The Littlefork Fair-2010

We attended the Littlefork Fair over Labor Day weekend. Kind of sad that I am just now getting around to posting them but it seems to be the story of my life.
We decided after having the boys spend the night at the Riley's while we went to Robbie Dahl's wedding that the next day we would spend it together as a family. Instead of laying around the house feeling sorry for ourselves after a night out we decided some form of punishment was due. That meant loading up the camper and returning it for the winter to the farm in Loman and attending the fair. As soon as we got there Bear got us corn dogs and french fries...perfect! Grease. Just what we needed.
Emmitt and Parker both wanted to ride these overpriced horses. $5 for each kid. We told them we would save it until the end. One horse was ornery and did not want to be ridden so of course the lady sticks my 2 year old on that one. The horse no sooner, spins in a circle, tries to bust out of the harness and bucks Emmitt up in the air. The little guy hangs on for dear life and never did let go. He was screaming and crying of course, but I managed to talk him into the nice gentle pink horse. Without much hesitation he got "back in the saddle".
We topped off our lunch with shared root beer floats and chocolate malts. The kids enjoyed walking around the exhibits and checking out all the different goodies to see.
The rides were perfect for this age of children. The kids were big enough to go on them all. We would hand them their tickets and they would find the spot where they wanted to sit, get buckled and go around and around. Again and again.
Emmitt the horse. Mommy the pig.
Parker the horse. Daddy the pig.

The boys even got to be part of the goat feeding session. One goat kept trying to escape and eventually she made it to the other side of the fence. I was the lucky one who got to wrangle her back around to the owner.

Well worth the trip to Littlefork.

yes, we do in fact know you look like daddy

One day (last year) Parker came home in tears. I cannot remember where he was or who said it to him this time...but he cried out "I'm so sad, I don't have my own eyes or my own nose!". What?? we asked? He replies with, "Every one says that I have mommy's eyes and daddy's nose!"

We laughed, calmed him down and tried our best to explain that yes in fact he has his own eyes and nose and that people just like to tell him that his eyes and nose look like mommy and daddy's.

We love how both boys have mixed features from both of us, but boy oh boy last night when the boys started dressing up in daddy's work gear I saw more of a resemblance to him than me!

the bus ride home was my favorite part

When anybody asks Parker what his favorite part of school is, the answer will inevitably the bus ride home. Of course it is. I really don't know why because his mom and dad lectured him forever on bus behavior and of course the rules of crossing the street when you get off!

He listened to none of what we said. Well the first day he didn't.
Parker was the second kid off the bus, the first to have to cross in front of the bus and the other lane of traffic. He didn't walk way out in front of the bus, make eye contact with the driver, wait for the driver to wave him across...nooooooooooo. He just ran down the steps, darted in front of the bus and across the other lane of traffic WITHOUT EVEN LOOKING!

You think you teach them well and that they are in fact listening some of the time. Bear was actually standing in front of me with the video camera and we have yet to actually see if we got this whole fiasco on footage. I was not even looking through the eye of my camera by this point, I was lowering it, shouting at my kid and screeching at my husband like a crazy woman.

When Parker made it safely across the street we tried talking to him about how to exit the bus and cross the street but his response was just too perfect. I was just so excited to see you guys. And there was no way he was going to listen to our reasoning right now.For the time being we enjoyed our surprise visit from daddy, they raced home as Emmitt and mommy resumed our slow follow the crack in the road walk home. That night at supper we practiced and taught Parker how to cross the bus. The next day was much better. I was actually across the street waiting for him and we were waving him across the street saying come on Parker...and his eyes were glued on the bus driver until he gave the signal to cross. It was almost too long of a wait! Day by day he has figured it out. I was worried about him being the kid who falls asleep on the bus, but he is so wired when he gets off I am not thinking it will actually happen.

Back into routine today...the weekend off was great. He did manage to nap both days. School pictures are today, that's always interesting!

first day of school part 2

First day of School-2010
Papa Milo picks up Parker in the old bumpy van. He is way too early, but wants to make sure he gets there in time. Parker therefore doesn't finish his lunch and they are too early to enter the classroom so he and Papa drive around town and visit.

And of course pose for pictures. That's the real reason he was early! I have trained him well. Bring your camera so momma is satisfied because she cannot be there to drop him off.
Parker's new locker. He found it right away on the Open House night. He recognized the Aubrey next to him was a good friend.
Parker and cousin Garret. Enjoyed playing together and seeing each other in the same classroom.
Parker found another buddy from last school year. Kaeden and he posed at the top of the stairs for a picture. Parker thinks it's pretty cool that his room is upstairs this year and the reason must be because he is a big boy!
The eventful bus ride home post to come tomorrow...I'm still recovering!

just a normal trip to the dentist

Well 6 months had passed since the boys and I had been to the dentist. Back in February Emmitt was just over 2 and begged for his turn in the dental chair as he sat back and watched Parker go through the gauntlet of having his teeth cleaned, flossed, fluoride treatment, scrubbed, rinsed, etc... my turn, my turn, my turn he kept saying. Then it really was his turn and there was no way he was even going to let Dr. Herzig look in his mouth. He put his little hands right over his tightly closed lips, shook his head no and and murmured no. Finally, after much convincing, Dr. Herzig was allowed to simply count Emmitt's teeth. 20. It cost me $10 to find out information I already knew. So this trip around I thought I would outsmart the 2 1/2 year old. I was going to have him go first. Nope. Parker go now, I wait. I wait. Fine. Parker went in and did perfectly. He really is willing to try things all on his own. He just walked back with the assistant and let her do everything to his teeth she wanted and never batted an eye. I wasn't even near him. I was out in the lobby with Emmitt, playing legos. Well the assistant came out to get Emmitt, it was finally his turn. I had read to him the Trip to the Dentist book already and explained what was going to take place. He agrees to go back to the room. He isn't so sure he wants to sit in the chair. Last time that was the best part. Weird. We convince him to sit in the chair and go for a ride. As I am lifting him into the chair I smell the reason in his pants of why the kid doesn't want to sit in anything. But for some reason Emmitt gets up in the chair and lays back. I explain to the assistant that my kid has crap in his drawers and just obliged to have his teeth cleaned! She asks if we need to take a break?. No, I exclaim! We may never get him back in the chair, so if she is okay with the stench that she could just proceed. Emmitt laid back in the chair and let this woman do whatever she wanted to his teeth. Cleaned, flossed, fluoride treatment, everything. It took about 30 minutes. In poopy pants. Then Dr. Herzig came in and bragged up Parker for being so good. Showed me the new 6 year molar he has in his mouth (at 4 1/2). Parker bragged that he can tie his own shoes and that he had heard that he should be able to brush his own teeth too. Dr. Herzig said he could brush by himself in the morning but that mommy or daddy get to do them at night. Then he checked Emmitt over. We never did tell him about the poop. And he didn't say anything either. Both the Dr. and the assistant said that Emmitt was the youngest ever patient to have a full checkup done. I laughed a lot as I told this story, I bet he was the first patient to sit in crap while having a check up too!
Just a normal trip to the dentist is one of the reasons I blog...

First Day...part 1

Where do you think you are going?
To school silly!
I told Parker to get in the shower this morning and that he could wear his rubber boots and rain coat to school today. He replied with, "That's today already?"My big boy will head to 5 afternoons of preschool this year. So far he has done okay with no naps in the afternoon, I am sure school with tire him out but am confident he will make it through the day.
Emmitt doesn't know it yet, but his days at Stephie's are going to drastically change. He is going to be one of the big kids in the afternoon when all the other kids are gone to school. He'll still be napping of course and may have no idea though!
My four (and a half) year old. He and mommy headed to Duluth yesterday for a mommy and Parker date day. We had a blast, I let him pick out his own clothes (for the most part), we ate out our meals together, held hands as we walked around the shops, and he through his penny in the wishing well and said, "I wish for mommy and me to have a great date day!".
He up(down) graded to a smaller backpack this year. The last years red one was just too huge, but we'll save it for another year. He picked out Iron Man for this year's theme. He by far was the most excited about his new Batman shirt! He is also very excited to wear his new runners that he can tie himself.
Papa is picking Parker up from daycare everyday and will bring him to school. I have him and Summer taking pics today of the drop off...those will come soon. And of course the "off the bus" pictures this afternoon! Should be a fun day...

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom...Welcome to our Room!

We had preschool open house last night. Parker was very excited to see his new classroom again. We found his locker right away and he got his bus tag for his back pack. It is still a little crazy that he will be riding the bus at 4. Almost 5, I guess. We had met his new teacher, Mrs. Walls, last Spring when we signed him up for the afternoon class. He remembered her and commented on how cool the room was. It is set up like the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom book, one of the boys' favorites. He found a P on the wall right away that had his name on it. And an A for Aubrey, his friend. We brought along Grandma Audrey and Papa Milo, and Emmitt and Daddy too. Emmitt didn't want to leave the room, he was having way too much fun with the new toys and the big kids. There is a total of 20 kids in the class. I have been waiting for Parker to have Missy as a teacher for 3 years now. Every year we would come close and she would jump ahead a year in teaching. This year we get her and I am sure it is going to be a great year. She is a good friend of my sister Tammy's so I hope I hear lots of funny things about him. I actually won't be taking him to school this year, Papa will do most of the delivering with Grandma as a backup. I will take off of work at 3 to get Emmitt from daycare and then the two of us will meet Parker at home to get off the bus. I never pictured myself as the mom who would be waiting for her kids to get off the bus, but the picture is looking pretty sweet right now...