My friend Google tells me that fall technically ends on December 21st which kind of has me scratching my head. In my own mind, I tend to mark seasons by the weather and the holidays, and December is most decidedly winter in my head… guess not! I’m obsessed with fall and consider it my favorite season, but it always seems so fleeting and much too short lived. As soon as Halloween is over, people are greeting Christmas.
As much as I love the fall, I’m also a big, big fan of Christmas. It’s just such a happy, joyous time and I look forward to it all year. I’ve always considered Christmas season to start the day after Thanksgiving, but it seems to be getting pushed up every year. My coworker tells me she heard Christmas music in the mall over the weekend! Yikes! Anyway, this is not meant to be a rant about the seasons and the holidays, but I’m going to hold off for just a little bit longer on the Christmas celebrations. I feel like it’s such a special, magical time and that it loses some of that magic if you celebrate it for two entire months. I am in love with Christmas books, movies, and music, and will be enjoying them nonstop for a month straight, but I’m going to hold off for another couple of weeks I think. Full disclosure over here though, I’ve already started taping a TON of Christmas movies on my DVR (oops… but I AM waiting to watch them at least). I’ve also got some Christmas books in mind to read, but I’ll be waiting on those too.
So let’s get back to the fall! This was Caleb’s first and I was so excited to share my favorite season and traditions with him from pumpkin picking to Halloween! He was still too young to understand and enjoy most of it this year, but I most definitely did. Honestly, I can’t wait until next fall when he’s old enough to actually pick his own pumpkin out and enjoy going door to door collecting candy without me having to carry him.
So here’s how Caleb’s first fall has been shaping up so far:
In September, he had his first visit to the farm following brunch with our family at an old historic inn in the country. We stopped at the farm on our way home. The hayrides weren’t running just yet, but we wanted to get some pictures. He lounged in corn and pumpkins but was kind of crabby. We later discovered his first tooth had been breaking through.
In October, Caleb wore an array of festive outfits throughout the month leading up to Halloween. Jerry and I are horror buffs, so Halloween is one of our absolute favorite days of the year and I’m always so eagerly anticipating it! Caleb and his outfits help set a festive tone and I’m telling you… this kid has a better wardrobe than I do.
Early in October, we headed back to the farm so Caleb could go on the hayride and get his first pumpkin! It was a fun day. He seemed to enjoy the hayride and the barrel train ride too. I love picking pumpkins every year, and doing it with Caleb made it even better.
Caleb had a couple of pre-Halloween trick or treating adventures too! We attended story time and trick or treated around my library, we trick or treated at Wegmans, and lastly, we trick or treated at the mall. The mall one was kind of an overwhelming madhouse where a lot of stores ran out of candy, but Wegmans… job well done! Did you all know I used to work there? I did. I kind of miss it. Anyway, back on track! We got cider and donuts, candy, little toys, and a free painted pumpkin complete with hat! I’m already looking forward to going back with him next year to that one! Yes, he was too little to understand these events, but let’s be honest… I mostly wanted an excuse to dress him up in his costume multiple times. I was so excited about my little cowboy!
Finally Halloween arrived, the day that this had all been leading up to! Jerry and I decided to have my parents over as well as my brother’s family so that Caleb could trick or treat with his cousins and we could have a little party. Caleb’s been battling a cold so the day didn’t go quite as planned, but it ended up being fun. We wanted to take him around to visit a lot of people in his costume but he wasn’t really feeling it. He did manage to trick or treat at six houses around our neighborhood though before he got too crabby. When we were out walking around, I kept thinking about how much I really like our neighborhood. While we really don’t know our neighbors, it’s a nice quiet street for the most part and it’ll be a great place for Caleb to grow up. This was our second Halloween in our house but our first one where we were actually home. We weren’t expecting many trick or treaters based on what a neighbor told me, but we were absolutely thrilled to say we had a fair amount! We ran out of candy and then had to give out Caleb’s (but he’ll never know! He’s only on baby food still) after which we shut off our light.
So that’s been Caleb’s first fall in a nutshell and it is far too quickly winding down! Jerry and I also enjoyed going on a couple of haunted hayrides with friends and were able to sneak in a couple of horror movies too throughout the month after Caleb’s bedtime. Fall… I will miss you!
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