Happy Halloween

This year's family costume theme was Goldilocks and the Three Bears. It was Mandy's idea and really perfect.

Mama Bear and Papa Bear

The Bear Family

Goldilocks and (grumpy) Baby Bear

The whole crew

We didn't get very good photos but Kip is in a really go-go-go phase right now and refuses to stop, be held, look at the camera, let alone pose or smile. Yeah, just not gonna happen. You take what you get.

The costumes were simple in theory. We got Kip a big thick furry coat (perfect for cold weather costume) and the bear face was embroidered on the hood. Pair with brown pants and brown shoes. Done. Dan and I wore brown sweatshirts and Mandy made us felt ears attached to hair clips. Goldilocks wore a dress, ruffly apron, and pigtails. Sounds simple but it took over a month and four different return transactions to get everything in the right color and size. Keeping it real.

See ya next year Halloween!

Weekending it

We wrapped up October this weekend with some festive fall fun.

We've been planning for weeks to go to Governors Island for their trick-or-treat event that was scheduled for Saturday. All week we were bummed as the forecast kept looking worse and worse. Fortunately, they officially rescheduled the event from Saturday to Sunday and we shuffled things around to make it work. And it was worth it!

Since Saturday was miserably cold and rainy we stayed inside and did all our weekend chores.

Stopping on the way to the store for a hot fudge sundae.

Kip shared with me and I've never been more happy to enjoy a chocolate treat with a boy! Dan hates chocolate but so far Kip seems to be taking after me in that taste!

On Sunday, Mandy came over in the morning and we all got dressed up and on the ferry to the island. It was supposed to be warm and sunny but that never appeared. At least it was dry! We had a picnic and then explored the pumpkin patch.

Kip wasn't happy about being held for a picture.

One of the old houses was a decked out in paper-covered walls that kids were welcome to decorate.

We stayed for a bit of spooky story time and then Kip got to trick-or-treat for the first time.

We walked around for a little bit and then said goodbye to Governors Island until next summer. So sad. But looking forward to more adventures next year.

Fall is Cute

It's no secret that I am not a fan of fall. It's just so hard to let go of the sunny, fun-filled, carefree days of summer. Winter (after the holidays) is really hard for me so fall is not really my favorite gatekeeper of the cold and gloomy months ahead.

But, I admit, there are a lot of fun things to do in the fall and I'm not a total pumpkin spice hater.

Kip playing in the fall leaves certainly helps. Some shots from our visit to Boscobel this weekend.

He was too interested in the leaves to be bothered to look up at the camera. These are the days.

Weekending it

This past weekend we made a trip "upstate" to see the fall foliage. It seems, by default, we always go to Cold Springs/Boscobel because why change? Maybe, we'll just make it a tradition. Dan and I have a special history there, visiting many times throughout our relationship. See our other storied visits here.

The weather has really turned chilly here and it sort of feels like we jumped from late summer to early winter. It is brisk! Saturday's forecast was a little warmer which was nice since at least it was sunny. The fall colors are generally really stunning once you get out of the city but it was strange because we couldn't tell if we were early or late for the best colors. Some trees had already changed and dropped their leaves. Others were only a little colorful. And most didn't seem to have changed at all. Mandy read the rapidly fluctuating weather we had in September and early October meant things were a little more "dull" this year. But, the Hudson River Valley is pretty regardless.

We got there right when the lunchtime and nap windows collide so we crossed our fingers that we could get some cooperation from Kip for some family photos. He was just so happy to get out and walk around in the wide open space that most of my photos look like this:

But, Mandy, our ever gracious family photographer, managed to get a few good photos. I'll save those for our Christmas card and share some of the "outtakes" here.

After a short visit and some photos we grabbed a donut from the farmer's market to tide Kip over and then Dan drove us over to a neighboring town with a massive outlet mall to get lunch. The mall was great but incredibly overrun by foreign tourists. I'm still unsure how they all got there. Anyways, we didn't last long since it was way past Kip's nap time. Fortunately he fell asleep in the car for a peaceful ride home.

Dan and I went to a friend's little fall party that evening while Mandy put Kip to bed and then she headed home after we shared dinner together. We are so grateful for her company and help with Kip.

Sunday was a marathon for us. I was serving on brunch team so Dan wrangled Kip around the school for 5 hours. Grocery shopping after church and then the day was pretty much over.

We've been busy every weekend trying to do all the fun fall activities to help us fill our tanks before the long winter hibernation. Plus, it's fun to introduce a toddler to all the seasonal traditions. And, Kip is game for pretty much anything.

Hair

From the front, Kip looks basically bald.

But he's not, it's just all growing in from the back to the front.

And it's a beautiful soft corn-silk blonde. I love it. We may need to trim the mullet at some point but for now I'm enjoying his little duck tail.