Apple-picking!

Well, that title is a tad deceiving since no actual apple-picking took place but we did have a wonderful fall day at an apple orchard!  The whole Carter clan made the trip to Delano for lunch at the Peppermint Twist (what a great place!) and then on to Apple Jack Orchard. 

Zoe and Jackson dancing to the jukebox before lunch.

Peppermint Twist is such a great place for kids...and the food is really good too!  It's an old-fashioned drive-in style with lots of outdoor activities.  The kids loved the wishing well!

The playground had those crazy noodles that you find at the pool.  They were a hit with Jackson and Zoe!

Jackson and Grandma and Grandpa Carter playing in the train.

After a yummy lunch and a little playtime, it was off to Apple Jack Orchards.  Unfortunately, there were no apples to actually pick but they did have lots of pumpkins, a big hay pile for the kids to play on, a small petting zoo area, hay rides and an apple canon.

Jackson LOVED the pumpkins! He found the little one he has in his hand and carried it around most of the afternoon.

Mom, why do you put me in these crazy poses?  You know all I want to do is run around and play!

Finally, on to the animals!

Checking out the turkeys with Mom

...and the goats.

Looking at the chickens and roosters with Zachary.  Pretty cool!

Look Mom, the goat is right next to me!

Enough of this walking around.  I want to ride in style!

Family picture -- unhappy Jackson.  Oh well, you can't win them all!

Look at this cool chair!  Can we take it home?

More pumpkin time

It occurred to me that weekend, as it does frequently these days, that he is such a little boy.  He's not a baby anymore.  He charged into toddler-hood and hasn't looked back.  If given the option of walking or being carried, he wants to walk.  He absolutely won't let you feed him anything.  He wants to do it himself.  In the last couple of weeks he's decided that he doesn't need us to read him books.  He will sit down and "read" them himself.  On Saturday he even grabbed the wrapper from a granola bar he'd just eaten and promptly threw it in the garbage -- something I'd never seen him do before!  And he laughs like no other child I've met!  He cracks himself up (and his parents too) constantly.  I really can't wait until he starts talking so I know all of the funny things he's saying.  He has his temper tantrums too but while it's frustrating when he's in the middle of one, he really is a good-natured little boy and the odd tantrum is a small price to pay for all of his giggles, smiles and hugs. 

Ok, time for a few pictures and videos from the cabin

We spent Labor Day at the cabin with my parents and Elizabeth and Reef.  The weather was cool and crisp.  Fall was letting us know that our sunny days of summer were numbered.  But honestly, I'm OK with that.  I love Fall!  Football season, beautiful trees, cozy sweaters and my North Face fleece.  These are all things that put a big smile on my face.  Fall is wonderful and after a HOT summer, I'm happy that it's here.

Here are a few pictures from our week Up North.  We all had a great time, especially Jackson who got to spend a whole week with Grandma and Grandpa Blair!

Reading time with Grandma

Our little goofball

Nothing quite like a sippy cup of milk in the morning, especially in the woods!

One of his latest favorite things to do is take the toys out of the little toy bin and get in it. 

Silly boy! 

The cats made the trip to the cabin too.  Here they are trying to devise a plan to catch the squirrel out on the deck.

Possibly the highlight of the week, chasing the ducks in front of Gunflint Lodge. 

Here are two "Jackson with the ducks" videos.  The first one is from Labor Day weekend and the second one is from the end of September when we were all back up at the cabin to close it for the season. 



So Far Behind

I know, it's been so long since I've posted anything.  September has been incredibly busy and we've had so much going on that I just can't seem to find time to sit down and sort through pictures to get them posted.  We've been to the cabin for a week over Labor Day, back to the cabin for a short weekend to get the dock in and start the "closing" process and we've spent some time outside enjoying the beautiful fall weather.

But, the big news is that Jackson had been moved up to the toddler room at daycare.  It's happened an entire month early (typically they stay in the infant room until 16 months) but we are all VERY excited about it.  Honestly, for the last two weeks he has spent most of his time in the toddler room.  I have been dropping him off in the infant room from breakfast in the morning but by mid-morning he is down with the toddlers. 

The toddler room means more independence but more fun for him too.  Because of the independence, he is able to explore what he wants to do more.  The toys and activities they have are geared towards older kids.  There is music class twice a week which I know he will love!  He gets to play outside at least twice a day.  In the toddler room they have group time twice a day as well.  During group time they sing songs, practice counting and ABC's.  They even work on Spanish language skills with the toddlers.  I really think being around the older kids is going to be so good for him.  He was clearly bored with the infant room and watching older kids and being exposed to more is going to be great developmentally. 

That being said, this whole change was supposed to happen Tuesday, NOT TODAY!!!  I was prepared for Tuesday.  I was prepared for one last day of dropping him off in the infant room.  I was prepared for our little morning routine of getting him settled, a little chat with the teacher, a last cuddle before I'm off to work.  I was NOT prepared to be told to drop him off in the big kids room where they eat breakfast at little tables and drink out of cups (not sippy-cups -- yikes!).  It became very clear to me that I really don't have a baby anymore.  I have a toddler who is growing up way too fast.  I just want it all to slow down.  How is it possible that the last 15 months have gone by so quickly?  HELP!

A Day At The Fair

We all ventured out to the Great Minnesota Get Together, otherwise known as the Minnesota State Fair on Wednesday.  What a great time!  We did all of the usual things -- visited all of the animal barns, including the llamas (my favorite!), walked, ate some cookies, stopped by the Twins booth, walked some more, ate some fried food, walked some more, etc.  I think you get the picture.  We tried a new food this year, one that I don't think I'll do again but it's worth mentioning just because it's weird.  One of my co-workers suggested it to me -- deep fried oreos cookies.  Not so great it turns out.  Love oreos but I think they need to stay out of the fryer. 

Anyway, Jackson has a good time but wasn't a fan of staying in the stroller.  We let him out a couple of times, first so that I could hold him in the animal barns.  It was hard to see from the stroller and I wanted him to feel like he was participating.  Well, we probably should have left him in there because all hell broke loose when we tried to put him back.  Not a pretty sight but we all survived. 

Here are some pictures from our day at the fair....

First stop, checking out the sheep.  I'm guessing that they had these covers on them to protect the wool from all the hands wanting to touch them before they get clipped.

Off to see the llamas!  Love them! 

Finally, the pigs -- cute but smelly.

In the cow barn they had little piglets that had just been born a few days earlier.  They were absolutely adorable!  Here we are checking them out.

Jackson pointing -- his new favorite past time.

Of course I didn't get a picture of it but Jackson did pet the little pig.

Finally, we had to make a stop at Choo Choo Bob's State Fair exhibit.  Jackson is a HUGE train fan.  I think he could have stayed in there for hours playing with all of the trains.  He was completely undaunted by the older kids and just had a great time.  I didn't get very good pictures because the little munchkin wouldn't stop moving. 

I definitely see a train set in the future.

Mom, stop trying to take pictures and just let me play!

Anyway, a good time was had by all! 

We are off to the cabin tomorrow for an entire week!  Can't wait!  It should be a little cool but that makes for good sleeping weather.  Perfect for just hanging out watching movies, reading and playing cards.

First Haircut

It was a big weekend for us -- on Saturday Jackson got his first haircut.  I've been holding off for as long as I thought acceptable but I finally gave in.  He needed it.  It was time.

I made the appointment for a kids salon so they would (hopefully) know how to deal with a child who absolutely, in no uncertain terms, wanted to get his hair cut.  Turns out I didn't need to be worried.  While I was having an anxiety attack over the whole thing, Jackson was as cool as a cucumber.  Give my son a new experience and he takes it all in, no problem at all.  He didn't even mind having to wait 20 minutes because they were busy.  Here are some pictures from the big event.

A pre-cut picture.  The salon gave each child an "adventure pass" that they could redeem afterwards for a prize.  Jackson's prize was a skull and crossbones sticker.  I believe it is now currently in our garbage.  Oh well.  Cute idea though!

Getting ready!  As you can tell, Jackson was a little unsure about what was going to happen -- or maybe it was sitting in the Bumbo which he hasn't used in many months.  Each station had a TV with cartoons playing to help distract the kids.  What a great idea!

Jackson has an adorable stuffed monkey that he got from Gramma Carter for his birthday.  We brought that along as a little security toy. 

Hamming it up for the camera.

The finished product.  Not the best picture ever but oh well.  I'm having a hard time admitting that my little boy isn't really a baby anymore so I didn't have them cut too much hair off.  Just enough so that he no longer looks like he's sporting a mullet.

We had "one year" portraits taken on Sunday.  I know, it's a month late but July really got away from me and this was the earliest we could do it.  Jackson just loves the camera and he took some great pictures, including some cute ones in his little Mauer baseball jersey with a Twins hat, baseball and bat.  I can't wait to get them back.

Also on Sunday, the Carters brought over the bookshelf Casey made for Jackson.  Kind of a belated birthday gift.  Wow!  It's just perfect in his new bedroom!  It has four shelves for books on top and two bins for toys on the bottom. 

I think he likes it!  It looks even better now that it's full of Jackson's books and toys.

So, we're still really busy but loving watching Jackson grow!  Some of the things he is really enjoying these days are playing with Little People, chasing the kitties around the house, opening and closing doors (especially the french doors with windows in them -- he likes to look through and see what's on the other side after he's closed the doors), climbing onto anything and everything, and reading.  In the last month or two his love of books and reading has become very apparent.  He loves to pick out a book, bring it to us and sit on our laps while we read it to him.  Then he will go get another book -- this can go on for quite some time.  And I love every minute of it!  His favorite book right now is "Goodnight Moon."  That was one of my favorites too so I love reading it to him. 

As summer winds down, we are looking forward to a trip to the Minnesota State Fair and another week up at the cabin over Labor Day.  We are also looking forward to temperatures that aren't flirting with 100 and the cool days that fall brings.  We hope everyone is doing well! 

Until next time, take care!