Zoo!

Why not go to the zoo on a random Tuesday?  So fun!

Old Davis Had a Farm

Jonah took Mommy and Grandmama to the petting farm!  (Yes, he took us, since adults aren't allowed without a child!)  He adored all the bunnies and was super excited to find two Starbucks!  One can only imagine the staff was trying to correct him: "this is a ferret, not a Starbuck".

SNAKE!

We came home after our morning outing and while I was busy putting the stroller away, getting lunch set out, etc. I heard Jonah yelling "SNAKE!"  Sure enough, we was pointing to a snake curled up in our window well.  We watched during lunch as the snake slithered up the window and stretched out in the sun for an afternoon nap.

Fast forward a few days, Jonah and Daddy found an unfortunate snake on the road.  I wonder if Jonah understands what it means that the snake is dead?

Creatures Small and Creepy

Jonah likes to help in the garden, so every time a dig up a new creepy-crawly, I put it in Jonah's shovel or bucket for him to inspect.  It seems the bug net and critter house were unnecessary.  He's not bothered at all, and often I find him holding a worm or letting a beetle crawl over his hand.  (Worms, by the way, are hilarious.)  Then he lets them go and waves, "bye-bye!"

Take this inside, and Jonah finds Mommy and Daddy's war on ants.  So he follows suit, smushing an ant with his finger and saying, "bye-bye!"  What a terrible thing to see my precious toddler doing!

Undecorating the Christmas Tree

Jonah loves the ornaments and the lights on the Christmas tree.  He loves them so much he will pull an ornament off and bring it over to show you how pretty it is.  Starbuck likes the Christmas tree too, mostly for the pine-flavored water only ferrets can reach, but also for the ornaments.

Aquarium

Some time this summer, it occurred to me that one thing Jonah might like to do is visit the aquarium.  So we invited all his grandparents, Uncle Kevin and Lindsay to join us for a birthday outing to the big city.

Jonah had some fun in the touch tank, even though he may not have felt any sting rays.  It's tough to follow directions and hold your hand still when confronted with a giant water table, ripe for splashing!

Jonah also enjoyed the fur seals... although he was disappointed that he couldn't jump in the pool with them.

We opened presents and ate cupcakes in the park before heading home for a long nap.  So far his favorite gifts include a helium balloon and puffer ball.  Simple things can be best!

 

Davis' Farmland

It was just a little bit crazy. We met Jonah's grandparents, aunt, uncle & cousins and Mommy's aunt, uncle, cousins & kids at Davis' Farmland.  Daddy even took the day off from work!  9 adults and 6 kids.  Yikes!  It was a super fun day, petting the animals, splashing at the mining river and playing in the splash park.

I think Jonah enjoyed it most out of the whole group.  He wasn't afraid of any animals, though he preferred to stand close without actually touching most of them.  We saw lots of goats and sheep, a couple turtles, an emu, pig, and chickens.  Jonah really likes the "toddler" chickens, probably because he could relate.  He wasn't so interested in the baby chicks or adult hens.  Jonah decided the hay ride was the perfect time for a milk break, which was fine, since he couldn't get up close to the cows and horses anyway.  Silly Mommy had left the diaper bag on the stroller and was unprepared for discrete nursing, but there is no stopping a voracious Jonah!

 Jonah was super excited when we neared the splash park.  He kept pointing at the water and the kids and could barely contain himself long enough to change into his swimsuit.  Then he got up close and became a little timid near the water.  He enjoyed watching and when one of the sprays stopped, he would get all curious and go up to check out the nozzle... until... splash!  He didn't appreciate the surprise.  I was glad to find a "little kid" area, which was tamer and meant he could check it out at his own pace without getting run over by excited big kids.  We did venture into the larger area near to end, where we found water wheels that Jonah could spin - and would have kept spinning all day, had we let him!  I bet next year he runs around with reckless abandon.  :-)

After the farm adventure, we all had a cookout and celebrated Great-Grandma Lil's 82nd birthday! We even got a group photo of all 5 grandkids:  ;-)

We Went to the Animal Fair!

Jonah and I spent the afternoon at an agricultural fair!  We did all sorts of thing:

  1.  Tried to watch a frisbee dog show, but the action was so far away, it didn't capture our attention.

2.  Found a spot right up at the fence for the monster truck show!  Jonah let out a terrified wail as soon as the rodeo clown started warming up the crowd with cheers.  We retreated to a distant hilltop, where we could watch from afar.  Jonah liked the part where the fire truck came out to water down the track with hoses.  When the monster trucks started rolling to the start line, he stared an pointed.  When they started revving their engines to do vertical jumps off old cars, he wailed.  Jonah didn't become hysterical, he just wanted to let Mommy know that he was nervous.

3.  Wandered around the petting zoo.  This was more Jonah's speed.  He stopped and stared, holding onto the fence at pen after pen.  He saw goats, bunnies, sheep, llamas, donkeys and a cow.  The cow was his favorite.  Most he just watched, but he reached up to pet the cow right on the nose!

4.  Climbed the giant sand pile (with Mommy's help) and sat at the top for 10 seconds before wanting to come down.  And up and down again.  And again.

5.  Sat in some trucks.  Jonah tried every knob, lever, wheel and button he could reach.  We did a front-loader (which some grandpa referred to a a steam shovel... tells his age, I suppose!)  and some tractors.

6.  Visited the livestock: sheep, goats, cows, and "rare species".  These were the ribbon-toting, agrarian type with warning signs that they might kick or head butt.  Jonah's favorite was a turkey.  He kept coming back to the cage over and over.  Occasionally, the turkey would spread its feathers and let out a loud call.  (Interestingly, when he did this his head would turn from blue to bright red.)  Jonah would startle (so cute!), but stare down the turkey with great interest.

7.  Watched a lumberjack show.  This was a good opportunity to rest, though Jonah refused to fall asleep.

8.  Danced and played tambourines along with children's performer Wayne from Maine.

9.  Ate BBQ (Jonah wasn't a huge fan of brisket).

10.  Napped all the way home!

Louis, Louis!

We packed up and flew off to Toronto to visit Aunt Ashley & Uncle Leon!  They were kind enough to host us for the long weekend and play with Jonah while Mommy and Daddy go to a boring-old wedding.  ;-)  Aunt Ashley was away on business until Friday night, but Uncle Leon gallantly stepped up to entertain the in-laws.

Jonah enjoyed seeing Louis, the French bulldog.  They both enjoyed played together, in their own similar, but strange ways.  Jonah and Louis are about the same size, but Louis is all muscle and twice Jonah's weight.  Both would watch one another carefully, and follow if the other was doing something of interest.  Jonah liked all of Louis things (splashing in his water dish, chewing his antler, etc.) and Louis enjoyed all of Jonah's things (stealing his toys and food).  Jonah walked around holding two hands and Louis would come up and lick him in the face!  Poor kid didn't have a free hand to defend himself, but he didn't seem to mind.

Who says "Neigh"?

The jury is still out... or at least Jonah's brain.  Let me explain.
We decided to go out for a walk in the afternoon to take a break and enjoy the spring weather.  I'm still trying out new routes, attempting to locate more intact sidewalks for the stroller.  I thought we were on the right track, until the sidewalk ended right at a fire hydrant.  Humph.  So we turned down a side street and passed a horse farm!
I couldn't resist taking Jonah out of the stroller to watch the horses, which were out grazing the in the field.  Jonah sat on the top rail of the fence and stared rather intently for a while.  Eventually, one of the horses looked up from his snack and, noticing us, came over to investigate.  Jonah grew a little worried as the horse drew near... but then so did Mommy!  A thin, plastic fence seems little protection from a 1,000lb animal lumbering straight at you.  I wasn't entirely sure what if any danger a horse posed us, but we backed off enough that the horse couldn't reach us.
I put out a hand, and the horse seemed disappointed that we weren't offering an apple or carrot.  Instead, she waved her head side to side, rubbing her chest against the fence.  The fence buckled quite a bit and I wasn't convinced that the rail wouldn't come right out of the post - except that the horses were still there, so it's probably worked to contain them for some time now.  Eventually she wandered back with the others.
Horse #2 then came over to investigate.  Jonah cried again (briefly), Mommy backed off, and this horse, too decided we were uninteresting and left.  Finally, horse #3 came over.  He decided that there appeared to be a nice salad bar on our side of the fence and stuck his head between the rails!  Well, I reasoned that a horse with his head stuck in a fence wasn't a threat, so we approached and pet his mane.  Jonah stared intently, but wasn't so interested in touching (or eating) the horse.  Maybe next time.
Oh, and about the title: the horses were busy eating, so they weren't saying much.  Mommy was making all the "neigh" sounds!  Does anyone think this is confusing for a baby?

Jonah, Snake Charmer

Jonah and I took a work break to play in the backyard and enjoy the wonderful spring weather - and we found a new friend!  Jonah was hardly interested in the thing laying in the grass nearby, so Mommy decided to pick it up so Jonah could get a better view and pet the snake.  He wasn't the least bit afraid and reached out to touch it... and grabbed the snake in his fist!

It took some coaxing to keep Jonah from tasting the snake (ew!) and to free the snake from his grasp, all while recording a video with the other hand!  Jonah doesn't quite get the concept of "gentle".  Fortunately, the snake didn't appear hurt and after slinking off a bit (with us in hot pursuit), they both laid in the grass next to each other without a care!

We sent the pictures to Daddy, who was at work, and he pretty much guessed exactly what happened "because that's what Jonah does with new things".  Surely, Mommy should have been able to predict the outcome, too???  (As if I would have avoided the priceless moment with my son!)