Pumpkins = no nap...

After weeks of planning and weeks of weather-induced disappointment, we finally made it to the pumpkin patch today! Ethan had a great time running through the fields. He is still too young to really care about picking a pumpkin, but he loves being outside so it was a success. He had tons of space to run and fall and get his Ralph Lauren cargo pants filthy :-) We're not that pretentious - I got them on the clearance rounder at Macy's for $6! Anyway, we didn't buy him a pumpkin (other than a little baby one he chewed on the entire time...) because my mom brought him up two. We are going to carve one this week and let him paint the other. That should go well...

Ethan had quite the day - he got up at 6:30, had a drink, and laid back down. We do this every weekend and he generally goes back to sleep until at least 8:30. Not so today. He laid in his crib and kicked the bars and sang for a good 2.5 hours until I got him out. He was not upset at all. I think he really enjoys his 'play time' in the crib so I don't feel badly at all about making him stay in there for a bit. We went to the pumpkin patch after his lunch and the kid was EXHAUSTED. Literally, on the way home (which was only a five minute trip, mind you), he could not keep his eyes open. We were calling him, tickling him, I was smacking the bottom of his shoes - nothing worked! He even stayed asleep when we walked him upstairs and changed his diaper - that is unheard of for Ethan - he is a light sleeper like me. I thought we were golden for at least a two hour nap. Nope. He lasted 20 minutes before he started kicking and singing so loudly that we knew nap time was not going to happen yet. We played some more and cleaned up a bit and tried putting him down at 3. Right then, my mom came in to visit. Ethan never slept - we brought him back down at 3:30 and he was up until 7. My mom said that after his bath, she laid out his blanket on the floor and he laid right down in it and shut his eyes - clearly, he was finally ready for some rest!

He has been really funny lately - he loves to spin around in circles and try to stay standing through the dizziness. We also have to be careful with him in the bathroom - he now tries to climb in on his own. Just full of tricks...

AJ and I got to celebrate our seven year anniversary today (our actual date is Monday but thanks to my mom, we actually got a Saturday night free!). It is hard to believe that it has been that long! Sometimes it seems like it has gone by in a blink - we still feel like we are in our early twenties and can't believe our little man is a year and a half already. Kind of scary. It's also odd to consider that I've been dating AJ for 1/3 of my entire life. It just doesn't seem that long. Other times, like when we stop to think about the 7 different homes we've shared or the different jobs/careers we've been through, it seems like it's been much longer. But, we've started a great little life and family together and will undoubtedly have many, many more happy years together :-)

We'd also like to send a special birthday wish to AJ's dad and Ethan's Papa. He turns...double my age...today, and we are looking forward to celebrating with him tomorrow at GiGi's house. He has to be one of the best men around and we are all so grateful to have him in our lives. I should also probably thank him for my marriage - he has been a huge part in making AJ the person he is today, and I like that guy :-)

House news: We have a new realtor! There were tons of issues with our old realtor and we are really happy to have someone else to work with. She seems really good - she specializes in selling townhomes and really knows a ton of ways to advertise, so we're hoping she can work some magic. We have an open house tomorrow. They are frustrating - you spend all this time cleaning and can't predict if anyone will actually come. Wish us luck!

Enjoy our pics from the patch.