Best month of the year

October is my favorite month. I love the fall. The weather is perfect. It is the harvest season, and, of course, Halloween tops it off. Since it is my favorite month, I made sure we got out and did something every weekend, sometimes multiple things in one weekend. I will have multiple posts to accommodate the crazy amount of photos I took.

To start out the the month, we pulled out our Halloween decorations. Logan went right to work putting our ghosts up. He gave them clear instructions on where to stay. Of course he moved them often and at one point decided to see if they tasted good.

Next up, some Halloween games. I found this pumpkin matching game on Pinterest.

The first weekend was a three-day weekend for Kyle, so we packed in as much as possible.  First: the pumpkin patches.  We started out at the Grace Youth Ranch Pumpkin Patch. Logan had fallen asleep on the way there, so while Kyle stayed in the car with Logan, I did a quick walk through and decided that the wind and location (in a parking lot) made it less than ideal. They did have a lot of neat things for kids, but I was looking for more of a farm feel. So, I purchased a pumpkin to support the cause and we drove to Wagner Farms. We had been to Wager Farms last year and knew that we would be happy with the atmosphere.

We started out in the pumpkin patch. Logan ran around the pumpkins and watched the other kids.

Logan has taken a step towards me to make sure I could understand what he was saying.  He does this often.  He's a bit of a "close talker".

Next up was the small animal exhibit. However, Logan was drawn to something else before we got there.

Logan loves tractors and sat on this one for a long time.

I don't think he actually looked at the tractor. Just watched what was going on around him.

Finally getting tired of the tractor, we made it to the animals.

Taking a look at some of the biggest chickens Kyle has ever seen. They were pretty massive.

Next up was the slide. Logan went down it once with Dad. Not sure why he wouldn't go down it again, but he loved watching the other kids.

Hoping to capitalize on Logan's love for tractors, we went on a hay ride pulled by a tractor. Oddly,  Logan didn't seem all that interested. I was glad we had some snacks with us to keep him happy as we were pulled around the corn maze.

Next we tried the corn maze. It soon became apparent that Logan wasn't interested in that either, so we quickly navigated our way through the maze.

This is where Logan wanted to be. He was content just running around the pumpkins. Most of the kids were gone by now, but he still had a great time.

We selected a large white pumpkin and two tiny orange pumpkins to take home. On our way home, we stopped for lunch at the Corrales Bistro Brewery. We like the food, and it is a huge, casual space that Logan can run around in. It was the end to a wonderful afternoon.

That night, Kyle and I went out on our first date in almost 2 years. We went to the Kiva to see the Avett Brothers, whom we had seen a few years back at Austin City Limits. We knew they were a great live band, and they didn't disappoint. It didn't hurt that we had wonderful seats. We were lucky that my parents had volunteered to stay at our house that night to put Logan to bed while we were gone. Logan didn't feel lucky about it though. It was the first time someone other than Mom or Dad had put him to bed (Actually, for the last few months Logan hasn't wanted anyone but me to put him to bed).  I think our bedtime absence precipitated some separation anxiety because he punished me over the next few weeks by waking up every 45min-2hours each night.

It was also Balloon Fiesta weekend, so on the morning after our date, we all got up fairly early and went to see the balloons.  We were not ready to take Logan to the crazy crowds at the fiesta park. Instead, we went to a parking lot that overlooked the balloon field.

Logan was slightly interested in the balloons, but much more interested in seeing and touching a grasshopper for the first time.

After a long nap, we spent the rest of the day at the Brew Festival, which was held at the fair grounds. Our friend Nathaniel went with us, and we ran into other friends there as well. While everyone else enjoyed the many excellent local brews, I stood in line for an hour to get expensive, tiny-portioned food. After that disappointment, I took Logan outside the festival and found a nice grassy area to play in until the festival was over. It was just too crowded inside the festival to let Logan run around. Next time we go, I think I will just drop off the guys and take Logan to do something a little more toddler friendly.

That was our busy first weekend in October. We spent that Sunday resting at home, trying to follow Frik and Frak's example as best we could.