More October

October has been filled to the brim with fun activities. Sorry if this post is a bit of a "captioned photo-dump" for the grandparents, but we had a busy month. I have so many photos on my iPhone that are seemingly random, but altogether, it paints a pretty accurate slice of life right now. Enjoy!

One of the things I loved as a child was writing letters to my cousins. I am so happy that Cal and his cousins Brandon & Carson have inherited that joy. Here's Cal opening a Halloween note from Brandon:

My little guy helping me make pizza for dinner one night. (That apron was the best Easter present ever!)

Cal is constantly singing songs or reciting poems, and he caught me off guard one night when he delivered the whole of "Five Little Pumpkins" by memory. I had to get it on video:

Cal is loving preschool, though I feel like we've missed more days than usual due do illness these past few months. Parents were invited to attend class one morning so that the kids could perform what they've been working on. It was pretty awesome watching him do his "zoo-phonics."

After the kids' presentation, we all walked over to a haunted pumpkin patch that the school set up for the little students. They even had a haunted Golden Gate Bridge:

It was so fun seeing how Cal interacts with his classmates and teachers.

That was not the only pumpkin patch we visited this month. Cal and I hit nearly all of them; he liked different things about each one. This one had a train, so I have a feeling it was the favorite.

It also had a pen where you could pet farm animals.

Cal loved this goat, but anytime it would come close, Cal would jump back and wag his finger at it.

Here is Cal as a toilet paper mummy, after a game at our friends' Halloween party. He went as an astronaut this year, and Reed and I were spaceship maintenance crew and NASA scientist, respectively. I loved his costume because it was very easy to see him in the dark -- just look for the kid in the neon orate jumpsuit!

He had a great time carving pumpkins with Daddy. I know I've said it before, but I'll ay it again: Reed is really such a phenomenal dad. Cal absolutely loves spending time with Reed, because Dad just has a way of making all activities more fun.This year was no different.

These next two photos were taken by Cal:

And finally, for your viewing pleasure, some pumpkin carving silliness:

Apple Orchards and Pumpkin Patches

We've been having a ball with Autumn activities lately. For the grandparents, here are some shots from the month so far. Happy October! :)

Dentist Visit

Cal had his first dentist visit this week! Look how excited he is to be in the fancy chair!

I know we should have taken him to the dentist before now, but for various reasons (including Cal all but welding his mouth shut when we've attempted a dental visit before) his first checkup was this month. 

He's old enough to understand when I tell him that dentist visits don't hurt. We've also been working on trust since he was little -- never lying or hiding things from him, even if I know he won't like the consequences -- so he believed me when I explained all about the dentist this time.

 Cal was so good. I was very proud of how well behaved he was for the dentist. It helped that they had a TV with cartoons playing in front of his chair!

 Here he is getting his x-rays. He was so interested to see the images when they showed up on the computer screen.

I was so please with him, I took him to the toy store and got him a new train track piece for his set. Now he keeps asking when we'll go to the dentist again. At least he's not scared, right? I'm so proud of my big boy.

Daily Summer Life

Cal and I have had some epic vacation adventures this summer, but we've also had a lot of fun in our home town, day to day. I'll admit, I've found it difficult to keep him mentally stimulated in the absence of preschool, but I've tried my best to rise to the challenge. Here are some of the things we've been up to:

Bird Feeder -- I'm not sure where Cal got the idea in his head, but he let me know in no uncertain terms that he wanted to hang a bird feeder in the tree outside our apartment. We found a simple one at the store and sure enough, the next morning there were three little birds fighting over it. Cal had a perfect view from the living room window, and was delighted each time he saw a visitor. He'd always hush me -- "shhh! Mommy, there are birdies!" (pronounced 'boudees'  -- R's are hard.)

Achievement Days -- I'm still busy every other week with the young girls in my congregation. It's always a joy working with them, and summer is full of water balloon fights and swim parties. We have a new presidency in charge of primary, and they're making some fun changes. It's great to see new things coming down the pipeline.

 
Sewing Pioneer Outfits -- In a moment of overconfidence, I signed up to help sew shirts for the youth pioneer trek this summer.  The pattern turned out to be more complicated than I had first imagined, but after a lot of trial and error (which included Reed standing in as a substitute dress form while I pinned the sleeves and tunic to the yoke), the shirts were finished!

Play Dates with Friends -- I still organize a weekly park days for the young moms in my congregation, and we've been having a blast this summer. This photo is from the week the kids discovered a "mud-maker" in the park sand pit. A huge, sarcastic thank you to the park planner that thought it would be helpful. At least the kids had fun, right?

Here's Cal enjoying ice cream with friends at Moms' Morning Out:

Popsicles with His friend after swimming (while I waited with my friend who'd locked her keys in her car):

Camping -- Back in June, we went camping with a group of friends from the ward. Cal had a fun time roasting hot dogs and marshmallows, playing with glow sticks and sleeping in the tent. One memorable moment? Cal kept yelling "Be quiet! I'm trying to sleep" at everyone who made any noise whatsoever around the tent. 

 

 Berry Picking -- a definite perk of living in California! Back in July, we met up at Gizdich Ranch in Watsonville for some strawberry picking.

 Lunches with Mommy -- for days when I haven't felt like cooking :)

I have loved spending my days with this silly little guy, but I am so excited for preschool to start up again.

I'm pretty sure he is, too!