Chickens, Cows, and Goats, OH MY!

You know how we are such an animal-loving family?  Because of that, you're going to have a hard time getting to visit any zoos.  Mom doesn't like them because she thinks it's cruel to keep wild animals in small pins just to be on display.  (But that's a whole other post).  The way you'll see "wild" animals will be by luck, by visiting the farm, or taking a trip to DeAnna Rose Petting Zoo.  Yes, the word zoo is in the title, but grandpa once told mom that this "zoo" was a place for injured animals.  Today... I don't think that's the case, but anyway, they are farm animals on a farm.   Seems fair.  

Our first stop this week was to visit the real farm to see Mamaw, Papaw, and Aunt Sharon.  This is like having our own special zoo just for us.  We love seeing Jake the dog but the big cows and small horse/dog of Aunt Sharon's came in a good 2nd place.  The mama cow was so good to let you play pet her.  All other cows wondered what such a small person was doing in their herd.  

However, they were a little on the fence about my appearance.  

Puppy/Horse Buxton thinks he's a big baby just like you.  He was a little much for my liking but you sure enjoyed watching him.  Mom and dad took us BOTH out on the 4-wheeler and Buxton ran the entire time, showing us the way around the farm.  We had a great time!

Mom thought one trip to the farm wasn't enough, so a couple days later you got to go to the farm zoo with Colton and Grandpa joined too... lucky.  Mom loved taking you there because this was her favorite spot when she was little too!  They let you feed the goats and pet the animals, which is a favorite of yours.  The goats were sweet, but they were more interested in eating your shirt and you were more interested at keeping them at bay.  

Grandpa was proud because one of your favorite spots was the kid garden.  Since grandpa loves to garden, he could have walked around there with you all day, and you wanted to show him everything since you're such a good walker these days.  

There was so much to see and mom got to feed the goats, like she loves to do.  You learned so many new animal sounds and saw many new animals.  One day you will learn there is a difference between a bison and a Texas longhorn... just ask mom.  

I love this exciting summer with you sister:)

Love,

Nelson

It's Your Party and She'll Cry If She Wants To

We've learned a lot about you during your first year of life, but one thing we didn't know, was you like to party!  June 14th we celebrated your birthday with all our closest friends and family.  The day started out rather sketchy.  Mom was convinced you'd had an ear infection due to your ear tugging and constant fussiness.  Waking up crying from you resisted nap sure set a bad tone for the festivities occurring downstairs.  But you put your party pants (tutu) on and let the fun begin!  Not only were you the cutest one year old ever, but you were sure the happiest.  I'll be honest, I spent most of the time trying to follow mom around but finding her feet in the crowed posed to be quite an undertaking.    That's because you had so many people come celebrate YOU!  I can relate, I had a memorable birthday party before...once.

You kicked off the party with greeting everyone with your pretty smile.  Your ability to wave sure came in handy and everyone loved it.  Playing with Nora and Colton was quite a fun time for you as well.  Those kids are walking all over the place, and at the time of the party you weren't quite there yet.  So mom enjoyed watching you crawl while the other parents had to chase their kids around.  

Birthday dinner was a delight.  Daddy worked very hard to grill for everyone and you ate like a champ.  Mom made sure to keep room for your homemade, sugar-free banana cake.  Boy did it look yummy!  

Then the real fun began.  Birthday cake time!  This was by far the best part of the party.  Everyone sang happy birthday to you and you even got a candle!  To say you loved that would would an understatement.  You were on cloud nine with all the attention, singing, and clapping.  You even joined in yourself!  You for sure wowed the crowd sister.  

Mom blew out your candle, made you a wish, and you dove in to that cake.  Let's get one thing straight.  Cake should be light, squishy, crumbly yet moist.   What you had was more like a biscuit.  Luckily, you know no different and thought it was the best gnawing ever and ate it up.  And ate and ate.  A mess just like always.

Then came present time.  Man, you sure got some cool stuff.  A fairy tale book made just Charlotte, some cute clothes, dog puzzles, donation to Wayside Waifs (shout out to my former homies!), a wallet because you love mommy's so much, a cool car to push you in, and even a donation to your college!  Talk about being spoiled.  You opened and played with each gift and card, putting your manners to good use.  

As the party neared the end mom started to get sad (me, relieved, that was whole lot of people here).  She got sad because so many people came to celebrate YOU.  Your first year and all the joy it has brought to so many people.  That is quite a special celebration.  We all loved seeing the happiness being with your friends and family brought you and how you can light up a room with your personality.  You my sister, sure are special and I'm so glad I got to celebrate this big day with you.  

Happy birthday Charlotte Ann.

Love,

Nelson