Our Weekend on a Stick

As the title hints at, we went to the MN State Fair on Saturday. We got there shortly after the buildings opened and had a great time exploring the grounds with Ella. Our first stop was to see my award winning scrapbook page.

Ella has decided that smiling for the camera is too cliche. She now has to bear a pained expression in all photos. Apparently, she's now a teenager.

We headed over to the Miracle of Birth barn so we'd actually have a chance of seeing some baby animals before the crowds set in at full force. Ella regailed us with the sounds of cows and sheep as became appropriate. It seemed that there was a crowd forming around a cow that was laboring, including the vet and techs...I didn't think I wanted to be a part of that "miracle" so we left to visit other animal barns.

Our next stop was to see some cows in a staging area to be shown. Ella loved seeing the "cow moo"s...except...she was about two feet from one when it stared her down and mooed. Note to self, a cow's moo is actually pretty loud. Ella jumped about a foot and flailed her arms and legs. She wasn't so sure about this cow thing. Then, the cherry on top, it mooed at her again. She lost it and started screaming. Quite a few people were eyeing my little city girl's reaction. But what can I say? The cows in 'Click, Clack, Moo' are much more civilized.


We indulged in cheese curds, which Ella threw on the ground and shortly after, she passed out asleep. We did wake her so she could enjoy some fresh milk and cheese from the dairy booth and a few bites of Mom's Pronto Pup.

We headed out a little after noon as the crowds were really picking up, all 207,075 of our closest friends had showed up, according to the attendance records on the fair's website. Our plan was to go home, eat a little (more), all nap, then head to my grandma's house for turkey dinner - then - go back to the fair. It almost worked as planned, except Ella, who'd napped at the fair, decided her nap time would be spent throwing the most rocking dance party for her bears in the crib. She then passed out on the 45 minute drive to Grandma's.

The fair at night was a lot of fun, lots to see, crowds were light and we could hear REO Speedwagon from the Grandstand. We took Ella to the Kidway, where she was entranced by the lights, music and kids. Loran took her on the carousel. It wasn't recommended for pregnant women due to the extreme velocity and centrifugal force...something like that. We got home around 11 a very tired and content little family.




Sunday and Monday were cleaning and house project days. With some breaks to play and take walks. We're working on putting together Ella's big girl room so she can move well before Bearclaw's arrival to take away some of the impending jealousy and sibling rivalry. We also finished the bathroom redo which is a big change. So really, our labor day was full of laboring around the house, not a lot of rest.

A big girl room in progress....lots of progress...

Today's the first day of school. This is a bittersweet day for me. I love being at home with Ella and rarely miss the classroom, but this is one of those days that I miss it. I love the excitement of the first day. The new backpacks, fresh crayons, new haircuts, non-scuffed shoes. That only happens once. By the end of the day, the crayons are used, the hair is matted down, the shoes are definitely scuffed - all signs of a great day at school. The last two years, I've taken walks while the kids were waiting for the bus so I could see them get on the bus. It kind of chokes me up. Well, Ella and I were just leaving our driveway when I heard the bus pick up about a block away. We cruised all over the neighborhood, but we had just missed the buses. We made up for that by going to the zoo. It was a beautiful day, and best of all, we practically had the zoo to ourselves! Granted, some things like the Sparky show, the Butterfly House and the food stands were closed after Labor Day - but really, zoo to yourself is worth it. Ella was officially the second child into the zoo, the first girl however. We had a great time. I'm paying for it now since Ella napped on the way home and decided that was all the sleep she needed. We've had a few temper tantrums and meltdowns, mostly because of my mean, mean, mommy ways.

Ella has a fun, new development today - she's started saying a two syllable word - and it's understandable! She now says Chewy! The last couple of weeks, she called her beloved bear "Choo", today it morphed into "Too - E" but this afternoon it's now "Choo-E" and it's super cute!

And so concludes, Labor Day weekend and week 17 of pregnancy.