Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday we went to Boyd's Orchard in Versailles to visit the pumpkin patch with our playgroup friends. It was a busy morning!

Mmm...doughnut!

Out of the blue, John reaches out for friend Holt's hand as the hay ride begins--so sweet!


Catching a ride to the pumpkin patch.

Picking a pumpkin was like watching the World's Strongest Man competition. Lots of grunting and hoisting (and dropping--oops!)!


Watching the animals at the petting zoo.


Taking a water break after playing on the playground.

World Equestrian Games

If you didn't know, Kentucky is horse country. Lexington was chosen to host the World Equestrian Games and the city has been readying for the event for the past year. We can't really appreciate the magnitude of the event--it's like hosting the Olympics in the equestrian world--but after hearing some people talk about their experience, John encouraged me and young John to see an event. Our plan--take the city bus to the horse park, watch the jumping competition, and enjoy lunch before heading back.

The bus ride out to the park--since John has a slight obsession with anything that goes, he was very happy to be on the bus eating his biscuit. Such a big boy!

The stadium in the distance and the bourbon ad before us. If it's not horses, it's whiskey around here!

Finding our seat...sorta. A kind usher encouraged us to sit wherever we wanted and move if the actual possessor of the seats arrived.We chose a great seat with room for John to walk around. With Mom on one side and a fence on the other, he was hemmed in but enjoyed the freedom to move around. Lucky for us, we never had to move.

The course: Thirteen jumps of varying heights and lengths, each representing some aspect of Kentucky living and of course a Rolex finish. (Rolex sponsors lots of events in the equestrian world.) Our seats gave us a great view of the last three jumps, which happen to be the most challenging. To give you an idea of their size, most of these jumps were taller than the men maintaining them and were nearly as tall as the horses. The horses and riders had eighty-four seconds to complete the course without dropping a rail--quite a challenge! As spectators, we had to be quiet as each rider completed the course. This was a total surprise to me, and John was so fascinated he had no trouble following the rules.

Up and over!

After an hour of competition, there was a short break to work on the course. Three bright green tractors moving all over the course turning up the turf made John very happy! We went down to the lower section to get a front row seat of the action.

Another talented rider clearing the jump.

We left before the round concluded, and John was more interested in the people and equipment than lunch. We headed back on the bus and a long afternoon nap. It was a fun and busy morning--I'm so glad we went! It was definitely a world class introduction to the equestrian world.

Aviation Museum

My parents came into town for an impromptu visit last weekend and we thought it would be fun to check out the Kentucky Aviation Museum by the airport. John has a love of airplanes and has a keen sense of hearing them inside our apartment. He'll stop what he's doing and exclaim "Ane!" and usually he's right. (Sometimes it's a motor cycle or rumbling car off in the distance.) We enjoyed our visit, especially sitting in a military helicopter, walking under all the different aircraft, and even seeing a few on the runway.

Appreciating the exhibits

Testing the yoke

Adjusting the seat belt

So many buttons!

Time to get out...

...time to get back in.

Oops--can't go under the ropes!

Waiting...(for planes to take off, not my belly to explode)

Our patience pays off. We get to see a very large private plane taxi away.

'Oon!

John loves utensils. A whisk was one of his first and favorite toys. I had to stop feeding him baby food since he wanted the spoon and little was eaten. More recently, he would play with a spoon and mimic our actions of scooping and eating. I realized late last week that he's of the age where eating from a spoon should come easily, so I got them back out and gave him some yogurt. The satisfaction of eating on his own, coupled with having something he loves so much made for a very happy boy. Below is a pictorial documentation of his first couple bites, which I would guess only his grandmothers care to see!

Success!

Evan's Orchard Playland

This past weekend, John and I headed to Evan's Orchard in Georgetown to join other moms and kids at the Playland. It was a great spot to play! I left my camera at home, so I captured a few shots using my bequeathed iPhone from Audrey. I was glad I could record the fun!

"Doggy!" (No son, that's a goat.)

John sets off to climb the stairs. Soon, I don't see him.

This is where I find him (or close by) after I climbed up.

Some slide!

The view from the ground. It was big, fast, and more exciting than any slide we've ever seen. After about ten slow climbs up and ten fast rides down, we moved on.

To the corn box! John has never played in a sand box, just the sand on the beach. I really don't like sand so this box filled with dried corn, scooping implements of all shapes and sizes, buckets, and trucks was a hit for John and me since I wouldn't have to vacuum leftover sand from the car.


We'll definitely be back next year, when John is older and can explore more things on his own. Aside from the goats, swings, slide and corn box, there are three mazes, a tire park, a "rat race" using giant pipes to roll down a track, petting zoo, pony and camel rides, and a tractor track. There's also an orchard and pumpkin patch too--our heads just might explode from all the fun.

Coloring

We've tried coloring a time or two, but after a few bangs of the crayon, John puts them in his mouth and they never meet the paper again. Well, yesterday we needed to send some notes and I gave it another try. He gets it! These pictures are blurry because I hate to use the flash, but nonetheless, they capture the moment and his happy reaction to putting color on the page.

Other things he's up to--helping me with laundry! Yes, John will happily load clothes into the washer or transfer them from the washer into the dryer. Now if I could only teach him to fold the laundry... He'd love to help unload the dishwasher, but we think it's best if we wait awhile on that one.

Lately

Putting Mama's "wa-ter" away. (He took all my Diet Cokes and put them inside John's Coke pack. He was nearly finished before I realized that he was up to.)

Trying on Mama's shoes.

Enjoying the latest J Crew catalog.

A little putting practice after church--and sometimes he uses a two-hand grip!

Enjoying a good read on the couch.

Sitting with Dada before bed.

Helping Mama pull out the packing peanuts--and returning them to the box once our work is done!