Maddox Travels to Denver....again

Eric, Maddox and I just got back from Denver. Eric had a conference for financial planning so Maddox and I tagged along. We drove this time instead of flying, like we did in May. It was a long trip but nice to have our own car out there. We went to the pumpkin patch with Aunt Brooke and Uncle Tyler, visited the zoo and spent time with family.....'Aunt' Kelly, 'Aunt' Kathy and cousin Emily. We had a great time. Maddox slept well and even friended Tyler and Brooke's cat Oliver by the time we left. Maddox learned how to use a straw while we were out there and she also started getting her two front teeth. They aren't quite all the way down yet, but she is able to grind them against her 2 bottom teeth. I'm sure it won't be long. She mastered Tyler and Brooke's basement steps which quickly transferred over to our steps. Eric and I are trying to teach her how to go down on her tummy with her feet first. She is very good at climbing up but needs more work on getting down safely. She slept SOME in the car seat during the ride out and back....the picture above was on the last leg of the trip...Williamsberg, IA to Bettendorf. She fell asleep with her purple bear over her head as if to say...'I've had enough of this car...can we PLEASE go home'. We thought it was cute. All in all we had a nice trip and it was good to be away. Thanks for the hospitality Aunt Brooke and Uncle Tyler. We look forward to meeting your new little guy in 2011.

Maddox Goes to the Pumpkin Patch

It was a beautiful day on Saturday so we thought we'd take Maddox to her first pumpkin patch. We drove out to Long Grove, Iowa to the Pride of the Wapsi Pumpkin Patch. It is well more than a pumpkin patch, as you'll see from the pictures. They have a petting zoo, pony rides, a barrel train, 2 jumping houses, tons of opportunities for pictures, wagon rides to the pumpkin patch, face painting...and a bunch more. With Maddox's age and short window between naps we picked only a few things to do but we all had a BLAST. Grammy Marti was in town to watch Maddox while Eric and I went to the Penn State/Iowa game so she came along for the fun. It ended up being a little bit colder out in the country then it was in town so we had to cover Maddox with all the extra hats/coats that happened to be in the RAV. She could barely move but didn't seem to mind! She loved everything...the train ride, the pony, and the pumpkin patch. She tried to eat the pumpkin blooms and part of one of the pumpkin stems but we were quick to stop her...although I'm fairly certain pumpkin blooms are safe but we didn't want to take any chances. We had a great time...and are looking forward to carving our pumpkins some time soon! Happy Fall everyone....!