Chilly Day at Wagner Farm

Last weekend we went to Wagner Farm in Glenview for its fall festival. The sun was shining, but the wind and cooler weather made it pretty chilly to walk around outside. Ben came straight from playing soccer (and was wearing shorts), so he was extra freezing. We survived though and had a fun time together :)

 

Eli was a little pouty at the beginning because he wanted to go inside the main building first, but we convinced him to see the animals that were near the entrance. We thought these huge pumpkins were neat too.

 

Peeking in on the huge cows down below - 

 

There were huge horses too!

 

Our favorite was this funny pig devouring a pumpkin - 

 

We got to go on a ride around the farm being pulled by a tractor in the front. The tractor driver kindly took this picture :)

It definitely feels like Fall! I'm having my busiest season yet with photography and have had lots of shooting and editing photos, meeting with clients and placing orders. Business is good, but I'll be happy to have a normal sleep schedule once winter arrives and things aren't so nuts. :)

Enjoying the Fall Afternoon

Ben, Eli and I are all kind of under the weather this weekend... we seem to have the cold that everyone else we know has. So we took naps after church and woke up feeling like we needed some fresh air. Here is Eli, in the cute sweater my mom knit for him, carrying his rubber duckie and Cars sippy cup.

Watching the trains go by...

No matter how many trains we see, Eli is excited for EVERY one.
He says "HI!" to all kinds of things - trains, trees, his duck, stuffed animals, cars, etc. We love it.

Playing on the golf course near our house - there were tons of pretty leaves that had fallen from the trees.

Eli thought it was hilarious when Ben threw leaves at him - he would run away laughing

More leaf throwing :)

Eli is 17 Months

Eli is 17 months old today. He is a fun-loving, sweet little boy who amazes us each day with the things he is learning and understanding.

A few of his latest words include: haircut, Sydney (name of Amber's little girl), and others that aren't coming to mind right now, but I'll add later as I remember them today. His first two-word phrase - "I see" because I seem to say that a lot when someone is telling me something. He loves copying it and says, "I see, I see" over and over...

He's working on his independence - trying to put his shoes on (which often leads to frustration), taking his bib off when he's done eating, insisting on using a spoon or fork when he eats, and usually having an opinion about which direction he wants to go (not caring if it's where we need to be going...). Eli loves to imitate what we say and do - and loves sweeping, playing with the measuring cups/spoons in the kitchen, pulling a stool up to the counter so he can help when I'm cooking.

Eli is really curious about how things work. He loves pretending to work on Ben's exercise bike with a set of keys (he'll put them in the screws). He likes fitting things inside of each other.

He loves playing outside and climbing up slides, but usually needs our help with that. He loves bubbles, balls, and balloons.
He loves playing peek-a-boo and hiding games.

He's not the wildest boy that I've ever seen, but definitely has a lot of energy and determination and can be very busy. I'm thankful that he usually behaves okay in restaurants or public places, though he definitely gets tired and restless after three hours of church each Sunday. He is not afraid to voice when he's frustrated, tired, or wanting something out of his reach. We love this little guy so much!