Goebbert's Pumpkin Farm and Garden Center

After a late night with the Puri family last night, it was really nice to sleep in this morning.  At least, that is, until Raj woke me as he was leaving to watch a football game with some friends/cousins.  It was a sore subject and not a good way to start the day.
Shawn and I leisurely got ready and had breakfast before we picked up a stack of children’s books (including Curious George and Little Bear) and a Sansaveria (or ‘Mother In Law Tongue’) plant from Freecycle.  Then, the two of us went to Goebbert’s Pumpkin Farm and Garden Center in South Barrington.  The parking lot was incredibly full and we ended up in a spot on the far opposite corner from the entrance to the farm!  Oh, well.  It’s a great day to be outside (~68°F), and the walk will be good for us.

When we eventually made it to the entrance, there were vast displays of pumpkins and gourds of all shapes and sizes for sale.  Scattered throughout the pumpkin fields were wooden cut-outs of various children’s characters:  Peanuts, Sesame Street, Winnie the Pooh, Toy Story… just to name a few.  Shawn would pose at one and then run to the next when he’d see another exhilarating character.  I had to click the shutter quickly!  He also found a fire truck among a meadow of climb-able structures.  He was trying to avoid being climbed over by a group of bigger kids, when Raj caught up to us after the football game.  We figured out which attractions we wanted to visit, so Raj and Shawn got in line for tickets, while I held a spot in line for a camel ride.  That’s when Shrenik, Heena, and Veer found us for an impromptu playdate.  By that time, we had made it close to the front of the very long line, so we offered to take Veer with us so they wouldn’t have to get in line themselves.  Veer rode with me, Shawn with Raj, and Heena and Shrenik took pictures from the ground.  It worked out very well.

Next, the kids rode ponies.  Then, we went to Animal Land.  We started by climbing up ramps to a lofted platform that brought us to eye-level with two giraffes!  A very different perspective from way up there!  We also visited with some piglets before touring three very large tents that housed 55 different types of animals.  It was a mini-zoo!  Somewhere along the way, Veer decided he had had enough and they ended up going home, but Shawn was enjoying the day, so stayed to see what else was around.

The highlight was when Shawn, Raj, and I got to have our picture taken with a 12 week old white Bengal Tiger.  The handler worked tirelessly to get the cub to look in the direction of the camera for a good picture.  (I thought it was hard to keep my own focus on the camera instead of on her or the adorable cub laying just inches away from us!)  Afterwards, she explained that when the barometric pressure changes, her cats get very excited and have a hard time paying attention and cooperating, part of their instinctual nature to find shelter before a storm.  With rain in our forecast, it made sense.

Are Shawn and the cub wearing the same expression?

I had hoped to watch the pig race, where a group of piglets race around a track for an Oreo cookie.  The description of the races said:

Come cheer on your favorite pigs. “Kermit the HOG”, “Miss Piggy”, “Hillary RodHAM Clinton”, and “Kevin BACON” are all here to race for that Oreo cookie. We are sorry but, Arnold SchwarzenHOGGER will not be competing this year due to a pulled HAMstring.

But, we spent too much time in the tents looking at animals and didn’t realize that we missed it.

Raj vetoed the corn stalk maze after he and I got lost in one a few years ago at the other Goebbert’s location in Hampshire.  Instead, Shawn and I ventured through a straw-bale maze that had an old west, kiddie-town façade.  Every once in a while, a dead end would actually be a photo-op for the friends and family outside because the kids would look through windows, which turned out to be funny props with holes for faces.  Shawn had a great time running through the maze and deciding which path to take… Until, three girls came from around a corner and bumped into him.  He was startled.  He was knocked down.  He bumped his cheek on a straw bale and got a little welt.  The maze fun was over. Luckily, I was tall enough to see over the bales, so we found our way out quickly and looked for other fun things to do.

We saw a pumpkin eating dinosaur demolish a couple of pumpkins and then belch smoke from his nostrils.  (It didn’t have any arms, legs, hands, or feet – it was just a head, neck, and small body.  It looked a bit like a small construction crane, which was draped in orange cloth to cover the mechanical workings inside.)  It would position its head over a pumpkin, open its mouth wide, then reach down to pick it up.  Then, it would lift it high over our heads and crunch its jaws until bits of pumpkin came crashing to the ground.  Sometimes, very large hunks would fall and splatter at its ‘feet.’  The ‘man behind the curtain’ must have had fun at the controls because he’d pick someone in the audience for the dinosaur to interact with.  At one point, he picked me!  I’d wave, he’d bobble his head from side to side.  I’d shake or nod my head, he’d mimic.  It was fun, though Shawn wasn’t too sure what to make of this huge creature with very large teeth, jerky movements, and growling roars.  We kept reminding him that it was just a pretend dinosaur, but even after we left Animal Land, he’d occasionally ask, “Where’d the dinosaur go?” and look around nervously.  It’s a good thing there was plenty to see and do to keep him distracted!

 

We ran out of time to go on the tractor pulled wagon ride, but Shawn played on some more on the fire trucks and a train before the staff made their rounds to announce the farm was closed.  On our way out, we picked up two large pumpkins.  (Hopefully, we’ll decorate or carve them in the next few days!)  Then, we headed back to our cars.  By the time Shawn and I hiked back to the minivan, Raj had already left the property!

I told Raj that we should get dinner before going home – partially because I knew Shawn would fall asleep on the drive home and I wanted him to eat first, but also because I simply didn’t feel like cooking!  So, we met at Chili’s for an easy dinner.  Sure enough, after filling his tummy, Shawn fell asleep on the way home (~8:00 pm).  Luckily, I managed to transfer him fairly smoothly to bed.  Later, I went to bed as a thunderstorm was starting.

I guess the Bengal cubs’ internal barometers were right!

An Aquatic Break Through

Shawn woke up at 7 am!  Happy as can be.  Give me a few more minutes to sleep in, buddy!  I went into his room and laid down with him, hoping he’d go back to sleep.  Instead, he sat on my hip and announced, “I’m riding a bicycle!” and when I tipped him off to the side, he giggled, “I fell of the bicycle!”  Ok.  I get it.  It’s time to play.  I’m up.

Shawn had a total BREAK THROUGH at swimming class this morning! Miss Becca gave him a floaty belt, which he’s worn once before, but this time she also gave him a floaty that looked like a long bar-bell. He loved it!  He actually reached out for it and smiled.  The combination of his belt around his chest and the bar-bell he was holding onto, I could actually let go of him (though cautiously).  I could pull him by the bar-bell and he’d giggle and smile and ask for more.  I even got him to let go of the bar-bell with one hand and splash a little with the other!  (This isn’t an issue during bath time, but he’s never really moved his arms around much during swimming lessons.)  I still couldn’t get him to kick (even when I’d tickle his feet or move his legs for him), but at least he was having fun.  About half-way through class, Miss Becca traded the bar-bell for a kick board.  It was a lot harder to hold on to, but once Shawn figured it out, he smiled and giggled on it, too.  I towed him around in circles and up and down the pool a few times.  Miss Becca pointed out that maybe he doesn’t understand what to do when we say, “Kick,” since it feels different from kicking a ball when you’re standing on the ground.  So, I’d lay on my back and kick a few splashes behind him.  It worked!  He laughed hard and started to kick!!!!  (With all the splashing, kicking, and whatnot that Shawn did today, his teeth didn’t chatter and his lips did turn as blue nearly as much as they usually do.)  Thank you, Miss Becca!

Next week is our last class, for now anyway.  In addition to getting our report cards (!), it’s “Boat Safety Day.”  Apparently, we’re going to practice putting on life vests and getting in and out of a boat.  Interesting…  I’m not really sure why this is a part of this particular class, but okay.

Now that it actually feels like a swimming lesson and not just play time in the pool (though we still sang songs and played with toys, too), I’m more willing to sign up for the next class.  I asked her about the next session of classes and if she’d be teaching it or if our original teacher would be back.  (If our first teacher is signed up for it, I think we’d pass!  Miss Becca actually looks at the skills individual kids are learning, offers the parents suggestions, and - what a concept - knows the kids’ names!  What a difference a change in the teacher has made.)  It turns out that she will be teaching the next session and there’s only a week or two break between the end of this session and the start of the next one.  I was thinking that we’d just go to the Roselle pool and do our own thing, but now maybe we will get one more session of lessons in before the outdoor pool season starts.

Today was a GORGEOUS day (60 F).  Abby came over to ask Shawn to play outside when he woke up from his nap.  Of course, they pulled out the toy lawn mower/bubble blower.  When Abby and Bill went in for dinner, Raj, Shawn, Baron, and I went for a walk to the park.  Raj showed Shawn how to climb a structure that looks similar to the rungs of a curving ladder.  I think I held my breath each time Shawn went near it.  I’d like to say that it was too difficult for his little toddler legs, shaky balance, and unsure footing, but, to my dismay, he proved he could navigate it with little more than a watchful eye and an encouraging word.  I will admit that it was exciting to watch him conquer the difficult equipment, but it’s still not exactly my favorite part of the playground for him to play on!

 

April Fools!

Hmm… was that today?  No jokes or pranks or anything exciting happened.  I’m quite okay with that!  Maybe when the kids get older, it could be fun to do something for April Fools, but I don’t think they’d really understand it yet.  Again, I’m fine with that!

In the morning, Abby, Shawn, and I went to a Mothers & More  Toddler/Preschool Playgroup at one of the moms’ houses.  As we were getting ready to head over there, I caught Abby and Shawn on camera demonstrating their fantastic climbing ability.  When did they get so independent?

After the playgroup, we went to Gymboree for Family Gym.  There was a farm theme, which was pretty cute.  The kids pretended to be pigs and roll in ‘mud’ as they rolled down ramps and they put ‘hay in the cows’ troughs’ by putting scarves inside an inner-tube.  There were lots of activities, including a story, that Shawn and Abby really got into.  Of course, Abby’s favorite was riding the rocking horse and shouting, “Neigh!  Neigh!  Neigh!”

It was a busy day!  Full of excitement and (as my sister, Jennifer, would call it) adventures.  Unfortunately, Shawn wouldn’t unwind enough for a nap while Abby slept, but wasn’t acting cranky either, so he and I played quietly on our own.  However, after she went home and I explained that we couldn’t play with her anymore and that we needed to go to the grocery store, Shawn got very upset and demanded, “I want to play with Abby!  No grocery store!”  Then, he quickly fell asleep in the car on the way to Target.  Of course!  I was sure he’d wake up while I was getting him out of his car seat, but, luckily, he even stayed asleep while I did some quick shopping.  The cashier, who gushed when she saw him sleeping on my shoulder, asked if he’d stay asleep now for the night.  Doubtful, though with our jam-packed day, it’s possible!  Minutes later, as we were leaving the store, his little head popped up and he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.  I thought he might go back to sleep in the car, since he’d only napped for about an hour (and his usual naps have been between 2-3 hours lately), but no such luck.  Curse that check-out clerk!  He stayed fairly quiet on the drive home and even was subdued while he played and I made dinner… until Dadda came home.  Then life was exciting again!  Just as I was hoping to get him ready for an early bed time - naturally!  I still managed to get him to bed a little early, but not as much as I had hoped.  It turns out that it didn’t really matter… it was a rough night and neither of us slept much as a result.

Hmmm... is this Shawn's prank for April Fools Day?  I am not amused.

Shawn: The Human Monkey!

Shawn has officially turned into a human monkey. This morning, he and Abby were playing in his crib. He climbed onto the railing, and perched there for a moment absolutely proud of himself. He announced, “I’m riding a bicycle! Look, Momma! I’m riding a bicycle!” I had to take pictures of his new stunt because I didn’t think Raj would believe me when I told him. It looks like it’s time to convert the baby crib into a toddler bed! (tear…)

Abby went home early today. While Shawn finished his nap, I cleaned house and opened all the windows. The weather station on my computer reported 47 F, but felt MUCH warmer. The windows are staying open!

When Shawn woke from his nap, I set him up in the basement with all of his toys so I could continue cleaning the rest of the house. I blocked the stairs with a puppy/baby gate and went upstairs to get to work. The next thing I knew, Shawn was standing next to me giggling uncontrollably! I thought maybe the gate fell down or something, but when I checked, it was still intact just as I had left it. Shawn demonstrated his escape artist's skills by sticking his toes into the little holes in the gate - up and over he went! Simple as that! He was beaming with pride, even more so than when he got out of the crib this morning! We're in trouble...

When Raj got home, he changed the crib into a toddler bed. Now, instead of a full height railing across the top, it has a half height rail that goes about ¾ of the way across. Shawn was so excited that he could climb in and out “all by MY self!” (which he practiced over and over again!), that he was extremely wound up with enthusiasm. He had a hard time relaxing enough to go to sleep, though climbing out of bed in the middle of the night didn’t seem to be an issue. When he woke up, he simply sat up and called for me as usual. I’m not sure if he’s awake enough at those times to realize that he could get out if he wanted to. (I wonder how long this will last!)