Lynd's Fruit Farm ROCKS!

I have to preface the recollection of today's events by saying that since they first appeared on the trees this spring, Amara has been picking, eating, throwing, and stomping on apples at Grandma and Grandpa Jahn's.

They have a tree (which we think might be a Golden Delicious) right near the garden, and I don't think many days went by that she didn't come home with an apple, an apple story, or both.

The tree didn't have a TON of apples this year; however, so we decided we wanted to go somewhere where she could pick at her level and enjoy herself. After much digging, we decided on Lynd's and put it on the "list."

With so much going on this fall, we didn't know if/ when we'd make it up there to pick, but we really hoped we would. Luckily, with the break in schedule AND weather today, it ended up perfect for the adventure. First we headed to the tent, where she ogled the small painted pumpkins, finger corn, and plums (one of which she was eating by the time we got to the check out counter). Then off to the picking patch.

This weekend was Golden Delicious, Jonathan, and JonaGold--so we went for the latter. I swear, these are my new favorite apples--and before ANY of us could pick one for ourselves, Amara had hers picked and was taking a big bite of it. Without even going probably a dozen trees into the row, we had a 10# bag chocked full! Amara enjoyed picking the lower apples (which were plentiful, probably because not many people go for the apples 2 feet off the ground, but they were PERFECT) we picked a few ourselves, and we shared the "family apple" Amara started on.

At checkout, we got Eric 2 gallons of cider, and paid for our bag, with a promise to return for the "next picking..." I think suncrisps are on in 2 weeks. We'll be BACK!

No fair weather fan here!

I had to post these pictures of Amara for no other reason than she is C-U-T-E in her OSU track-suit from cousin Darlene.

After swim class and a nap, we headed out to look at Fall decorations at Straders (a bust) and wanted her to be bundled up. This was the PERFECT outfit for rainy Ohio game day (the blowout vs. Illinois 30-0).

As usual, Amara and dad were dressed to the 9's, and I was documenting the moment. But we had fun chasing crickets out of the garage (that is what all the pointing is about) before a quick walk with Ily, and then off to shop.

Amara's room

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Eric and I had SO much fun decorating Amara's room (in EVERYTHING Ikea) before we got here, and we STILL have fun adding to it, any chance we get. We've been "meaning to" get those "my room" shots for her baby book for well, over a year now, so I finally straightened it up a bit and took a few.

It is a small room, and there is a LOT of stuff in there, but we know she really loves her room, and so do we. She plays in there any chance she can get, and I've never seen a kid who will voluntarily play in her bed for 1/2 an hour or so, with us sitting on the floor next to her, just because she loves playing in her BED so much.

Special note(s): the grass on the wall--we are SO very proud of Eric's artistic side. We saw this idea at Ikea about 2 years ago, and wanted to recreate it, and boy did he ever! Not only is it awesome, but it's even BETTER than what we originally saw--and goes PERFECT in her room. ALSO, this was NOT her original rocking chair--basically, the one we had was from mom and dad, and had been repaired a "few" times--over the years. One day, one of the back supports snapped, in a place it had been broken before, so we set out on a quest.

The art above Amara's crib was my Mother's Day present. It's a jungle scene from one of my favorite artists, Charles Fazzino. I love it!

We looked at rocking chairs from Plain City to Lancaster, online and in stores. We FINALLY chose this one, which I believe, MIGHT have been the very first one we sat in, once we started looking. Other than that, the room is still in original state.

Lastly, the mobile above her changing table was another Ikea idea--and probably one of our most fond moments from the early days of Amara. Eric started saying "Amara's here!" to the animals as he'd spin them for her. She started smiling and laughing each time he'd do it, and I'm sure we did it HUNDREDS of times before it "wore out its' welcome."

OH--one more thing. The white dresser was Grandma & Grandpa Harmon. It started off brown, but with some white paint, and new fun animal drawer pulls, it has a new life, with old roots. It's gotten a TON of use, and fits great into her (ever bulging) closet.

Congrats Matt & Steph

Saturday the 19th of September was Matt & Steph's wedding. This was definitely a family event, as Eric was Matt's Best Man, Amara was one of the flower girls, and I read one of their favorite scriptures.

Though they got AMAZING weather, our little flower girl woke up with a terrible cold (that she is STILL getting over). Poor thing was sneezing her head off, about every 2-3 minutes, and had the most red eyes and nose I've ever seen. She rarely gets sick, so she was particularly miserable, but what a trooper nonetheless.

We got her ready and she (and Morgan) looked beautiful! Their kissing (flower) balls were perfect, and she kept trying to swap balls with Morgan and toss it, or kick it around (hey--at this point, it was whatever kept her happy!)

With all the packing around of "stuff," we didn't get many pictures; however, since mom was there, she got a few with our camera. It was a beautiful wedding and I know everyone had fun. Amara was particularly fascinated with the North star we spotted outside the reception (since she's never up that late) and we still talk about it a week later :)

Congratulations to the newest Mr. & Mrs. Young! and thanks for the great day!

Pizza in the park

After the plane show, a nap, and a desire to enjoy the last fleeting moments of Summer surfaced, we decided on an impromptu picnic idea.

A quick wardrobe change into shorts for all of us, we grabbed a $5 Little Cesear's pizza and headed to the park off of GC Road.

In between bites, Amara enjoyed pointing at the other kids, swinging on the swings with mom and dad, and plane-spotting.

After swinging, and the pizza cooling off, Amara decided she wanted to do it (eat) herself for a while, so, she did...I have to say, even though we were both covered in sauce, it was pretty cute. I'm not sure how Eric captured this moment, but I call it "don't even think about taking this back." She is nothing if not independent, and I guess I figured it was worth a little more laundry time to enjoy this treat.

It was clear at the end, that even though she enjoyed the ramps, bridges, stairs and slides, AND being almost the only people there, that her energy was waning. We headed home (again) straight into the tub, (clothes to soak) and called it a night...seems to be an end-of-Summer pattern for the time being.

R/C Plane show in G.C.

After the events of Saturday, we decided to "fly low" (pun intended) and stick close to home. We had caught a blurb on the news about a remote-control air show in Grove City--and with Amara's current plane obsession, we decided to check it out.

We got there pretty early (apparently) but the planes were already buzzing. These things were not your average toy-store planes, there were MULTI-THOUSAND dollar remote control planes. Which, incidentally, I never knew existed.

If the bizarre newness wasn't enough for me, I was so overwhelmed with the Nascar-like trailers and rigs, containing planes of every shape, sort, color, etc., that I could barely focus. They had shirts for sale, models, planes, velcro (not sure what this was about, but clearly I'm not in the know on this deal), and, go figure, smoothies.

I like this shot of Amara walking--the story is that she could navigate the small step and ramp on the other end of this breezeway perfectly, so she wore a path back and forth. Eric calls this "walking with purpose," which she most-definitely was.

Cut to Amara heading out to the the tarmac...literally...shortly before heading home. We called the nephews to see if they could join, but they had ballgames...but I think Eric may have discovered a new guilty-pleasure hobby (secretly of course).

Pumpkin Patch 09

My dad and his brother (Uncle John) have had a pumpkin patch for years. Of course, we've always benefited from this, in the form of UNLIMITED pumpkins, gourds, etc. --of every size, shape, etc. John even entered a few in the famed Circleville Pumpkin show a few years ago.

This year, the patch seemed just a little more intriguing than in prior years, as we couldn't wait for our littlest pumpkin to experience and enjoy herself.

Saturday morning, after swim class, and Eric and I canning another 10 pints of salsa (which, I might add, he has PERFECTED the recipe for) we headed to the lower Caldwell farm, where the patch is planted.

Amara was all geared up in her jeans, tennis shoes and hat, and IMMEDIATELY began shouting and pointing out the window at the giant orange shapes, as we approached the patch. Grandpa Jahn was waiting on us with the white truck--which Amara immediately spotted. Also in tow were Grandma Jahn, Grandma and Grandpa Young, and of course, mom and dad (Ily stayed home for some peace and quiet.)

As soon as her feet hit the soil, she was off towards the watermelons. Why, do you ask, are there watermelons in a pumpkin patch? Well, dad plants watermelons, tomatoes, gourds, AND pumpkins all down there...the watermelons just happened to be the first thing we ran into, LITERALLY. Grandpa Jahn cut one open and shared it with us all, it was the sweetest, juiciest melon ever! Grandma Jackie was our videographer, and got some great footage of the adventure too.

She made her way across and through the vines, blossoms, past butterflies, and beans, and wouldn't be held back. Each time one of us tried to help her over an obstacle, she'd kick and want down to do it herself. She picked up every gourd she could snap off a vine, and made sure to point out all the best pumpkins to us too. I'm not sure who collected more gourds though, Grandma and Grandpa Young collected quite the assortment of unique and pretty ones too!

After we hunted all our treasures, we piled them up and rounded up the troops. We vowed to come back in another month or so--after all, it IS only September, and it was almost 80 degrees. I'm sure there will still be hundreds of pumpkins waiting just for us, and we can't wait.

In the end, I think all the parents and grandparents had a swell time, and I know our little pumpkin did too. After a quick sandwich, ride home, and bath, she was out like a light. What an amazing adventure.

Tressel Vest

I had to include this, being the game opener day, etc.

Mom got this for Amara back when "it looked so big..." no real idea when that was, but we thought it was adorable. Of course, we had to sport the pink hat and tennis shoes, to balance out the "boyish" qualities of the shirt--as if the white ruffled shorts weren't enough.

I especially wanted to capture a shot for our friends Kara and Dawn, because today is their big day, and they LOVE the vests!

This will NOT be the last of the daddy/ daughter matching OSU apparel situations. I PROMISE. Just today, Eric asked "when can we go get her an OSU hat?"

Go Bucks!

Blooms and Butterflies at Franklin Park

We'd been talking about going to Blooms and Butterflies at the Franklin Park Conservatory ALL summer...and finally, the LAST weekend it was available, we went. Even though it was a hot, sunny day, it was SO nice to be able to have a little mini-family event that wasn't too far away and didn't require too much prep.

Amara REALLY likes to walk--just about anywhere. I think it's mostly because of the pavement especially (Grandma and Grandpa Jahn's is mostly gravel) and she can really pick up a good clip!

We missed the timed releases--Amara's nap went a little late, but we got to see AMAZING butterflies. These things were the size of saucers, and the most amazing colors you've ever seen (in Ohio for SURE!).

The neat part, was that these things were SO large, they weren't all that fast, and they were easy to see, follow, and really enjoy. And very cool--often times, Amara would spot them on leaves, flowers, etc. and she'd point them out to us. A testament to the detail kids can spot and patience they really do have, even though we don't always see it.

Other highlights were the fish pond, the waterfalls and streams, and the high-lookout platforms. We decided to skip the rest of the conservatory for today and promised to come back soon and visit the other displays. We'll be back!

Zoo with Grandma & BECO

Thursday, Grandma decided to take Amara to the Zoo for a little Grandma/ Amara trip.

They headed up at 9, right as they opened, and FINALLY got to see the baby elephant, Beco. He is 5 months now, and pretty big--but on our other trips this summer, he was either resting, or just not around, so LUCKILY, Amara and Grandma Jackie got to see him! (they get to have all the fun!)

Amara loved the zoo trip--they got to see ALL the elephants, as well as flamingos, fish, and gift shops (apparently). We LOVE this first picture of the mom and baby, mom is developing a great eye for photos, and we're so lucky to have these keepsakes for her too.

She loves her new elephant figurine (she's ALL into those right now--ANY animal), elephant backpack, and LOVES to look at the pictures from her special day. The elephants are with us all the time...who knows, maybe she'll want to be a vet someday!

Thanks Grandma, can't wait to go back!

The Little Gym

We decided to try out the Little Gym this week, to see how it would go.

Granted, Amara LOVES her music class in Grove City, AND her swimming class, but I figured it couldn't hurt to try something new--especially with Winter coming up, and cabin fever setting in for both her AND grandma Jackie! (what will we do with no mower??)

Amara (being 15 months) is smack in the center of the Birds age group (10-19 months). There were about 10 other kids in the class, but she had NO realization of anyone else besides Miss Amber, grandma, and me.

There were a couple songs (problematic since that suggested sitting still and waiting), time on the gym equipment, chasing balls, some inflatable contraption they all crawled around on, and rolling on "the cheese" down a ramp.

Amara really seemed to enjoy most of it--really just spent the 45 minutes there exploring, and jumping from one activity to another. I'm not sure if that is the typical experience or not, but she seemed like she was wearing down at the end.

To wrap up, there was quiet time, complete with bubbles, as a hush fell over the little Birds.

All her friends waved goodbye as they gathered their shoes and had their hands stamped, and we headed down the road.

Not sure what the future of The Little Gym holds for us, it is a HIKE from Orient (for Grandma) to Polaris--but it sure was fun!

The Balloon Festival was a lot of hot air

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Being from GC, I am very familiar with the Balloon Festival/ Balloons and Tunes/ whatever they are calling themselves now.

For years, we've watched the big balloons come up over the tree-line, towards mom and dad's house, even landing in dad's fields, or the back yard, more than once!

We thought we'd actually venture over to Beulah Park this year, and get an up close and personal look at the balloons this year, in a way that (hopefully) Amara could enjoy them.

Alas, no. It was EXTREMELY windy (and a tad chilly) on Saturday, and after SEVERAL delays (and still no big balloons), we headed home.

We still had fun. Amara enjoyed the clown who made her a balloon mousey, watching the bigger kids on the inflatable and jumping toys, music, people-watching, and a chic-fil-a sandwich.

There's always next year!

Ily photoshoot

It started out innocently enough that we were trying to get a "close up" shot of Ily. Normal enough.

We were wanting to make a blown-up poster sized photo for Amara's playroom...

Ily was VERY patient with us, as we snapped DOZENS of pictures of her--and we LOVE admiring how beautiful she is.

The poster enlargement turned out SO wonderfully...we love looking at it.

After that, she crashed, under Amara's play table. I love this picture, because she seems to blend in with all the other animals and for a second, you almost don't see her there.

I WILL be posting pictures of the play-room, for all of you who have had to HEAR about it for the last month, we just still have a few finishing touches we need to finish, before I put up the final pics. STAY TUNED!

Vroom, Vroom!

Isn't it always the "accidental" toys that end up being the most fun?

I know the running joke is "they liked the box better than the toy--" and a lot of times that can be true--in THIS case, we certainly didn't get a box, but a great family friend, Donna Sampson, thought of us, and gave us this little yellow car.

Started out, it didn't have a bottom in it. Now, Amara is coordinated, but she couldn't make it go (think, the Flintstones) and stay in it, at the same time. Enter, Jim Jahn. He fabricated some type of industrial tarp remnant bottom of some kind, and she was snug as a bug.

I guess she played in it for a while at mom and dads, before we brought it home for the day.

For I bet 2 weeks straight, we went for a walk/ ride every day when we got home from work, OR, every time we walked past that car--she'd reach down for it and we had to literally use other doors on the house, or HAVE to go on a walk (we're pushovers).

Suddenly, and without much explanation, the car "rides," became car "pushing" --as in, or mile-long-family-walks, turned into 1/2 a block long stretches of Amara pushing her own car. We couldn't get her IN the thing at all! She'd climb in, turn around, climb right back out, and start pushing--I guess she just figured it out, that she "could."

Another key point to mention, is that a critical element of the outings is leaf gathering. We pass about 10 different tree species along the route, and we stop to pick a few on our walks. Sometimes she is impressed with a pear, sometimes it's a weed from along the sidewalk, but she usually holds onto whatever strikes her fancy till we get home.

Now, we're somewhere in the middle. She will get in the car--still gets out a lot, still likes to push. But we are in that car literally every day, unless there is a monsoon outside.

OH, forgot to mention...putting the car away. At some point, we let Amara push the buttons to get into the garage, to "put her car away." NOW--it's a whole production, get the mail, park car, open garage, bring car in (park), then close the garage door. We don't care though, as long as she's interested, she can have her little routine.