We had absolutely STUNNING weather last weekend here in Connecticut. It was perfect for my photography business mini sessions and perfect for doing all the fall things and perfect for making me feel like Connecticut is a kick-ass place to live. IT’S A JOY JUST TO BE ALIIIIIIIVE.

On our lovely free Monday (you’re still a jerk Columbus, but I do enjoy a day off) we spent the morning at Creamery Brook Bison Farm taking part in a Walktober event with friends. They’re open on weekends in the fall for tours and I highly recommend it. They had a feeding and petting zoo as well as a chance to meet the bison up close.

In the afternoon we went to Buttonwoods for their corn maze and fall fun. It’s a tradition! We did both sides of the corn maze, the hay ride, the cow train, the hay tower and the kids went nuts in the corn pit. We all came home with pants full of corn and a zillion pictures. Don’t worry, Linc really liked the corn pit, even when we were pouring it on his head. He ate more than his share. Mmmm…roughage.

Once again, I love fall. I also love staying home and not doing things for several hours a day while the big kids are at school. It’s a good balance.

Sunday:

Pirates at the cider mill

Pirates at the paddleboard rental place

Tiny pirate at the ice cream stand sandbox

Monday:

I suspect the farmer actually paints these himself

Linc is very helpful while I’m editing #not

Wait. No. Stop. Come back.

Tuesday:

Applauding for The Price is Right because he’s a GOOD BABY

This corner of my house = a snapshot of our life

Yo ho ho and a bottle of milk

Wednesday:

Shopping cuddles

Brutus likes the new rug

This is not what I mean by babycakes, babycakes.

Thursday:

Wait for new IDs is way more relaxing when someone else can walk the baby up and down the halls

My bloggy thing at Boscovs was fun and delicious

Linc loves headbands

Friday:

Yay SPORTS

Fridays, man.

FRIDAYS, MAN.

Saturday:

Peewee soccer is adorable

My assistants waving goodbye to a mini session

Saturday mini session success, even with a nursing break in the middle.

So E was gone on an underway this month that ended up being twice as long as it should have been because of the hurricane. To apologize for the unnecessary sea time, work gave him a few days off, which means not only has he been home to help/enjoy all weekend, he gets Monday off too! That means a whole extra day of FALL FUN to do FALL FUN THINGS.

On Sunday morning, we participated in the Mystic Pirate Invasion. We did it last year too and the kids had a blast, Maybe next year I will plan ahead and find them pirate costumes that fit instead of cobbling together dress up from the last 4 years. They got a ton of treasure (candy + beads + plastic gem stones) and I got my 10,000 steps. Linc was strapped to my back (in our pirate/kraken themed carrier, obvs) the whole time, his pirate outfit went mostly unnoticed.

Look! Linc is in a picture!

Scary pirate faces.

Caroline felt is was VERY important that puppy come with us. The child-sized baby carrier was supposed to just be a toy but now it means I don’t end up carrying around the thing she insisted we bring and then loses/drops/wants me to hold. TOTALLY worth $30.

After we ran home and switched to regular person clothes, we headed to WeLiKit ice cream for their 25th anniversary celebration. A friend told me about the ice cream stand over the summer and I have to agree it is some of the BEST ice cream I’ve ever had. And what can be better than a waffle cone that is so fresh it’s still soft and warm when you eat it? It was a tiny bit on the chilly side for ice cream, but the kids did so much running around and general shenaniganery they were plenty warm.

Watching the waffle cone making. Obviously an ice cream stand is the best place to also buy beef.

Indian pudding, my new favorite flavor. It’s molasses and corn meal and if you think that sounds gross we can’t be friends.

p.s. They also sell clam fritters and chowder. Does it sound like the perfect place or what?!

And because I was so happy to be outside after a week of rain, I talked Caroline into playing model for a few minutes. I bought a set of Lightroom presets from Mastin Labs. They’re based on film (remember film????) and while I’m not going to switch over to ALL Mastin, all the time they are gorgeous. I love what they do to greens and shadows. The ones in her tutu were taken in the parking lot of Scotland town hall. The rest were in my yard.

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Pretend today is Sunday instead of Monday and this isn’t super late. Except that if it was Sunday I wouldn’t be getting this nice 60 minutes of quiet to watch Dateline repeats and blog because my baby decided sleeping was stupid and we spent the whole day outside trying to wear him (and the big kids) out. So just forgive me for being late.

Sunday:

It’s a whole set for playing while moms take photos

We agreed that painting pumpkins was OK even though TECHNICALLY it wasn’t October yet

Someone was really sure he didn’t need a nap last Sunday too

Monday:

ONCE AGAIN, not sleeping during assigned sleeping times

Checklist for the next house: Climbing Tree

This is why Linc still has his own room

Tuesday:

rain OH SO YOU WERE TIRED? I’M SHOCKED.

Yesssssssssss

Real Life Babywearing: Toddler lies on the floor next to my $350 wrap

Wednesday:

They like the rain because they love umbrellas

At least the cat like the new rug

Their relationship summarized in one photo

Thursday:

I’m sort of trying to sell some wraps, but I hate selling wraps so I’m not doing a great job.

That face is because he wants to be in the pool with the big kids (swim lessons)

So, I did some stuff to my hair.

Friday:

Brutus crashed our playgroup

This color with his eyes = A++++

Someone seems to have left my snack smushed on the couch.

Saturday:

LOOK AT THAT BABY PRETENDING HE IS A BIG KID SILLY BABY

We found a Pinkberry

Sleep! That’s where I’m a protractor! (Most random kid’s meal toy ever.)

My computer just decided NOW would be an ideal time to start acting up, so I’m going to go bang my head against a wall and moan. Seems like the best use of my time. I would really like it if things could just be NORMAL and BORING and AVERAGE for the rest of the week. Boring sounds really nice right now.

FALL FALL FALL IS HERE. I LOVE FALL.

Sunday:

PUNNY LICENSE PLATES ARE MY FAVORITE

Empty baseball stadiums are cool

Somehow a grocery trip still costs $100, even when I buy hardly anything

Monday:

Beaching it up

So happy when Sissy comes home from school

I love his little Judo outfit so much

Tuesday:

This week’s weather can stay forever

Prima Ballerina attitude already

Dogpile on the baby seems like a fun game

Wednesday:

HALLOWEEN AND CHRISTMAS WHAT IS HAPPENING

I went just for swim diapers

More soccer

Thursday:

View from the top

I bought a basket AND a cart to organize my stuff…so why isn’t it organized?

Setting up a new reward system

Friday:

I did not go chasing any waterfalls

Grump faces

Winner of the farmer’s market

Saturday:

MORE SOCCER

Important errands

A very windswept session at the park

It was our first week of All The Stuff and it was pretty much as exhausting as I was expecting. On Thursday morning, I got the kids on the bus then crawled back into bed with Linc until he started hitting me in the face at 9 am. I’m actually HOPING for some rain this week, because if the weather is bad I don’t feel guilty staying home all day. If only I could convince Linc the TV is super interesting and he should sit still and watch it for an hour or two…