Pumpkin Fun

Carving pumpkins has always been a Daddy and Samantha activity. I tend to sit back and snap pictures while they carve...and dig...and get gooey seeds everywhere! This year Sam drew her own face on her pumpkin for Daddy to carve. She did a great job cleaning the "guts" out...and we think the finished product was pretty great!

American Girl Place~Chicago

When I was a little girl I used to drool over the American Girl catalog every time it arrived in the mail. I would circle and re-circle the items I loved, and hope Santa would grant my wishes! One Christmas he did...and I received a Kirsten doll. I cherished her! I kept her on my shelf well into high school, until one day it was time to pack away my dolls...and I saved her in a box with the hopes that I would be able to one day share her with my little girl.

American Girl has grown A LOT since I was little. There are many historical dolls and dolls that look like you. They even have a line of baby dolls. Samantha received one of these Bitty Baby dolls for her 2nd birthday, and they have been buddies ever since. Samantha is now excited when the catalogs come in the mail. She loves going through page by page and picking out things for her baby "Addy"...

Two weeks ago my mom and I took Samantha on her very first trip to the American Girl doll store! I must admit...I think I was more excited than Sam! But...then again...she didn't really know what was in store for her!

She had her very first ride on a train...

Her first trip downtown!!! This included her first taxi ride! She was pretty upset that our cab was white instead of yellow, but she got over it when she realized she didn't have to sit in a car seat!

It was "Bitty Baby Day" so there were special activities going on for preschool age girls and their dolls. There were crafts, snacks, and a circle time where they learned little songs and fingerplays for their dolls!

The store itself was a bit overwhelming to her. It was really crowded, and a lot of the displays were over her head. She had fun looking at all of the historical dolls, and picking out a few new outfits for Addy to take home.


We ate at Gino's East for lunch! YUMMY!!! Sam loved all of the graffiti all over the walls, and she was such a good girl while we waited about an hour for her first Chicago deep dish pizza!

On the way back to the train we decided to walk. It was a little over a mile, but she didn't complain ONCE! She just kept looking up at all of the buildings and commenting on how tall they were! We walked over the Chicago River where she even saw a water taxi!

When we got on the train she decided to change Addy into one of her new outfits. It was SUCH a fun day, and we are hoping to make it a yearly trip.

When we got back to Nana's house I decided to pass along my Kirsten doll. I know she is in good hands, and I know we have many more years of American Girl doll fun!

A Day in the Patch

Last year Nana (my mom) and I took Samantha to this really fun pumpkin patch near South Bend. Matthew and I wanted to go there this year, but with gas prices we decided to check out our options that were a bit closer to home. We went to Coulter's in Westville, IN. It is a nice family run farm but there are still plenty of fun things to do! Plus we were able to visit my parents afterwards...so that was an added bonus!







I think she had the most fun striking a pose in front of all of the "photo op" places! But there was also a place for face painting (she had the Cubs painted on her cheek), a small corn maze, and of course lots of pumpkins to choose from!

She LOVED this big pumpkin!

When it came time to choose our pumpkins I immediately went to the largest section. I was SO excited to pick the largest pumpkin that Matt could carry! But much to my surprise Sam didn't want anything to do with the big pumpkins. She wanted a small pumpkin so she could carry it herself. She amazes us more and more each day as she begins to make her own choices in life...proving once more to us...that she isn't a baby anymore!

Stayed tuned for adventures in carving our pumpkins! =)