More fall fun

Some people might think it is a little early but we went to a farm on Sunday to choose our pumpkins. They had a lot of fun fall decorations and a farmers market with rows and rows of locally-grown fresh produce and baked goods. I wanted to buy everything!

All week, Grace has been asking to go to a pumpkin patch. She decided we needed 4 pumpkins - one for each of us...and Daisy! She chose two small ones for herself and her dog and Kyle and I chose our own.

Getting so big

Some days I feel like Grace grows up while she is at school. I drop her off in the morning and by the time I pick her up after work she seems like a much bigger, older, smarter kid to me.

These are her fall school photos. I like them (except for that piece of hair that came out of her flower clip....didn't anyone notice it?) but they are also hard to look at because she isn't my "baby" any more. I miss the baby and toddler days, but I love the "big" kid she is becoming. Hanging out with Grace, talking to her, answering her many questions, and watching her play and learn are all so much fun!

First signs of fall

A few days ago summer officially turned to fall. You can barely see a hint of color on the tips of some leaves and there is a crispness to the air, especially in the morning and evening. It is time to start pulling out jeans and sweaters and to cuddle under a warm blanket so we can leave the windows open at night.

While Kyle was at soccer this afternoon, Grace and I went to a garden center to get started on our front porch decorations. They had a little fall festival going on so she got to jump in the bouncy house and ride a horse.

We got a snack, looked at all the spooky displays, and came home with a scarecrow and some mums. Grace was a big help putting the flowers in pots and arranging everything in front of the house. She even "played school" with the scarecrow!

Rocket and rollin' around town

I never thought I would be one of those parents who would wait in the Toys R Us line at 5AM for the "it" toy of the season. But, the truth is, I would do anything for Grace. Even drive around town looking for a rocket. More on that later.

It is good to rediscover some of the great things about your town. In honor of National Curiosity Day (did you know there was such a thing?) a local bookstore hosted a storytime and tea party. Naturally, their theme was everyone's favorite curious monkey - Curious George. But they read other stories, too, and brought a curious 9-week old kitten from the humane society. The entrance "fee" was a box of dog or cat treats. Grace was very proud to bring her gift for the animals that don't have a loving home. She loved sitting in a quiet corner exploring the books,

sampling her "tea",

and holding the kitten.

One little girl really thought her parents were going to let her bring the kitten home. I chuckled to myself when her dad tried to distract her with ice cream instead of the kitten!

Luckily, I had prepared Grace that we were NOT adopting a kitten so I didn't need to do much to lure her away from that cuddly, little grey puff of fur. But, going to the toy store and getting a cupcake didn't hurt.

I think a dollhouse might be on Santa's list this year.

While we were eating amazing gourmet cupcakes outside the bakery, two rocket cars kept speeding by. Any four-year-old would definitely want to ride one of them. So, I kept watching where it was turning and we started on a "rocket hunt" looking for the place where people were boarding. I knew Grace really wanted to ride because she didn't complain as we walked looking for it. Kyle was helping from home looking for the rocket cars on the computer, but finally I decided to get in the car and FOLLOW THAT ROCKET! We found it at the Catholic Church where we jumped out of our car and waited in a short line before our turn to ride. It was worth the hunt...both for the ride and the ear-to-ear smile on my Grace as the wind blew through her hair!

No training wheels

For the last three weekends, Grace has been practicing riding her bike without training wheels. I think using the balance bike had a lot to do with how easily she was able to ride once Kyle removed the training wheels.

With help, Grace has been going up and down our street. There is a slight hill so she can pick up a little speed on the way down, but she really has to pedal hard on the way back up to keep her balance.

The first week she did it I ran with her, but the last couple of weekends, Kyle has helped so I can take photos and video. There is a short clip from last Sunday on YouTube. If you want to see it go to www.youtube.com and try searching "Grace bike riding.AVI". There are a lot of "Graces" riding their bike for the first time. Our clip was posted under LynnVvideos on Monday, Sept. 12th.

Two other "big kid" things happened recently....today she made another friend on our street. Austin is 7 and right now Grace, Cameron, and Austin are playing in his yard. And, Grace wanted a toy she saw on television - My Little Pony Princess Celestia. She told me about it a couple of weeks ago. Then she pointed it out when the commercial came on - many times! So today I told her she could use the money in her bank to buy it. And she did! That kid had $22.41 in coins saved. Kyle says every time she sees coins around the house she asks him if she can have them. Smart girl!

Crooked River Pow-Wow

I learned that a pow-wow is a gathering of North America's native people, often from different tribes. I didn't realize that these pow-wows are like festivals for native and non-native Americans. The one we went to last Sunday with Kellie and Dawson probably was a small once compared to some, but it was fun to see the native costumes, hear the drums and singing, and watch the dances.

A new friend

Grace became friends with a little girl down the street. Her name is Cameron and she is 1 1/2 years older than Grace, but that doesn't seem to be a problem for either of them. Yesterday, they rode their bikes together and today Cameron rang our doorbell to see if Grace wanted to play. They did chalk drawing, hopscotch, and a big puzzle in our driveway and then went o Cameron's house to play. Grace was there for a couple of hours!

Fireworks and festivities

Our city as and end-of-summer celebration called Summer Sunset Blast every Labor Day weekend with food, music, and carnival games. Part of the festival is a pretty good fireworks show that we can see perfectly from out lake. Grace was very excited for it this year. All day she kept talking about the fireworks and she even agreed to take a nap in the middle of the day yesterday so she could stay up for the fireworks and festivities!

Grace waited all day to light up her glow-in-the-dark princess wand. That was a great Target $1.00 bin purchase! It is still glowing this morning.

Tonight, the Cleveland orchestra has a Bugs Bunny outdoor concert. We are hoping the thunderstorms pass over us so we can bring our blanket to check out the cartoons and hear the music! I might even go buy another one of those wands....without the star it makes a great conductor's baton!