Pumpkin Tales

Our son has developed a deep and lingering obsession for pumpkins.  Punkeen, punkeen, punkeen is the conversation again and again when we try to take Nemo around the block.  When he sees a pumpkin on someone’s porch, he nearly climbs out of his moving stroller to get to it.  One afternoon, the pumpkins on a porch across the street where more compelling than the playground equipment.  The second  I get to Fran’s, he points out the door saying, “punkeen.”  The only page I can read in his Curious George color book is the orange page.  You guessed it, there is a pumpkin on the page.

Did you know that there was a shortage of pumpkins this year?  Yes, that’s right.   There weren’t enough pumpkins.  When I finally decided that Austin needed his own pumpkin, I visited 4 grocery stores.  No pumpkins.  And yet, my son continued to go nuts at the mere thought of a pumpkin.  Out of desperation, I posted a plea on my local listserve.  Yes, that’s right.  I asked about 1,000 moms if I could have their leftover pumpkins.    I had several wonderful volunteers and picked up a bag of small, used gourds from a wonderful mom.    The look on Austin’s face when we came downstairs and found a pumpkin on the coffee table was like a kid on Christmas morning.  He must have shown me the pumpkin, or talked about it, one or twomillion times over the course of the weekend.  We took the pumpkin to the park.  We put the pumpkin in the carseat with him.  He insisted the pumpkin stay on his highchair tray when he ate.

It is December 2, and Austin still points to the spot where the pumpkin once resided at Fran’s house whining for the punkeen.  Try explaining to a 16 month old that the pumpkin went bye bye.  He still points at our front door every time we walk down the stairs and tells me there is a punkeen out there.  He still carries his small gourds (the ones still surviving) around the living room and kitchen.  It is a cute and adorable phase, but I’m really hoping he can get excited about something a little more seasonal.  Nutcrackers, Santa Claus, angels, anyone?  So far, nothing can compare to the king of gourds.