Howdy Folks!

The last time Wade & I went to the State Fair of Texas together, we were 23/24 years old and had been married a total of six months. So 11 years later with two kiddos in tow, the fair experience was quite different. But also just as fun!

First stop. The Texas Star Ferris Wheel. So much fun for 3 of the 4 of us.
Can you guess which one was ready for a bottle?


Next stop. The obligatory corny dog. I crave these often.
Then we were off to the section of the fair that should be called "Welcome To Sensory Overload!" Oh my. We very quickly learned that we had to set some limits on the # of games and rides. OK for Mom & Dad as well. :) Once it was understood that it wasn't a complete free for all, it became much more enjoyable. Tate's favorite game was the Skeeball with Daddy. I'm just choosing to ignore the fact that we could've played Skeeball at Chuck E Cheese for much less $$. It's about the memories, right??



And it was a full family effort at Ring-O-Bottle. Seriously...is it even possible to win this game??

And here's a video from the favorite ride...the giant slide.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

And of course another favorite...the car show. Tate LOVED getting to drive the "quartervette."
Will was back to his happy self after he got his bottle.
We now often hear Tate walking around quoting Big Tex, "Howdy Folks! Welcome to the State Fair of Texas!"
My sad attempt at a picture of the two of us on the carousel. Where's Tate?


It was a quiet drive home after about five hours at the fair. A fun day for us all!

The Big Boy Bike

This summer we knew it was time for Tate to have his first big boy bike. I have no idea how he was still squeezing himself into the Cozy Coupe. And we finally made progress convincing him to use the pedals on the Big Wheel. So it was time for the next step in the world of wheels.

But at the same time, the mixture of a new baby in the house and all that comes with being 3 1/2 (who knew 2 was really such a breeze?), he has been going through some behavior challenges. So we decided that the bike would be something Tate could earn.

No judgement please on the complete lack of cuteness of this sticker chart. I went for function. :) We focused on the areas that were the biggest challenges. It took awhile to fill up the chart, but he did it!

It was a pretty fun evening going out to dinner at his favorite restaurant for chips, dip, and burritos and talking about what kind of bike he thought he might get. His usual request was for a "monster, racing, Lightening McQueen, motorbicycle big boy bike." I also loved the chance to tell him over and over again how proud I was that he made so many good choices to fill up the sticker chart.

Then we headed over to the toy store to pick out a bike. We let him choose from three that were all the same price. Amazingly, his sixth sense must have led him to choose the closest thing to a "monster, racing, Lightening McQueen, motorbicycle big boy bike." His pick was the Harley Davidson one. He doesn't even know what a Harley is, but I guess the painted flames just drew him in. The driving years sure will be interesting with this kiddo.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

And no surprise, he has been loving his new big boy bike. Yes I may have gone a little overboard with all of the safety gear, but I'm hoping for no more hospital trips this year. Each night, we've been walking and riding around the neighborhood. I have to say that I'm pretty impressed with how good he does on it. Even with a fall here or there, he hops right back on. And now every time he sees a kid on a bike he says, "That boy got all of his good choice stickers!"

Looking at these pictures makes me tear up as I just can't get over how big he seems lately. Trying to savor and soak it all in. We are so proud of our Tater Tot!