The First of Many 2011 Halloween Related Posts

We have a tradition of going to Jaker's Pumpkin Patch here in town to traipse through vine-covered dirt mounds in search of the perfect pumpkins to adorn our front porch.  I have found that the children settle on a pumpkin almost immediately because they would much rather roll around in the pit of corn kernels or climb on the bales of hay near the parking area.  Oh well.  I'm too busy trying to get the ideal photograph of each moment that I could care less about the pumpkins, too.

 Here is the pumpkin that everyone collectively picked out for Ella.  I think she likes it.

 I love Garrett's grin in this picture.  It is one of his more natural facial expressions I've been able to

capture in a while.  (He's going through that fake-smile-for-the-camera phase right now.)

 This is the pumpkin Spencer originally picked but you won't see it on our porch.  It was accidentally

 swapped out for a different one late one evening after we caught some pumpkin snatchers and had

the police make them return all their "loot." ( I'll have to tell that story another day.)

 What can I say?  Just a good-looking kid holding a good-looking pumpkin.

This year has been Ella's first experience with the fall season and all of its traditional amenities.  It seems as though she has taken quite a liking to all of the activities we are doing.  The colors, smells, sights, and feel of the time of year are just as exhilarating to her as they are to the rest of us.  Oh, and she enjoys the taste of fall, too, but in a different way than most do.  While pumpkin pie and apple cider will please my palette, Ella is content with straw and dusty kernels of corn.

 Just adding a little fiber to her diet.

 Mom and Dad weren't quick enough to anticipate the handfuls of corn that would go straight into

 Ella's awaiting mouth once she was set down.  (You can see some in her mouth in this picture.)

 She didn't seem to like it when we emptied her fists and face of corn kernels.

 Nope, she did not like that one bit!

This post authored by Amber