Yesterday we took our annual trip out to Sauvie Island Farms pumpkin patch for a little harvesty fun as the dark clouds were rolling in. Its such a lovely farm for us, especially on a weekday after school because it is sooooo MELLOW. Not a lot of crowds or overwhelming activities. Our visit got cut short by a little pants wetting accident, thus I’m a little short on photos of Sam, but you get the gist of the fun we had.

Zoë has come to a place where she really loves helping to care for her little brother. Its these sweet little moments when she says things like “Sam, let me button your coat for you” that pretty much melt me. It reassures me that if he needs help as an autistic adult, it will be second nature to her to keep a watchful eye out for him. The tricky part is to make sure she doesn’t feel overly responsible! Balance, my people… its tricky!!!Z is quite a photographer herself. I may have myself a protege! Here’s me being kooky. Sam is still feeling pretty cautious about Halloween, but I have to say that this year has been a million times easier than years prior! He has had much fewer moments of being frozen in utter terror… or maybe we’re just doing a stellar job of avoiding the more horrific visuals for him. ;o) He was super brave shaking this scarecrow’s hand and saying “hello”. No way would he have done that last year!I think Z MAY be coming out of her 4 or 5 year long phase of HATING being photographed!!! It is still inconsistent, but there are occasions when she’ll allow me to photograph her without begging or bribing. I’ll take it! She is my muse.

I hope you are all enjoying the season. It sure is getting cold here in the Pacific Northwest!!! Last night we all slept with our down comforters PLUS 2 quilts! Rob is pretty firm on not turn on the central heater until November 1st, but we may have to talk him into it a few days early!

big love, jen