Fall Fun

We had such a fabulous October that it's sad to see it go. My mom came to visit. We did lots of fun outdoor activities in the beautiful fall weather. And I took a research trip to the East Coast (posts to come) while Beckett played at home with Grandma Dorothy.
Beckett went to the farm about once a week in October. Since it closes for the winter on November 1st, we made sure to take advantage of the fun while it lasted.

We joined Ava and Abby on their first trip to the farmstead. They were not disappointed.

Beckett was really checking Ava out.

Ooh. Goat food.

On the nature walk.

Fluffy white bunnies.

Goats!

Look how much these two loved the goats. I love all the pointing.

Beckett is not scared at all of the goats. He will touch their noses and let them lick him. He just loves goats. So the next time we went to the farm I decided to take him into the goat-petting pen. We got to the farm right when it opened so there weren't a lot of other kids around, and Beckett was in heaven with all those goats to himself.

He loved petting the goats.

But he also kept trying to lick the goats.
Seriously!?

Running through the farm. This kid can run all day long. I don't think he ever walks.

Zephyr catches a bird

The unthinkable happened today; Zephyr caught a bird! How a pure white cat pulled this off in the lush green Kansas landscape remains a mystery. This definitely downgrades her dog-ness. Now if she'd just start using her litter box again...


This isn't really Zephyr, but it sure looks like her

This is JoLee, and I just have to add that while Zephyr's points in cathood went up this week in the "catching small animals department" they fell dramatically in another area. On Thursday Beckett and I took a walk to the elementary school playground that is about 3 blocks from our house, and guess who trotted behind us the entire way. Yes, Zephyr. She followed us to school. If that isn't doglike I don't know what is.

KC Zoo with Gramma

When my mom was here in October we did lots of fun things. On Saturday we went to the zoo. This was actually Beckett's second trip to the zoo.

The new polar bear exhibit is really great. The bear was swimming underwater and then pushing off the glass so he could glide on his back. Just look at the water streaming off the bear.

Beckett in the polar bear observation room.

In the aviary on our way to Australia.

I always take pictures of the red kangaroos. It's one of our favorite exhibits at the Kansas City Zoo. We even saw some of the kangaroos hop across their open field.

A posing camel.

We got to the hippo enclosure just in time for this display. Nate was sorry he missed out on seeing the hippos actually out of the water. Check out that mouth.
Beckett slept through most of Africa. He had gotten up really early that morning and was ready for a snooze.
After he woke up he was the happiest boy. He liked the tram.

We sure miss Gramma and all the fun we had when she was here.

Beckett the Frog

Happy Halloween.
We're off to trick or treat.
Stopping to say hi to Jaws the Cat.

Beckett enjoying his loot.

Finding a Pumpkin

For some Halloween-y fun my mom and I took Beckett to a pumpkin patch when she was in town. Schaake's had pumpkins of every size, shape, and variety. We went home with a really warty one.
Beckett lost his footing on a vine, and I just happened to catch it with the camera. Whoa.
Beckett picked out a tiny, white pumpkin. He carried it all around the patch. It's now sitting on our table with the other fall gourds.
Here he shows me the pumpkin while I use him as a stick to measure the height of this particularly tall pumpkin.

We're about ready to go and Beckett's still holding onto that tiny pumpkin.

Running through the pumpkin patch.

In Which Beckett Gets a Haircut

Beckett's hair had gotten too long. Check it out:
I didn't want to cut off all of his curls so we just trimmed it up a bit.
Beckett didn't think it getting his haircut was very fun. More like baby torture.

The Finished Product:

Chores

Beckett has a real passion for doing dishes. It drives me crazy. He is constantly opening the dishwasher and climbing in. He'll pull out dishes and put his toys into the dishwasher. We've washed at least one puzzle piece. I can't run the dishwasher while he's awake anymore. If I turn it on he turns it off. I turn it on again, and he immediately turns it off. We have to keep the silverware tray on the counter now.
We're calling this one "Our Little Cosette." Go clean your room and earn your keep.

Park Time

With the cooler temperatures we've been spending more time at the park. Beckett is a climber so he loves the playground. He can go down the slide all by himself.
We have joined Ava and Abby at a couple of different parks. Sometimes Beckett likes to try and climb up the slide. Ava thinks that's a fun challenge too. Beckett got a little pushy.
At the park near their home, Ava enjoyed playing in the sandbox. Beckett joined her for about 2 seconds. Then he was off running, and she was left alone wondering what was so pressing.
Exploring the tennis courts, of course.
We went to another park that has a cute miniature town. Beckett spent most of his time there running in and out of the buildings and peaking through the windows.