Dinner with My Friend the Cow

Last week there was a special night at the Chick-fil-A near our house, where a percentage of all of the profits for the day went to Juvenile Diabetes Research. I thought it would be a super idea to go, not only because it was for a good cause, but also I heard that my friend the Cow would be there. And he was - I spent most of my "dinner" (I hardly ate) visiting with the cow, following him around the restaurant, hugging him every 15 seconds, giving him high fives, dancing with him - I could not leave him alone! There were also balloons and I got my hands painted (they said I was too small for my cheeks to be painted) with a kitty cat. What a fun night!

This is what fascination looks like:

No time to sit and eat - not when there are cows to hug!

A big hug from my friend:

Cagle's Dairy Farm

Last weekend, we took Bebe to Cagle's Dairy Farm for the day to celebrate her 40th (I mean, if we're going by how old she LOOKS) birthday. The super thing about this birthday present is that it was a present for all of us - we all had such a great time laughing, exploring and playing together. None of us wanted to leave when it was time to go, but I was a boy in great need of a nap. I love you Bebe and thank you for sharing such a special birthday celebration with us!

Making friends with a katydid:

Bebe helped me strap on my cow all-access wristband. This made me feel like quite the VIP:

I'm quite a munchkin!

This place was made for boys like me - farm equipment, animals and lots of milk!

We learned all about how milk is bottled from a very sweet lady in a fun hat:

I paid very close attention during the whole talk - after all, the subject was about something dear to my heart - milk!

And my reward for listening was a free, cold jug of chocolate milk. I didn't take that bottle from my lips until it was over halfway done. Maybe the best chocolate milk I ever had in my whole life.

Now time for the hayride:

Halfway through the hayride, we stopped and watched this super fast and super smart dog (he's on the left) herd the cows to our wagon:

...where they had a midafternoon snack right out of our wagon! I really really wanted to pet the cows, but our guide said that they are much too big and might accidentally hurt me:

After our hayride adventure, I got to feed the goats - I just could not get enough of this!



Here we are in the calf nursery where I finally got to pet as many baby cows as I wanted!

I have found my favorite:

During the cow-milking demo, the guide asked for a volunteer to come up and sit on the cow-milking seat. I was a gentleman and let the little girl go first, but I was insistent that I get a chance to sit on the special seat too!

After all of our tours were over, it was time to head back through the Cow Subway so that Mama and Bebe could go on a helicopter ride! I must catch Grandpa:

Whoops! Man, this happens way too often.

Jumping on the bouncy pillow while eating an Oreo:

Mama and Bebe taking a ride over the farm and corn maze. I wasn't quite sure what to make of this. I felt a twinge of panic, but Grandpa and Daddy seemed cool, so I decided to go with it:

Getting blown by the helicopter blades:

Now for my very favorite part of the day - my very first pony ride! I said "Giddyup!" over and over to my sweet pony and just laughed my happy little head off the whole time! Now if Mama and Daddy will just get me my own 10-gallon-hat and some cowboy boots, I'll be set!

After the pony ride, I was surprised to meet a new furry friend - notice the big kiss he is giving me in the first picture!



I sure do love my Grandparents and this incredible day! Happy Birthday Bebe!

A Fancy Dinner with the Senas

My wonderful Aunt Lucy & Uncle Jeremy came over on Labor Day to enjoy the treat of a Monday off. We went to a fancy restaurant in Virginia Highlands where we had tapas - this was quite an experience, especially for the picky eaters in the group (read: me & Mama). One thing was definitely a huge hit with both of us - melanga chips. They were delicious!

Ugh, some of this food was just too spicy/fancy/strange for my little taste buds:

Mmmmm, melanga chips - finally some tapas I can get on board with!

After dinner, we all went to get some gelato at Paulo's and walked around Virginia Highlands, completely covered in delicious gelato - it was melting faster than I could get it into my mouth. Lucky for me, Mama's provided me with an excellent bib/napkin - her shirt.

What the heck is so funny y'all?

Mama knows how important it is to get every last drop of stuff that's this delicious:

Weekend in Callaway

Our family took a weekend trip to Callaway Gardens to go to a wedding last weekend. We had a really fun road trip, where I entertained Mama & Daddy with songs, book readings and laughter all the way there. The wedding was outside at night and it was so pretty, but very hot. That didn't stop me from exploring all of the flowers, playing with the animal bushes, eating, swinging and loving on my sweet Grandparents and Mama. Sadly for all of us, Daddy had a headache and didn't hang out at the wedding, but I did a good job of filling in as Mama's date.

Exploring the pretty gardens:

Grandpa is always funny, but he's extra entertaining when he drinks too much out of fancy glasses:

Taking a break from the heat with Bebe at the waterfall:

THIS I had never seen before - animals made out of bushes!!! They provided much of my entertainment throughout the night:

The next morning we met Grandpa & Bebe at a Birds of Prey show where some really neat, huge birds flew right over our heads! I loved seeing them up close, especially the vulture. After that, we went to a luncheon where I got to do 2 very fun things for the first time:

1) Draw with sidewalk chalk:

I thought we should include this picture, since Mama AND Daddy both managed to have their eyes closed in the picture. I am ALWAYS camera-ready, didn't you know?

2) Learn the joys of a pinata:

Collecting the loot after Osama was finally busted open:

I walked over and picked up the bat when no one was looking and decided it was time I got a few whacks in too:

Then I insisted Mama join in the fun: