Sheridan's First Patch...

of the pumpkin variety :)

Today I took Buddy to a H-U-G-E pumpkin patch today. And some of his friends met us there...

He was stoked and ready to go (it might have something to do with the fact that I made up a silly song about going to the pumpkin patch and sang it the whole way there - hoping I wasn't over-promising the experience).

I had a cute fall-colored outfit ready to go, but Gary vetoed any outfit with orange. Apparently one is not to wear orange at a pumpkin patch for fear of the pumpkins competing with your stylishness. Whatever. Sheridan looks good in any color, so bring on the purple!

Aaaaaaaand he's off...

Of course, one must always check out the Cool Bus. Especially when you're totally cool.

He found his pumpkin in 15 seconds flat...

but I encouraged him to keep looking for something a little more, um, manageable...

Much better! Of course, I planned for us to pick out a pumpkin in the field, so we left this one here just in case he didn't find another one that lived up to his expectations.

But first, a train ride.

Waiting patiently for the train...



We all piled in...

We were there with Annelies & Marco, Gracie & William, RJ (a recent addition to our local group here!), Joaquin & Sofia, and other friends/family.

Meet little RJ and his mom Irma. Such a cute little guy... and so glad to have Irma in our Sisterhood!

Going through the pumpkin tunnel...

We saw horses, goats, pigs, tractors, cows, donkeys, roosters... and adorable little girls on the train ride.

Gracie Girl

We attempted a group kiddo shot, but this was the best I got. By the time the other kids were squeezed onto the bench, there were too many tears (from my little guy at least) for me to snap anything.

Now off to the field o' pumpkin.

Waiting for his very first hay ride, Sheridan was singing with his buddies as we waited for the tractor to take us out to the pumpkins.

"Slippery Fish" is a favorite around these parts - you can always tell by the "Ohhhhhh, Noooooo!"

Once we were underway, somebody got a little excited about it all :)

Somebody else was just as excited about her very first hay ride :)  Sofia loved it!

And then we arrived...

 It was HUGE. Enormous. No way we'd be leaving this place without a pumpkin.

Sheridan walked around a bit...

And then he spotted it...

His pumpkin. He signed "please" at least 20 times.

But then I realized he didn't want the pumpkin. He just wanted to sit on it. He's pretty happy about that seat.

He tried out a few pumpkin seats. This one was juuuuuuuuust right...

...for Grace to join him. He was pretty happy about that, too.

Grace on the other hand wasn't so sure about the new furniture.

So Sheridan tried to help her ease in to it.

But she preferred a flatter surface. Actually, all the kids loved the dirt, rocks, hay, mud.

Group shot! Sort of.

Then we hopped the hayride back to the farm where we ate yummy fall dishes like pumpkin pie and apple dumplings with warm cider sauce (to die for).

We caught a story telling session with Mother Goose and the three little pigs.

A few of us stayed until midday and played in the maze.

And what's a trip to the farm without helping them move some gravel?

Oh, and that pumpkin for Sheridan?

Totally forgot it.

Despite lots of opportunities to choose a squash or gourd of limitless varieties...

I completely forgot to grab the boy a pumpkin. 

Between you and me, I don't think he noticed or cared. 

Sheridan's Birthday Bash

This post is long overdue... 

Sheridan had 28 friends - TWENTY-EIGHT toddlers and infants - take over our backyard. It was SO much fun - I set up 9 different stations around the backyard so the kids would have lots of opportunities to explore and have fun. We had everything from moon sand to painting, water play to ball pits, handprint souvenirs to oobleck (which, by the way, was more of a hit with the parents than the kids!). The invitations told everyone to "dress to get messy" - and we meant it! 

I'm not going to write much, just let the pictures (and there's LOTS of 'em!) tell the story :) 

I loooooooove this cake!

Simple, yummy food :)

Party favors :)

We even had an infant play area for the babies!

Sheridan greeted everyone and walked them back to the party

Painting was probably the favorite activity among the kids!

The sand table was a good place for the little ones to congregate :)

Each child had a canvas square they could decorate however they wanted to take home as a souvenir

Moon sand - you can mold it, it never dries out, and always returns to "sand" - a weird consistency and great for sensory play!

Homemade, organic, oatmeal play-dough

We also had music at the party... as you can see, Sheridan was eager for the music to start!

I love how these three are playing together

Music time!

This is probably my favorite picture... here's Sheridan standing in the middle of everyone, shaking his booty to his favorite song. It's like he's on Solid Gold and he's dancing for a prize!

Nonna feeding Sheridan cake

Of course, his Becca was there

All in all, it was a fantastic party. It was so much fun. I'm sad Gary had to miss it, but I'm glad he insisted that we go ahead with the party. 

The children love it. Some partied until they literally passed out...

Others didn't want to leave, even after 3 hours of hard play they were still going at it...

I'm just glad everyone had so much fun and Sheridan got to celebrate his birthday with so many friends!

Happy second birthday, Buddy!

10% Off at My Custom Story!

To celebrate Down Syndrome Awareness Month, My Custom Story is giving you all 10% off any purchase made in October! You can even apply the discount to gift certificates!

Use this coupon code at checkout:  CfLG082EEc

I discovered My Custom Story over a year ago - and immediately fell in love. They make super durable board books from your photos, your story. And when I approached them last year about doing a special discount for Ds awareness they jumped at the chance! They are so supportive of our Ds community here!

So why do I love them? Because Sheridan (and all his friends!) love them...

The first book I made had all family members in it, and had the words to the "I love you so much song" you heard me sing to Sheridan before his open heart surgery. Next, I created a book with all of Sheridan's friends in it. He loves both of them!

They are my favorite birthday gift to give - I create one with the birthday boy/girl on the cover and each page has a different friend on it. I even made one for Sofia's homecoming so she could learn about her new friends (you can see the cover of it in this post).

But you can make ANY book you want...

So go check out their new website - by the way, don't be surprised when you see a handsome little boy greet you on the home page :)

And don't forget, you can buy a gift certificate in any amount for 10% off - so if you don't think you'll have the time to get your photos/story together to make a book in the next few weeks, just buy a gift certificate and order the book later!

I love, love, LOVE My Custom Story!