Monday, March 8, 2010

Playdates, Grilling, and the Rodeo

We had a great week that culminated in a really fun family day at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

The weather was really nice this past week. The sun was out and the temps rose to the upper 60's every day. This allowed Connor and I to have a couple of "walking dates." I met up with fellow stay at home Moms two days last week to walk and talk and give our little ones some fresh air. Connor was still fighting his cold all week, so I figured getting out would do him some good too.

Time flies when you're gabbing with another Mom about nap schedules and eating habits. Of course we talk about other stuff too, but it's always nice to share notes on motherhood with another Mom.

Besides walking dates, Connor also got to have a "real" date with Allison Zaccari, our friend's 22 month old daughter. The Zaccari's came over early Saturday night so the kids could play and then when we put the kids to bed, we all enjoyed a nice dinner complete with three bottles of wine. Jeff is still loving his new grill and he made some tasty beef tenderloin for us. The dinner was finished off with a key lime pie. I have to say, it might have been my best batch ever.

Sunday, we decided to take Connor to his first Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. We drove into Houston and had a bit of delay due to there being a Jonas Brother's concert that evening, but otherwise we parked and got to the Rodeo grounds without a problem.

Jeff and I were both hungry, so first we went to the carnival area and got corn dogs. We even gave Connor a little nibble. He enjoyed it of course. For dessert we shared a funnel cake. Sadly, the batter was a little bland, so it was pretty disappointing, but you know the powdered sugar always helps.

After we walked around the carnival a bit, we went into the livestock show area. Inside are all these western vendors with clothes, boots, hats, jewelry, novelty items, etc. Also, this is where all the animals are. We got to see cows, chickens, sheep, pigs, rabbits, and even a turkey. They also had displays of tractors and horsetrailers that the kids could explore.

Connor really had a good time. He was fascinated by everything. It was hard to get his photo, because he was so interested in everything. I think he really liked the tractors, but he also liked watching the chickens run around. The cows, pigs, and sheep didn't really do much for him, but maybe when he's older. They just stood around, which doesn't keep his attention very long.

On our way out, Jeff and I decided to get one last bit of fair food and try a fried s'mores. We were a little terrified at first, but it was delicious. It amazingly wasn't too sweet. It was great.

Connor was in such good spirits, we hated to leave, but he had been up for over 4 hours and we knew it would do him good to nap in the car on the ride home and get home for dinner. I guess the boy was wired from all the rodeo excitement, because for the first time ever (of course the time we want him to), he didn't sleep in the car. We even took the long way to give him more time to fall asleep. Man, kids are unpredictable.

So because he didn't fall asleep in the car, right when I nursed him when we got home, he fell asleep on my lap. It was actually really precious, because that hardly happens anymore, so I enjoyed the moment. He was one tuckered out little cowboy.

We let him rest there for about 20 minutes and then we sadly got him up for solid foods and his bed time routine. He fell asleep that night like a light. I'm sure he had visions of tractors dancing in his head.


Just a close up of a drooling Connor. He was still getting over his cold this week, so breathing through his mouth, made the teething drooling 10 times worse. Speaking of teething, he officially has 6 teeth, but a 7th one is about to break through.


Looking like a sweetie.


Giving Anthony Zaccari the stink eye. It always takes Connor a while to warm up to strangers. Good old Mr. Serious.


Trying his first ever corn dog.


I think he likes it.


Check out Connor Mutton Bustin' for the first time.


Ok, so maybe he's a little young and this is just a cut out. It's still funny.


We needed to take a little break by the show ring to feed Connor his lunch.


He didn't seem to mind the public setting and the "lovely" scent of manure in the air.


Enjoying the shiny tractor. It was so cute, because he grabbed the wheel right away. I guess he was born to drive a tractor.


A view from the front.


This is a good example of many of the photos we took. Connor was so distracted by everything, that even when I was calling his name, he wouldn't look over. That's a good thing though. He was really into the whole experience. There was just too much cool stuff to grab and look at.


There is this cute section with farm animals that are either pregnant or they just had their babies. This little sheep had her little lamb "Patch" just two days ago.


From one baby to another. Oh and his shirt says, "Giddy Up."


Sitting on a big tire is fun.


Now you can really get a sense of how big it is.


Standing up on his own like a big boy.

I'm not sure what they were looking at, but I think this picture is cute.


Checking out the chickens run around.


There were some huge cows waiting to be shown.


We walked back past all the shops and we wanted to see Connor in a cowboy hat. First we tried this light colored one.


Yeah, that's pretty cute, but we can do better.


Then we tried this bigger, black hat.


Yeah, I think we've got ourselves a winner. Sooo cute!


Connor posing with an iron cowpoke.


What was left of our fried s'mores. It was sinfully delicious.


Connor fell fast asleep after a snack. He had a long day at the Rodeo.


Now that's one sleepy cowboy.

No comments:

Post a Comment