Pumpkins, Candy, and Mustangs

In the month since the last post, Fall and all of its festivities have taken over our lives.

In October, Norah visited not one, but two pumpkin patches. Norah loves pumpkins (as she seems to love most things), and she embraced her trips to the pumkin patches enthusiastically.

The Denneys made a mid-October trip to the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch with our friends the Harrisons and their beautiful girl Eva. We had never been to the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch, but we'll become regulars after this. It's very wide open with pumpkins everywhere, fair food, lots of bounce houses, and trains and hayrides (we didn't participate in those this year; maybe next year). Norah had a great time running around with Eva, especially when Eva pulled Norah through the pumpkin patch in her pumpkin wagon.

Piggie came to see the pumpkins too.

The Denney Family Pumpkin in all its glory (before being decapitated and emptied, the details of which are discussed below).

The pumpkin patch being a "country affair," there was a tractor, and Norah, being a country girl, she climbed right up.

Norah had such a good time with Eva that she promply named one of her new bath toys (a birthday gift) "Eva." She and bath-toy Eva remain close friends 4 weeks later.

The following Monday, we met Tracey and Kaelyn at the Dallas Arboretum Pumpkin Patch, which provided additional wonderful good times and photo ops. The Arboretum Pumpkin Patch is a little more fancy than the one in Flower Mound, though both are awesome in their own way. Maybe the biggest difference is that while the pumpkins in Flower Mound are spread out for display and purchase, the ones at the Arboretum are stacked for aesthetic purposes. Fortunately for Norah, the stacked pumpkins are much more fun to climb. And throw. The Arboretum also has a giant hay maze that Norah and Kaelyn enjoyed running in and over together.



Pumpkin cuteness.

Ropes and barriers = no fun for Norah.

Airborne!

Yes, I looked on nervously as this happened. Norah enjoyed her makeshift pumpkin playground immensely.

Fast-forward to Halloween week, when it was time to carve the Denney Family Pumpkin. Norah enjoyed watching us cut open her orange friend, and was not freaked out at all when it went from one solid mass to a scary jack-o-lantern with fangs. Interesting.

She did have quite a bit of fun repeatedly taking taking off the jack-o-lantern's hat.

Our church had its Fall Carnival the night before Halloween, so Norah got to try on her Halloween costume a night early. Last year, it was Norah the Shaggy Dog. In 2009, we present to you Norah the Black Cat. With some fancy make-up wizardry by Karen, Norah grew whiskers before our very eyes.

Anytime there are slides and bouncehouses, it's a good party, and this was no different.

In addition to these staple activies, Norah was thrilled to discover the joys of a Balloon Room. She could have stayed in there forever.

Halloween was low-key evening, as we stayed in the neighborhood let Norah the Black Cat knock on a few doors. She felt quite comfortable around the neighbors, letting herself in more than a few entryways when the door was opened for her. She actually enjoyed seeing trick-or-treaters come to our door more than trick-or-treating herself. Every time the doorbell rang she yelled "more people!" and sprinted to the door saying "happy Halloween!"

She enjoyed a sack of M&Ms before getting ready for bed, letting me hold her all the while. I believe this was a purposeful act on her part, as cuddling can be so rare now that she feels I will give her chocolate in exchange for cuddling. She may be on to something.

That weekend, Karen's friend Caryn was in town, so we were able to grab brunch at La Duni and Norah was able to ride Caryn's shoulders across Knox Street to get custard at Wild About Harry's. Norah enjoyed La Duni and custard, but she enjoyed quality time with Caryn even more.


The next weekend was SMU's Homecoming, so Norah finally made her first trip to the Hilltop to see some of Daddy's old friends, and make some new ones of her own. Norah spent some quality time with a couple of awesome and happy little boys born to two of my fraternity brothers right around the time Norah was born (Enzo, September '07, and Finley, November '07). Here is a picture of Norah and Finley sizing each other up before the parade.

The day after Homecoming, Karen's Uncle Leon and Aunt LaJuana visited with Norah. As always, Norah was not shy and, after demanding that Uncle Leon read a book to her, climbed right up on in Uncle Leon's lap to drink her milk.

Norah, however, finished off her milk on top of an accomodating Bram.

In other Norah news:

• Norah is getting quite good at putting together sentences and song lyrics. Since she came across several Halloween-themed finger puppets at Party City during her birthday party preparations, she has learned to imitate a vampire ("I want to suck your blood!") and a witch ("I'll get you my pretty, and your little dog too. Ah ha ha!"). She only recently has learned Frankenstein: "Fire bad!"

• Ring Around the Rosy. Norah learned this classic at school, and has been singing it and falling all week. Lots of fun for her. The falling part isn't as much fun for pregnant people or grandparents that Norah beckons to fall with her.
• Every time we drive by Cowboys Stadium and the Ballpark in Arlington, Norah correctly identifies each by saying "Dallas Cowboys," and "Texas Rangers." This wouldn't be as impressive if we hadn't discussed the Rangers with her since early September. Norah also identifies Target each time we drive past one. I'm sure this is only partially because we go there together 2-4 times per week. Girl loves her some Target.
• She has taken full advantage of the 75-degree November days, spending hours outside playing with bubbles, sliding, and throwing and kicking balls. She has an absolute cannon for an arm.