This goofy ole' grin is Sean's very first Jack-O'-Lantern. You might be thinking, "hey, isn't this kid going to be 2 soon?"... yep! Not only didn't we carve a pumpkin last year, I don't think we even bought one. Hence, no visit to the pumpkin patch either. We kept talking about it, and the next thing you know it was Halloween. Oops. This year we didn't make that mistake, and interrupted the nap schedule (oh my!) to head over to a local pumpkin patch for a few hours. The day was gorgeous, and perfect for walking through corn mazes, climbing huge haystacks, checking out pigs & chickens, and picking out pumpkins. OK, it wasn't exactly 'oh my God' perfect since there was a ton. of. mud. everywhere from the gazillion inches of rain we've had (I'm still banging the dirt off Sean's shoes out the back door). But eh, beggars can't be choosers.
This lucky pumpkin was picked to come to our house. And Sean and I had at it! I was anticipating a much messier affair, but I've come to appreciate my son's dislike of all things slimy and messy on his hands. He much preferred banging a spoon around inside and whipping out pumpkin guts on the fresh, clean floor. After about 5 minutes of that fun, he quickly bored with the whole activity and climbed down to go play with his cars and trucks. I LOVED doing it all by myself. A rush of childhood memories came back to me, carving pumpkins with my siblings and dad (mom couldn't stand the mess!). I'm blessed. And it looks like Sean likes the family tradition already.
