Now and Then: Pumpkin Patch Edition

This is one of my all-time favourite pictures of Mallory, and it's the one that I currently have framed on the side table in the living room, replacing (for now) the picture of the kids at the Pittsburgh hockey game.

And here we are, five years later. Some things changed, and some things exactly the same. Part of me wishes she would still fit into an adorable little holiday onesie.

 We finally made it to pick up our pumpkins tonight after school and work. The kids love this process.

It's all the better when our cousins join us. And this year, all four kids are looking at the camera! - I think that may be a first. Mallory is starting to come out of her look-anywhere-but phase, and Jonah is cool as a cucumber and does what you ask him to. It was just a lucky shot of Ethan, but he's three - he's allowed to be a little bit rebellious.

Jenn really had to coerce Mallory into this one, but it worked!

 No coercion required to get her to climb a pumpkin mountain. That was her own idea.

Liam had to one-up her by walking a 'pumpkin tightrope' along the fence line.

We were there well over an hour in all. We spent 15 minutes picking out pumpkins and the rest of the time climbing in/on/among them. I am not sure if we kept the girl who was working there late... she didn't say anything to us, but swiftly started packing up when she saw us heading back to the car. Thank you, pumpkin patch girl, for indulging us in the annual ritual. It won't be that much longer before my kids roll their eyes at the very suggestion of going to the patch.