Linvilla Orchards

Today we went to Linvilla Orchards to get a pumpkin and escape our dirty city for a bit of fall color and fresh air.

Oscar wore his monster shirt--or did his monster shirt wear him?

Linvilla has a huge collection of wooden structures perfect for climbing,

 and crawling through,

 and pretend driving.

We found a kid-size broom in Pumpkinland (Oscar was so excited!),

 and pumpkins, of course.  

A Few Fall Fotos

 Oscar at a friend's costume birthday party in the park.  He's a robot.

 Playing out front with the neighbor's hose.

20-month-old decisions:  coat on, pots out.  Ready for something, anyway.

A New Kind of Play

Well, not entirely new, but we are definitely seeing more "pretend" play.  I know all you parents have seen this before and anyone who isn't a parent may be somewhat unimpressed, but I can't say enough how amazing it is to watch Oscar growing and changing and becoming his own funny little person.  So here's a video starring O.K. and Baby Doll (and Mama saying silly things, like "good biting") that runs a little on the long side (but I'm not apologizing).

Bye-bye, High Chair

Oscar has pretty much out-grown his high chair.  His feet get stuck on the way out, and he has learned to shimmy his way into precariously standing up in the thing.  Plus, we like eating meals together, and losing the high chair means he will be more officially at the table.

 Oscar helped as we took apart and cleaned the high chair to save for later.

One quick ride before we packed it away.

Oscar sitting at the table in his new booster seat!

37

I always wondered how people could be unsure about how old they are, but now at 37 (pretty sure that's right), I am starting to get it.  Number one--there are just too many other things to think about.  Number two--the number is really starting to get big.  Number three--one more year isn't really making much difference anymore (I mean it's not like I get a new privilege for getting older any time soon).

So my age is forgettable, but my birthday was not.  It was last Monday, and my good husband and sweet son made it very special.  I had to work, of course, but I woke up to balloons hanging above my head (a favorite Macy tradition).  Then, when I got home from work, I found a transformed house: all the clutter was put away, the floors were vacuumed, the bathroom was clean, the dining room table "pile" had disappeared and in its place was this:

 

Home-baked cupcakes, wine and presents.

John had also surprised me by inviting over a few local friends (and their kiddos--Oscar's age) to share in the cupcakes and wine.  After they left we ordered some food from Pataya Thai, and I felt perfectly celebrated.  This birthday will go down as one of my best, however old I now am.

Philadelphia Open Studios Tour

John took part in the Philadelphia Open Studios Tour (P.O.S.T.) last weekend.  He showed his art in another studio-gallery in the Fairmount area.  The experience overall was positive, though to get more details, you'd need to talk to Johnny.  Here are a couple of pics: