Family tradition: Pumpkin Farm

This weekend we went to a local pumpkin farm for their annual Market Days, the third year in a row for this tradition. This is the first year that The Mister has been home for this particular weekend and it was fun to be able to share it with him. As I was downloading my photos, I thought it might be fun to compare pictures from the previous two visits and see how much my kids have changed in three short years!

In 2009, our first visit, Porter was just two weeks old. The Mister had to go out of town so my Mom came to visit for the weekend so I wouldn't be alone. I can't believe tiny newborn Porter!

In 2010, The Mister was out of town again, so I loaded up the kids and took them by myself. It was a little tricky but I was so glad I went.

This year it was so great to have The Mister be able to join us. There's no way I could have pushed a stroller and a wheelbarrow by myself!

One of Maren's favorite things at the pumpkin farm is the swing that is hung in the branches of the giant old trees. This year the swing was the first thing she wanted to do!

2009

2010

2011

Another favorite activity is the barrel train. The first year, Porter was a newborn so obviously he didn't go. In 2010, he was just barely 1 year old so he had to ride with Big Sister in her barrel. This year, he was big enough to ride alone and he LOVED it! He kept asking to ride again. He's obsessed with trains and pretty much anything on wheels right now, so it was right up his alley.

2009

2010

2010

2011

This particular farm has a huge pick-your-own pumpkin field, but they usually have a whole bunch they've already picked available near the barn. This year we went on the second day of the festival and all of the pre-picked pumpkins were gone, so we had to grab a wheelbarrow and venture into the field on our own. Porter used his brute strength and managed to carry his own pumpkin all the way to the wheelbarrow.

The pumpkin farm has a lot of really great Fall photo ops. In 2009, Maren had this beautiful outfit from Gymboree that was the perfect colors and we got some really fantastic photos of her.

2009

Last year, she wore her sparkly Halloween shirt and pants with a festive hairbow. I even found a darling onesie for Porter that had tractors and cornstalks, perfect for photos near the big tractor.

2010

2010

This year, I was totally unprepared in the outfit department. I haven't found cute Halloween shirts yet for Maren or Porter, Gymboree's clothes are all the wrong colors, and my laundry pile is huge so half of their clothes were dirty anyway. Add that to the fact that it was easily 85 degrees and intensely sunny, so long-sleeved shirts and sweaters were totally out of the question! Maren ended up in a white t-shirt with one of my orange flower pins for a bit of festive color, and Porter wore a navy and white striped shirt with an orange shark on the bottom.

I made a crucial error by not taking posed photos as soon as we got there, when everyone was still fresh and excited. By the end of the afternoon we were all super-sweaty and tired and thirsty and the kids weren't in the mood to cooperate, so we didn't get any cute photos on the haybales or with the piles of pumpkins this year.  Next year I'll be more prepared!

Do you have any Autumn traditions?