Texas State Fair, 2011

The night that Charlotte got hurt, we went to the State Fair with Nathan...Grandmother had it all under control at the doctor's office, so we stayed and had fun! Nathan was so excited to be there! He remembered last year when Wayne won him two stuffed animals, and wanted Wayne to do it again! He was so excited about the games, but we told him we'd play one early and another when we left. The first thing we did was go on the Carousel. Then we headed to the snake exhibit.

These snakes were HUGE! The pictures don't do them justice! After looking at the snakes, we went to the game area. Nathan saw a booth with a big Scooby Doo and told Daddy that was the one he wanted. We all know the games aren't set up to be won, especially to try to win a big prize. So on the side, Wayne talked to the guy and asked how much the big Scooby was...I can't remember the price, but Wayne worked it out with the man so that Nathan would "win" the Scooby on his own and Wayne paid for it ahead of time :) What a good daddy!

Nathan was so proud of himself when he won it! He told me "Daddy was going to win him for me, but I did it myself!" Now it was on to the crocodile exhibit, and Scooby was right there with Nathan the whole time.

Last year, we got cotton candy for Nathan, but he wasn't a big fan of it. He kept seeing all of the kids with it and wanted it. We kept saying, "Remember how you didn't like it last year?" But Nathan said, "I know I didn't like it when I was little, but I promise I'll like it this time, PLEASE???" So of course, we got him some...

And he had one tiny bite and a tiny lick and kept offering it to us! Then he said he wanted to save the rest for later :)

Now to the petting zoo. Nathan loved feeding all of the animals. Wait till you see the Kangaroo at the end! All he needs is a silk robe and a cigar!

Nathan's FAVORITE thing was the Fun House. The floors moved, there were tunnels to crawl through, and the best part was the last room where it was filled with bubbles and suds! Nathan and I went through it first and then he wanted Wayne to go through it again with him, but Wayne said he rushed through it just so he could get to the bubble room!

Of course we stuffed ourselves with all sorts of fair food: corn dogs, chicken fingers, ice cream, funnel cakes, and caramel apples. We ended the night with Nathan playing one more game where we won a new race car. And this time Wayne didn't have to "fix" the game :)

Charlotte's First Stitches!

While we were at the fair Friday night, Charlotte stayed at Grandmother's house and had a little accident. She loves to run, and this is the age that all of the bumps and bruises happen! While playing in the living room, Charlotte tripped and hit her head on the coffee table. She must have hit it right on the corner. Helen said it bled pretty bad at first but quickly stopped, but she knew it probably needed a stitch. She called us to let us know what happened and since I didn't leave a carseat, she had one of her friends pick the two of them up and take them to the urgent care center. She actually needed 3 stitches! Helen said Charlotte was really good and didn't even cry that much while they did the stitches.

The next day, I took her back to the doctor so that he could look at it and make sure it was healing ok. That's where I took these pictures. Nathan LOVED being there and acting like he was the daddy! He kept telling Charlotte to be a big girl and not to cry. Really, he couldn't wait to see what the stitches looked like. They put a band aid over her head, so none of us had seen the actual stitches until the next day when the doctor took it off to examine it. Nathan was so funny because he kept wanting to look at it. At night, he loves to help me (he opens the band aid) take off the old one and put a new one on. We go back on Tuesday, Day 4, to get them taken out.

Even though Charlotte has an ouchie, I think she looks so beautiful in these pictures!

And to add to the cut on her head, she has a cut on her lip where she fell with me and bit her lip, and there's another bruise on the other side of her head where Nathan tried to "help" her onto the couch...I need to keep this girl in a bubble!

Big Orange Pumpkin Patch

Last week, we met Meredith and Andrew at the Big Orange Pumpkin Patch in Celina. I love this place because the admission is reasonable ($7) and it includes the petting zoo, a pumpkin for the kids, and a hay ride. Nathan, Charlotte, and Andrew had so much fun running around, getting dirty, and seeing the animals. Both Nathan and Charlotte were a little unsure of feeding the goats at first. Charlotte was standing about 10 feet away and leaning over with a food pellet thinking the goat could reach it! But by the end of the day, they were practically climbing in their cages!