Pumpkin Patch

We enjoyed heading to the pumpkin patch last weekend with Nana. Willow's buddy Mckenzie joined us with her baby sister Holly, her mom, and her grandma and grandpa who were in town from Washington state. Willow enjoyed petting the farm animals they had out (she even fed some!), playing in the corn box, taking a hay ride, and picking out the perfect pumpkin. Willow and Mckenzie even found matching little pumpkins! Feels like fall!

The next day we enjoyed a fall event at the botanical gardens. Willow got to paint a pumpkin and play music instruments, in the sandbox, in a little house, and in a special stick house they have on display. It was another beautiful fall day!

Auntie Kim's Wedding

Auntie Kim and now-uncle Chad got married last weekend. We were thankful to have a few days to spend time with them and other family who came before the wedding. Kim was hoping the autumn leaves would be at their peak and they surely were! Everything was gorgeous!

The ceremony and reception location was just as gorgeous as the bride and groom =) You can see some of the autumn colors on the mountainside through the windows from the reception building.

The beautiful bride!

The beautiful flower girl!

Willow's favorite "people watching" spot:

I must admit that I was quite nervous about how Willow would "perform" as a flower girl. Thankfully Kim was laid back about it and was ok with her holding my hand or being held down the aisle. After watching some other flower girls on YouTube, she was very excited about her "job" and did very well in both rehearsal and the ceremony! Tilt your head to the right and enjoy the video my cousin took for us:

Thanks to lollipops and a bag-o-tricks Dada packed, Willow did a great job during the ceremony as well!

Willow wasn't so "in" to having her picture taken multiple times...

Kim had made a different flavor bundt cake for each table. We especially enjoyed the mint chocolate cake! YUM!!!

Willow being fed endless candy by her great-grandparents:

Willow did great at the reception as well. She even did some dancing!

More of Kim's wedding pictures here:

http://taralilly.com/blog/chad-kimberly-irvine-estate-wedding-lexington-va-wedding-photographer/

We had a brunch with the newlyweds on Sunday morning. Willow enjoyed helping Kim and Chad pick which present to open next!

4 months

Popping out quickly!!

I don't think I've mentioned yet that Willow believes the baby is a girl and should be named Cocalynn...not sure it's going to make the Top Ten but is probably a cuter nickname than "Pit."

28th month

Here's a (late) update from September, Willow's 28th month:

- Willow's personality continues to come through in many ways. Here's evidence of her Type A personality:

- She continues to impress us with all that she's absorbing and processing. She often echos most phrases that we say, but I often find myself shocked by things I wouldn't have expected a 2 1/2 year old to say (plenty, most of it, title page [learned at school - thanks Ms. Jean!]). She makes me smile when I hear her say words slightly different than how they're supposed to be pronounced: "hamgaber" (hamburger), "amimals" (animals), "ban-dain" (bandaid), or "joob job" (good job).

Here's Willow putting together her ABC puzzle:

and writing "Ms":

- We have no doubts that Willow is going to be a great big sis. We recently visited Willow's friend Mckenzie who is a new big sis to Holly. Jeanne even let Willow try out holding Holly and she did a great job!

- Willow is still independent and is happy to announce when she does something all by herself. Here are here hair clips put in all by herself (can you spy 2 clips?):

Amazing Raise Form

Here's a Watching Willow first: You're first opportunity to invest in Pathways - where Chris works - through a special giving competition called The Amazing Raise! You can find the donation page at www.pathways-va.org/amazingraise. The Competition runs from 6 am Oct 5th to 6 pm Oct 6th.

Thanks for considering us in your giving plans.

A little friendly competition!

This week, Pathways will compete in the Amazing Raise fundraising event sponsored by The Community Foundation Serving Richmond and Central Virginia. This online giving event will take place over a period of 36 hours from 6 am on October 5th to 6 pm on October 6th. We'll be going head-to-head with other area nonprofits to see which can raise the most $50 donations. The winner will receive an additional $10,000 prize from the Community Foundation!

With so many committed partners like you, we know that Pathways can go for the gold!

To participate:

• First, share this page with your friends and family, and urge them to invest in the transformational work of Pathways.
• Starting at 6am, Oct. 5, come back to this webpage and fill out the simple, secure online giving form to make your tax-deductible donation of $50 or more.
• Share the news of your investment on Facebook or Twitter.

In addition to the $10,000 grand prize, the Community Foundation is offering a $2,500 match for the first 20 nonprofits to receive 50 donations of $50 each, so set your alarm for 6am tomorrow and have your credit card ready!

Prize Schedule

To sweeten the deal even more, Pathways will award the following prizes to certain timely donors:

Day 1, Oct. 5:

• Early Bird Special – 1st donation will receive a Free Home Energy Audit
• Board Match – If there are 50 donations within the first 3 hours (Oct 5th 6-9am) the Pathways Board of Directors will donate $500
• Lunch Special – The donation closest to 12pm will receive a $25 gift card
• Happy Hour – The 10th donation between 4pm and 6pm will receive a Free Home Lead Screening
• Twilight Giving – The largest donation between 8pm and 10pm will receive aFree Rain Barrel

Day 2, Oct. 6:

• Breakfast Give - Donation closest to 8am will receive Free Home Lead Screening
• Morning Coffee Break – The 15th donation between 9am and 11am will receive a Free Rain Barrel
• Lunch Special – The donation closest to 12pm will receive a $25 gift card
• Tea Time – The donation closest to 3pm wins a Emergency Car Kit
• Last One to the Party – The final donation closest to 5:45pm takes a Free Home Energy Audit

Be sure to follow us on Facebook for up to the minute reports of our winning donors!

As always, your investment will be used to build lives and awaken hope in Petersburg. Your support comes at a crucial time as we seek alternative funding for our life-changing YouthBuild program.

Together, we can reach our goal. We can win the Amazing Raise!

For more information, visit www.giverichmond.org or call 804-862-1104 x311

State Fair

We followed our chilly apple picking with a chilly evening at the State Fair. We enjoyed some yummy fried foods (and successfully managed to share a funnel cake without Willow noticing), saw lots of farm animals, watched pig racing (?!?!), saw a circus, and did lots of people watching. We had a great time!

This nice man let Willow pet his horse on their way out of the stable. Willow had this "shocked" face through most of the evening...so much to take in!!

"Racing" pigs (the little ones before these guys actually did race):

Willow loved sitting on all the tractors and machines!

Apple Picking

One of my favorite fall activities is apple picking! I took Willow last year with Nana and Kim also! Willow had a great time helping pick 17 lbs of apples (she picked about 15 lbs) in spite of the windy, 40ish-degree temperatures.

We only "field tested" two apples...I promise...

She especially liked picking the ones high up!

Enjoying warm apple donuts...of course!

Kim's Bridal Shower

Willow did a great job being a helper at Kim's bridal shower. She truly acted like such a big girl!!

Art projects:

Delivering cake:

Eating some of her own cake:

Delivering gifts to Auntie Kim:

She did a great job helping us celebrate Aunt Kim!