Hurricane? What Hurricane?

I *think* we had some rain? It was a big nothing. So I dressed Andrew up in his backup halloween costume and we headed over to the playschool harvest party. Why a backup? Because I KNEW he'd get messy and didn't want to destroy the one Nana made for him! His favorite thing to do at the party was play in the goop, of course.

Pre-Sandy Fun

Thought I'd let Andrew get some fresh air before we become housebound. We built a leaf pile, he jumped on it and rolled around. Not sure if its the colors, or the crinkly sound but this kid can't get enough of playing in the leave. Too bad the storm is going to make a soggy mess of them :( We aren't expecting the worst of it up here, just alot of rain and wind.

NY State Museum

Our more recent favorite discovery: 

the top floor of the NY State Museum has a restored early 20th century carousel!

Liberty Ridge Farm

Liberty Ridge has a fantastic setup for autumn fun - we went with friends and spent the morning there. Tractor/Trolley ride, pumpkin maze, bouncy bounce - he did it all!

The Many Faces of Andrew

 Surprised

 Happy

Excited!

Pumpkin Festival

The Albany area offers its particular challenges, but in one area it excels beyond expectation: family fun. I suspect that because we have such harsh winters, businesses/organizations go great lengths to make sure there are plenty of things to do during the other three seasons. There is more to do here on any given day than I could possibly attend. And holiday time? Fuhgedaboudit. Its crazy. Halloween season has descended upon us - around here its a 2 week event, apparently. We have 6, yes SIX, halloween parties we'll be attending. This past weekend, a local nursery (photos above) hosted a pumpkin festival that included a pumpkin toss, pumpkin golf and pumpkin bowling.

More Juni

Just can't get enough of these two together. At one point today they needed to be separated at playschool because they couldn't keep their hands off each other! Hugs and kisses galore.

Autumn Greetings

It's officially fall, the leaves are changing and taking residence in our backyard. Luckily we have a willing helper this year with his very own rake. Its my favorite season - there's so much to do like go to pumpkin patches, enjoy apple picking, and enjoy the colorful (or as Andrew would say "colorfully") landscape.

Hangin out at RPI

On Friday, Andrew made his first guest artist appearance at one of RPI's classes about Art and Movement. It was alot of fun - the students were really enthusiastic and basically let Andrew take the lead. RPI staff have known him since the day he was born, and kiddo goes with us to all sorts of events like department parties, or gallery shows etc. In fact, this weekend was the department's 40th anniversary and there were all sorts of festivities. Isabella, the other Arts Dept child mascot, was also there for the celebration and they spent much of the time running around the performing arts center, or stuffing their face with hors d'oeuvres.

Chef Andrew

Andrew has inherited Shawn's love of cooking (lucky me, now I'm ensured to be provided with lots of tasty meals!) We bought him a step stool, that he calls the steppy stool, which is permanently attached to him while in the kitchen. He helps to prepare his own meals, as well as Shawn's morning coffee, and any baking project I'm working on. He helps Shawn prepare the adult dinners too if their schedules align. So far Andrew will do mixing and pouring, and gathering of ingredients. He's actually a very good helper. I see family cooking lessons in our future!

Gymnastics

We've tried so many classes - music, soccer, dance. But then came GYMNASTICS. Andrew is 500% more excited about it than the others. Probably because of how much energy it burns (this child has more energy than a handful of others I know, combined.) I uploaded a few videos so you can see what he does. The last photo is of him during warm up time. There are maybe 5 mom/kid pairs. Starting in January he'll be in the 3 year old class, where Moms watch from the balcony! I'm very excited about this :) He barely needs me there now anyhow. I'm embarrassed (or is it proud?) to say that he is the kiss up of the class. While other kids are tripping or slow, Andrew whizzes by them in the obstacle course. The teacher pays special attention to him because he finishes up eons before the others. Its pretty amusing.

Tumbling Tykes

There are many many indoor playgrounds around here so that families don't go stir crazy during the long winters. On rainy warm days we'll visit - including Tumbling Tykes. We visited with some friends (Hunter, below, a few week older than Andrew) and had a very loud, active morning. Needless to say he had a great nap.

 This particular play area is next to the airport so the kids like watching planes take off and land. Lately Andrew has been spotting planes up high in the sky by their smoke trails. When he sees one he says "Mama, Look! Its a shooting star!" The funny things toddlers come up with....