Another Milestone

In the weeks before Charlie's arrival, Grant had his first very loose tooth. I hoped that it would come out before the baby due to a traumatic childhood incident of my own in which the Tooth Fairy failed to come on the night my brother was born. While we waited patiently for the baby to arrive, we waited patiently for Grant's tooth to fall out. He wiggled and wiggled it, but it hung on by a thread. Until...

On the morning that Charlie was born, we called the boys before school so they could be the first to hear the news. "That's great, Mom and Dad," G said, "but I lost my tooth!" It finally fell out in his bed while he was sleeping on the night we went to the hospital. Thankfully Grandma recovered it. And the Tooth Fairy did make an appearance.

Introducing...

Charlie Bedford Smith
Born Oct. 26, 2015, at 5:36 a.m.
8 days "overdue"
7 pounds, 13 ounces
20.75 inches long
25 hours of labor
2 proud big brothers

Grant's Field Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Grant's class took a field trip to the same pumpkin patch just a few days after Miles' class trip. We had a sunny, breezy afternoon for pumpkin picking and playing with friends. G loved the change in his afternoon routine. When he wasn't running and chasing the other boys in his class, G checked in with me: "Isn't this so much fun, Mom?" 

G chose a perfectly round, ripe pumpkin to take home.

It was fun to see how he interacts with his classmates. He's come out of his shell socially in the last year, and he no longer clings to me on these kinds of trips. 

The boys loved this giant stack of hay, which they climbed over and over, sliding down only to climb up again.

He also "raced" tractors with friends. This creaky, squeaky thing didn't get much speed or distance though.

40 Weeks

As we're waiting ever so patiently for this little one to arrive, I feel like we were just here, waiting for someone else at 40 weeks, and then 41 weeks, not so long ago. 

Observations on the end of pregnancy:

• This has been the easiest of my pregnancies. 
• I feel sad that it's almost over, which is so different from the previous pregnancies when I couldn't wait to be done.
• None of the above means that I want to have any more babies.
• The fall weather has come as such a relief. I feel like I have a space heater attached to my body.
• My late pregnancy cravings have included strawberry popsicles from Whole Foods and bowls of late-night Cheerios.
• The baby has been head-down since around week 34, the earliest of any of my pregnancies (Grant was breech).
• Weekly yoga has been amazing.
• It's been fun to look through baby pictures with the boys and tell them what they were like as babies. It's also been a good way to prepare them for the fun that's to come. 

Miles' Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

Miles' preschool class took a field trip to a local pumpkin patch last week. It's been a pretty warm October so far, but we were lucky to have a cool fall morning for the trip. We even needed hats and mittens. Miles was excited to introduce me to new friends in his class, including a little girl he said was "little and cute." He often cut others in line to stand next to her so that he could hug and kiss her. "He's a bit of a ladies' man," his teacher confided to me.

On the hay ride his good buddy, Jax

We took a short hay ride to the pumpkin patch, where all of the kids got to choose a pumpkin to take home. 

Miles wanted a pumpkin that was not too big, not too small and not too dirty.

The farm grows flowers and Christmas trees, as well as pumpkins and other gourds.

After picking pumpkins, we returned to the farm, where the kids got to play on the playground, feed goats and have a snack. Miles' favorite part was a pit filled with corn kernels and trucks for scooping and digging.

He also loved this horse.

Later at home, he insisted we make hot chocolate — with marshmallows, of course —and carve our pumpkin right away. Pictures of the final product to come....

Sunday Soccer Scenes

Fall soccer is back in full swing. With both boys playing this year, we spend two solid hours on the soccer fields on Sunday afternoons.

Grant is improving and seems to enjoy the time on the field, especially because it means time with Coach Dad. He's even scored a couple of goals. But he doesn't forget his mom on the sidelines, often stopping to wave and smile mid-game. 

Miles, on the other hand, has a limited attention span for watching the game, let alone playing. The kiddie league practices for 30 minutes, followed by a 30 minute game. Miles will practice, but is usually tapped out by the time the actual game starts. He spends most of the game sitting on the sidelines making silly faces at the other players. 

Early Fall Trip to the Orchard

We took advantage of a cooler fall day not long ago to visit a favorite farm, where we picked raspberries and apples. The boys ate as much at the farm as they brought home. As it is, they can both eat their own weight in apples. We go through pounds and pounds of apples a week at our house.