The pumpkin patch of my life's musings

Fall is my favorite season, but there isn't much of it here in TX. So, we sought it out! We did a very festive pumpkin patch. It was even overcast that day so it looked fallish. Never-mind the fact that it was warm and we wore shorts.

Eli could hardly contain himself when he saw the train. Both boys LOVE trains and Seth got tricked into riding it with them. hahaha

Eli looks angry in every picture, but really he just gets weirded out by the flash. These boys ran through this "pumpkin patch" millions of times. Logan said he "loved the Great Pumpkin's Patch."

"Picking" a pumpkin. Ignore his bracelet. His Aunt made it for him. You'd never guess from that smile that he ran away from Seth and hid in the

Indian tee-pee at the pumpkin patch. We almost panicked, but we have a delayed-response panic system in place for this one. We dragged him out of the teepee and this was moments later.

I'm so sneaky you can hardly see me!

Eli is my fall baby, and he turned 2 on the 30th of October. Oh how I love him! He is so very smart and so very patient. He is quiet and easy going and sweeter than most souls on the planet. He is so easy to parent! He listens and he obeys and is so very very mild. If he had been my first, I would be judging other parents. He is quite the blessing of calm.

Speaking of awesome, we can't leave out Mr. More. I feel that is a positive way to describe my Logan and a lot of everyday life with him is hard to paint in a positive light. Everything about him is, "more." More emotion, more sound, more burrowing under the chairs in primary, more hatred for authority. But, with the "more difficult" comes the "more rewarding": more smiles, more happiness, more joy, more in tune with every person's emotion in the room, more intelligence (he is reading and adding-it is so fun as his mom, to see something happen so easily for him) and lastly, more love than my heart can hold.

A long while back I began reading parenting books. Most "didn't apply to Logan." They were the written version of the 'deer in the headlights' look that I receive from other mother's on some occasions. I came across another (smaller) section of parenting books for the "challenging child." One of those books I mentioned on this blog because the preface was written about Logan. It was, "The Explosive Child." It was so depressing I couldn't finish it. So I stopped reading parenting books. I also stopped time outs.

He climbed this all by himself, I didn't think he could do it. It is a lot bigger than it looks!

Then my visiting teachers came by one day. She said, after a couple of visits and careful observation, "my daughter is a lot like Logan..." She recommended 2 parenting books, and guess what? I love them. The first read, "Negotiation Generation" was excellent and has helped me become a more proactive parent. BUT the second, was/is changing my perspective of my son.

Parenting the Ephraim's Child: Characteristics, Capabilities, and Challenges of Children Who Are Intensely More.

So encouraging and so very positive. I love thinking of Logan as "more."