Pumpkin Patch

Every October the Kessler United Methodist Church does a fundraiser for the Kessler School called the Pumpkin Patch. The church has a huge lawn, and they scatter tons of pumpkins all over it that are for sale. They also have activities for the kids such as pony rides, a petting zoo, a bounce house, face painting, and other games. For parents, there are tents set up by local vendors for services and merchandise as well as food. The only thing we bought was a box of chocolate chip cookies from the Kessler Cookie Company. We have had them before, and they are so yummy! Mia liked inspecting the big, orange pumpkins. She thought they were fascinating. She also loves to people watch, so she had a great time. It was pretty cool outside. We had her bundled in a thick sweater, so that we could walk to the church. It was kind of hard for her to move in, though, so we took it off for awhile so she could play in the pumpkins. After we got back home, Daddy pushed her around a little bit in her favorite set of wheels. She loves that she can now do that while standing.

Our most exciting news this week is that Mia is crawling! We've been waiting for this time with anticipation, but as soon as she started crawling, I began imagining all of the ways she can hurt herself. We're working on baby-proofing everything. I'm sure she'll still manage to get into stuff being the curious little creature she is! I'll get some video posted of it soon, I hope. Mia has also been experimenting with the sippy cup. I gave it to her for the first time yesterday with some formula in it. She played with it for awhile but didn't really know what it was for. Then, she started chewing and sucking on the spout. She yanked it out of her mouth and looked at me with a shocked expression and milk running down her chin. I could tell she was thinking, "Holy cow, there's milk in there, Mama!" It was funny. I've also started giving her banana-flavored cereal puffs this week. This is the first finger food that we've tried. Normally, everything goes straight to her mouth. Oddly enough, she just plays with the cereal. She mashes it in her little fist until it gets gummy. Then, she swings her arm wildly trying to make it come off but to no avail. She starts squealing like she's saying, "Get it off! Get it off!" She'll eat the cereal if I personally put it in her mouth, though. She likes it. She just hasn't made the connection that she can eat it by herself if she puts it in her mouth.

Mia at 37 weeks (8 1/2 months)