Happy Octoberfest?

We spent the first Sunday in NOVEMBER at an OCTOBERfest.  Hmmm... 

When we lived in Germany we always thought it was odd that Octoberfest was in September (though actually, it is always the last Sunday in September through the first Sunday in October.  But our November Octoberfest was unheard of.  Though we had tons of fun, regardless of the month.

It was held at Pat's Peak ski area about half an hour from my parents.  Despite the lovely weather the first half of the weekend, Sunday was extremely chilly.  And we were on a mountain.  So I dare say, it was cold.  But we dressed in layers and made the most of it.

Lots of German music, food and beer.  

dancing to the band

does a giant cookie count as German food?

Daddy in a stein-holding competition

clearly, the best part was this puppy

They also held a ski and skate sale, and despite Daddy desperately wanting MiniM.E. to snowboard, there were no snowboards mini enough.  We did get her these, though.  Bring on the snow!

The rest of our time in NH we just relaxed... 

Happy Birthday Grumpy!

Friday we drove to NH to visit Gram and Grumpy.

When we arrived, MiniM.E. had a surprise waiting for her.  Nothing says fun like a 25 year old bouncy horse- for real. MiniM.E. is thrilled with it!  What fun!

Then MiniM.E. had to show off her solo trike riding skills:

And find the new toy on the swing set.

Saturday was Grumpy's birthday.  We went to Heritage Farm again (we visited last year) and saw the animals and had a great pancake brunch.  The baby cow was older and was caged in and the ground was wet and muddy, which we were a little disappointed about, but to make up for it, we got to go on a wagon ride with a St. Bernard/Sheepdog mix.

ooo, so the baby cow is so soft!

Hi, Fern!

petting the horse was the highlight of the trip

MiniM.E. even helped with the farm work!

Happy Birthday Grumpy!

Happy Halloween!

This is MiniM.E.'s first Halloween where she actually understands what's happening.  In fact, since her birthday she's been getting excited about it.  "...and I will say "trick or treat" and I will get CANDY!!!"

Also, now that we have so many toddler activities and playgroups and live in such a kid-friendly town, Halloween really started for us on Saturday.  Saratoga held its annual Fall Festival and we decked Molly out in her costume face paint to take part in the festivities.

pumpkin rolling was a huge hit!

the pony ride was not :( 

Sunday we took a break from Halloween and made one last trip to Ellm's Farm before they closed for the season.  It was chilly and we only lasted an hour or so before the sleet started and we decided to call it a day.

In the afternoon MiniM.E. dressed up got her face painted for our neighborhood's annual Halloween Parade. The weather stayed cool and despite the rain that fell on us as we ended the parade, it was a success and MiniM.E. had a great time.

Monday we painted MiniM.E.'s face for our library playgroup, but it was such a hectic morning, I didn't get a photo.

The rest of the week we got a Halloween break.  After our new Tiny Tumbler's class on Thursday (which was AMAZING!)...

MiniM.E. in her new gym clothes

 We got ready for the real deal.  Unfortunately, we got rained out of our annual trick-or-treating at the Riggi Mansion.  And even though MiniM.E. was super excited to get out and go trick-or-treating for the first time, we got rained out of that too.  Fortunately, we had a playgroup Halloween Party to go to and MiniM.E. had fun (even though she was so tired because she skipped her nap), so Halloween #3 was a success.

just hanging out

I think next year will be our best Halloween yet!

Outdoors in October

Fall is by far my favorite season.  While I love apple picking and cider and apple cider donuts and foliage and pumpkins and leaves and crisp cool mornings... well, I could go on... All things I've loved about fall since I can remember, I now also love playgrounds in the fall.  Spring can be to wet and summer is too hot, but fall is a really enjoyable playground season. I have to say, I never imagined how many hours I would spend at a playground once I had a toddler, but I love to watch her have fun.

MiniM.E. kept wanting me to take her picture as she came out of the slide

swinging like a big kid!

Our new favorite place to visit in the fall is Ellm's Farm.  We have been there twice since our first visit.  I thought maybe we'd get bored the second time... or the third... but I'm pretty sure MiniM.E. could spend all day, every day there for at least a week.

on the zip line!

MooMooChooChoo!!

bounce-a-bounce 

woo! roller coaster!

 The third time we went we went on a "Flex Day" with our "preschool group" of toddlers and moms.  Just as good.  PLUS, we got free cider and donuts and a pumpkin for each of our kids!

MiniM.E. as a spider

choosing a pumpkin

Two Weeks Until Two!!

And just as one cold is waning, I have come down with another.  My list of things to do to prepare for MiniM.E.'s 2nd birthday is quite extensive.  Yet I think I'll take a break... write a blog post, and who knows, maybe even take a quick nap!

We had a most exciting and spontaneous weekend where I dragged my still-dragging behind (who am I kidding, I was thrilled to go) to a beer festival while my mom watched MiniM.E.  Then Sunday my mom drove us to Albany Med to visit our neighbor who just had surgery, and we left from there to drive to CT to see my cousins 6-week old baby.  Sound crazy?  It was.  We didn't even get there until 4pm.  But some socializing, baby-holding, and a dinner out later, we'd had a good time meeting BabyL. and got back in the car to drive home.  It was a ton of driving (fortunately MiniM.E. slept through most of it), but a fun adventure.

aw...

Monday and Tuesday we went to our usual activities and my mom helped with MiniM.E. while I got stuff done around the house.

And today I am fighting cold #2 and MiniM.E. is a wreck, but we managed to make our first visit of the season to Sunnyside Gardens.

MiniM.E. was happy to be out of the house and really enjoyed the train ride, the pumpkin patch and the hayride.  We'll definitely be visiting again before the end of the season.

We even recreated this photo from last year:

they look just about as happy to be sharing a wagon as last year...