This IS Their First Rodeo!

Friday we took the kids to the rodeo.  Aaron & I had been several times this year, but this was the first time to take the kids.  They seemed to have a lot of fun and their were tears shed when it was time to leave.  The Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo has the cutest kids section.  It is called Down on the Farm and there are several stations you walk through.  At each station there is something to pick up and put in your harvest basket.  It starts with feeding the chickens and collecting an egg from the hen house, then you get "seeds" and go plant them.  Here they collected a carrot and an onion.  Then we went to the sheep house and sheared some wool.  On to the dairy barn to milk the cows.  Picked some corn.  After that we took our harvest to the farmer's market to sell.  Jackson & Emme each earned a dollar and then got to go to the grocery store where they could purchase a snack and a Capri-Sun.  It was super cute! After that area, we went to the petting zoo and then to the livestock show and saw all the animals and FFA projects, etc.  We tried to steer clear of the carnival madness... totally not my thing.  WAY too many people and it makes me itchy & nervous.  Weird, I know.  All in all, it was an enjoyable day!   

 Planting carrot seeds

 They rarely smile for the camera and never at the same time. 

 Jackson showing his profit.

 Jackson was braver here than ever before around the animals.  I was so proud of him!

 This was the biggest cow I had ever seen!

 My sweet girl & her daddy! 

 I love this picture -  I was playing with editing here too!

A fun one of one of the carnival rides.

In 3 months I will have a 2 year old...again.

 Emme turned 21 months old on Wednesday.  She has just blossomed in the last month.  Vocabulary expanding by the minute, growing more in her personality and stubborness!  She is a little living doll.  A doll that is prone to occasional bouts of whining and fits when she doesn't get what she wants.  This one definitely knows what she wants and when she wants it.  She's too funny!  All of the other times she is my active, fun loving, smiley, dancing princess!  She loves to dance.  I gotta get her in a dance class as soon as possible or she might implode!       

 She loves to be outside still and since she has begun speaking in sentences, she will ask now to go outside multiple times a day.  She'll say I want to go sou-si (outside) and then grab you by the hand and lead you to the door, whichever door leads you to the yard she wants to go to.  Or sometimes she will just say Come here and then beckon to you with her whole hand (not just one finger).     

 Emme is fearless!  I can definitely tell a difference in personality in this aspect between her & Jackson.  Jackson won't try anything unless he KNOWS he can do it.  Emme, on the other hand, will try and try and try until she gets it.  Some call it persistent, driven or tenacious...others call it stubborn.  Take your pick.  I think they all apply!  :) 

 Emme was so proud her the worm she found in the yard.  She wouldn't let me take it from her.  I finally told her that the worm liked to be in the dirt and she needed to let him go be happy.  She finally put him down, but stayed watching him until he disappeared into the soil.  My little budding scientist, maybe???  She is always so inquisitive.  What's that?  What happened?  These are questions I hear all day long everyday.   

 Emme can sing her ABC's, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Happy Birthday, Old MacDonald's Farm, and Itsy Bitsy Spider.  The other day I asked her if she wanted to count.  I said One, she said 2, 3 (gasp) and then 5.  I said no, 2, 3, 4.  She said 5.  I said yes, 6, 7.  She said 8, 9, 10.  OMG!  I was floored.  I had no idea she could do that.  So she's missing some numbers, but still.  Girls really do develop faster than boys.  Incredible.     

 I need to measure her, but she is still wearing size 4 diapers, but has moved into some 24 month clothing.  She can still wear some 12-18 month pants & skirts, but 12-18 month shirts are pretty short and a tad snug too.  Our whole family is in my little brother's wedding in September - Emme a flower girl, Jackson a ring bearer, me a bridesmaid & Aaron a groomsman, so I really need to get on that measuring so I can send in measurements, etc.  I think Emme will do beautifully, but Jackson has enough of Aaron & me in him to not like people looking at him, so I am a little concerned about how he will do.  I figure if he sees me & Aaron and Brennan at the front, he will be fine.  Fingers crossed!  Emme will only get scared if she sees Jackson scared...domino effect must be squelched!  I'm sure I am worrying for nothing, as usual! 

 Emme still loves to read.  She pretty much has Brown Bear memorized, but we are still working on the color recognition.  She will say white dog, but then when you ask which one is white, she can't tell you.  That's why I say she has it memorized.  She knows purple immediately and will usually get red & yellow, but that's about it.  She'll get there.      

She loves to be the Momma.  She plays and plays with her babies.  Patting them, rocking them, feeding them, hugging them.  It's so sweet!  A few minutes later, she'll be playing trains or dinosaurs or riding on a dump truck.  I'm still pushing the golf, so we play Gator Golf quite a bit.  SO many girls golf scholarships that go unclaimed - Emme will play golf.  :)  No, I don't really care what sport she decides to play or anything else she decides to do as long as she is happy and active!  I bet it will be dance what with her natural affinity for it.  Time will tell.  For now, she is the happiest little munchkin with a mind of her own and we couldn't love her more! 

Lately...

Working our way back over the last couple of weeks:

 Emme & me at her friend Micha's 2nd birthday party



 She wasn't too sure of the pony

 She does enjoy a good Cozy Coupe, though! 

Jackson & Emme's school has a Stick Horse Rodeo each year.  Yesterday, we went to the parade and then played all of the rodeo games.  It was a lot of fun and so cute to see all the kids in the rodeo gear!

 Jackson "milking a cow" at his school's rodeo

 One of Jackson's good friends, Tess.

 Emme has a pink cowboy hat with a tiara on it, but she refused to wear it. 

 One of Jackson's good buddies, Zach.  

 My lil' Buckaroo!

 I got to meet Cari's sweet baby, Callie for the first time.  What a doll!

Last weekend, we attended Frankie & Tess's 3rd birthday party.  It was at 9:30 in the morning and the theme was "breakfast foods & backyard fun."  What a clever idea!  Face painting, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, spring horses, swing set & playhouse.  Just a good ol', no fuss, no muss, no extreme expense backyard birthday.  Love it!  Jackson & I had so much fun! 

 The birthday girls.

Tess painted Jackson's face.  Hmmm...

Fun times!  We have another birthday party this afternoon - a joint birthday party for 2 kids in Emme's class.  It is definitely birthday season!