happy halloween!

  

 From our flock of Angry Birds...

pumpkin patch time

This year we managed to hit not one, but 4 pumpkin patches.

Z and I got invited to go along with the kindergarten classes because he has "Pez" (J's teacher from last year) wrapped around his little finger. After some hay bale climbing, cow milking, farm animal petting, tractor riding and potato digging action, he got stung by a bee. We hit the road shortly thereafter since he quickly developed a fear of anything small and flying. Although, at one point, Z managed to highjack my camera and take some pretty amazing pictures of me...

This may be my new favorite picture of myself.

This is definitely one of my favorites of him. Love those boots!

Last week J's class went to another pumpkin patch and Z and I tagged along. I'm not sure if the highlight at this one was feeding the horses or watching the kids scream in disgust as they tried to feed the cows...

Those cows had some seriously huge, slobbery tongues.

This weekend we managed to make it to two pumpkin patches in one day. The first one was near our house and involved...

an incredibly expensive session of bounce house jumping,

crazy wooden cutouts that have nothing to do with fall,

and pumpkins that were even more expensive than the bounce houses.

After a few tears when we informed the kids there was no way we would be paying $25 per pumpkin, we headed up the highway to farmland and the best pumpkin patch yet.

The pony rides were the highlight. (Really, how could they not be?)

Z tried on a pretty stellar hat.

Biggest pumpkin she could carry!

three

How did this happen? How did my baby go from being a baby to being a potty trained, super hilarious, very opinionated, and incredibly amazing 3-year old?

We had a great day. A. Great. Day. We were really worried that he was going to get overwhelmed and meltdown, but we kept things slow and low key and gave him lots of time to just chill and enjoy his day. It couldn't have been any better. Here's proof...

The gift bag from Grammy and Grampy. Almost as big as him!

In love with Buzz!

A couple hours at the science museum.

Nothing better than a Lightning McQueen cake....

except for licking frosting off of Lightning McQueen.

Our amazing Space Ranger!

who knew?

Who knew that going on a 6-hour field trip with the big kids would result in your toddler falling asleep for the night at 3:30?

Who knew at 15 hours of sleep would result in a morning of meltdowns of epic proportions?

thirty-eight, take two

"So, mom. You are 89 now, right?"

Close. I turned 38 yesterday and had a great day complete with a box full of homemade presents from the kids (my favorite) and a new cookbook (also a favorite). My pal, Heidi, also took Z and I out to coffee, after which we spent the morning chilling at the beach.

The best part of the day? Realizing I was 38. Again. Since I spent all last year thinking I had already turned 38, it's like I haven't aged at all. Or that I get a do-over this year. Mr. D wanted to tease me about an early onset of senility, but then he realized he knows where I live.

super z

I love this picture for so many reasons. Z has a new haircut that was 7 months in the making. His backpack is full of his new cars that he got as a reward for getting that haircut. He won't let them out of his sight. He's rocking his new cowboy boots that he wears everywhere. And those headphones. I love them. Here's the story about the headphones...

It all started with the tiptoe walking. Well, it probably started sooner than that, when he was a baby and was super antsy and easily unsettled. But, the tiptoe walking is what took us to his pediatrician. He walks on his tiptoes all the time which we thought was no big deal. But, we decided to double check. 2 pediatricians, 1 social worker, and 1 occupational therapist later, we found out that Z probably has Sensory Processing Disorder. The diagnosis just confirms what we have already known. He's super sensitive to low sounds (hair dryers, hair buzzers, hand dryers, vacuums, blenders). He craves routine. He gets easily overwhelmed if there it too much going on. He can't handle restaurants or grocery stores. He will only eat cold food. He's terrified of getting his haircut. He has tantrums that can last a couple hours. He's a horrible sleeper. He's super quirky, but we love all of the quirks. (Well, maybe not the tantrums, but it's just part of who he is.)

Yesterday he got these headphones. He already knows that he can put them on when he feels like there is too much noise around him. He is so much more relaxed already. He also got his hair cut. I don't think there are enough words to explain what a victory this was for him. The last time we tried to just visit a hair salon, he went screaming out of it and collapsed on the sidewalk sobbing. Full on panic attack. His OT recommended a kids hair salon that we stopped by yesterday. This guy was amazing. Amazing. Z wasn't super thrilled with it, but he tolerated it and was so proud of himself afterward. We also got him an indoor swing. It's his new quiet place. He sits in it with his headphones and a book. It totally calms him down.

There aren't enough words for how much I love Z. He makes us laugh. He has a crazy good memory. He's always discovering something. He knows who he is. Life with him is never dull. He's such a great kid. I'm so relieved that we finally have an idea of what is going on in his little body and that there is hope for him. I'm so glad God gave him to us. I can't imagine our family without him.

love him!

He made me promise not to put this picture on Facebook. He didn't say anything about the blog...