Yes. We are officially townies. I remember being a kid and thinking that the Apple Harvest Festival was the absolute greatest thing in the world. Well... apparently it runs in the family. My little dude had so much fun downtown this weekend, he didn't know what to do with himself!
It started on Saturday when he went to the fair with Daddy, Papa, and Auntie Mary. We have been places that offered face painting before, but I've always passed on it because I didn't think he'd like it. I had this vision of him smearing it completely off in the first minute. As you can see here, I was wrong. He got some
serious face paint and absolutely loved it. He left it on the entire day, even through naptime. Papa blew the wad on the rides - it's a grandparent's prerogative I guess. You wouldn't think moving around in a circle sitting on a rickety old metal motorcycle would give a three-year-old so much pleasure, but it does!
On Sunday he ran in the Little Fritter Road Race. Last year, he ran the toddler race - half the length of the green. This year, he was with the big kids and ran the full length. He did a great job running, and even stayed on his feet this year! No wipeouts. Next year we're goin' for the full lap!
The day capped off with the parade. Nicholas and I marched with the Y behind a truck blasting The Village People's YMCA in an infinite loop. I was pulling the wagon because I figured it had already been a long day and the parade happened to fall right during naptime. Well, needless to say, that was a complete waste of time. This kid not only
marched the whole time, he
danced his way through the entire parade. He was singing and doing the YMCA dance the entire time! I could not believe it! Even his coach turned around and said, "Hey Nicholas, aren't you tired yet?" There were kids his age that sat in their wagons the whole time, but not my little Energizer Bunny. He never ceases to amaze me. I figure he'll be caught up on sleep by Thanksgiving...
Every year, October is an extremely busy but special month. And this year is no exception. Nicholas celebrated his fourth birthday last week! I cannot believe that he is four. It's funny... when I think about how grown up he is, and how much he's maturing lately, it's hard for me to believe how quickly the time has passed. During the week of his birthday, I'm always doing the Math with Todd - "Today was the day I went into the hospital." "Tonight was the night I started my hard labor." Reliving that crazy week. But for some reason, that part seems like a million years ago. I struggle to remember what it was like to be pregnant with him. I can only assume it's because our lives have changed so much since our little monkey came into the world. It's hard to remember what life was like before him. 
We had Nicholas's birthday party at Camp Sloper, and the kids were taking full advantage of all the fun to be had there. They were flying down the super slide, running across the fields, and stuffing themselves with birthday cake. It was fun to watch Nicholas with his friends. I don't get to see much of that interaction, so it was really fun for me. We also had his grandparents over for dinner on his actual birthday. He had an awesome Curious George cake, and got lots of special gifts.
We've also been busy having lots of fall fun lately. We spent time with Auntie Mary, Auntie Jenny, and Susanna carving pumpkins a few weeks ago, and returned to the pumpkin patch this past weekend with the Cutler cousins. We're saving that pumpkin for our Halloween jack-o-lantern. Although Todd and I are sitting here glued to the weather channel hoping we don't have a Halloween like last year. Hopefully trick-or-treating will go off without a hitch because I'm having a great time making his costume this year - fingers crossed that he'll actually get to show it off!
The other big news in our family is the addition of our beautiful new
puppy, October Cutler - we call him Toby, and he's the cutest thing in
the world. I will put a separate post up soon with lots of pictures and
info about Toby. Here's a little preview... OK, all together now... "Aaaaaaaaaw!" :)
