffles, so what do we do today? On our way to Liam's soccer game (aka, standing in the cold watching four purple shirts huddle around the ball & kick blindly) we went to pick out a pumpkin at Boxx's Berry Farm. Grandpa & Grandma S. joined us too, so it was okay that I forgot my camera. Grandma S. was armed with two. If you know her, this is no surprise.

We boarded a mini tractor for the short ride out to the patch (Sara's favorite part- she sang the whole way out & back). Liam, of course, wanted to pick out a pumpkin that was at least his size & weight. So I coached Daddy into talking him into a "perfectly shaped" (and significantly lighter) pumpkin. We needed to get a pumpkin for a chili feed / pumpkin carving party we're going to on Friday. This should be interesting because my husband, wonderful spider-catcher, cat poo-scooper, heavy-lifter that he is, has a gag reflex with certain things, pumpkin guts being one of those (This was also part of my argument for a smaller pumpkin - I'm not scooping out a ginormous pumpkin all by myself, because Liam will lose interest quickly). We also got a few of the token family-in-the-pumpkin-patch photos, which I'll attempt to post on here.

Then it was off to soccer. Liam had a blast, burned off a bunch of energy, and Sara got a quick nap in the car. I honestly think soccer at the kindergarten/first grade level is way more entertaining to watch than the older kids, and I love that most of the parents on Liam's team have the same enjoyment of this as we do. I love that the kids' attention spans are so short that they literally forget which goal is theirs, or they will be running with the ball on a breakaway and simply lose interest right in front of the goal. Today Liam was getting ready to do the kick-off and one of his teammates asked (as the whistle was blowing) if he could kick off the ball instead. So Liam yelled over to the coach (after the whistle had blown and the other team was awaiting the ball) that he wanted to trade, and the two boys did a slow-motion kick back and forth, traded spots, then the other boy kicked off the ball. Maybe you have to be a parent to appreciate it, but I was loving it. And I think my kid's the only one who squeals with joy up and down the field. Makes him easy to spot in a sea of purple jerseys!

So after a long day out & about, we were finally back at home and settling down. John & Liam were cuddled up in our bed in pajamas, watching a quick cartoon before bedtime stories. Sara & I were in her room, and I was checking through her clothes to see what she'd outgrown (it happens fast at 7 months old!). I'd child-proofed her room earlier this month, but then spent a day last week cleaning out all the items to go to goodwill or consignment from one corner. As I was finishing up the shirt drawer, I looked over to see Sara in this very corner, chewing with a big grin on her face. I popped her mouth open and fished around with my finger... and pulled out a piece of cat food. YUM. Sorry kiddo, we're working on solid foods, but not of the feline variety. I think that comes sometime after citrus.

It's waaayyy past bedtime and I expect to be woken by my drippy-nosed baby. I'll write again when time (and my family!) allows.