Fall Fun in New Hampshire

Over this past weekend, my parents, Isaac and I hit the road and headed north. My oldest sister Andi, bought a house there in the early part of the summer, but with the hectic schedule that we all had, non of us had been able to get up there.

Isaac was a real trooper in the car, I think it was partly because I was in the backseat with him, which I enjoyed just as much, if not more than he did!

We saw so many gorgeous fall colors, which haven't reached us here at the Vineyard quite yet. Got to meet Andi's two wonderful dogs, who Isaac fell in love with in only a matter of moments. By the end of the weekend, I think the love was mutual.

It was such a fabulous time, we went for a great early morning stroll with Andi and the dogs, or the "woofs" as Isaac calls them. We had a few scenic drives, she's in a fantastic little town called Barrington, which is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Lots of farms, and streams, and ponds. Tractors, and old split rail fences. My kind of town. There was a terrific apple picking orchard not too far away, with a petting zoo, although we weren't allowed to pet the animals, hay rides, tons and tons of apples, apple cider, fritters, ice cream, you name it! Isaac got to pick his very first apple, it was from the ground, but still, he picked it! I was so proud!

Harvest Festival

This morning, Isaac and I met up with some friends at the Living Local Harvest Festival in West Tisbury. I had never been before, and quite frankly didn't even know such a thing existed. I'm really happy I heard about it. The weather was simply amazing, very unlike fall weather, but I don't mind a little extra sunshine!

We got to see w hole bunch of local organizations showing off their goods. The very first table to grab Isaac's attention had an open sided bee hive. VERY exciting! He just stood there, gazing up at it going bzzzzzz bzzzzz bzzzzz, very adorable.

There were many local farms who came, and blessed us all with delicious food! Isaac had some zucchini bread, and many slices of apples. I had an amazing, and huge veggie burrito. All made with local organic ingredients.

We saw a local pig being roasted, which although it smelled good, always makes me gag to look at. There were two 4 week old baby cows, who Isaac took to right away. They were very friendly and loved to be pet. I had no idea that a cow had a purple tongue. One of the cows was VERY kissy, which is how I found this out.

We hopped aboard a house and carriage ride around the place, which was allot of fun. There was pumpkin carving, and pumpkin chucking, from this enormous catapult contraption, face painting, pony rides, alpacas to pet, I had no clue they were so soft! We saw gorgeous local flowers and vegetables galore.

I'm already looking forward to the next fall festival in just a few weeks! It's days like this that I can't imagine ever living anywhere else.

Baby Shower Fun

The first one of the moms from our close-knit mothers group, Carrie, is due any day now with her second baby. She and her husband Matt, are expected a little boy, who shall be named Weston. They have already been blessed with a beautiful baby girl, named Story, who funny enough, was the first baby besides his reflection, that Isaac ever saw. I don't want to read too much into it, but I'm almost positive that it was love at first glance.

We only had a few very short weeks to pull off a baby shower, and keep it a secret! Each of us were very concerned with our secret keeping skills, but in the end, we pulled it off wonderfully! Carrie was completely surprised, and very thrilled, which is what it was all about.

I had seen, but never attempted to make, a diaper cake. It turned out to be a huge hit. I created a name banner for the baby-to-be, using the same technique that I used for Isaac's birthday flag. I spent so long on that birthday flag, I had the process down pat. I also created a few keepsake onesies. Nothing too fancy, just a few that I thought she'd get a kick out of. I only wish I took a picture of all of them, as a finished project.

I can't wait to meet Mr. Weston! Good luck Carrie!

Two pumpkins amongst the pumpkins

This afternoon a friend and I strolled our little guys down the road a bit, to one of my favorite local farms. Morning Glory Farm! I noticed on Friday that they've already started putting pumpkins out and have been anxious to get over there and take some pictures! I just love all the fall colors. I just wish the weather would cool off a little bit, it's still far too humid for my liking.

They're having a pumpkin festival in a few weeks, so you better believe we'll be there, camera fully charged!

365 days old

Yesterday we had a wonderful time with a few of Isaac's good friends. I made him apple, carrot cake cupcakes, a recipe that I found through Happy Baby. I also made him a birthday banner flag, which took me much longer than I thought it would!

I was so wrapped up in the moment, I didn't take any pictures! Lucky for us, our amazing friend Ariel brought her camera with her, and snapped a few great shots!

We have another party, with just family tomorrow night, hopefully I'll snap a few myself!

Just out for a stroll

For a few weeks now, Isaac has been taking a few steps here and there. Today at the beach, just after my sister made the comment, "he's taking one, two steps, then plop!" As if that was almost a challenge, he stood up, and strolled down the beach! Almost leaving the rest of us in the dust.