Autumn Pickings

Since Mother Nature decided to shape up and FINALLY give us lovely fall weather this past weekend, we decided to take advantage of it and headed to Aamodt's Apple Orchard in Stillwater on Sunday. Jeff and I ate our weight in apple-related treats (apple cider donuts, apple cookies, apple brats, hot apple cider, caramel apples, etc.), and Liam scoped out the sights from his Baby Bjorn-vantage point:

Family shot outside of the orchard

Liam, looking less than thrilled about our excursion

Relaxing during our apple-themed lunch (Liam got stuck with a boring bottle)

If I sweet-talk her, maybe the lady behind the counter will give me an apple donut.

Liam loves to chew on fingers these days....and really, ANY finger will do:

After apple-picking commenced (ok, we didn't actually PICK our own apples....unless grabbing them out of a bin in the orchard store counts as "picking"), we headed over to Axedahl's Farm down the road to choose our pumpkins...

Axedahl's Farm, a pumpkin/gourd mecca

Pumpkin Mountain

Liam, attempting to "scale" Pumpkin Mountain

Hello, pumpkin....I am going to eat you now.

Chillaxin' on his pumpkin throne

Oops! (Though in our defense, we found this sign laying on the ground, in a mud puddle.)

Random pumpkin/gourd photos:

One last attempt at a photo shoot with Liam, inside the barn:

What a trooper. : )

We headed home late afternoon, bellies and bags full of appley-goodness (and with two pumpkins for our front stoop). In short, it was a great day.

I hope I can remember this when we are knee-deep in snow this winter.

Love,
Farrah, Jeff & Liam

Five Months

I cannot even believe it as I am typing this, but Liam is FIVE MONTHS OLD today.

Wow.

Where did the time go???

Our little guy is become more and more active (we've witnessed him scooting a bit while on his tummy), and we're convinced that he will be crawling sooner than we we originally anticipated. So in these remaining weeks of "freedom", Jeff and I are scurrying to get the house in baby-proof shape....or at least, for the most part. I'm certain that Liam will manage to remind us of areas we should have baby-proofed during his upcoming explorations. : )

Liam's two favorite places (besides in Mommy or Daddy's arms) these days are:

* The Changing Table

It is amazing how this kid gets so crazy-excited and animated on that changing pad! Jeff is convinced that the excitement is due to the homemade mobile (courtesy of yours truly) hanging above the pad, but I'm not convinced.

(video will be posted shortly....technical issues)

Liam also loves to show off his flexibility by sucking on his toes during changing time....

(Mmmm, Mommy......my toes are delicious!)

Not that I would want to still be that flexible, but man.....that is an impressive feat. : )

Liam's other favorite hangout is....

* The Exersaucer

This is a recent development, as we decided to test out the Exersaucer owned by Jeff's parents (while they were vacationing in Hawaii) to see if Liam would enjoy it, before we invested in our own. Turns out, our little monkey LOVES being able to stand (well, sort of) on his own two feet. That kid is STRONG!

(It is probably difficult to envision Liam's joy in these photos, because of the lack of visual confirmation. He is definitely smiling and laughing more and more often these days, but it is nearly impossible to catch these moments on camera! The instant a camera appears, he immediately adopts the expression we refer to as "Stone Face".)

Isn't is sad that we cannot recall these simple days of joy in our own lives? True, we all have things that excite or thrill us as adults, but there is nothing quite like discovering all of these exciting milestones for the first time through your child's eyes. : )

And just think....this is only the beginning. Five months down, a lifetime to go.....

Love,

Farrah, Jeff & Liam

Best Buds

Hi, all....

Jeff, Liam and I were fortunate enough earlier this week to be invited for dinner at the house of our friends Amy, Ben and their son Simon. Our friendship with this lovely family sprouted during the labor & delivery class we attended together this past spring, where we learned that our babies were due on the exact same day (though they ended up getting to meet Simon a whole nine days earlier than when Liam made his entrance into the world). Since then, we've shared the same Mom & Baby class and a few get-togethers...and our little guys are well on their way to becoming best buds!

Here are Liam and Simon, chilling on Simon's blanket....it looks like Liam is somehow trying to protect his bud from the crazy photographers (notice Simon's toy looped around Liam's arm)....

(Not sure why this photo refuses to flip, but anyway....)

"Whoa, Liam....I think somebody tried to steal my toy...."

"I....uhhh....don't know what you are talking about, Simon..."

"You can torture me all you want, but my lips are sealed..."

: )

We were also lucky to be present for a milestone of Simon's.....he officially rolled over from back to tummy for the first time ever! Ben and Amy claimed that Liam had to show him the ropes, but we knew Simon had it in him all along. : )

We had a great time....and can't wait to hang out again soon!

-Farrah, Jeff & Liam