Fall is in the air

Commercials for pumpkin lattes (yum!), cooler weather (though inconsistent being MN and all), leaves falling (ours usually start mid-august), and our annual kindergarten apple orchard field trip (success!) all add up to one thing - fall is here! I am so NOT a summer weather person and welcome all things fall. Dax has embraced it as well and it is so much fun to see his joy in everything new we share with him. Here's a snapshot of our fall thus far...

Cooler weather jammies invite extra guests to breakfast - why wouldn't the "tiger slipper" want toast? ;)

We also brought Dax to the apple orchard. We were inspired by the fun I had with my kindergarten classes and visited Applewood Orchard in Lakeville. It was the perfect first apple picking experience for the little man and he loved every second!

Hayride out to the apples

Loving the ride

Picking apples

Got one!

Breakthrough! Dax ate some of the apple!

My boys

So happy

Running through the orchard

He found some tractors that were just his size

Playing with Daddy

What's more fun than a pile of hay?!

Superstar?

Dax sat down with his guitar today and started singing an Okee Dokee Brothers song. It was ADORABLE! While we couldn't exactly replicate it, you can get the idea from these videos where he continued to play some music and sing along with me singing the song. While not quite as cute and slightly more off key with Mama's background vocals, we couldn't help but share.

Can You Canoe?

Bluegrass for Breakfast

Out With a Bang

Summer is officially over. Last week I went back to work and this week the students will come. It was a huge bummer to bring Dax back to daycare, but, thankfully, he has great friends there and is almost as loved as he is when he's home with me. Even so, I will deeply miss spending most of my time with my best little dude. Thus, we did some extra special things the past couple weekends to send summer out in style.

First, we spent some time at the MN State Fair. It was a different experience with a toddler for sure, but we had just as much fun as we have in the past!

Miracle of Birth Center was a great place to start!

Mini donuts...

and cheese curds made a well-rounded breakfast.

Chocolate malt for a mid-morning snack.

Checking out the fishies

Dax tried the giant slide with Daddy

And loved it!

He couldn't get enough of all the machines...

Dax was SO excited to see the Okee Dokee Brothers again!

Corn dog for lunch

And we couldn't leave without getting a bucket of Sweet Martha's Cookies to enjoy with milk!

That same day we celebrated GG's (Great-Grandma Mert's) birthday! Dax was a fabulous DJ and was very serious about his keyboard skills.

We also got Dax his own rake. He LOVES helping in the yard and, though his "help" extended the raking time, it also made the job way more fun.

Testing it out

Like this, mom?

It works better when you use your hands!

And of course he loved putting leaves in the garbage

Eventually he got Daddy to trade so he could use the rake he really loves, haha!

Finally, we took advantage of the break in the heat and visited a nearby playground that we don't go to often. It is pure joy to see Dax's excitement, sense of adventure, and laughter as he explores unfamiliar playground equipment.

While my preference would be to never lose my time with Dax, we are going to take advantage of all the time we do have together during the school year and I am already looking forward to next summer!