My Little Pumpkins

At the beginning of October, we made our annual trek to the Dallas Arboretum Pumpkin Patch to try and get some fall photos. We went with my friend Andi and her son, Evan. We tried to pick a day that wouldn't be too crowded, but we knew that wasn't going to happen when we pulled into the parking lot and saw the school buses :( Yes, there were people EVERYWHERE. It made it very difficult (more than usual) to get my kids to look at me when there were so many other people to look at... not to mention fun pumpkins to play with. It also made it difficult to get a picture without others in the background. But, with that said, can I just say that I love my camera? I am still learning - and forcing myself to shoot in manual - but I love the pics I can get. I know in a few more years the kids will be more cooperative and look at the camera... but I wouldn't wish away these years, so I'm happy with what they'll give me :)

My first attempt to get a picture of them together. Wyatt gave me his "cheese!" smile, but both of them were distracted by something over my shoulder.

 Lila was more cooperative on her own and willing to pose with her little pumpkin. For some reason, though, she seems to equate smiling with tilting her head to the side!

Then I tried to get a cute kiss picture and asked Wyatt to give Lila a kiss. Wyatt's way to "give" a kiss is to lean in and receive one. So this is what I got instead :) 

Best shot I got of Lila. Love those blue eyes.

Wyatt: "Mom, why do you keep forcing me to sit here?" 

 I tried to get a group shot of the three kiddos smiling, but we quickly downgraded that hope to a shot of the three kiddos looking up at the same time (throwing the hay was just too fun!). I love Lila's look here. It's like she's thinking, "Mom, are you seriously expecting this to happen?"

 I think this was one where Andi was helping me to try and get Wyatt to smile for real.

I finally got Lila to keep her head straight, and her smile went crooked :) 

After we walked through the pumpkins, we moved over to the hay bale maze. In a moment of brilliance (or so I thought) I had Lila duck down and then jump up and say boo... thought I would get a more natural smile that way. Well, it kind of worked :) The boys had a great time climbing and jumping over the hay bales - I found hay all down Wyatt's diaper later.

I'm trying to make a real effort to get in a picture - at least one - when I'm doing something with the kids, so it isn't always them alone or them with Dad. I don't love my expression here (I was tickling them to try and get them to smile) but the kids are cute! Can you tell from the twinkle in Wyatt's eyes that he can be mischievous? 

Another group shot. Something about Lila's expression here really reminds me of Ben.