Hannah's October Highlights (so far):

Highlight #1: Making new friends in Lindsey, Sarah, Joe, and Holly and TJ McCloud . . . .(wish I had a picture of her with the McClouds--she fell in love with both of them too.)

She was so spoiled with all the company! She had so many friends to read books with, build with duplos, sing with, go for walks . . . She loved it!

Highlight #2: Visiting Long Hunter State Park for a walk along the lake, picnic lunch, and fun on the playground!

Splash! Once again throwing rocks into a lake!

Hannah met a new animal at the lake: A Goose. It wandered up to us expecting to join in our picnic. Though it didn't get any treats it sure made Hannah's day! She is still talking about it!

Highlight #3: Visiting Walden Farm in Smyrna, TN.

We've been reading lots of books recently about picking apples and pumpkins, visiting farms and various stories about farm animals like the classic The Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Barn. I really wanted to take Hannah to a real farm. On a tip from a friend (thanks Melissa) we went to Walden Farm one day with Lindsey, Joe and Sarah. It's free, it's close and it's great! I'd recommend it to anyone in the Nashville area wanting their child to have a farm experience. All the other farms I looked into you have to pay an entrance fee and they are generally an hour away! We had so much fun! There was a pumpkin patch, corn maze, lots of animals to see, feed and pet, a corn crib to play in, hay stack to climb, play area with toy farms, playground equipment, even some live banjo pickin'!

Hannah was a bit overwhelmed at first but after about a 30 minute warm up period she livened up and really enjoyed the whole experience. The cow mooing, the pony eating, the pigs sleeping, seeing a bunny in a box, picking out a pumpkin, and getting to dig in the corn crib are all things she still tells me about every day.

Highlight #4: Autumn Walks around the Neighborhood

We look for seed pods, different colored leaves, watch the birds, notice the clouds or the moon, or the sun, greet the neighborhood cats and dogs, splash in puddles after the rain . . . Our walks have taken on an whole new feel now as Hannah prefers to walk instead of ride in the stroller. I don't get as much exercise but I love getting to see the world through her eyes and follow my little explorer as she points and exclaims "This way! Walk!"

Watching a cat.

On a "Puddle Walk" wearing her new boots.

Highlight #5: Getting the flu.

Okay, throwing up 6 times in one afternoon was NOT the highlight. But, getting to watch Baby Einstein videos sure was! This was the first time we purposefully let Hannah watch some TV as it was our last resort to distract her from how bad she felt. As you can see-- it worked. She loved the World Animals tape! We loved watching her be so enthralled. Why is watching a toddler watch TV so cute . . . ?

Her own little "home theater."

Highlight #6: Doing lots and lots of art!

Hannah loves working with art materials. The new thing I've introduced this month is stickers. She concentrates so hard to peel them off the backing paper then very carefully sticks them on her paper smoothing them down with her little pointer finger. She has gotten quite adept at it. She then purposefully makes marks on top of each sticker sometimes carefully, sometimes using big random strokes. I love to watch her work! Her attention span when doing art has gradually increased this month to where she can sit and work for up to a half hour sometimes longer!

Hannah's work space. (Since I took this picture she has covered her pumpkin with stickers and scribbles. It's a continual work in progress.)

A Masterpiece!

The artist busy at work. (Or is she in a trance?)

Painting is still an all time favorite.

Well, we'll be back with more highlights after the Barnacle's visit! I'm SO excited! They get here Sunday . . . . Yeah!