Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!
Here she is, warts and all:



Lucy enjoyed being a frog - or at least the attention she got. Somehow, every time I wasn't looking, her frog hat disappeared.
If you are interested in the frog hat - I can't take credit for it - but check out

ChickaBiddy Baby Boutique.


We took advantage of early voting and did our duty (and our privilege). Lucy got her sticker and wore it proudly for all of five seconds. Then, off to let the grandparents see her on her first Halloween. Of course, they approved.

And one more thing, a spot I've been enjoying lately:


Enjoy the weekend.

Feeding

Harvest time is coming to a close. It is one of those chilly, wet fall days that make me ready to hibernate. There are leaves plastered to the sidewalks. And, as I look up at the mountains they are gold, scarlet, evergreen.

I'm scrambling to make some preparations - certainly not all I had planned in this year of sleep deprivation, so much to do and never enough time. I am hopeful that I will find my stride soon.

Lucy is eating her vegetables:
Asparagus here. Despite my efforts to introduce her to many different foods, she still loves rice cereal best. I'm trying to take all the advice to shove new foods in her mouth with a grain of salt. Letting her explore the new tastes and textures is more important. Although I wish she'd truly enjoy all the fruits and veggies she's been offered. If you are looking for a good resource
for making your own baby food - it's easier and cheaper than you might think - along with many other tips and tricks, I love The Super Baby Food Book.

She does seem to love her carrots, especially as playdough.

These are the seeds from the giant butternut squash we harvested from our garden - ready to give us more beautiful squash next year.


Here are Lucy's two first pumpkins.

This time of fall makes me so grateful for the bounty of the land and the blessings and beauty of nature.

Prickly Business

It has been a few busy, sleep-deprived weeks here. We are trying Lucy on a new schedule - following Elizabeth Pantley's No Cry Sleep Solution.

It seems to be working - knocking on wood with my fingers crossed. Lucy still isn't sleeping more than a few hours, but it is not constant nursing. She is teething as well - so that likely contributes to her trouble sleeping.


This weekend we gathered chestnuts. There are several trees in our backyard - I remember when I was little hating them because once they fell I couldn't go barefoot anymore. Especially frustrating in Indian Summer. These trees are Chinese Chestnuts. Wonderful, yes, but wouldn't it be great to have some American Chestnut trees? The American Chestnut Foundation's website
here.

It was such fun to have the family working for a common cause - Lucy on my back and Wes finding chestnuts everywhere.

Speaking of Lucy on my back - she loves her carrier. Every time she sees it coming, she squeals, and claps and is absolutely delighted. Unfortunately, that is making it harder to get her on my back - she's a bit too excited.

Fall - Gardening

As the season has changed, so has the format of the blog. I'm trying to find my stride here and thought fall, and all that it brings would be a good time to experiment a bit.

We found a four-leaf clover on Saturday. Lucy, her Gigi, and I all went for a walk to enjoy the cool weather. It was the first one we've ever found here. Lucy contemplated eating it.


Something about this season always excites me. There is a different smell to it, a different feeling in the air. This is Lucy's first fall and her daddy and I are both hoping that she enjoys it as much as we do. Wes asked yesterday if we could move somewhere that it was fall all year 'round. I wish that was possible. Although I suppose we wouldn't appreciate it quite as much... and when spring comes to the mountains, I'm tempted to think that it is my favorite season.

Here are the butternut squash we harvested on Saturday. The daddy and baby. There was an acorn squash which most resembled me, but we ate it before I photographed it.



Some of the leaves are already changing, and I've been hearing that it's going to be an early color season because it's been so dry.

Here is a volunteer squash of origin unknown. Hopefully, it will be tasty. It just sprouted out of our compost pile so I guess it's something we've eaten before.


And, for some reason the strawberry on our porch may start producing again. The ones we got early this summer were small but sweet.


And our collards are popping up. These are the ones we're trying in containers. The ones in the garden are much more impressive - probably because they were started earlier.


Here is the last sunflower of this year.

The rest have already had their seeds harvested for planting next spring and for feeding the birds this winter.

Enjoy this new season.