Jesstine was a talker very early on. She amazed us with what she could say before she was 18 months old. We didn't know a child could know so much! We thought for sure Emmitt would be the opposite because he is the second kid AND he is a boy. Um, we were wrong! He had twice as many words in his vocabulary by 18 months. It has really increased lately. He isn't quite two and this is a conversation I just had with him a few minutes ago.
Emmitt: (Crawls up on to my lap) Mommy, bwehfast! (Breakfast)
Me: Sorry buddy. It is almost time for dinner.
Emmitt: Ow bout Bee Bar (How about cereal bar)?
Me (trying not to giggle): No. I will give you some yogurt melts to snack on before dinner. Does that sound good?
Emmitt: YEAH!! Ow bout wink? (How about drink?)
At this point I had to get up and share with Stephen, post it on Facebook and then call Grandmom! Something I didn't want to forget!
Just like his cousins and sister before him, he likes to mow with daddy! The sound of the mower was a little intimidating at first, but as you can see that didn't keep him away for long! He is wearing his John Deere shirt (from his cousins) as well! We made a trip to Lowe's and we wished his Papa Hutchins could hear him. We had to walk by the "tractors" (lawn tractors) many times and he pointed them out proudly!
I have been feeling much better! It took a while for me to get some energy back, but things are healing nicely. I saw the surgeon's PA on Friday and she said everything looks good! I still am restricted to a 20 lb. weight limit and have to take it easy when I do get that lifted. Jesstine has been a SUPER big help! She has helped with Emmitt quite a bit!
Here she is helping Emmitt get his shoes on so we could go to her ballet class on Thursday!
Jesstine had Family Movie Night at her school Friday. Because we had plans the next day, we decided to just let her go with one of us. She chose to make it "Daddy Daughter Date Night." They had pizza and snacks and she played with her new friend from school, Kennedy. They (sort of) watched the movie, Epic. I don't have pictures because Stephen's phone died. BUT, Emmitt and I called my mom and dad and enjoyed some Chickfila. Little did we know, it was Princess and Pirate night! Emmitt was happy to see the Cow and got a balloon! He was a MESS! LOL! But it was fun!
Then bright and early Saturday morning we headed to the state fair!!!!! This is a tradition that we LOVE doing with our kids! We are going to have to reevaluate what we do there though! It is getting more expensive as they get older and can DO more! The full fair story can only be told through pictures! So here you go:
Here's Emmitt going all early 90's on us with his hat turned to the side!
Jesstine brought her Leapster for the trip up there.
Our state fair is a great state fair! (Grandmom, I KNOW you just sang that as you read it!)
First stop was the pig races. You have to get there early to get a good seat. It was just as well. The kids were already ready for a snack at that point.
We sit near the finish line where you can see all of the action!
This here is brother Elroy. I am not so sure that is his real name, but that is what the announcer lady done did said! He is showing off what the pigs win should they reach the finish line first. It is the silver platter! It also doubles as a nice big shiny belt buckle!
We all know the pigs could care less about the silver platter. What they REALLY race for is one double stuff oreo!
We were on the yellow team. This was our cheerleader!
And their OFF!
Our pig was always last. Our first pig was Rush Limbhog. Then it was Hamma Montana. Followed by Lindsey Loham. (In case you didn't know, those are all swineized celebrities! No pig latin though.)
Next stop: The Big Yellow Slide! We have had to do this EVERY year! I didn't get to ride this year because of surgery, but the kids got to go with Daddy! Even EMMITT!
It's a LONG walk up!
Jesstine's first ride!
Jesstine was going to ride by herself and got a little freaked out.
Eventually Daddy got her to go down with the promise that he would hold her hand.
This was the first year that Emmitt even got to try!
They each got to ride twice with Daddy!
Next it was off to the pony rides! On the way we walked through the poultry and rabbit barns. This was one of Emmitt's favorite parts last year. Surprisingly, Emmitt didn't care for it! I thought Jesstine was going to complain about the smell and she didn't!
"There's something fowl about this place!"
Check out that one Daddy!
Emmitt got to ride Sonny.
This was the first year Jesstine didn't have to have us walk beside her!
Next, Jesstine and I rode the Skyride. It is essentially a ski lift. It was one of my favorite parts of the whole day. I didn't get to do the slide or any other rides because of my recent surgery. But what made it my favorite was because she had a tight grip on my hand the whole time!
Got a great view of the Lynyrd Skynyrd trucks setting up for the show later that night.
Told ya!
Can you spot our boys?
Next it was the butter sculpture!
In this same building we saw the scarecrows, huge pumpkins, and decorated pumpkins.
We ran into Willie Robertson of Duck Dynasty fame.
He even brought Uncle Si!
Jesstine recently took a liking to "The Wizard of Oz." She had to pose with Dorothy!
Next it was off to lunch. I had some delicious chicken and noodles. Emmitt had a cheese burger. Jesstine had some cheetos and a couple of bites of a Pronto Pup (corn dog). Stephen had a BBQ Pork Parfait (yes, it is probably exactly what you would think; mashed potatoes and bbq pork). No pictures though. Afterward we had a few treats. Jesstine HAD to have some cotton candy. Emmitt wanted some ice cream, but that required us to stop and feed him and we were hoping to move around a little. So we opted for a frozen chocolate covered banana. He didn't care for it. Stephen got some ice cream and ended up sharing that with him instead. After that Stephen took a ride with the kids on the train.
It was quickly apparent that Emmitt was getting very tired by this point! So we decided that we would walk through the buildings where everyone tries to sell something or advertise their college. I enjoy this, but it isn't the kids' or Stephen's favorite! It is VERY crowded! We thought Emmitt would fall asleep, but it didn't work so great! At this point, Stephen had carried one or both of the kids for a long stretch of time. So he needed to sit down. We thought Emmitt would eventually drift off. So we stopped and listened to a steel band. I left him with the kids and headed for a deep fried candy bar for myself and a root beer for Stephen.
Fair food at it's finest.
After that we went to the midway where Emmitt rode his first carnival ride and Jesstine tried her first Roller Coaster (such as it was)!
I think had he not been so tired, he would have been just as happy as he was on the slide!
She absolutely LOVED it! Emmitt really giggled when he heard all of the kids squealing as they went up and down this hills!
So, she and daddy tried another!
Daddy and Jesstine then went on the ferris wheel and it was time to head home. The kids didn't make it too far before they were OUT! Jesstine tried to tell us over and over again that she wasn't tired, but she conked out as well!
