the harvest

this weekend we hit up the ol' pumpkin patch in search of the perfect pumpkins for our perfect jack o lantern idea. (just you wait, you'll be in awe with our "jack" concoction.) last year we hit up the pumpkin patch on halloween and there was nothing left. it was terrible. so this year we made sure to go early enough that all the good ones weren't taken. we found some real beautes.

it was actually a really cool scene: it was late in the afternoon, the air was warm and the sun just about an hour from setting. there were blue-gray clouds overhead, and they were just thin enough in the west that the light from the sun could shine through in spurts, casting a beautiful glow against the dark sky. it was awesome. it wasn't very crowded at all, and we headed out into the field with our red wheelbarrow to have our pick at the lot of them.

we let beth in on the action and made sure each pumpkin passed with her approval before putting it into the wheelbarrow.

wasn't long before she ended up in the wheelbarrow.

(who didn't see that one coming???)

i loved beth's interest (or non-interest) in the pumpkins, her often blank stare wondering what we were doing, checking out these large orange balls, inspecting every inch and tapping them to see how solid they sounded...

our harvest:

two weeks until these poor little guys get shanked. hank says they're going down. and trust me, they are. but their ill fate all in the name of becoming part of a stellar jack display. way cooler than ending up as a pie or something, right? :)

time flies, and i am full

tonight i put beth down in her crib for the night and then closed the door like i usually do, but this time i stayed in her room to watch her fall asleep. staying just far enough away to remain out of sight, i watched her little hands pick up the soft white bunny and hold it in the air and play with its floppy ear. she would put it down and roll over to play with the toys that attach to the crib bars for a minute or two and then roll back over to that bunny. we've always wondered what she does in there to put herself to sleep...

as i stood there listening and watching as though a fly on the wall overflowing with joy and love, i also realized i never posted her 6 month pictures. i say that as though they were professionally taken or something. no, they weren't. just a few that i captured near that 6 month date (over a month ago...) that will probably replace the ones on the wall that were taken just after this little rascal came into our lives.

oh, how our lives have changed. oh, how much better and more meaningful they seem to be. who knew such explosive happiness could be brought on by such a tiny little humanoid. it's amazing how overwhelming parenthood can be. wanting to protect them, but also push them to grow, experience things and learn, understanding a whole new kind of love, praying that you'll know how to teach them to desire righteousness, melting at every smile, every laugh and giggle, faking that you know what you're doing, but loving that they don't know that you don't, pride oozing from every pore when others gush and fawn over them.... it's hard to be humble about your own children, i've learned. and i understand it now.

"yes, she does have a smile that will instantly swell your soul, doesn't she"

"yes, she does have absolutely the greatest laugh on the planet, doesn't she?"

"yes, we did miraculously end up with the most stunning baby ever to live, didn't we?"

things every parent must think of their own. and rightfully so. rights of a parent i think, and a reflection of a love so concentrated and deep that i think can only be understood when you've had one of your own. a humbling glimpse of what we know our heavenly father feels for us. how overwhelming and awesome all at once. and everyone was right - it has just gotten better and better with each month, each day, each minute. i can't wait for what's to come. but for now, my favorites from her six month mark.

thank you for coming into our lives, little love. you bring such joy to me and your daddy. we can hardly wait to watch you grow. but not too fast okay? we love you so much. sweet dreams li'l babes.

classic fall weekend

for our very festive fall weekend we headed over to estes park for the elk festival. yes, the elk festival. i didn't even know they had one of those until two days before we went. but it was perfect timing. the drive up was awesome and beautiful, we hit up the festival early enough to avoid the masses, and we did indeed see herds of elk AND even heard them bugle. really it was more like a squeal. oh, and the weather was fantastic.

we walked around downtown a bit, hank got a killer deal on some chacos, i lost a lens cover in the river, beth played in the fountain water and loved it (even though it was really cold), and all the stores, except for one crazy lady and her really lame store, was really cool about letting marley come in and shop with us. we love dog-friendly towns. the colors were stunning. uh-mazing. somehow my great pictures of these great colors are nowhere to be found.... ugh.

so we walked this path up to the golf course, hoping to see some elk because this is supposedly where they reside on this particular weekend. and walking along, we stumbled upon this big guy, just hangin out, right there on the bank of the river. we were so excited.

about 20 feet later we saw all these guys. good thing we got so excited for that one back there and spent 20 minutes looking at him...

this dude was the mac daddy. he would chase off all the other bulls and then round up all the lady elk and make them sit with him. he was definitely the pimp bull. he also bugled the loudest. maybe that had something to do with it. i'm not really sure how all that works in elkland...

welcome fall. please don't leave us early this year. i need your crisp mornings, your warm afternoons, your colorful leaves, your caramel apple evenings, pumpkin patch picking, and your loud stadiums full of cheering football fans. please don't let that snow come just yet; i've just barely gotten used to the idea of you...

boogers

this morning as i picked up beth from her crib i noticed she had dried up boogers spread all across her forehead. awesome, i thought to myself. her diaper was stinky and as i fed her i kept thinking, man, she needs a bath... but already running a good 20 minutes behind, it just wasn't going to happen this morning.

got the girl changed and dressed, grabbed my breakfast and were headed out the door when i realized i hadn't wiped those horrible crusties from her forehead. simultaneously, she decided to spit up everywhere. with a hefty sigh, i quickly grabbed the washcloth and cleaned her shirt, her hands, and my hands and again walked out the door with those blasted boogers on her head.

with her sitting on my lap as i drove her to our daycare mom's house (just A block away), i pulled the classic mom: licked my thumb and started to scrub down that forehead. finishing just as we pulled into the drive.

best mom ever. i know.

not all my of my mornings are quite like this. but a lot of them are....


little rascal.

zoo day

again, i am super behind. a couple weekends ago while the man was out doing his man thing and finding a "yummy" antelope to bring back, beth and i took a trip to the zoo. she had no idea what she was looking at, what she was looking for or why any of us seemed to care so much that there were giant lions, polar bears, and rhinos just feet from our faces, but it didn't matter so much to me. i enjoyed every second of it. watching her watch everything but the animals with complete interest... trying to show her each one, hoping she might find some sort of wonder in it and show a piece of emotion, but to no avail... loving that i wasn't at work, but instead spending the full day with my favorite girl on a beautiful sunshiny september day. though he claims otherwise, hank totally missed out. who doesn't want to be part of their kid's first trip to the zoo? honestly....

we even got to feed the birds, right out of a little cup in our hands. notice that she could really care less. i guess i don't really blame her.

ps: sweetest video ever.

some of those pictures aren't bad considering they were all taken with my phone, right? some not so great ones too, but meh... last thing i'm worried about.