Fall means Pumpkin Patches

Fall.

I've been waiting to fully experience fall for three whole years now.

While Texas fall temps aren't reminiscent of my childhood autumns, the calendar says October & there are pumpkins to be carved.



Last weekend we made some fall memories.



We packed up & made our way to Dewberry Farm, with Grandpa & Grandma McQuinn in tow, which was pretty special.





{when I saw this shirt, I had to have it. If you feel the same, you can find it here}



While most of the activities will be perfect for Lauren in the next couple of years,
we stayed busy with slides, riding 'horses' eating shaved ice, hayrides, pumpkins & watching Lauren run.

{Yes, I said shaved ice. Not cider. It was 80 degrees. Cider wasn't even an option.}










While the pumpkins were really picked over, we still saw them.
And took pictures with them.
And found the perfect one for our Lauren.





{there's that one again... Told you we can't get enough}


It was the perfect fall day, I've thought about for years...



And guess what?
This particular pumpkin patch is also a Christmas tree farm...

See ya in 6 weeks Dewberry Farms

Lauren's Birthday

While I had grander dreams of celebrating Lauren's first birthday in our new home surrounded by family and friends,
the reality of a 1,000 square foot apartment lead to a more intimate, yet truly special occasion.

Lauren's birthday morning started off with one of her favorites, blueberry pancakes, accompanied by a candle & mom & dad singing Happy Birthday. 

Lauren was lucky enough to share her birthday with both sets of grandparents, so they joined us for some playtime before we made our way to the new house for an inspection.

We're really excited about the house and now that it has flooring, so is Lauren.

She ran around the entire house, for an hour, screaming with excitement. 

And soon she'll be able to do that daily, as we having a moving date: October 15th.

We had discussed plans to go to the park, but Lauren thought the empty house was better than a park...
so our celebration continued with lunch (TexMex, one of Lauren's favorites) & a nap.

Later that evening Lauren got to open a few of her gifts and was tickled to play with new toys, try on some shoes, & read books in her very own chair.

You may have noticed this pose in a lot of pictures...
This is how Lauren responds to the question, 'How old are you?'

We can't get enough of it.

Lauren's celebration continued on Friday with a visit to the doctor for immunizations

{& a finger prick... she didn't like that}

and Saturday was official birthday party day!

I saw these lanterns on Pinterest.
I gathered some old atlas' from my grandparents & Matt helped me cut many many many circles.
One lantern was covered with a map of the Houston area, while the other two were made up of places Lauren has been, by car or plane, during her first year.
It was a fun little project to truly celebrate all the places she's been!

We had some lunch, followed by gifts.
Lauren was a very lucky girl on her first birthday and we felt love from friends and family from all over the country,
from their kind birthday wishes to the sweet thoughtful gifts.
Lauren was more interested in the ribbons, bows, & tissue paper than the wrapping itself, but once each gift became visible, her interest was peaked.
Especially when it came to the shoes.

That girl loves her some shoes.

Then there was the cake.



I didn't anticipate Lauren being that interested in the cake, but I was wrong.
She was pretty into it.
You can't tell by the pictures though.
It appears as if she took each bite pretty serious.








Our celebration continued through the day, with kisses from grandma and laughter for grandpas, dad's tools making each box a reality, dollys to be hugged, many Minnie's to be kissed and some sugar to burn off.
It was a lovely celebration for our little lady.

While I'm in no hurry to see her next birthday, I have to say...
she's my favorite person to celebrate.