PUMPKINS, PUMPKINS & MORE PUMPKINS!

Halloween has always held a special place in my heart. I love how it lets adults act like little kids and how it lets kids’ imagination take flight. I love the cooling temperatures, sipping on big mugs of hot cocoa, walking on crunchy and colorful leaves, and indulging on all the apple and pumpkin treats. I love how it kick starts all my favorite holidays and traditions, and puts everyone in a festive mood. With that said, this Halloween has been my FAVORITE yet!!

There is something so magical about watching your baby grow up, and having her take part in family traditions. This was the first year that Dannica was old enough to understand and fully embrace the holiday spirit. It made everything so much more memorable because I know that each year will be different and special as she grows up and able to do more and understand more. But I think I will forever and always remember THIS year because to Dannica, it was really her first ever Halloween and all things pumpkins!

And speaking of pumpkins…she is OBSESSED with pumpkins! Carving pumpkins, pumpkin patches, pumpkin treats, pumpkin this, pumpkin that, pumpkin everything!! I love how when she sees pumpkins, she will literally run over, and give it a hug and a kiss as if it were a long lost friend.

This weekend we carved all the pumpkins that Dannica picked out from our visits to the pumpkin patch (bless her little heart, she even picked out a pumpkin for baby brother!!!<3) It was so adorable how she took her little jobs so seriously. She is only two, so my husband and I did all the carving. But Dannica loved lifting all the pumpkin lids (she would say, “Nana so stroooooooong”), scooping out all the seeds, turning on the LED candles, throwing them into the pumpkin and closing the lid. We gave her some acrylic paint to decorate her itty bitty pumpkin while we did the carving, and that was just perfect for her little hands and mind to be kept busy so that she didn’t feel left out from the carving. And the best part–watching her jump up and down and squeal with excitement when she saw all the pumpkins lined up in a row and lit up in the dark… My heart could burst from just watching her so happy.

This year, we decided to repeat our Jack-O-Lantern family of pumpkins. And it’s been so fun to look back at the very first time we did this when it was just me and Dave. And here we are now…*almost* a family of FIVE!!! It could be the pregnancy hormones, but I started tearing up watching our little family evolve and grow. And I think that’s the BEST part about the holidays–It forces you to pause and cherish the important things in life…