OTIS + THE PUMPKIN PATCH – 1 YEAR OLD

Last week we made our annual trip to the pumpkin patch. We always love Tanaka Farms in Irvine and went right before sunset when the place was almost empty. Last year, Otis was SO tiny and the trip was more for us. Looking back at those photos I am just melting over his tiny little legs touching those pumpkins! This year, since Otis is walking, we knew he would have a blast walking around. We tried to get his photo next to the height sign but as you can see, he was GONE and sprinting up the corn field instead of standing still. He is a little man on the move. It was also the first day wearing his big boy vans and was so cute watching him stomp around the dirt. I feel like the pumpkin patch with kids is always filled with lots of laughs. He was running through the vines and tumbling down because his little feet would get caught and because it was uneven but he didn’t care. He kept right on trucking through. He just wanted to explore. Of course we grabbed him for photos and he didn’t want any part of it. Was like wrangling a mini alligator. But we just went with the flow and explored with him. We also got to do a tractor ride which was fun! As you can see, our time at the pumpkin patch ended in a little meltdown. It was the sign that, it was time to go home and make dinner. Gotta remember those little moments of real parenting. It’s sometimes a little messy but ALWAYS worth it for the family memories. Otis got to pick his own little pumpkin and I brought the one home we found in the pumpkin patch. He looks at them everyday and points. This trip to the pumpkin patch always kicks off fall and gets our whole family excited for the holidays. We came home and Blake put on Christmas music and I had to do a double take. I asked him, “Is this Christmas music??” and he replied, “YES! I am in the holiday spirit now.” MELT ME TO THE FLOOR MY HUSBAND IS MY HERO. Hope you enjoy these little moments from our family and that you enjoy them with your own. I also wanted to share some tips with you on prepping for your family Pumpkin Patch photos. Keep reading below.

HOW TO PREP FOR PUMPKIN PATCH FAMILY PHOTOS

MATCH YOUR OUTFITS, BUT NOT PERFECTLY

Sure you can go in twinning outfits but the reality is we can’t always find twinning options especially for Mama and Baby Boys! Such a bummer but that doesn’t mean you can’t match together. What I did this day was ran to h&m to see what I could find since I didn’t have anything for Otis to wear. I wanted him in something fall and I found this button down and immediately grabbed it. So you pick one main piece and then match everyone else’s looks around that. So since Otis was wearing warm brown plaid print, I made sure to pull in the warm tones with my yellow top and kept Blake’s t-shirt neutral to blend in with ours. Since Otis was wearing grey jeans, Blake and I also wore shades of grey jeans. It actually looks better when the colors are varied and then you get this magical ombre and vibe of colors that magically work together. So you aren’t perfectly matchy matchy and more sharing a color family.

BE PREPARED: WITH SNACKS OR MILK

This might seem like a no brainer but you never know how long you will be at the pumpkin patch and having a snack or milk (whatever your baby/toddler’s vibe is) can come in handy when you need to take a break from the pumpkins. This will keep them happy and willing to put up with mom and dad’s photo requests.

GO DURING THE WEEK

I know it’s not always possible with parents work schedules but if you are able to slip out an hour early, going during the week at the end of the day can be some of the least crowded times to be at the pumpkin patch. We went on a weekday right before they closed and it was virtually empty. We were literally the last people leaving the farm. The last people. It made orchestrating photos easy and we were able to explore without massive crowds. If you have no choice and need to go on the weekend, go EARLY. When they open! Try to beat the crowds.

WEAR SENSIBLE SHOES. SERIOUSLY.

I feel like this is pretty obvious but it’s easy to get excited and dress up for some family photos and lose sight of the fact that you will literally be walking through vines. Wear boots or sneakers since it’s often dusty and dirty since you are walking through dirty and you never know if it might be wet and sludgy where you live. We all wore sneakers so we could chase around Otis.

BRING A FRIEND, OR A PHOTOGRAPHER

We hired our photographer and friend to take our family photos because it makes life SO easy when she can follow us around and snap away and we don’t need to worry about it. I know this is not a luxury for everyone. So! Plan a pumpkin patch date with some family or friends. This is great way to get a built in person to snap some photos of your family. Snap ALOT because it’s always easier to delete the bad ones than worry you didn’t snap enough.

MELTDOWN? NO PROBLEM.

Let’s be super honest, even the most angelic child has their moments. A trip to the pumpkin patch can be an overwhelming experience for some, and no big deal for others. And even the most go with the flow kids have their moments if you try to get them to stand too still for a photo (hello Otis is raising his hand for this one!) Just go with the flow and laugh it off because you are freaking awesome parents for adventuring out and creating memories together. Even if the only photo you have is one of your kid screaming at the patch, you know what, slap that into your photo album and call it a day.

Hope you all have the best time this fall! We are headed to another pumpkin patch this weekend that we have never been before! Can’t wait to report back.

Otis: top: h&m kids / jeans: h&m kids / shoes: vans
Kim: top: h&m / jeans: jbrand / shoes: vans
Blake: top: h&m / jeans: levis / shoes: vans

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