Apple Picking with Daniel

Daniel recently turned 2. He is a sweet, mellow, and loving little boy and it’s been fun to watch his personality unfold bit by bit. I enjoyed reviewing the pictures I snapped last night as we made our annual pilgrimage to an apple orchard as a family.

Daniel would like me to come with him, wherever he goes. So if he takes off in one direction, it’s only a few steps before he turns and beckons me. “Tum,” he insists.

I find this absolutely irresistible.

In fact, sometimes I only “tum” a few steps just so he needs to turn around and beckon me again. 🙂

I’m not the only one powerless to resist this boy’s charms.

Mackenzie spent most of the time delighting Daniel with bumpy rides up and down the rows between trees.

This was helpful, because when Daniel wasn’t riding, he was determined to pick apples.

First, he’d carefully choose an apple and delicately remove it from the branch.

Every bit of stem or leaf must be picked off.

Then he would hold the perfect apple firmly in both hands and toddle slowly over to the bucket.

WHAM!

He’d slam dunk his apple and then hustle over to get another one.

My repeated instructions on the proper manner of placing apples fell on deaf ears. He loves loud sounds and it was too thrilling to hear those apples bang into the bucket.

A few more signature Daniel moves:

The Shrug

The Finding of the Only Piece of Trash in the Orchard

Sometimes I forget that the world looks different when you’re so close to the ground.

Caitlyn brought her personality to the orchard as well:

Before I realized that I hadn’t brushed anyone’s hair after naps, I had held out hope that I might get a shot at the orchard that would work on our Christmas card. My children are notoriously tricky to convince to look at the camera and smile… Here’s what my children looked like immediately after Scott said, “Look like a llama!” I’m pretty sure this photo is out of the running for the card, but it did make me a laugh.

Caitlyn jumped instantly into character, though her llama interpretation was admittedly a little loose. Mackenzie smiled with her eyes but is a tough egg to crack. Daniel clearly didn’t know what a llama was. 🙂