First Pumpkin Patch Trip

Fall Traditions 

I'm kind of a sucker for holiday festivities. Oktoberfest, haunted houses, turkey trots, Christmas wonderland, really anything for a photo opportunity. Having Jellybean has made that a billion times worse! Capturing the FIRST of everything is such a big deal to me now. Now that we live in a part of the country that actually has seasons, I'm going to take advantage of all the fall festivities and flood my Instagram with picture after picture. 

Living in the Pacific Northwest, I was introduced to the full glory of Mother Nature's paintbrush. Then I left my little corner of the country for Arizona and Texas. While there's something to be said about those breathtaking rock formations in Arizona and...well if I come up with something nice about the Texas landscape I'll blog about it later...in my eyes, nothing can compare to the colors of the trees as they fight furiously to hold on to those last few days of life before winter. There's a reason I wanted to get married in October, why I have more jeans and sweaters than shorts and tank tops, and why my house smells like pumpkin marshmallow Scentsy year round.  I want this time of year to bring as much joy to my little one's heart as it does to me. We aren't holding back on fall adventures and we're dragging would rather be golfing daddy with us! 

Our first trip to a pumpkin patch and haunted corn maze. Pre-Jellybean.
Gosh we look so young! 24 in these pics.

Oktoberfest in Fredericksburg, Texas our first year there.

Pumpkin Patch 

In Tucson, I made Matt go to pumpkin patches. In Texas, to Oktoberfest. So, it's no surprise that as soon as Starbucks released its Pumpkin Spice Lattes for the season, I went to work finding a kid friendly pumpkin patch. So off to Virginia Beach we went last weekend to Hunt Club Farm. They have the best petting zoo I've ever seen, fun activities for kiddos to do, hayrides, tons of pumpkins, and more importantly- a plethora of places for those precious Kodak moments. Yes, I know at his young age of just six months, Jellybean could care less about the animals and pumpkins. He would much rather suck his thumb than take advantage of being at a pumpkin patch. That trip was definitely more for me than him, but traditions have to start somewhere and sometime. These aren't memories he'll have, but they're memories mom and dad will look back on when Jellybean says he's too old to trick or treat or he's too old for the pumpkin patch this year. I'm going to take full advantage of these days with my son! 

Overall, our first trip to the Pumpkin Patch was a smashing success. We'll definitely be coming back next year, and I'm excited to see the differences in his reactions to his surroundings and to compare pictures. I feel like these last six months have flown by too quickly and I know that 18 years will do the same. I want to expose my little man to as many things as possible in those short years he's all mine, before the world grabs hold of him and he becomes his own person. I'm sure there's nothing more rewarding to a parent than to see their child take life by the reigns and branch off on their own, but I'm anticipating that moment to be bittersweet. Therefore, you better believe I'll be taking full advantage of his time as a mama's boy. 

This is what he thinks of the Pumpkin Patch.....

Feeding the animals...next year, it'll be Matt AND Jellybean! 

Love that they had this growth chart here!
We're definitely coming back for another picture next year. 

They're both so excited to take pictures....deal with it boys!
Mom's not putting this camera away. 

I can't get enough of him. 

Still trying to figure out when my newborn turned into such a big boy!