Pumpkin Farm!

Last year we never got around to taking Jacob to a pumpkin patch. Actually, I don't know if we even really aspired to it because I figured that it wasn't worth paying a bunch of money for a dozen activities Jacob couldn't do...and I never got around to researching free ones. So in the end I just wanted to go to my childhood farmer's market back in NT and find one there. Which we did. Unfortunately it was a rainy day so it wasn't all too pleasant, but we did find a cool jack o' lantern pumpkin and a Jacob-sized pumpkin, which was really all I wanted. This year we wanted to take him somewhere fun, hearkening back to two years ago when we went to Stokoe Farms here in Rochester. I may have just been pregnant when we went...like maybe a week in. Of course, I had no clue for another month or so. But even without kids we had a blast. And all I could think about as we walked past a crowd of kids around baby chicks and got to pet some farm animals was how cool it would be to bring our kids there someday. I did some research this year to see what nearby farms might be most appropriate for Jacob, and I decided we'd either go back to Stokoe or we'd try out one of two other farms--one that was right near us, and one that was a good 40 minute drive northwest. Stokoe is about 35 minutes south, so either way it could be a drive. The one near us looked ok, but we finally decided we'd check out the big one 40 minutes away and fully educate ourselves to make the decision next year. So, off to Brown's Berry Patch we went.

Thanks to Jacob's odd weekend napping schedule and other general issues, we didn't get on the road until later than we wanted, and we didn't get to the farm until about 4pm. Little did we know it closed at 5. Before we found that out, we headed into the store to check it out and get a snack. I was craving some apple pie (ideally as part of a sundae), and they did not disappoint. Apple pie, apple cinnamon ice cream, whipped cream, caramel...oooh, so good. Jacob loved it as well! He just kept signing "More!" We also picked up a couple apple cider donuts, which I had wanted to try as well. Knowing we didn't have much time once we actually saw their hours (doh!) we headed out to do whatever we could, most likely all the free stuff. We visited with some animals--goats, a cow and an alpaca--and Jacob liked that a lot...

Then we headed out to the pumpkin patch. There wasn't much left there, but we still had a good time once I got over the fact that Jacob would indeed get muddy. Jacob mostly liked picking up random gourds and throwing them. He thinks they're balls. Surprise, surprise! Here he is with one...

And another...but this one was a little too heavy to pick up and throw, apparently!


Aha! Got this one! It comes with a handle!

Apparently this one became a baseball bat instead of a ball!

He did manage to throw this one, though I'm not sure if I caught it or not. Looks like I'm making it levitate, though!

Craig offering up more ammunition, presumably to try to get Jacob to walk...
LOVE this picture...

There was a little train-themed play area, and we tried our darndest to get a good shot of both of us, but I think this was the best one!

Look at the big boy going off to explore...

At least the crawling is still handy for some things!

Looking back at Mommy :)

They had some crafters there for their fall festival and I got a couple cheap, cute little things, and we also fed the goats high up on these crazy goat walkways. They know how to pull the food up to themselves...so crazy! Eventually we made our way back to the front and got one gourd for Jacob and one uniquely shaped medium-sized pumpkin. I think we still have to get a slightly bigger one for our real pumpkin, though. Perhaps another (better timed) farm visit should be in our plans? We shall see! All in all, we had a good time. I wish we could have stayed longer and done more things, but it was a fun time for all of us and I'm looking forward to Jacob being able to do even more next year. While I know I should enjoy the present (and I do--how cute are these pictures?), I can't help but look at everything with an eye toward the future, thinking about its potential as Jacob gets older and more able. We have so many exciting things to come!