Farm & Friends

This past Wednesday, I was so excited that Wyatt got to play with his good friend Wade while I got to be with my good friend, Kelly. We met at Hill Ridge Farm's in Youngsville, NC.  There was a bouncy house, a maze, a fort, a huge slide (You can see Wyatt carrying his burlap cloth walking up the sidewalk to go down the big slide.) There were goats, chickens, ducklings, and rabbits (with the fanciest rabbit houses I have ever seen. (See the picture of the tired Wyatt with his new helicopter shirt that he helped paint.) Our favorite spot, (mostly because it is much cooler to sit in a shady house of corn rather than to be out in the summer midday sun) was  the Corn House (which took me back to the when I was a girl, and the corn crib near the pigs at my Aunt's house.) I am happy to report that the Corn house at Hill Ridge Farm's is free of mice and snakes, although I did seem to find corn everywhere throughout the rest of the day.  We even had an ice cream for a treat. Lastly, our day wouldn't be complete without the train ride! We had the best time!

Adventures at 6 am

When my little one woke up at 6am this morning, instead of being groggily grouchy as I often am when I am woken up at such hours, I decided it was time to get going. After a few episodes of Shaun the Sheep (a funny British Claymation cartoon), we headed outside (trying to be ever so quite, if that is possible for an almost-3 year old little boy.) We grabbed a cereal bar (Wyatt's was blueberry, as his new favorite color is purple.) and headed to the library to play the game: put the books back in the slot and close the shoot. We won all 3 times :)
Since it was Saturday, we headed to the Farmer's Market. We picked up some onions, zucchini, and tomatoes. And Wyatt picked out corn, eggplant, and blueberries. A sweet farmer even gave Wyatt a firecracker Zinnia. (We can add that to our small repertoire of flowers that we can identify. Dandelions and Hydrangeas are our other favorites of late. And Wyatt is the first to suggest asking his Auntie Alice about flowers that we don't know yet.) Then, we stumbled upon an estate sale and found some treasures. Lastly, it was off to Ed's Grill for fresh link sausage, eggs, grits, and the ever so popular, "little toast sandwiches."
note: at such an early hour, I counted it a huge success to get Wyatt out & about, even though he sported his mismatched pjs all around town.

The Blue Balloon

We had a big celebration this morning. [No, you haven't missed it, his birthday is a month from tomorrow.] This morning Wyatt decided he would like to paint. "Ok," I said, "and you already have your art shirt on." Looking down at his cherished orange pants, he proceeded to take off them off, as not to get paint on them. Then, he proceeded to take off his diaper. "You have to put that back on," I said to him. Which he followed with a "Why?" "Because until you pee pee on the potty all the time, we don't want to get pee pee on the floor." Then he was gone. I went to look for him and he was in the bathroom on the big potty. By the time I turned the lights on, he was going. I was so proud of him! So, the first thing we did was to hop in the car to go buy a blue balloon as we had agreed upon being the appropriate prize for such an occasion a few days ago. This isn't the first time he has gone on the potty, but it is the first in awhile. After playing with the balloon for some time, I put it away for the next time he goes.  Not to long ago Wyatt enthusiastically praised me for "pee peeing" in the potty, "Good job Mommy!" Funny how inappropriate praise is for us as adults for things we no longer view as a "skill". But having such a sweet spirited boy around does  bring many smiles to my face and help me remember that we should celebrate the small steps that seem so big at the time.

 

More Peas please

 This past week, there have been 2 days where Wyatt was craving green peas.
The first day he ate about 5 helpings till they were all gone.
It always does my heart good when he eats so well.
Like the time he was eating greens 2 fistfuls at a time.
The proud cook at the restaurant was just beaming and said, "Now that is a good baby!"
Or the time he was trying to feed raw carrots to a wild bunny that had hopped in our yard, then decided to eat a few for himself too.

A Restaurant Review

So there is a new restaurant in town.
One of those places where you can get breakfast anytime of day and lunch for that matter to.
The combinations can be a little odd, like bacon & eggs with a waffle (so far so good, but hold on to your stomach), with pickles, tomatoes, and green beans. Is it disgusting or innovated genius?

But you can't beat the service, the server seem to be on a personal quest to continuously bring you more food.
I even got breakfast in bed within about 2 minutes of waking up. The best part is as often as I have eaten there (multiple times a day), I've never received a bill.

It reminds me of a restaurant I used to work in over 20 years ago. Funny, there was even the exact same food selection. Those were the days, when I cooked it, served it, and even cleaned it all up. Although I never remember receiving a paycheck. (Got to love the world where you work for fun, and money doesn't matter.)

Zucchini

While I was at the library this week, I picked up a new book for Wyatt. Zucchini by Barbara Dana.
You may be surprised that I would pick a chapter book out for a 2 yr old, but ever since Wyatt was a baby, we have been reading big books together. The first one was Mr. Popper's Penguins and then, of course, a staple when I was growing up, anything by Meindert DeJong. Then moved along to The Search for Delicious by Natalie Babbitt.

All of these books are found in the juvenile section. I think it would be more appropriate if there were a section called- Ageless. Because they are timeless tells that a 2 year old to a 31 year old, to a very old person would enjoy.

I fell in love with Zucchini from the start when a little girl dared to think that ferrets could read, and the ferret (who else but Zucchini) dreamed of a place beyond where he was and what he could see. Ignoring others warnings that he should settle for what he had, he acted boldly in search of his home. A story about following your dream, fulfilling broken promises, and acting bravely for what you believe in. And how sometimes life brings you something better than you could dream of. Emma made me laugh out loud and Billy stole my heart. A must read!

"Turn it up!"

Here is a new favorite song of ours:

Not sure if Wyatt likes the song more or the basketball.

 

 

And here is an old favorite: