Sunday

After some yummy french toast on Sunday morning, Liam was ready to go back outside on the farm. He banged on the door and fussed until Gabriel took him outside.

In the milking parlor with Great Great Uncle Jim and Flash.

That afternoon was warm and sunny. Liam's bum was still pretty raw from the pear incident, so he played outside au naturale.

Clearly, tractor rides are more fun this way...

And a bucket of water is always fun.

The best part was the ride on the new lawn mower.

I took Liam into Atwoods (the local farm store) yesterday to get some chicken supplies, and he flipped out when he saw the lawn mowers. I'd say they are a newly found passion of his.

What started as an asparagus patch in the garden many years ago has turned into wild asparagus throughout the farm. Gabriel and I went to dig up one of the distant ones to try and transplant to our garden. He picked what he thought was a small section, but turned into quite the endeavor to dig up.

It was probably the best weekend we've spent on the farm yet. Thanks for such a great visit!

Saturday

Saturday morning came too soon since we were up with Liam in the middle of the night. He was crying and crying and wouldn't go back to sleep. I thought maybe it was just the unfamiliar bedroom. Then I thought to check his diaper. Remember the pear he polished off in the car? Well, I'll just say it completely flushed him out and left him pretty raw. Poor guy.

But after a breakfast of probably too many cinnamon rolls, he was ready to go outside again.

First, he had to put on this sweater we recently received as a hand-me-down. It's a size or two too small, but how could we resist?

His first spin on the little tractor

My favorite part of the farm has always been the barn cats, especially the kittens. This little one was only 3 weeks old and very friendly.

Liam liked him, too.

Going on a farm tour.

Meeting the calf again.

Playing with Makenna. She is the daughter of Gabe's mom's cousin Jared and his wife Allison. I think she is his 3rd cousin..? Either way, she is super cute and it was fun to watch them play Although, Liam did not like it when she accidentally sat on his lap.

Allison and I went on a walk to try and keep our then-fussy babies happy...

Jared was nice enough to take Liam and I on our first tractor ride.

Liam was wide-eyed the entire ride, but afterwards he begged and begged to get back in. We have all of these pictures scrolling as our screen saver right now, and every time the tractor comes up, Liam points at it and makes tractor sounds. He is definitely a boy.

Enticing the teenager cows with a little snack.

They overcame their fears.

And took the bait.

They must have decided that he was okay, and came in for a closer look.

But it was a bit too close for Liam.
Makenna remained oblivious. That blade of grass was just too interesting to pass up.

Friday -part 2-

In the afternoon, when Janelle came home from school, she and I took Liam into town. We stopped at the library, where they have a fantastic puppet selection, and then went to the park. Liam had a blast.

Driving the police car.

Going down the big slide together. It was a tad bit too intense.

But the swings were great.

And these tunnels were even better.

Perfect for playing peekaboo with Great Great Aunt Janelle :-)

And for throwing pebbles.

That evening, I bottle fed the calf.
Liam wanted to try the bottle, too.

But it was pretty slobbery.

Liam had fun inspecting the dirt.
And the rocks.

But the best part was the heavy machinery.

Here he is trying out the skid loader.

So many new things to see and do on the farm. They both like it. Alot.

Friday -part 1-

Good morning. It is 7:00, and we have already been on the road for 6 hours. Yes, we left at 1:00 am so this little guy could sleep through a big portion of the 8 hour drive. He did. And then he ate this entire pear.

Breakfast at Perkins (kind of like Denny's or Carrow's).

I ordered a cup of coffee and they brought me an entire carafe. I was skeptical. It was only $1.99. But it was good. And I am picky. I wish I could have drank the whole thing...

Liam enjoyed the 1/2 & 1/2 containers while we waited for our food.
We arrived at the farm at 10:30. Just in time to catch Jim before he went into town. Janelle was still at school, so we went on a hike in the woods right there on the farm. It was beautiful.

We kept our eyes out for morel mushrooms, but it was probably a bit too late in the season. Although, even if there were some to be had, we could have walked right over them and never noticed with our untrained eyes. Too bad. We saw some at the Whole Foods in Kansas City. They sell for $49.99/lb!!!

Liam seemed a bit shell-shocked with all of the new things to take in. He was content to hang out in the backpack for a while.

Iowa is amazing this time of year. It was in the 70's the entire time we were there.

Some play time with Daddy.

And picture time.

Stop to smell the flowers.

And to smell the trees. That's our little tree hugger :-)

Flash, the farm dog, followed us on the entire hike.

On the Farm

We spent Memorial Day Weekend on the farm in Iowa again. We had a great time and, of course, have lots of pictures to post. I'll get to them as quickly as I can, but it'll probably be a little at a time. Caleb and Owen are here today, so it could be a while until I can get back to this ...