Pet Expo

Mom saw this ad for a pet expo down at Vet's memorial last Saturday afternoon. Knowing how much we all love animals, we looked it up online and decided to head over there on Sunday.

We opted to go after Amara's nap, so we didn't get started till almost 3--then ran by Jason's to see new baby Gideon, and didn't get to the expo till after 3:30...BUT...immediately upon pulling up, the GIANT dog characters automatically got a big smile!

After Amara greeted the giant dogs, and about a dozen other real dogs, we went into the expo. The nice man pointed us straight into the 'kiddie' area--and we ran smack into a pony-ride ring. I really hadn't given pony rides any thought--because I didn't know they would be there, so it was a pretty quick process. She started reaching for them, and dad got in line :)

This one smaller horse caught her eye. Each time the group got around to him, she would point to him emphatically, and we decided he had to be the one. As she walked around to him, the horse caretaker came over to stand by me. So late in the day, things weren't as packed--but he was enjoying Amara enjoying his horse. He gave me the story:

His name is Laffy Taffy. 22 years old, he came to the farm as a rescue at age 4. This farmer has been taking Laffy on pony ride trips for 18 years. Can you believe that? He was out of cards, but I jotted the farm's name and info down for future use (they are in New Holland, not TOO far away, and DO parties :))

Amara loved every second on her ride and did NOT want to get off at all. Fearing if we went back for another ride, that we may never get any further, we quickly redirected to the petting area. The bunnies and chickens were first, and Amara jumped right in there. Literally. Maybe it's from all the dogs she is around, from holding the bunny a few weeks ago, or just her--but she had no reservations at all. We visited bunnies, chickens, a sheep, goat, and some baby ducks....before...the giant bounce house caught her eye.

The operators insisted one of us go in with her, to protect her from the bigger kids, and I guess I lost that draw. We went in and ran from side to side, peeking out at daddy from the windows and again--did not want to get out.

We headed over to see some dog obedience tricks--this was not entertaining enough...so we headed to the Columbus Dock Dogs area--a real winner. This is where the dogs run a runway and jump after a decoy into water and then their jump is measured. Each time the dog would jump, she'd immediately yell MORE and wait for the next dog to get up the ramp.

Conveniently close to that area--HAPPENED to be the snow cone stand. Since we hadn't had anything to eat or drink, and we all wanted a break, we caved. Dad and Amara shared their first (grape) snowcone of the season, and maybe ever! She loved it--so much so, that getting it away from her to dump off some of the syrup was difficult!

We headed back to the main area and caught a little bit of the dog trick Frisbee show (Amara spotted another Easter bunny too, where she immediately went up to him and patted his leg--before we could wrangle her back to us) and then made our way to the car.

We didn't get any pictures of the dogs, cats, birds, etc. but we had a great time--we've put it on the schedule for next year, and I look forward to more events like this. Thank goodness we made it home with no adoptions and only 1 snow-cone purchase (oh, I forgot, there was a soft pretzel in there somewhere too).

Lunch with the Easter Bunny

We have to thank our good friend Brandy for turning us on to this event.

I have to admit, I was apprehensive at first...lunch with the Easter Bunny? And not JUST because kids are notoriously scared of giant furry characters (even though the parents are CERTAIN they will love them)...but the overall idea of it. THOUGH, the thing that drew me to it, was

1) limited to 125 people INCLUDING adults and kids both
2) for $5, lunch, crafts, photo, hunt all included and
3) the coordinator told us we'd be out of there inside an hour, an hour and a half TOPS.

PERFECT!

(not to mention...a BEAUTIFUL weather weekend, with lots of outside time on our agenda).

Grandma Jackie was joining us for lunch, so she headed over to save a spot in line. We got there around 11:20ish, in time to get there not rushing, but not having to wait a ton either. When they started to let us in, we could see the gym was set up really pretty. All the tables had pink table cloths on them, and there were craft stations set up, as well as the food line and a seat for the Easter bunny. We headed to the far end, close to the EB :)

Because we got in there right away, we hit the food line and got our chicken right away. Considering Amara doesn't eat much (ever) we quickly moved on to the crafts. One was a door-hanger, that was a little over her head, so we skipped it. The next was a bunny head out of a paper plate (cute) which is now on her bedroom door, so she sees it when we go in to get her each day.

As we were moving to the final craft, the big man made his entrance and boy did we get a smile. I'm not sure if it was the way he came in and made a round, or if she was surprised, or what it was, but it was awesome. She actually followed him around the room a little, and when he got to his chair, she rushed right over. She hopped up on his lap for a few seconds, but mostly wanted to observe, and keep an eye on him and all the other kids, so we headed back to our seats.

The last and HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL craft was decorating cookies.

Not that Amara is afraid of a mess, certainly NOT--but I didn't expect it to go down like it did. We've iced cookies at home before, and not had this kind of involvement :) When we got back to the table, the Y had given her a Popsicle stick as an icing tool--a GREAT idea (that I will surely use). She handled it with ease and went straight to icing her cookie--well, alternating between icing and eating--again, not anticipated. (notice the ever-so-slight smirk or enjoyment in the one pic).

**Eric likes the 'action shot' of the sprinkles in mid-air**

The funny part was, covered in icing and jimmies as she was, she didn't know how to pick up the cookie--it was like she didn't want to get it on her! ...but when she did, she dove right it! She proceeded to take everyone's cookies (kind of planned that) and decorate them too!

After the eating, decorating, and crafting, they called for the 1-2 year olds to like up to go outside. We headed to the door (rain boots on and basket in hand), got our coats and hats and out in to the sunshine. They told us we could get 12 eggs each, so off she went! At first, she wasn't sure what to do--and I don't know if she knew the eggs had candy in them (I'd imagine that would have created more immediacy) but she caught on.

Next it was time to dump them out and see what she got! Before I could even look at what she had, she had stuck a foil-wrapped egg in her mouth whole! Lucky for me, I guess the taste of the foil was a turn-off and she spit it out--the starburst went over a little better though. We turned our eggs back in and packed up our goodies. We headed home with leftover chicken tenders, iced cookies, candy, and some great memories.

After her nap, the first thing Amara reached for was her bucket...can't get anything past that one--oh, and Ily helped herself to the chicken tenders in my bag too.

Dave and Busters for Wyatt's bday!

Super Y (cousin Wyatt) turned the big 5 earlier this week, and we were ready for a party!

It was clearly sensory overload for her when we got in--we've never had occasion to go to a place like that recently, and all the noises, lights, etc. had her speechless, not that we could have heard her if she HAD talked about it :)

We played some games together, but mostly played with cousins and family. There were a lot of us there, and its' always great to catch up on what is going on--seems we never see/ talk to them enough! Amara was especially enamored with Hannah and Heather, our table partners, both pros with kids, and amazing girls too.

After the chicken fingers and dumping a glass of water on our cousins, it was cake time. Grandma Jackie assisted the efforts of the GIANT cupcakes (LOOK at that ICING!) I'm pretty sure she didn't actually eat much of it, but it was fun nonetheless to stick a finger or 2 in it.

Lastly, I'd be kidding myself if I didn't mention the games/ toys situation. Anyone who has been to a D&B knows that it's all about tickets and toys. Well, at some point, Amara 'happened' past the ticket booth with a WALL of stuffed animals--and had to have one of course. Enter dad. Poor Eric LITERALLY had to go on a mission to win 500 tickets in record time, to get enough for his little girl. After playing the horse derby game a dozen times, we headed to the counter.

Fit to be tied, she was reaching for every animal and pointing here and there. They counted us up--and I took Amara to the section of her point level, because she had been reaching for a particular blue puppy for the last hour or so. I asked her which one she wanted, and we walked the line of pink, blue, green, and multicolored dogs, bears, kitties, etc. All at once, something caught her eye, and with determination, she shouted "BUCKEYE!" and was pointing to the 12" stuffed Brutus hanging near the end of the other animals.

Now, we are OSU fans, but we are not nuts about it. She does have two buckeye stuffed animals to be specific--one, Eric won for me from the Pumpkin show--before she was born, the other, a tiny one who plays the fight song. I can't tell you why she chose Brutus over all the others, but we both found it hilarious, and the sweet girl at the counter said "I've never seen that happen before." Had to be our Beanie.

All the way home, Brutus had to ride in her seat with her, she fed him, she put him in her car when she got home, and he went in her room with her at bedtime--the bonding with stuffed toys/ animals has begun.

Post Anthony-Thomas

To burn off some sugar buzz, and enjoy the wonderful day, dad had packed us a picnic earlier in the morning...so we headed to one of our fav parks after the tour. No surprise, she wasn't hungry, but there was a birthday party going on there, so there were plenty of kids for her to observe.

It's tough because when she sees kids, or balloons (always balloons) she naturally just wants to join in, or help herself--and we want to encourage her to be social, but it's hard explaining that you don't know someone at a park like that--so we struggled a bit being so close, but not really involved with the festivities.

We were on the swing a lot. She really likes the little kid swing, especially with mom and dad taking turns swinging next to her. We played on the slides for a bit too, creating quite the sticky mess (note the chocolate on her bunny shirt from earlier) before settling down for lunch. She picks kids to "race" with down the twin slides there, or ventures down the curvy slide in the blink of an eye!

We had our sandwiches and snacks and for dessert, she wanted her sucker (back).

She's also recently become aware of being in the drivers seat, honking the horn, steering, etc. So in the safety of the parking space--I let her climb over and take a stab at daddy's car (she usually gets to in mommy's much more). I'm PRETTY certain daddy ended up with a sticky wheel/ seat/ lord knows what else, but she enjoyed her brief stint of independence.

Anthony Thomas Easter factory tour

I've been going to this tour (you could say) for a long time. See, when my (big 12 year old) nephew was a tiny babe, I took him, and subsequently his brothers, to the tour.

When you work up in Dublin, as I did, you can't help to see the GIANT pink Easter bunny atop the Anthony Thomas chocolate factory building, just off of Roberts Rd. I can't remember how old he was, maybe 2, or 3, when I just HAD to take him.

Year after year, we'd make a day out of going to Waffle house, (for breakfast BEFORE the candy) and to the factory, Easter bunny, etc. THIS year--even though the nephews have long since grown too cool for the tour, we got to take Amara.

As I did, she spotted the bunny from the freeway. As we snaked along Wilson Rd, we kept peeking through the trees, hoping for glance of the bunny again. When we got there, we parked RIGHT IN FRONT of the giant rabbit, and of course Amara wanted to "touch him" as she frequently does birds, planes, and various other very high-up items.

I think, one of the neatest things about this event is that A.T. is providing a HUGE service to their community--giving away all the free stuff, all those people to man the event, etc. so I'm glad we can support them. In addition to that, they really touch all ages. They have costumed bunnies, but the factory tour itself is fun for any age, and of course the samples and wonderful factor store, all for FREE!

As we made our way into the glass doors, we were welcomed and headed right in. After peeking at a few Easter baskets for raffle (which of COURSE we registered for) we peeked around the corner to see TWO EASTER BUNNIES! I hesitated b/c we've never visited an Easter bunny before (like at the malls) and it's not like you just have occasion to 'bump into any' but she wanted to "see him" and we headed over.

We chatted a little (not really the E.B.), she high 5'd him-- and he handed her TWO filled eggs, and we were on our way--but wait, ANOTHER ONE--so she walked right up and high 5'd him too, got TWO MORE eggs, and we were going. Up, up the 3 flights of stairs to the observation area--and we breezed through. She had some interest in the chocolate she could make out--and especially the strawberry dipping/ covering area, with racks of berries, and a nifty conveyor belt (ala Lucille Ball).

At the end, she got to see MASSIVE Buckeye production, which she recognized, as well as decorated baskets being assembled--and even some Buckeye baskets too! The sweet ladies there were so cute, and looked up and waved at her, as she pounded on the glass (though I'm PRETTY sure they couldn't hear us).

Down the stairs and to the beginning of the end, so to speak--they were ready with trays of samples of the things we'd just watched being made...Eric took a Buckeye while Amara and I had the dark chocolate butter creams--I was hesitant about giving her the dark chocolate, but since I'm on a bit of a kick myself, I figured why not, and she shoved the ENTIRE thing in her mouth! Now, understand, we're in a bit of a "too big bite" food phase, so this happens a lot, usually followed by her spitting it right back out. She NEVER ONCE offered to take that candy out of her mouth. To my chagrin, the chocolate slobber dripped out of her mouth, and I could do nothing to stop it, it happened so fast and kept coming, we just laughed it off.

Next, into the hallway leading to the candy store--THIS is like Willy Wonka stuff. A HUGE room filled with giant everything, so I just put her down and let her go. They had beautiful foil-wrapped candies of every shape and size, bagged things, the berries, and on and on. It was SO packed though, and we wanted to keep moving, so we did. No surprise, she found suckers, so we grabbed a few and headed for the checkout.

As we walked back to the car--she remarked that the sucker was "good, daddy" so I was happy that she had non-chocolate alternative for the moment. We did however, check one of the eggs from the E.B. in the car, and found that A) their jelly beans are VERY fresh and yummy, and that B) she liked them! I guess I just thought that most kids didn't really care for jelly beans, but hey, that makes my egg filling for Easter easy!

What a great morning, so much fun--and can't wait for next year, though I'm PRETTY SURE dad is going to have to make one more run over there before Easter :)

Enjoying the sun & first flowers

Because it feels like we've been cooped up forever--any little bit of warm weather or sun we get, we take advantage of. Last weekend was beautiful, and we played and stayed outside till the birdies went inside too...we played with sidewalk chalk, went on lots of walks, picked up leaves, and looked for buds and flowers.

At the end of the day, our Beanie gets quite slap-happy as I like to call it. It's the 'trying to keep herself awake' mode she gets into--and for somewhere between 5-10 minutes, she's a giggly, stumbly, hilarious little site to see. (Careful, because what immediately follows is NOT always as fun if we let her 'go' too long).

As we were packing up to come inside, she walked around to the front porch and was exploring--the door, siding, doormat, and even found a tiny sticker that had either survived the winter, or recently made itself outside (leave it to Miss Details to find it!)

Seems whenever she wears her (favorite) toboggan, we end up with at least one round of "where's Beanie?"--largely because she can pull it completely down over her head. I'm sure that is an adult hat, more not than ever--and at this rate, she'll wear this hat from ages 1-10 at least :)

At the end of our great Spring-like weekend, we also had our first snow-crocus sighting. Not sure if this is a new tradition in our house--but if we have weather like this once in a while, as a break from a long winter, we can find more than enough ways to celebrate!

The Park

After our bunny visit, we wanted to continue enjoying the Spring-like weather, so we headed to one of our favorite close-by parks.

What a difference a few months makes!

The last time we were here, maybe November, Amara was still a little hesitant on a few things, but man-oh-man, look out! She headed straight for the swings (despite the enormous mounds of snow still from plowing, and not that you'd know with dad in short-sleeves, and Amara's Spring coat!) and was ready to go!

We took turns pushing and riding shotgun on the swings, since we had the entire park to ourselves. It was such a beautiful day and we even saw a few big planes up in the sky--which is another favorite of Amara's and a welcome after a long winter of not being outside.

After swinging a while and watching for planes and birds--we headed for the slides, always a favorite. Amara ran right up the ramp and to the bridge and curvy slide, where she plopped right now and never looked back! (A bittersweet moment for mom and dad--at least she still needs a boost from us, for now:))

To our surprise, Memaw Jackie even popped over after church for a quick visit! She played with us and mostly watched--then took us to Steak-n-shake for lunch...milkshakes and fries, our favorite! (burger too of course). Have fun (as Amara now says).

Bunnies

For some hare-brained reason, I got the idea that we should find a pet store that had bunnies--being so close to Easter time.

We were in luck! Pet Mart in GC had a mom, dad, and baby rabbit--and will be getting even more closer to Easter!

We headed in (since we needed Illy food too--and we ALWAYS need new toys) on a lazy Sunday morning, to see just how this rabbit venture would go.

When we got in, we saw the big mama rabbit, and in the next glass area--the big daddy rabbit, and in a tiny corner with the mama, we spotted a tiny baby rabbit. We talked to the nice lady (Amara's name to helpful people in stores) and learned that the baby rabbit was only a couple weeks old--and much to Eric's dismay, already spoken for. (not that I REALLY thought we'd be buying a rabbit, but there is always that chance :))

The sales lady told us that the dad wasn't much of a cuddler and the mama kicks, (but we were interested in the baby anyway) so we were happy to take the tiny bunny out. Eric held her first--while Amara gently petted her. Of course she wanted "mommy hold it--" so I did (AND Amara) and the closer she got to the rabbit, the more I knew she wanted it. She was being so gentle with it, and by having Ily--I KNOW she knows how to be gentle with animals...so...

She finally let out "Beanie hold it!" and I let her. I gently took the bunny and placed it on her chest. She was so elated! Not too tight, just right--kind of more holding her like a book, than a bunny--she was SO soft, and Amara was so sweet with her--repeatedly saying "Awwww" and "soft" and "nice bunny." She amazes me, she wasn't one bit scared, held the bunny perfectly without a hint of dropping her or losing interest, and then completely understood when we told her she needed to go back to her mommy.

She proceeded to visit the fish, mice, picked out a blue bunny toy for Ily, and then said bye-bye to the rabbits for now. I'm sure if/ when we go back to visit, that little gal will have doubled in size, but hopefully there will be more visits and more bunny visits soon.

Tractor!

Amara and Grandma and Grandpa found this tractor at the John Deere store way back before Christmas. In fact--the bought it for her FOR Christmas, but there was so much commotion (combined with the fact she had already seen it) that we didn't even get it out in December.

With the recent thaws though--we thought that maybe now was a good time to get it out and take if for a spin.

Papaw went upstairs to get it out of the spare room, so we all gathered in the kitchen for the reveal. The boys had all come back to Grandma's after the basketball game, so they were all ready to play too :) After realizing the long lost tractor was hers, she took right to it--only then we realized she still wasn't quite tall enough to do it alone, or the seat needed moving, or something--but G stepped up as the motor man!

They ran a path between the living room and kitchen, (so much for outside, right?) back and forth, until one of them got bored with it (not sure which!), and they took a break. It was great though, she couldn't have been prouder--she got her John Deere hat out of the closet (just like all the big boys) and rode away, chasing the dogs--loving every second!