Pumpkin Patch: Blessington Farms

On Saturday we visited Blessington Farms, a local farm that I just found out about when I started making our Fall bucket list. I specifically put this down in our October Advent Calendar, since it was my husband's birthday and I knew this would make a perfect family outing to mark the beginning of Fall.  

My original plan was to head out by 9:30 a.m. so we could get to the farm as soon as it opened. We left the house at 10:45 a.m., I forgot my camera and Anabelle was starting to fall asleep in her car seat ten minutes into our drive. Mommy fail. I decided to forego the morning trip, and head to Target instead. After Target, we stopped to get a bite to eat, where Anabelle threw her second tantrum of the day. She didn't want to sit in the high chair, and suddenly turned into a stiff rod. How are toddlers so strong? My husband eventually crammed her cranky butt in there and lunch was served.

We ate a quick lunch and went straight home so Anabelle could take a nap. My new plan was to get her in bed, and leave the house around 2:00pm, so we could have a good two and a half hours to enjoy the farm. She didn't take a nap, and rolled around in her crib for a good 45 minutes before I gave up. Planning fail number two. 

We left the house around 2:30pm and finally made it to the farm right after 3:00pm. This farm was huge and there were so many things to do, I secretly panicked inside since I knew we couldn't enjoy it all. This is probably why I started to imagine farm trip number two, since the tickets were only ten bucks each, and Anabelle was free! 

We started our farm experience by checking out the animals. There were tons of birds (roosters? hens? I'm not sure) and cute baby goats we got to pet. Sweet!

Anabelle was super exhausted from no-nap Saturday, so I sat with her so she could get a little more comfortable with these little guys. Clearly the goat was camera ready at every moment.

We shuffled right along to the hay bale maze where Anabelle was almost trampled by the litters of children running through that thing. I let her explore the maze at her toddler moving pace, while she gripped my fingers for dear life. She didn't really understand the whole point of the maze (to get lost - duh) and was more enthralled by the excitement from the other kids. The reward for finding your way out of no man's land was a mile high slide. I'm telling you, these slides make your stomach jump!

Even daddy went down with her on her third run. You see her face? Let me tell you, that's the face of pure joy. And spit. For the first 45 minutes we were at the farm, she decided to hold spit and food (at separate times) in her mouth. 

We both tried to coax her to spit it out several times. She would look at us, and tilt her head, and smirk. Several shakes upside down she eventually would spit it out until the next round. I have to admit, she's a pro. She held her spit in through goat petting, maze running, four slide runs and the first part of the pumpkin patch.

We managed to get a quick family photo in between spitting sessions. This was thanks to the quick thinking of my husband and Anabelle's curiosity at the man who was telling us to smile.

And here we are, right back where we started. More spit play. 

Anabelle had fun stomping through the muddy pumpkin patch and picking up the pumpkins. A few of the pumpkins she picked up were about two pounds. Like I mentioned, toddler strength is no joke.

The farm was loaded with sweet spots to take pictures, so I made several failed attempts to get her to look happy. I'll be sure to let her know when she gets older that she was all trouble with her non-cooperative attitude. Hah.

  

So what's a mother to do when she can't get her child to pep it up and enjoy pupmkin picking with a smile on her face? Ice cream. Sugar. Don't judge me. I was desperate. 

It worked. Plus we went down the other slides they had about a hundred and one times. She loved it. And I have pictures of her smiling!

We stayed until they told us the farm was closed. After we gathered up all of our pumpkins, and loaded them in the cart, Anabelle helped her daddy push it to the car, grunting with all her might. I'm pretty sure she did most of the work.

Since it was dinner time, we decided to stop and grab dinner at a local grill right near the farm. There was this sweet older gentleman, playing a guitar and singing classic tunes as the live entertainment. We struck it lucky and got a seat right up front!  

Anabelle loved it! I'm marking this down as her first concert. She swayed side to side and bobbed her head throughout the entire meal. It was the perfect ending to this day. 

The best part of the entire day was watching these two and living in the moment. Happy birthday, sweet husband. I love you so.