At 17 and a half months old, we must admit our little Sethie is definitely more of a little boy than a baby (though he'll always be our baby, ha ha!). This has probably been obvious to most of you for some time, but perhaps the parents are always in denial as their little ones grow up? :)

We have been having a great fall with Seth, despite some daycare colds/illnesses etc. that have circulated back and forth between the three of us. After the success at raspberry picking a few weeks back, we wanted to experience other autumn joys with Seth. First, we went pumpkin picking at a local pumpkin patch. Seth had lots of fun playing on their little playground and then was beside himself when he discovered all the pumpkins! There were little red wagons customers could use to cart their pumpkins around, and Seth wanted to be in charge of our wagon - pushing it, instead of pulling it. We let him pick all the pumpkins we bought, and he was quite cute, running up to different bunches and selecting a pumpkin. Most he could actually pick up, but a few heavy ones he tried with all his might to move to no avail. But, he did lift with his knees, so I think he knows how to move heavy things! He did this funny thing where he would try to kiss all the pumpkin and gourd stems - he loves to kiss all his toys, etc.

Seth has enjoyed playing with the pumpkins (or "punk" as he calls them) on our steps, and we've been teaching him to play in the leaves and frolic in the beautiful New England scenery. We went up to see Papa at the farm for Columbus Day weekend, and we had a great time there. Seth always loves running around on the big lawn, and he had fun watching watching Papa ride his "mowie" (mower). We also went apple picking again at the farm, and it was cute to compare this year's pictures with last year's, when Seth was too little to pick apples and was losing all his hair! He was really into picking apples this year, and he wanted to pick tons. We made some yummy apple crisp back in Suffield! We also had a lot of fun rolling around in the leaves. Seth had this game where he would push us over and say "fall" and we would fall over into the leaves. So cute!

Seth has been making many cognitive connections lately. He tells us "stories" - says words to remind us of things he has done (play, eat, ball), and likes to talk about our little routines. For example, on the way up our street, we always pass this house where there is a cat. You all know that Seth loves cats. I always stop in front of the house and ask Seth if there is a cat on the steps. Now, whenever we pass the house, he says "Mao" or "no mao." He also has been scanning pages in his books a lot. He can find the mouse on all the pages of "Goodnight Moon," and if you ask him where something is on a page, you can see his little eyes scanning the page until he finds it. He is also really catching on to his Music Together classes. He "sings along" now to many more songs, and likes to dance - the "butt shimmy," the "arm wave" and the "march in place" are big favorites!

He has such a little personality - he finds lots of things so funny! We went to visit Jason's aunt and uncle and they had a cat. Seth loves cats, but I am allergic to them. So, he could not get over the fact that there was a cat in their house, and that it lived there. He kept running into the bedroom, seeing the cat on the bed, and laughing hysterically! He also finds many things that Papa does to be quite funny - be it batting a paper cup repeatedly out of his hand, or gently lowering him onto a pillow and saying "Boom," Seth can't get enough of these little routines. Daddy is another good one at making Seth laugh with his antics!

He's making many verbal leaps, too. Adding tons of new words like moon, star, fall, leaf, pumpkin (punk), buckles, rice, milk (milp), butterfly, etc. He has also started to put two and even three words together to make little sentences. Big favorite are "no" something, and "fall" something (like "no mao," "melon fall," "book fall"). But he is even saying things like "mommy shirt" and today he said "all done daddy cereal"!

He can recognize himself in the mirror and pictures now, and finally understands the difference between pictures of him and pictures of his friend, Katie! He's become quite the little mover and shaker at daycare, and loves being with all his friends over there.

We've had fun with lots of wonderful friends and family lately. Seth loves his Tuesday nights with Geema, and leaps into her arms whenever she arrives. It is special for them to have their weekly time together. He loves to read books with her. He's had lots of fun with Papa, and talks about him when he's not there, saying "Boom, Papa." Papa came down last week to celebrate his birthday, and we went to the Olive Garden. Seth was a bit antsy at dinner, so we were all taking turns running around with him. I had him at one point, and there was a whole empty section of the restaurant. He saw one of the waitresses using a sweeper, and he wanted to use one, too. They let him use one, and he literally swept the floor for half an hour, with us taking turns running after him. The manager printed him out an Olive Garden button with his name on it, and offered him a job! Ha ha!

We've seen many people from Jason's family: Bunny, Jay, Eben, Cynthia, Peter, Ann, Donatella, Meg, Kate, John, and Timmy. It was great to visit with them over Columbus Day, since Ann and Donatella were in from Italy. We had a fun night last night with my best friends from high school: Sharon, Phu, and little Kayla, Gina and John, Sarah and Max, Carolyn, and Kara. We are so lucky to have so many people who love us and love Seth.

We started up swimming lessons again today, and Seth loved it! Over the summer, it had taken him quite a while to decide that he could tolerate the pool, so we were a little worried after a two-month hiatus. But, he couldn't get enough. He was kicking, jumping, blowing bubbles. He loved when his instructor held him up in the air and said "Rocketship rocketship to the MOON!" He loves the bath so much we are glad the loves the pool now, too.

Seth's new trick of the weekend is licking with his tongue like a little cat - I got him a new book called "Kitten's First Full Moon," and taught him this new move. It is so cute, and just in time, as he will be a cat for Halloween (of course!)

We'll sign off with a video I took of Seth last week falling asleep in his highchair at home. He does this at daycare too, sometimes, and I just happened to catch it on video at home. We home you are all having a great fall!