Continuing Our Fall Pumpkin Tradition

Yesterday we made our annual fall visit to our local pumpkin farm.

Most of the other visitors were families with much younger children; we had wondered if Kai would want to go again, but he tends to like to repeat fun experiences from the past.

Kai wanted to do all of our usual activities, starting with the giant slide.

His big smile indicates that he still enjoys going down the slide, even if it does not seem so "giant" as he has gotten bigger.

Next was the hay ride...

and then the corn maze...

Of course, we had to take our annual photo by the measuring stick..


We picked out a couple of pumpkins and washed them.

Kai wanted to carve them when we got home. We got him a book of stencils and he picked out a couple for our pumpkins.

He carved one pumpkin while I worked on the other.

I was amazed at how patient he was. He meticulously carved away. It was a rare sight to see him this focused on anything non-electronic.

It took about an hour, but we finished our jack o lanterns.

It was nice to share the carving experience with him instead of having to do it all myself.

Nice job, Kai.

Return to Didier Farms

We have been going to our local pumpkin farm most years since Kai was 4 years old. Last year we heard that the local government was going to take over the land to build a reservoir, but they are still in business so they must have held the government off for now.

We went back there on Saturday for our latest visit.

First up on Kai’s agenda is the giant slide. It has become a father-and-son tradition for us.

He wanted to go on it several times.

Next was the hayride through the corn field.

And for the first time this year, Kai wanted to go into the corn maze.

I had never done one either, and was impressed that you really can’t tell the right way to go when you are inside the maze.

There are numerous corny signs.

Kai enjoyed leading the way.

It seemed like we always chose the wrong path that led to a dead end. But at least we didn’t keep going in circles.

Though after a while, it seemed like we might never get out. Then another boy came running by to tell his family that he had discovered the way out. And so we followed him to the exit.

Next Kai wanted to ride on the mini dragon roller coaster.

This ride is for kids much younger than Kai. But I suppose it is progress of sorts that he wanted to ride it after all these years. Maybe next year he will want to try a real roller coaster at our local amusement park.

We couldn’t leave without getting a pumpkin and taking our annual photo by the measuring stick.

And though it doesn’t always seem like it, I guess these photos prove that our little boy really is growing up.

Pumpkin Farm

After last weekend, when Kai had not cooperated with his piano teacher and we ended up cancelling our scheduled trip to the pumpkin farm, my son had been behaving pretty well all week. I was fairly confident that Kai would listen to his instructor this week and we would get to the farm.

But, you never know.

Ahead of the time when his teacher would arrive, I reminded Kai to listen to Vlad and do as he instructs. As is often the case, Kai did not respond to me, but I knew he heard what I told him.

And after Vlad arrived and started teaching, I let out a small sigh of relief when Kai mostly did what he was supposed to. Vlad taught him a new song while my dad, who I had picked up the day before to stay with us for the week, watched attentively:

And that meant we could go to the pumpkin farm.

It was a week later and 30 degrees colder than it would have been if we had gone when we originally planned, but Kai was no less happy to be there.

Our first activity was the hayride.

It felt very cold when the hayride started, but warmed a bit when the sun came out and the tractor wound its way through Scarecrow Lane in the middle of the corn field.

Kai is getting too big for most of the kiddie rides they had set up for the month, but he did quickly go through the fun house.

And then he and I did our favorite… the giant slide.

After that, we grownups wanted to go to the indoor refreshment stand to get hot apple cider and warm up. Kai had a cold apple cider slushy.

And then it was time to take our usual picture by the measuring post.

These photo shows how much Kai has grown physically since our first visit four years ago.

It is a little harder to tell from just looking at the picture the growth he has made in other ways.

But if we knew then the type of boy Kai would become in four years, I’m pretty sure we would have been overjoyed.

Noticing Growth Through the Giant Slide

My son capped off his best week of school since last Spring with Student of the Week honors. He’s now put together three good weeks in a row.

We are hoping that this is an indication that the medication he is on is helping him in a positive way now. But, after all the ups and downs we have been through, we are not assuming anything.

Still, it put us in a good frame of mind for a nice weekend.

This week, in addition to all of the usual activities, we made our annual visit to the local pumpkin farm.

Kai wasn’t into seeing the animals, and he has outgrown many of the kiddie rides, but he still loves going down the giant slide.

When we first went there three years ago, Kai was a bit scared, but wanted to try the giant slide. He sat in my lap, clung to my arm, and had a blast. And then we did it over and over again.

Now, he is too big to sit in my lap and he doesn’t want to cling to Dad so much anyway. So, this year, we raced down side by side. Kai won.

Of course, I had to take the picture by the “How Tall This Fall?” sign.

Oh my, our boy is growing up.