Jack(-o-lantern)'s First Halloween!

We didn’t do anything for last halloween, but this year Jack had a bunch of friends his age, and was the perfect age for his first trick-or-treating adventure! We all met up at one family’s house and walked to Proctor Treats where the kiddos got their buckets filled with candy. Afterwards we trekked back to the house, let the babes play in the living room and all us adults filled up on cheese, chili, and wine while trick-or-treaters came to the door.

Jack was pretty obsessed with pumpkins all fall, so naturally I figured a pumpkin costume would be apropos. It’s also a bit of a family tradition. My brother was a pumpkin one halloween when he was super young, and that same year I was a witch, so I decided to be a witch again, this time with Jack. I was pretty excited to find Jack’s entire costume at the thrift store one day, and my costume was entirely pulled from my own closet (though I did have to buy a $3 witch hat because I couldn’t find the one I got some years ago, probably got thrown out in our 2016 move). Having a library of wigs from my Burlesque dancing days does tend to come in handy now and then!

Curran Apple Orchard

There are a lot of really hard things about having a toddler, but in the past few months I’ve found a group of fellow moms with kids about the same age as Jack and it’s been super fun watching him forge friendships with other kids, and it’s been a godsend for me to have other women around me who GET it and are in the trenches too.

Fall has been extra fun this year as we get to do fall activities together! One mama put together an apple orchard field trip for us all, so we all trekked out to Curran Apple Orchard in University Place and learned about apples! It was super fun, even though Jack lost interest halfway through and charged off to explore the orchard on his own. And thankfully the weather was sunny, if brisk, until it started to drizzle right before we left.

Watching this kid discover the world is so fascinating and special. Next week we head to a farm field trip, and sometime this month we’ll hit up a pumpkin patch because duh. I can’t wait!

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My Happy Camper

It's not entirely true that he's a happy camper, he's been relatively fussy these days, but I think he probably just wants to be running around at a playground most of the time now that it's summer.  We've been getting our yard a little more kid-play friendly, and I'd like to pick up a kiddie pool soon because he's definitely loving all kinds of water play.  It's fun to see him in the garden, a few of our peas are ready for harvest so I gave him a couple to nibble on.  It's nice to be able to teach him (though I'm sure he doesn't have the awareness to make the connections yet) that food is grown from plants.  I remember growing little gardens with my mom when I was a kid and it was fun to eat the strawberries we grew and harvest radishes and such.  He's probably a bit young to really get it, but I like having him barefoot outside with me playing in the dirt.

Hat : Carhartt | Shirt : Carters | Tee : The Bee + The Fox via Satori | Jeans : Thrifted

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little poncho gnome

Just wanted to pop in here super quick with some adorable photos I just took of Jack.  I haven't busted out my big camera for a while, mostly because my main lens is on the fritz, but I have all my gear ready to go for a photoshoot that I'm leaving for in mere moments so when I got this little poncho in the mail from my mom, I had to put it on him and snag some shots. My mom got it at a craft fair in Seward AK so unless I can find an etsy shop or something where the maker sells them, I can't help any of ya with finding one of these adorable little things! Also: scroll down for some epic Dusty derp face.

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Nine Months

On Jack's 9 month "birthday" we are down here in Joshua Tree California!  I had to capture desert vibes for his 9 month shoot, since we are in the desert, so we popped out to the front yard this morning and sat in the dirt next to a couple of little agaves.  We're down here visiting Jacks' other grandparents (Dan's parents) for the week before we hit the ground running with our big move back to Tacoma!

These days Jack is very cute and chatty, he likes to repeat noises, very loudly says "mamamamamama" when he's hungry, and he's standing on his own, if only for brief moments.  I'm sure walking will come along in the next couple months so I'm just enjoying these last weeks/months of not worrying about him falling on his face while trying to walk. 

I'm so looking forward to establishing more of a routine with this kiddo (and honestly, with myself too!).  Not having a home of our own and traveling all the time doesn't do much for creating a solid routine and schedule and I know we'd both benefit greatly from one.  I for one am looking forward to fall, to having our own place again, and to having a more stable lifestyle!

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