Texas State Fair 2011

 You can't live in Texas and not attend the Texas State Fair, the largest state fair in the United States.  So, this year Brian and I decided to go as a family!

One of the most fun parts of our trip for the boys was riding the DART train to the fair.  Both boys loved riding a train!!

You can't go to the Texas State Fair without getting a family picture next to "Big Tex," the 52 foot tall icon of the Texas State Fair that has been there since 1952.

 

The boys favorite part of the fair was the petting zoo (which turned out not to be a "petting" zoo at all by the kids still had fun).

Oliver feeds a camel while Bennett looks on.

 I finally figured out the reason why there were all these signs that said, "Do Not Feed Animals Using Paper Cups."

 Yeah, stupid goat got it and wouldn't let go.

And it was gone like that!  Oliver was SO upset!!  I had to reassure it him it was funny...but explained this is why Mommy should obey the rules!!

Feeding the cow.

These piggies helped us teach the boys about how baby animals get fed.  Thankfully neither child connected that to human mommas.  I wasn't prepared for that conversation.

Oliver particularly enjoyed the fair so much this year.  He was hot so he wanted ice cream.

Everything at the Texas State Fair is fried.  So, of course, so was the ice cream!

 My special treat was enjoying some fried Oreos!!

Oh.my.gosh. they were SOOOO good!  Wow!  Think Oreo funnel - that's what they tasted like!!

Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the Texas State Fair doesn't have many any rides for little kids.  We didn't realize this but decided not to let the boys return home without some traditional fair fun.  So, we gave Oliver a chance to play the pop-the-balloon-with-a-dart-game.

Our smart boy ended up popping a balloon twice so he got a stuffed animal of his choice.

He was sweet to give Bennett one of those toys.  Bennett ended up using it as a pillow during nap time.  All of the fun at the fair pooped him out.

Pumpkin Patch 2011

This past weekend, we took our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch.  We all had tons of fun, especially now that Bennett is older now!

Sweet brothers. 

 Despite my greatest efforts to console him, Bennett was not interested in sitting with his best friends in the hay.

 Daddy and the boys feed the animals.

Momma and Bennett

 Momma and Oliver

 Daddy and Bennett

Bennett was SO excited to ride the "train" (and the word train is used loosely...also known as several wagons hitched to a tractor).  But Bennett didn't care.  He LOVED it!

 Daddy walked with the "train" since there weren't any seatbelts.

Daddy and Oliver watch the kiddie maze.  (Notice the maze is made of wood, not corn.  Our Texas corn was burned to a crisp this year.)

 The Duck Races: the boys favorite because water was involved!

 

 

"Go, Ollie, Go!"

 "Bennett, smile for the camera!"

 After that, we participated in our favorite activity of the day: the Hayride!

Best buddies on the Hayride.

Bennett kisses his friend Lilli.

What a wonderful day we had at the Pumpkin Patch!!

Drawing Tornadoes

Did I mention Oliver *loves* tornadoes?  Well, every week from school, I find at least three pictures of tornadoes that Oliver has drawn during his free time at school. 

A few weeks ago, I asked him to draw me a tornado picture and describe it.  What I found was his picture was very detailed and accurate.  It may look like scribble but see what he's drawing!

 

Over time, Oliver's pictures have become more and more detailed.  He loves drawing pictures of tornadoes.  We watch an episode of StormChasers every morning at breakfast.  We own every tornado book that we know exists for preschoolers.  Oliver regularly uses words like "downdraft", "waterspouts" and "vortex" in his vocabulary.  It's pretty funny.

 

Pictures of our ER Visit

I was exhausted last night so I didn't have time to post pictures from our exciting ER visit yesterday morning. But here they are...

"Look Mom, no hands g-tube!

What does it look like with no g-tube??  This is a picture of Bennett's stoma (the opening that goes from the outside skin all the way down through his muscle and stomach wall.  The hole is there but is tiny.  The doctor had to dilate the hole with the use of several wires and tubes.  The area is typically slightly pinker than the rest of his stomach.  The skin that grows around the g-tube is called "granulation tissue" and is very common.

Thankfully, the treatment room at the Pediatric Surgeon's office had a TV and cartoons in it.  This was wonderful as it distracted Bennett during our wait.

Fortunately, I had gummy bears in my purse to feed to Bennett while we waited.  Bennett missed both his breakfast and lunch feeds during this time.  So, he ate gummy bears all morning.

Bennett explores the room.

 

Clearly I couldn't take pictures during the procedure as it took two nurses to hold him down, one doctor to insert the wires and me to comfort him.  All of the crying he did knocked him out on the way home...about the time the Tylenol kicked in.

 

My sweet boy had it rough!

A souvenir from the day's adventure. 

The new g-tube.  Ah, so happy to see you in your right place once again!