The Pumpkin Patch

This year, Tommy thought I was silly, almost to the point of obsessed, but I really wanted to take Jack to the pumpkin patch. The idea of our almost-one-year-old toddling around amongst the pumpkins and exploring all kinds of new sights and sounds made me really excited. Silly, right?

Anyway, of course, the weekend we had planned to go, we got torrential rainstorms on Saturday, so that day was definitely out. Sunday, we figured the pumpkin patch would be a huge mud puddle, so we had basically counted it out. I knew that the next weekend, Halloween weekend, would be busy with parties, family, and probably work, so I was bummed that it didn't look like we would make it to the pumpkin patch. We had planned to attend our neighborhood's fall festival on Sunday afternoon, but Jack decided he wanted to sleep through it. At this point, I was sad, it was a beautiful day, Jack had just woken up from a nap, and the pumpkin patch was open despite the rain, so Tommy humored me and said we could go.

We headed to the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch and and evidently it hadn't rained nearly as much in Flower Mound as it had in Frisco because the pumpkin patch wasn't muddy at all. Jack was a little too young for some of the activities at the patch like bounce houses and corn mazes, but he had a wonderful time running around in the fields. We got lots of good photos, so get ready for some cuteness...

 (why is Mom making me sit in this pile of pumpkins??)

 (maybe it's kind of fun after all...)

 (this place is huge!)

 (coming in for a hug) 

 (contemplating...)

 

 (family pic)

(peek-a-boo!!)

Jack's Meets Big Tex

Any good Texan will know exactly what I mean when with the title to this blog post - Jack made his first trip to the great State Fair of Texas!!  Tommy's Mom and Robert were in town to celebrate Tommy's birthday and it was a gorgeous fall day in Dallas, what could be better than a trip to the fair?  We didn't make it for Texas/OU weekend this year (the outcome wasn't all that good anyway), and this week happened to be Texas Tech/Baylor in the Cotton Bowl, so we were surrounded by Red, Black, Green and Yellow. 
Tommy's mom thinks she might be in the market for a new car, so we first made our way to the auto show.  I forgot  to mention earlier that we stopped at Target on the way to the fair and bought the first pair of shoes for our little walker - aren't they adorable?!

 Here he is in the auto show - doing pretty well getting around for his first time walking in shoes!

After the auto show, we made our way through the crowds, past some craft exhibits and baking contests, all the way back to the petting zoo.  Jack got to feed a goat, see zebras, pigs, cows and all kinds of farm animals and cow-like creatures.  He was really excited about everything - it's so wonderful to watch as he explores and learns the world around him!

 

After the petting zoo, it was time for the highlight of anyone's trip to the State Fair of Texas - fried food.  From fried beer and margaritas to fried butter, if you can put it in a fryer, they will try in at the fair.  After Tommy's last fried food experience at the State Fair a few years ago, fried coke (he was not a fan), he was a little hesitant, but elected to try this year's winner, fried frito pie.  Lucklily, it was a winner, and renewed his confidence in fried food.  I stuck to the traditional and had a Fletcher's Corny Dog with mustard!  I followed it up with a fried chocolate truffle - yum!  Kathryn and Robert were feeling a little more healthly and stuck to sno-cones and popcorn - great fair food nonetheless.  Here's Tommy enjoying his fried frito pie:

After the petting zoo, Jack was worn out.  I'm not sure how he managed to fall asleep with the noise and people around him, but he decided to take a quick nap:

From there, we wandered around the carnival portion of the fair, but passed on riding any rides on our full tummies!  We headed on past the carnival games and rides, making one last stop.  What trip to the fair would be complete without a photo with Big Tex?!

At this point, Jack was starting to be super-crazy and giggly. 

So cute, yes, but we knew that grumpy tired Jack wouldn't be far behind, so we headed back to the car, stopped by St. Joseph's to say hi to Tommy's Great Aunt Doris and headed back to Frisco.  Nana and Papa stayed with Jack so we could have a nice dinner out at Trufire Kitchen and Bar.  As a birthday present for Tommy, they also helped us make a beautiful painting to hang above the fireplace.  Pictures to come as soon as we get it hung.  Thanks Nana and Papa and Happy Birthday Tommy!  I love you!!

(Jack even helped to decorate the cake - notice the lovely job with the sprinkles (and the smudge under the "R"  ;) )

 

Old McPoppy had a Farm....

Last weekend we headed down to Louisiana to visit Poppy and Gigi on the farm.  We arrived very late on Thursday night, just in time to crash in bed (after an hour or so of playing with someone who decided he wasn't very tired after sleeping the whole way in the car).  While we waited for Poppy to get home from work on Friday we ate boudin for breakfast, some yummy fish tacos that Gigi made for lunch, and had a nice, relaxing morning.  Poppy arrived home in the late afternoon and after getting some necessary playtime with Jack, we all headed to the Steamboat Warehouse Restaurant in Washington LA around 8pm.  This was a little too late for Jack, so he spent much of his time out on the dock overlooking the bayou, rather than at the table, but everyone else enjoyed their seafood and time spent together.

On Saturday, we had a great visit from Momom, Papop, Tommy's Nanny Melissa, Mike, cousin Jake and his little son Jacob.  It was the first time Jack had met his little cousin (Jacob is 5 months older than Jack).  Jack and Jacob had fun playing with toys and all the dogs together.  I can only imagine the trouble they will get into with cousin Lincoln when they are older.

 

Here are Jack and Jacob with Tommy's Nanny Melissa:

And with Momom and Papop:

Each morning, the highlight of Poppy and Jack's mornings was heading out to the barn to feed all of the animals.  They visited the horses:

Poppy calls this one "the cow whisperer"

After a long morning of feeding the animals, Jack fell asleep in Poppy's arms on the way back to the house.  I love this sweet picture!

Oh - I almost forgot one of the reasons we made our way to Louisiana for the weekend.  Poppy and Gigi traded in their Miata and '08 Acura MDX for a brand new '10 MDX, so we were the lucky beneficiaries of a lovely silver '08 MDX for only trade in price.  May I introduce to you our new car!!

Thanks Poppy and Gigi, we love it!  It was so great to see you!!

Jack in the Suite!

A few weekends ago, we were lucky that a partner I work with at Deloitte happened to have a couple of extra tickets to a Dallas Stars preseason game at American Airlines Center - in the suite no less!  I had been working really hard for the past few weeks (and weekends), so it was great to be able to take a break for a few hours.  Jack had such a great time at his first professional sporting event!  He is really starting to be aware of everything that is going on around him and there was so much to take in.  He loved all of the flashing lights and music.  A loud horn sounded every time the Stars scored a goal.  Each time the horn blared, Jack would get a look of surprise on his face, then start clapping along with everyone else - so cute!  He even tried chicken fingers and cheese fries - and enjoyed them both, of course!

Here's our little family at the game:

I've got so much more to blog about - stay tuned for Jack's 10 month birthday, our trip to visit Poppy and Gigi in Louisiana and our new car!!