The Pumpkin Incident

Disclaimer: You may think I am crazy after you read this story...
I would argue that I am industrious and was naive :)

My Inspiration
A few years ago I came across a picture of a baby in a pumpkin.
picture via pintrest
How adorable!

Fast forward to present day-- I told David about the picture and decided I wanted to do something just like it with Gavin. So, during one of Gavin's naps I started carving a pumpkin in preparation to stage a similar picture.

How to Carve a Pumpkin
gather tools

While you could choose to trace out your plan ahead of time, I just went for it and stuck a knife into the stem-end of the pumpkin. Using a back-and-forth slicing motion I slowly cut through the skin of the pumpkin and then along straight lines.

You may choose to reserve this top to sit next to the pumpkin (or on top of the baby to act as a hat).
Once the top is removed you can carve around it to make the opening larger and round.
I used my hands, a spoon, and a knife to scoop out seed sand cut out pulp from inside the pumpkin.
Then I went back to carving. I made the top opening larger and then cut out two sqaure openings (that I then also carved to be larger, round holes for his legs).

When I was almost done carving the pumpkin, It occurred to me that Gavin could be allergic to pumpkin. (Not that pumpkin is a common allergy--but to date he has only been exposed to milk, water and baby bath soap.) So, I decided to line the pumpkin with old rags pinned to the inside.

Putting Gavin in a Pumpkin
Mistake #1: I wanted to take advantage of the outdoors during daylight so I decided to do the photo session ALONE in the afternoon since David would get home around twilight. So, I started to put G into the pumpkin. And, he was NOT a fan of it. In fact, he screamed and threw a fit with his arms and shaking his head as I put his legs through the little cut out holes.

Mistake #2: I realllllly wanted to have this picture, so even with his disapproval, I carried on. Thinking that it was near time for him to eat, and eating calms him... I will feed him a bottle while he sits in the pumpkin... sure enough, it worked and he calmed down

Mistake #3 (At the time it seemed like a genius idea): I decided to snap pictures now and again while feeding him with the hopes of getting a good picture. So, every so often I pulled the bottle away and took a picture. But, smart little guy caught on and showed disapproval.
At this point I am literally laughing out loud about the absurdity of this situation and how nuts I am to want a picture so much that I am going to crazy lengths. But since I started down this road, I decided to take one more shot at a picture...

Mistake #4: Since I was going to give it one more shot, I thought I should try a picture without my hand holding up his head. (Now, G is pretty good about holding up his head, but since he was not to happy with the situation he was turning into a limp biscuit. But since he had seemed content while eating so I removed my hand that was holding his head, then removed the bottle, grabbed the camera to take a picture, and...

Pause................
My son is sitting in a pumpkin. A ROUND pumpkin. And, he is not happy to be in the pumpkin. When he is not happy he has a tendency to kick his legs...
So, he kicked his legs and sent the pumpkin rolling. I dropped the camera to catch him since the pumpkin was sitting on a table and he was about to roll off. Needless to say, my heart skipped a beat and I was officially done with the quest for a picture. So, I picked up my boy, in his pumpkin, and headed inside to take him out and clean him up.

Feel free to laugh at the absurdity... I was.

Once inside I went to lift him out of the pumpkin, but he was STUCK! Really, really, really, really, nerve-wrackingly STUCK in the pumpkin.

It was EASY to slide him into the pumpkin, but given that he was now upset to be in the pumpkin, he had stiffened his legs and could not be pulled out of the pumpkin.

After trying to pull him out I went into brainstorming mode... I picked up the carving knife thinking that I could cut him out of the pumpkin. If not the carving knife, maybe a paring knife? But where could I safely cut the pumpkin and not risk him? Rest assured, I sat the knife aside. My mind immediately went to worst case scenario with that idea.

Next, I considered calling David... but, could I really call him and tell him I had his son stuck in a pumpkin? And, what would he be able to do?

Needless to say, I felt like I needed an IMMEDIATE solution since I did not like the idea of him sitting exposed to pumpkin (allergy) and he was crying.

So, I decided to call on my super-human mother strength. Have you not heard of it? (And I am not kidding, this is literally what I thinking in the moment). I've heard of people who can lift cars off their children, or mother bears that will fight to the death to protect cubs... so, I must have some of that power, right?!

So, I grabbed two ends of the pumpkin and pulled them apart with my hands. AND IT WORKED! He was freed, and in my arms! I was relieved!!!!!

The Aftermath
Now, that my boy was free of the pumpkin my mind went to wondering how scared or upset I had made him. So, I rocked him for a few minutes, silently praying to myself that he was not traumatized... then, I looked down at him only to see the BIGGEST SMILE across his face!

So, I think all is forgiven and we are friends again :)

And, I guess this year, my boy and I got a little bit more trick than treat with this adventure!

Lesson Learned
I still want a cute picture of G in a pumpkin.

So, next time I will have a larger pumpkin,
carve it ahead of time,
leave it outside to dry out (so its not cold),
cut out the back of it so that G slides into it rather than being sat down into the pumpkin,
and, I will wait until David gets home to help!