A fine fall day!

 Last weekend we went to visit Graceful Glen alpaca farm for their national farm days. It's been on my radar for a couple of years as something I'd like to do with Liam, so I was happy that we had the weekend free to go see the alpacas. We started off with a hayride and let me just say, that a hayride with a 3 year old, makes it just so much more fun. The sheer delight of sitting on hay and throwing some ( of course) and being pulled by a tractor was magical for this little boy. We then went to feed the alpacas. Outside we fed the males with hay and inside the barn we fed the Mama's and the babies with pellets. Liam wasn't the least bit shy with them. I was a little surprised at just how much he loved feeding them. He played some of their harvest games, learned about washing and carding the alpacas fur and got to try spinning some. We also got a hat for Liam and his baby brother from their great little shop.

On the way home we stopped by our favorite vegetable stand to look at the pumpkins and find a few small pumpkins and gourds to make the inside of our home feel festive for fall. I love to decorate the porch, but that will have to wait till next year as we are still using the porch for a work zone for the house. Liam picked a pumpkin out for his room and we got a few more to be scattered around the kitchen and dinning room. We got to chatting with the lady who lives there and runs the stand. She saw us and said, hey if you want to take any pictures in the flowers or pumpkins go for it. So, of course we couldn't pass up that invitation especially since I actually had my dslr with us from the alpaca farm. It's not quite as often these days, that I take it with us, so I was delighted for the impromptu photo fun we had there. The owner was such a sweet woman, telling us about her two boys and asking about my pregnancy. She even picked 3 gorgeous sunflowers, handed them to Liam and told him to give them to his sweet Mommy. This season already makes my heart so full, but spending the day with my family outdoors at the farm and at the patch just made it one of the finest days I can remember.

35 weeks

Autumn is here now. Making it all the more real to me each day that our little bean will soon greet us! This is truly my favorite season, so I am happy to get to have another little one during this time. Cool mornings, pumpkin picking, apple cider, pumpkin donuts, hayrides, and burning candles are some of the many wonderful things we enjoyed this weekend to celebrate the season. I'm trying to soak up these activities with Liam and focus on him, since soon, it will be a divided focus. Still wondering how that will look, how Liam will react and what day to day life will mean with two little ones.

At the beach 2015

 We woke Liam up early Sunday morning to surprise him with a day at the beach. We'd been promising all summer, that when we moved back home, we would go to the beach. This kid loves sand. In fact, at playgroup you can usually find him in the sandbox, regardless of who's around playing or not. It's his happy spot.

So imagine his delight when he realized he had an unlimited sandbox for the day. This was his first time at the beach. Each year, we mean to go, but something always comes up. We haven't been since I was pregnant with Liam.

He loved the ocean too. It was fun to watch him get acquainted with the ocean, waves and tides. We took a few dips in the "pool" as Liam called it, but most of the day was spent playing in the sand. We stopped for a picnic lunch and to get custard on the boardwalk. And to really make the day special, we stopped in Philly on the way home so I could get a lobster roll. A pregnancy/ summer dream come true. It was really a lovely relaxing family day, that was well deserved for everyone, considering the grueling, bumpy summer it's been for Jason and the long time we spent away from him and our home.

Corn Party

 Liam loves Nana and Pop's garden. In fact he would rather pick lima beans than ride bike. He gets so excited when he sees either of them in the garden, he goes running for his boots. The corn came in last week, so Liam finally got to experience a day of picking, husking, brushing, cooking, soaking and cutting off the corn to freeze for the winter. This was something I grew up doing every summer, so it was nice to share it with him. Although I will admit with the addition of a corn de-silker machine, it does take hours of the "fun" away. Hours I use to spend with my Grandparents brushing and listening to their childhood stories. Liam, however, diligently feed the machine with corn, when he wasn't busy trying to figure out how the thing worked. He even helped brush some of the extra hairs off, but his favorite task of the day was eating it fresh cut off the cob! Mine too!

Liam's 3rd birthday

Liam's birthday was pretty laid back this year. With renovating and living at my family's house it just had to be. He requested to make and decorate his birthday cake, so that's just what we did. Sprinkles, fondant confetti and Flynn the firetruck were just what he wanted!!! We also got to go to the crayola factory with my family to help celebrate his special day. We all had a fun time making crayons, spin art,  and exploring all the fun, hands on exhibits. We had hot dogs and corn on the cob per Liam's request for dinner and enjoyed cake and presents back at our house, so that Daddy could be there too!