The Not So Awesome Pumpkin Patch

I have always wanted a reason to go to the pumpkin patch. I always see these great pictures of kids at the pumpkin patch and I couldn't wait to get one of Charlie. I thought she was too young to really enjoy or understand the pumpkin patch and that we would have to wait until next year to go. So you can imagine my excitement when my sister-in-law invited me to go to the pumpkin patch. I couldn’t wait.

Originally Tallon was supposed to go out of town that weekend so it was just going to be the mom's and their kids. Tallon had a schedule change at work preventing him from being able to go out of town, which was frustrating for him. However, he was actually pretty excited to go to the pumpkin patch with Charlie and his nephews. My mom wanted to go also... she went out of town on Friday and raced home Saturday morning to get there on time. I am surprised she didn’t get a ticket on her way home. She arrived at my house around 12:30. We loaded up the car with all of Charlie’s things… car seat, over packed diaper bag, stroller, baby carrier and the camera. I also have to have entertainment for Tallon… so I packed a magazine for him. We stopped to get some drinks and snack from Sonic and then we were off.

As we drive up to the pumpkin patch we are unsure if we are in the right place... as there are no pumpkins in sight. All I see is a jumpy house, a hey bale, a small hut where one pays too much for too little and port-a-potties. We pulled in, asked where the pumpkins were located (behind the corn maze) and did a little off roading to find a parking spot. We unloaded the car, strapped Charlie in my baby carrier, Tallon carried the camera, my mom carried the diaper bag and we began our pumpkin patch journey… so we thought.

My mom is paying seven dollars person at the little hut when Tallon gets a phone call... it was his work. They said that he was supposed to work that day and he should have been there at 1:00... It was 1:15 at this point and we are no where near his work place. We are trying to figure out how to get him to work when Charlie starts crying because she is hungry. My mom makes a bottle and we load everything back into the car to take Tallon to work. It takes about 45 minutes to get back to the pumpkin patch. I fed Charlie on the way to Tallon’s work so, of coarse, on the way back she fell asleep. I didn’t think it was a big deal because she normally wakes up when we get her out of the car seat... not this time... she passed out and would not wake up… she went into a food coma. She didn’t even wake up when I strapped her into the baby carrier again.

We were headed back to meet up with everyone. When we find them they look totally exhausted and frustrated. They have pumpkins in their arms and the kids just look mad. They decided to leave. So, it was just me, my mom and a sleeping baby. We wait for a while for the tractor to ride to the pumpkin patch. It arrives and everyone loads up except for us… there was just not enough room. We decided to just walk. It wasn’t far and I thought the movement might wake up Charlie. It did not. We walk around the corn maze to the area that they call a “pumpkin patch.” It really just looked like they bought pumpkins from Wal-Mart and placed them in a field. They did have a little set up where you could pose for pictures… it consist of two concrete blocks with a pumpkin on top.

We decided to try to take some pictures. Fortunately Charlie did wake up for that. After that mom took Charlie for a walk through the “pumpkin patch” to look for a pumpkin with no luck. We decided that we didn’t want to have to pay more for not so great pumpkins.

We did get some pictures of Charlie, not of the family though. I guess that is all I really wanted. We will just have to try again next year.

Let's Start At The Beginning

After 42 weeks of pregnancy, lots of pitocin, several ice chips and a c-section Charlotte Marie Chandler was here. She was born on July 6, 2010 at 4:29pm. She weighed 8 pounds 10 ounces and was 19 3/4 inches long.

No one really tells you about that first week home with a baby. It was a little scary that first week, but by week three things were going much better. At that point she was a pretty happy baby... except from about 6:00 to 11:00pm. She would get fussy during that time for about a month. She eventually got got past it and our lives got even easier. Now she is a very happy baby. We are so lucky to have such a good child. I really hope she keeps it up.

I have started this blog to keep track of all things Charlie. Hopefully I will be able to keep up with it.