Life
In my humble experience, Fall is the perfect time of year. The weather finally cools down, you get to bust out those rad coats, and shaving your legs? Eh, forget about it. Oh! And if you have older kids, you can finally send them back to school. There's also Halloween and Thanksgiving and you can start prep for the winter holidays. And pumpkin spice everything, you guys! But do you know what's better than all that? Celebrating Fall with your kid. Do you have any idea just how much a toddler will make you excited for fall? I swear, you guys, it’s the best. Their excitement is ridiculously contagious, so there's truly no way you can be around a toddler as Autumn begins, and not become insanely excited.
Now that Fall is officially here, I, myself, am pretty excited. This is actually the first Fall I get to share with my son, from start to finish, in a state with actual seasons. Most of you might not understand this, but if you’ve ever lived in a land of eternal summer (like, say, Miami), you know what a huge deal it is when you realize you're going to actually experience Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring as they were intended to be experienced. And I can already see my son getting excited for this particular change of seasons. Apparently, he knows how big a deal this is, too.
It’s such a blast to share everything with my toddler, but getting to see it all through his young, not-yet-jaded eyes is seriously the best damn thing ever. If you have a toddler, you might be able to relate to some of the following ways our Rugrats can get us extra pumped for the pumpkin-filled time of the year:
Toddlers Totally Dig The Changing Of The Leaves ...
I just learned about “leaf peeping” this year — the practice of driving out to forest areas where the leaves change color. Forgive me if this isn’t as exciting to some, but coming from a place where palm trees are the norm year-round, I think leaves changing color is really freaking cool. My partner and I took a drive this past weekend, with our little one in tow, and he had a blast calling out all the colors he’d see. “Yellow!” “Green!” “Orange!” “Red!”
... & Can’t Get Enough Of Just Stomping On Them
I don’t care how old you get or how "adult" you consider yourself, stomping on crunchy leaves is never not fun. And when you have a toddler, you can totally do this shamelessly without getting weird looks from the neighbors.
Toddlers Love Those Cut Hats With Ears
Toddler hats with ears are the best thing ever. My partner and I just found our son’s old fox hat (it’s a hat that makes his head look like, well, there’s a fox on it) and it brings me more joy than you’ll ever know. I am not looking forward to the day it doesn’t fit, but we’re already on a mission to find a larger animal-themed beanie so the inevitable transition isn't so heartbreaking.
Toddlers Totally Dig Hitting Up Pumpkin Patches...
Running around outdoors among a ton of pumpkins that are about half your size must be a blast, right? I know my toddler certainly thinks so. And you bet he enjoys picking them, too, which makes me even more excited for the next activity.
... & Carving Them Is A Messy-But-Necessary Treat
Alright, so when you’ve got a toddler on the younger side, it’s probably best to stick to decorating the pumpkin with stickers and markers. But once they’re old enough to carve a pumpkin safely, they’ll have a blast scooping out all those pumpkin guts. Your toddler will undoubtedly smell like pumpkin for the next week, but eh, it’s fun.
Toddlers Love To Test Out Pumpkin-Flavored Everything
If your kids are adventurous eaters (and even if they’re not), they might be open to testing out all the yummy pumpkin-flavored dishes and drinks we get to enjoy in the Fall. Pumpkin cheesecake. Pumpkin bread. Pumpkin pancakes. Pumpkin muffins. The list goes on and on.
Toddlers Are A Blast In A Maze
Hay mazes might not have that same appeal once you grow up, and I get that. But if you have a toddler around? Um, you guys, mazes are the best! Kids love running around and being chased (or chasing you), and a hay maze just adds to the fun!
Toddlers Love Halloween Decorations
The other day I took my toddler down the Halloween section of Target. It was a blast, and it's only going to get better once we start putting up our spooky decor. Kiddos love to help, too, so they’ll dig getting involved in the process.
Toddlers Love Costumes
Nothing is better than a kid in a costume. Getting to dress your kid up in something fun (or numerous fun things) is just part of the awesomeness that Fall brings. Hell, even if you’re not into trick-or-treating, dressing up can be a blast (and good for developing those imagination skills!)
Toddlers Are A Blast Trick-Or-Treating
Hands down, trick-or-treating with toddlers is the funnest and the cutest. My kiddo’s first Halloween was fun, but not all that exciting since he mostly just sat in his stroller looking cute. But now that he can run and ring door bells and shout, “Trick Or Treat!” it's the damn best.
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