Brrrr

It started to get cold here tonight. (Stop laughing...it did!) Miami weather is usually pretty nice, but it does get chilly here on occasion. However, it does not usually happen in October. But
if the conditions are just right, it will get pretty chilly. A cold front is moving in from the North and it is expected to get down into the 50's overnight with a windchill into the 40's. Once the sun started going down this afternoon, we immediately started to feel the chill. Since we were going out to hang out with our Starbucks bible study group, Mom bundled Caleb up for the first time in his life. Fortunately, Mom was able to cobble together an outfit of a sweatshirt, sweatpants, some thick socks and a the only cap he has that fits. Mom and Caleb took a walk around the neighborhood this afternoon before I got home from work, so Caleb was already bundled up when I got in the house. I hardly recognized him since I couldn't see his red hair and some of his features. But he didn't seem to mind all the extra clothing and he looked quite cozy strapped into the car seat.

Shopping

One of the rituals that we counted on for some time after Caleb was born was our shopping trips. For the first few months, Caleb would ride in the Boppy Sling, usually asleep. He outgrew that a while back and he started to go through the grocery store in the Bjorn carrier. Now that Mom's school year is in full swing, we rarely have the opportunity to go to the grocery store together, so Mom has started going by herself. Today, she emailed me this first picture with the note that it is
getting more challenging to have Caleb at the grocery store. He started in the carrier but he was too wiggly, so Mom had to move him for his first ride in a grocery cart. I guess it won't be long before he is able to pull items off the shelf into the cart.

Caleb is also more challenging with regard to bringing the groceries into the house. Mom had to put him in his crib to keep him contained while she put the groceries away. Caleb has been really fussy in the afternoons lately and has been really demanding of Mom, so she was a bit surprised when she went to get him out of the crib and found him playing quite contentedly.

Fall?

We concluded a very busy weekend with a visit to the Little Farm pumpkin patch. Autumn is the time of year we get most homesick. We have recently seen friends on Facebook posting pictures of their babies at pumpkin patches and other fall/harvest events and we decided we needed to do the same with Caleb. We got him an outfit at the mall last weekend that seems appropriate for fall and then we were off in search of a pumpkin patch. Mom suggested Little Farm which is an educational spot
located in the last remaining agricultural zone in our area. So we headed there after worship today. Prior to going to the farm, Caleb did not nap during worship, so he slept through our lunch and was still asleep when we arrived at the farm. After wandering around allowing Caleb to see some barnyard animals and experience the smells of a farm, we found the pumpkin patch. The patch was really a single flat bed trailer covered in hay and pumpkins and surrounded by hordes of adults pointing their cameras
at some kid on the trailer. It was kind of intimidating so, of course, we dove right in. It was hard finding a spot where we could get a clear shot of Caleb without people in the background. We discovered it was near impossible to get Caleb to pay attention and look at the camera, which is a first for him. He has gotten so used to the camera that it is getting difficult to get a candid shot of him because he knows to look at the camera when he sees it. But today, he was far more fascinated by the hay. He
had a clump of hay in his hand just about the whole time he was on the trailer. He was so interested in his surroundings that he did not notice or care when he toppled over onto his side. We did manage to get two or three really cute pictures of Caleb, but in most of them, his focus is on something else. It was kind of warm today, so we were all worn out when it was time to leave. It does not matter how many scarecrows or pumpkins you put out this time of year, it just does not truly feel like Autumn when it is 80 degrees outside. At least the weather somewhat cooperated and we had some clouds to make it look like a fall day rather than being bright and sunny with blue skies.

After our adventure at the farm, we came home and we all ended up crashing in the living room until it was time to head back out for our evening assembly. I fell asleep on one couch watching football and Mom and Caleb slept on the next couch. After a while, Mom got up and I ended up with Caleb. She took our picture because she was mad at me that I would not let her change the channel because I was watching football. This picture was taken to prove that I was not watching football.