shoe obsession....

Jake has been having an obsession with our shoes lately....he loves to get them out of the cubbies and try to put them on. Sneakers are probably the safest but he tries flip flops and high heels as well! He always thinks he is so funny when he tries to do things like us! What a stinker!

liking the water...

Each time Jake goes swimming this summer, he seems to like it more and more. He is really good at kicking his feet and loves to splash!

the smell is in the air.....it's the county fair!

The smell of the Rockingham County fair was alive and well as we walked in the gates this year. You are overwhelmed by the cow barns but also the funnel cakes, fried chicken, carmel apples, & cotton candy! It's refreshing that the smell remains the same and really the whole "fair" experience is as nostalgic as you can get. We always seem to eat the same things....I can not leave without a funnel cake....and always seem to look at the same things but something brings you back each year. I always liked going to the fair to see my friends that I hadn't seen all summer and reconnect before school started and of course ride the rides. When I first got married, I took Mike to his first fair which I had so much fun showing him the ropes! This year as planning to go I got so excited to share this "tradition" of my past with Jake. He's been really into cows and animals lately so I couldn't wait for him to see them up close and experience these things that I remember doing from when I was little. He ate fried chicken and bbq right along with the rest of us and enjoyed the funnel cake at the end of the evening. This year I ran into my old high school friends with their children and experiencing the same evening as we were. You leave hot, sweaty, dirty, and tired but you know that next August you'll be back to experience the same tastes, smells, and maybe even be bold enough to wary from tradition and try the Philly Cheese Steak sandwich or the fried oreos instead of a funnel cake....well we can't replace the funnel cake entirely, maybe we'll just have both! :)

Last year Jake got scared at the big cows and screamed all the way through the cow barns....this year he was sucked into the ambiance just like the rest of us. He would get excited and point to them and say "moooo"! We went to the petting zoo for the first time since we were kids for Jake and he loved it! He totally got the idea right away to put his hands on the animals and try to pet them! He was also entranced by the rides...he wanted to watch them over and over. As I get older I get more sceptical about those rides. I used to ride them with no cares and now I seem to hear all the creaks and rattles that should on not be there!

Gammy took him on the carousel and he seemed to like that a lot! Then it started to rain so he had to ride in the stroller inside for a bit looking at the business fair set up. I remember as a kid thinking it was so cool that people were just handing out free candy and balloons and would have a goody bag full! Jake wasn't quite as happy stuck inside even though he did get a balloon and got to see the Chik-fil-A cows. He would have run all over those fair grounds had we cut him loose! Jake seems to like the fair for all the reasons that we like it....a time to hang out with family and catch up with friends, eat good food, and celebrate farmers and their animals!

I miss my Mmay!

Mmay was so much fun to play with while she visited us in VA! She helped me swim at the pool and showed me how to play with the cool Elmo that she got for me. I loved reading books with her and playing outside! It's so quiet here with just mom. Mmay needs to come back soon and bring Poppins with her!

a little privacy please...

After a long weekend in Raleigh, Jake thought that he needed a little alone time to catch up on his reading! He walked into the bathroom, closed the door and this is what we found! Mike was so proud...he was looking at a boat supply magazine!

Fun in the sun!

while Jake wasn't so sure about the life jacket and swimming in the lake...he did love the boat once again on our trip to SML this past weekend. One morning he woke up and looked straight at us and said "boat, boat, boat"....a boy after his father's heart. Michael couldn't be more pleased!

Although Jake loves the bathtub and even dunking his face under water...he's still uncertain about the lake and even the pool. As long as you have a firm grip on him and he can hold fast to you...he seems to enjoy himself a little at least!
He's changing so fast....his words are doubling all the time. He can now tell me numerous animal sounds and can even say thank you...such a polite young man!