The Pollard Place: October 2015

I LOVE FALL. I just love it. Every year I say it, and I will continue to say it for all of the years to come. WHAT A GLORIOUS TIME. The leaves falling and changing colors, pumpkins and hot apple cider, and the smell of fall in the air... So great. October was a fun month, with yet another flight for Mr. H. Luckily he did really great and slept the whole way there and the whole way back.

Rusty had a work trip to do some recruiting for interns at BYU, so Henry and I went out with him and stayed the weekend and made a little trip out of it! We did a lot of fun things and really enjoyed our time in Utah. On the way to the hotel from the airport we made a quick stop at Gourmandise for our delicious sandwiches and the best cheesecake ever. So great. Then Thursday Henry and I went and visited Jessica at work and then hiked Big Springs and got J Dawgs for lunch. She came over that night to the hotel with some curry and naan from the Bombay House, and I had some Shirley's blueberry rolls for dessert. :) Friday Rusty had to work again so Henry and I drove to Morgan to see my parents and Grandpa and Grandma. We had lunch and then took some pictures with everyone. It was really nice to get to see them! That night Rusty and I went and walked around campus before meeting up with some of our friends at Buffalo Wild Wings.

This campus is so beautiful!

Saturday I had arranged with one of Jessica's friends to borrow his motorcycle to drive Alpine Loop, a tradition that Rusty and I have done since we started dating! Dad and Mom followed in the car, and it was so much fun! I really missed doing that, and it was so awesome. That night we went back to Jessica's house with my parents and watched The Nightmare Before Christmas and Jessica and I sang along to all of the songs, haha. It was just like old times. Sunday we hung out at the house and made breakfast, and then drove out to Logan to see my Grandma.

It started raining on my dad on the way home...

The front half of him was soaked! Hahaha

Monday Rusty had a quick little stop to make at Boeing in Salt Lake and then we went and walked around Temple Square where we met Rusty's friend for lunch before hopping on the plane back home! I really love Temple Square and I was so excited to be back there. It was fun to get to walk around with Henry and show him where his mommy and daddy were married. It's such a fun place!

October wouldn't be right without a trip to the pumpkin patch! And I just love Seattle because there are five or six great places to choose from, but I think we found the best one this year. It was The Farm at Swan Trails, and they had so many things to do! We started with a trip through the petting zoo, sat on an old tractor, took a hayride, and then walked through the pumpkin patch to find our perfect pumpkins! Then we came home and had spaghetti squash, hot apple cider, and pumpkin cookies. Yum.

This cow kept trying to lick me and I was laughing so hard!

On the tractor

Hayride!!

I wanted a cute picture but H just kept eating the corn and the grass haha

Rusty also went riding with Cody and I went and got lunch and went shopping with Katie. Then a couple of weeks later we went to their cabin in Roslyn and got to go riding again and drive through the little town. It was so cool, it was so old that the houses all had shacks outside the house where the coal miners would clean up before they went inside. Another weekend we went riding up a little place close to the house. We couldn't find anyone to watch Henry, so we loaded up my bike and went with Rusty carrying Henry in the pack. We packed a little picnic and it was so beautiful. Just a perfect, peaceful time with my two favorite people.

I tried my hand at some crafting, and although I'm not really good at it they turned out ok! It was fun to try something new. Rusty and I got to go to the temple for the first time since I was pregnant with Henry, and we promised that we would never go that long again. We loved being there and it was so wonderful to feel the spirit so strong. The ward Trunk or Treat came up, and we did our first time ever! We dressed up like a robber, bag of money, and a cop and it was so fun to go! The car was decorated with teeth and a tongue hanging out, and eyes hanging down. There was a chili cook off and lots of activities. It was a fun night!

Henry's Highlights:

Henry still loves playing peek-a-boo and the Photograph song. He actually just really loves being sung to, but especially this song. :) His new favorite has become The Itsy Bitsy Spider, and is sure to make him stop crying any time he hears it. He will just give you that big smile.
He will scoot around on his back by pushing with his legs off of the ground and particularly loves to do this maneuver while his diaper is being changed. He can move around to get toys that are out of reach now, and he's usually in a different place when I come back to check on him after I leave him on the ground.
Talking is still a favorite pass time, and he has started to talk back to you and have a little conversation. He babbles a lot and says dadadada, babababa, and gagagaga. He only says mamama when he is crying haha. Towards the end of the month he started to add in /e/ sounds a lot more. It's really fun to hear him getting those sounds!
A new toy that has won his heart is a toothbrush, and he absolutely loves the grass. EVERYTHING goes in his mouth.
He still loves leaves. A lot.

Any time that Rusty or I walk into the room he lights up and gets really excited, which definitely feels good. I admit that I leave the room sometimes just so that I can come back and get that welcome :) The best part of my morning is when I finally open my eyes and see that little guy just staring at me waiting for me to talk. When I say "Good morning Henry!" his eyes just light up and he starts talking and laughing and flailing his arms around like crazy. Not a bad way to wake up.
October 30 his front top tooth started to break through! Crazy!
I had my primary kids over for a party and we watched Madagascar. Henry just stared at it and laughed hysterically hahahaha.

He gives big ol sloppy kisses by opening his mouth as wide as he can and putting the whole thing on top of your mouth or cheek, leaving some slobber behind as a reminder of his love. He also cuddles a little more, which I love.

He still laughs like a crazy person, squealing like crazy and then finally letting the laughs come out. He loves to be "eaten" on his ribs and it is the most sure way of getting laughs out of that little monster. That is still one of my most favorite sounds, aside from his Daddy laughing and saying my name. We also found a puppet that absolutely makes him lose his mind. I don't know why, but he thinks it's hilarious!
Henry has also started to turn the pages in the books that we are reading. Although he has been doing this for a while, it seems like this month he started to understand what he was doing.
He started holding his arms up when he wants picked up.
He started to love watching the washer and dryer go.

He can feed himself some finger foods, and will usually fight to do it himself and not have you put the food in his mouth for him. He also really hates being fed with a spoon now, and wants to hold the spoon himself. This makes for a messy, and long process of eating.