Pumpkin Carving

The day before Halloween, Blaine had to go out of town for the night.  When he's away time seems to creep by at a snail's pace.  We had taken family pictures that morning before he left and as a result, Pres missed her gymnastics class.  I was trying to figure out what we could do when it hit me...tomorrow is Halloween!  Let's carve the pumpkin!

I drew the face.  Presley decided that the pumpkin needed some hair, so she took care of that part.

I carefully cut the top off the pumpkin and called Pres over to look inside.

That was a mistake.  She took one look at the string and seeds that filled the inside and immediately ran away.  She kept saying "I don't want a pumpkin anymore!".

Okay, so pumpkin carving was not her thing.  I quickly had to change gears and figure out what part of this she would like.  After a minute or two I finally came up with the perfect pumpkin activity for Presley...roasting pumpkin seeds.  She loves to cook so I knew this would be right up her alley.

A little butter.

A few sprinkles of cinnamon.

A dash of allspice.

Some sugar.

And a few grates of nutmeg.

Into the oven they went for 1 hour.

I finished the jack-o-lantern alone.  Pres liked it when it was all finished, especially when it was all lit up!

She was so excited when it was time to try the pumpkin seeds.

She loved them!  

I may not have a carving partner, but at least I have a little cooking buddy.