Since it’s Thursday, I want to do a little throwback to last October. I was about five months pregnant and my bump came out of nowhere. We announced our baby’s name, had a beautiful shower thrown for us, and my parents came to town. The first place we took them was the pumpkin patch and I remember bursting at the seams with excitement over the idea that next year I would be bringing my little boy there with me. Plus, there’s nothing like being pregnant at the pumpkin patch looking like you smuggled a pumpkin in your shirt.

It was so fun having family around for a holiday – even if it was only Halloween.

After the pumpkin patch we all carved pumpkins and my mom baked the seeds in the oven. Here was how we announced baby’s name:

We didn’t dress up, but I ate so much candy that during my ultrasound the next day the technician told me I wore the kid out and he slept the whole time. I had to hang upside down and drink apple juice to coax him out – haha! The ultrasound was a surprise to my parents. There’s a place in town that has a full blown theatre so that visitors can sit in huge comfy couches and see the baby on a movie-size screen. You have the option of buying a stuffed animal with a recording of the baby’s heartbeat inside, and naturally we bought the Fox 😉

And here we are feeling loved at our baby shower.

I cannot express how excited I am that fall is back in full swing. I still haven’t had a pumpkin spice latte yet, but you better believe there are oranges, reds, and browns all over my home with candles littered all over so long as they smell like baked goods.

I have so many things I want to do this weekend both around the house and outside. I planned on staying in (except for a hair appointment on Saturday), but the pumpkin patch is screaming my name! We also need to find a costume for Fox. We’ve tossed around a bunch of ideas but haven’t landed on the perfect one yet.

In the meantime, I’ve been teaching Fox about fall and Halloween with some books!

Here are a few of his favorites right now:

Fox has a great attention span and will sit listening through most books, no matter how long – although sometimes I have to give him his own little board book to hold while I’m holding the book we’re reading! He’s really into the touch and feel books like Spooky and Fall (they come in all kinds of seasons and holidays!) and also the peek-a-boo books like One, Two… Boo! that has lift-up flaps. Goodnight Goon was the best kind of find because there are actually lines in it that say “Goodnight Goo!” and Goo has been Fox’s nickname since the very day he was born. It’s a cute little parody of Goodnight Moon. Leo: A Ghost Story is brand new and I cannot handle the adorableness of this book. It has such a strong message about including people no matter how different (even if they’re ghosts – haha). I also threw The Nightmare Before Christmas on the list because Fox’s version is actually mine from when I was a kid 🙂 There’s nothing like being able to share your memories with your own baby.

Click on the images if you’re interested in learning more for your little ones!

XO, Sarabeth