carving pumpkins {a first}

When you adopt a child, you more than likely are going to have missed a handful of 'firsts.'

First smile, first tooth, first words, first crawl, first steps; the list goes on and on.

Some days thinking about missing all those firsts is tough to stomach...it's enough to bring a mommy to tears when you dwell on it.

Thankfully though, if you stop to notice them, there are still plenty of 'firsts' to celebrate together.  Holiday traditions are often at the top of that list.

Tuesday night we clearly had a 'first' with Natalie.  It was pumpkin carving night!

Initially she was unsure of what in the world was going on.  Following recent trends, she stopped to survey what her siblings were doing.  While their expressions varied, they were all busy scooping out the pumpkin guts.  This little one has a 'I'll do what they are doing' spirit and so she decided that while it still seemed a bit strange to stick her hand inside that pumpkin, she'd jump right in.

And as they say...a picture is worth a thousand words.

We have several thousand that seem to back up our assumption that Natalie had never carved a pumpkin before.

While she didn't much appreciate the new sensory experience at first...

 ...showing that tenacity we've become familiar with, she stuck with it.

And before long we heard her jovial belly laugh to go along with her surprised expressions.

It may have been as silly as scooping the insides out of a pumpkin, but it was a 'first,'  and I'm happy to have experienced it with my little one!