Apple Picking

It’s Fall time, (even though the warm weather is surprising all of us in Vermont) and Fall means apple picking. This was our second year apple picking, and I hope to continue this family tradition for a long time.


Last year when we went Malia was only a month old. It is crazy how much these little girls change in a year. Malia is walking and picking apples along with us, and Hadley understands looking for the perfect apple and avoiding any with spots.

We picked a half a bushel this year, and I have many plans on how I want to use all of our apples. So far I’ve only made one apple pie, but I have plans for more pies, bread, butter, crisps, and muffins. I love that the fun doesn’t stop with picking the apples but continues on with all of the yummy goodies.

One year ago

1st Day of Preschool

I wasn’t planning on putting Hadley in preschool until she was 4, but a few months before she turned 3 she asked me “How do you read?” and over the summer she started telling me almost daily that she wanted to go to preschool. We decided that she was ready, even if I wasn’t ready to admit that she was old enough for school.

We had planned on an at-home preschool, but there weren’t enough kids, so we went looking for other options. After checking out a few, we went with the Little Flock Nursery. Some of our friends’ kids went there and they only had good things to say about it. After meeting with the teacher, we could see why and was excited for Hadley to start.

For the first time this weekend, we took Hadley back-to-school shopping. We also talked about preschool all weekend and told her some of the things to expect. She was very excited and up bright and early this morning.

Eating breakfast

Very excited

Without any prompting Malia stood by the door where Hadley was to have her picture taken

Malia decided they needed a picture together

When we got to preschool she started checking it all out, moving from play area to play area. I waited around a little while seeing how she would do and taking a few pictures. After about 15 minutes she announced “no more pictures” and said it was okay for me to leave. With my orders to leave, I headed home with Malia.

Walking up to preschool

Washing her hands before school started

Playing before school

No more pictures Mom

A few hours later I called to see how things were going. Her teacher only had good things to say. She said she was doing great and was “very, very, very interested in everything.” She described Hadley as bright, talkative, and outgoing. I knew she would do great, but it was nice to hear just how well she was doing.

After what felt like a long day to me, I went to pick her up. She was busy playing and promptly told me that she did not want to leave yet. I gave her a few minutes and talked to her teacher. Her teacher told me again how well she did and said that Hadley’s knowledge of letters was much higher than you would expect for someone her age.

She also mentioned that Hadley did not nap during the day. Hadley stopped napping before she was 3, but with having to get up so early and all of the excitement I thought she might nap at school. The fact that she didn’t nap quickly became evident when she refused to leave and hid under the table. She was physically and emotionally exhausted which led to a lot of yelling and a nap when we got home.

Leaving after her first day

With her friend Shanna (Hadley refused to smile)

While it wasn’t the best end to the day, once she woke up she had a lot to say about her first day and is very excited to go back on Wednesday. I can’t believe my baby girl is a preschooler.