Before visiting the pumpkin patches last weekend, we did a few other pumpkin-related activities: posing with them at a Farmer’s Market, and painting them at Michael’s…

-M

Some observant readers noticed that Zoe’s mouth looks a little empty: Days after she lost one of her two front teeth, the other one popped out as well! (Actually, her dad wound up pulling it. It was dangling and bothering Zoe, so he asked her if he could do it; I was really proud of her for letting him!) As I told Zoe, the timing of her toothless smile couldn’t be better: She looks like a jack-o-lantern!

-M

And some more photos…

-M

An October tradition dating back to 2007 is our trip to the pumpkin patches at Half Moon Bay. Here are some pics from our recent visit.

-M

The latest from the little one: A self-portrait, now hanging in her classroom.

-M

Zoe’s first field trip of the school year was to Hidden Villa, a farm about 35 miles south of the city and just moments away from my work. I took the day off to go with the class and was treated to a tour of the farm, a meet-and-greet with numerous animals, and a tasting of various plants and flowers. (Zoe, to my surprise, tried and liked the beet!) Afterwards, we got to picnic outside and pick out a pumpkin from their little patch. Added bonus: They let us bring one home for Avery, too.

It was a really sweet day and one I won’t soon forget. (Zoe was excited about it, too – so much so that she had trouble sleeping the night before and woke up super early that day!) But next time I volunteer to chaperone, I think I’ll skip out on the bus. Though I was super excited to get the chance to ride with Zoe, I hadn’t taken into consideration how loud and hyper a group of 6- and 7-year-olds can be, and how slow a school bus moves! Thank goodness I packed the Tylenol…

-M

When putting up Halloween decorations last night I commented to Avery that I wasn’t sure how to get one of Zoe’s – a hanging spider - to hang from the ceiling like I wanted. “C’mon, you’re Mommy!” Avery cried out in a girl-power voice. “You know lots of things!” I was touched by both her support – and confidence in me!

-M

From the backseat this morning:

Avery: “When you grow up, are you allowed to be an animal?”
Zoe, in a knowing tone: “No. You can’t be a boy or an animal – we’re people. But you can be anything else you want.”

-M

This was the scene in our neighborhood one day last weekend. No wonder the girls were okay with not having me around – they were too busy playing with their friends!

-M

Zoe’s sporting a new look these days: Her third baby tooth (one of her top two) came out over the weekend, and she now has a very hole-y smile. We were expecting that tooth to fall out soon, but the timing was somewhat unfortunate: Her school photo was taken yesterday!

-M

It’s October, which means that lots of pumpkin-patch trips, fall festivals, and Halloween-themed events are in our future. The girls kicked off the month (quite literally, in Avery’s case) by sporting their Halloween pajamas and goofing off.

-M