Preschool Pumpking Patch Fieldtrip

Before I even begin, let me answer a few questions that I am sure that you are asking yourself:

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Yes, I am aware that I just posted about a pumpkin patch outing.

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Yes, I am aware that my daughter is wearing the same adorable Halloween shirt as the last set of pictures.

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Yes, I am even aware that many most okay, all of these pumpkin patch pictures are remarkably similar to the ones I just posted.

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But, if you are interested in silly, repetitious, motherly pride please read on.

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If not, come back next week for a new post. 

However, I do need to issue this warning:

Molly has four separate events next week where she will be sporting her Halloween costume.

If you think this is repetitious, you ain't seen nothin' yet!

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Molly's preschool class had their first field trip of the year.

Can you believe it? My little baby on a field trip!

How on earth did she grow up so fast?

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Oh, goody!

More silly signs where Molly gets to stick her head through a hole

and have her picture taken.

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Hanging with Mr. Scarecrow in the hay bale maze.

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Good thing Molly doesn't have any allergies.

This is one hay-filled day.

Let's get this hayride started!

Making scary Halloween faces.

A little Botox might help my

scary Halloween face look a little less scary.

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On this excursion we actually got to go out to the field

and pick pumpkins off the vine.

Good thing.

Up to this point Molly thought pumpkins just grew in big piles.

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Molly and her teacher in the pumpkin patch.

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In the immortal words of Dr. Seuss: No Pat, No! Don't sit on that!

Read Hop on Pop to understand that obscure literary reference.

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Class picture.

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Yum! Eating a pumpkin cookie on the way home.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Parties, Pumpkins and Penmanship

PARTY:

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Meet Mia.

Molly has 3 friends named Mia;

we refer to this Mia as laughing Mia, as she is a total giggle box!)

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Mia had her 4th birthday party over the weekend.

Molly enjoys a good party and this one did not disappoint.

See for yourself:

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Hey, is anyone here turning 4 years old? Mia!

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Pre-party photo-op: all smiles.

Now let's get this party started!

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First, a little dancing...look at those girls getting their groove on.

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Next up, party games.

What little kid doesn't like party games?

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Some time spent with good friends.

This cutie is also a Mia.

We refer to her as swimming Mia,

as she and Molly really bonded at the pool last summer.

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Crafty Molly sneakin'and a peekin' from behind her bunny.

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Oh boy! Party hats. This party rocks!

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What? Food, too! Yea for parties!

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Top it all off with a huge hunk of chocolate cake and ice cream.

Can you say sugar buzz?

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End of party photo-op: still all smiles.

Happy birthday, Laughing Mia!

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pPUMPKINS:

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Yes, it is that time of year again...

The annual trip to the pumpkin patch.

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Hurry Mom, take the picture so I can put my coat back on!

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This is my pick for this year.

The annual How Tall this Fall picture:

2009

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2008

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2007

Oh my, how my baby has grown!

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Fun at the farm with Daddy.

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And hey, we can't leave mom out.

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Petting the farm animals.

Molly is getting so courageous.

This would have never happened last year.

Go, Molly!

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pPENMANSHIP:

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Any of you who know Molly, know that she is a gross motor kid.

There's nothing she won't climb, jump off, flip over or swim through.

Fine motor activiites? Well that's another story.

Until recently, she hated do anything fine motor related.

Hated coloring, hated cutting, hated playdough.

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As of late, she has shown an interest in some of these things.

Yesterday, I handed her a piece of paper

and told her to write her name on it.

Then I went about my cooking.

I expected to get back some chicken scratching,

maybe some random letters in random places across the page.

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Imagine my surprise when she handed this back to me:

All of her letters legibly formed, going left to right across the page. Whoa!

She's a genius ladies and gentlemen. As if there was any doubt!

Mid-Autumn Moon Festival

First, a little Chinese History Lesson:

On the fifteenth day of the eighth moon, the Chinese people celebrate the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. On this day, the moon appears to be perfectly round and bright. This festival honors the goddess of the moon.

In preparation for this day, houses are cleaned and moon papers are hung near the door. Moon papers are posters which are divided into three parts. The top has a picture of Chang E, the Moon Goddess. The middle has a picture of the moon. The bottom picture is the Jade Rabbit who is said to live in the moon.

Apples, persimmons, grapes and melons are arranged on platters. All of the foods are round like the moon. When the moon is full, candles and incense are lit, moon papers are burned, and women and girls bow to the moon. At the end of the ceremony, tea and moon cakes are served.

I would like to say that I am the perfect mom and that we spent our Saturday following all of the above traditions. But sadly I'm not and we didn't.

We did do the next best thing. We attended our local Families with Children from China (FCC) Autumn Moon Celebration. They always do such a nice job, and it's fun to celebrate this traditional holiday with friends. Here's a glimpse of our evening:

Molly making her lantern for the lantern parade.

Spending time creating chalk drawings with buddy Mia.

Listening to the traditional Autumn Moon story.

Eating moon cakes.

Well, these weren't the actual moon cakes that we ate.

I forgot to take a picture of those.

But I did find this nifty picture on the web,

and ours looked exactly like these.

Except for the lily. No lily with our moon cakes.

Meeting up with our new friend Mattie.

Molly, Mia and Megan (Mia's big sister-whom Molly idolizes) line up for the lantern parade.

Mom and Molly at the end of an enjoyable evening!

Totally random observation...Gee, there are a lot of M names in this post: Molly, Mia, Megan, Mattie, Mom. Told ya-random!