June...the special cow

So we went to the Expo Center to have a fun day with the kids. We went into the kiddie area first, which had a petting zoo, pony rides, some other little kids stuff, and an area to watch a cow being milked. So the guy brings June out and starts talking about stuff that Ava has no interest in. He goes on and on about the types of cows they use for milk products, how many calfs this 3 year old cow has had, and how all of our milk before it is sold to the milk companies is skim milk and then the extra fat is added into it...appetizing. So Ava is half listening until he puts the suction cups on the cow.

Ava: What's he doing?

Me: Getting ready to milk the cow. He has to put them on so that the milk will go into the container.

Ava: What are those?

Me: That is where the baby cow drinks milk from his mommy. They are called utters

Ava: Are they her boobs?

Me: Yes Ava.

This conversation is going on as the old farmer man talks about his cows and how this particular cow produces 200 lbs of manuer a day. Quite the fiber diet I guess.

So now she is watching as the cow being milked. Super still, super quiet for a minute.

Ava: June is pretty.

Me: yes she is.

Mr. Farmer Man: Parents if your children are drinking chocolate or strawberry milk, it is still a good source of calcium and vitamins. No problems with that unless they are drinking over 1/2 gallon of that per day. Then you would have something to be concerned about.

Ava: June is pretty and brown. She makes chocolate milk.

Me and Daddy: What Ava?

Ava: June makes chocolate milk.

Me: You think she makes chocolate milk, why?

Ava: because she's brown

Me: Really? But her milk is coming out white.

Ava: yeah but she still makes chocolate milk cause she's brown

Me: And white cows, what kind of milk do they make?

Ava: the regular kind, white

Me: So what about the black and white cows, what kind of milk do they make?

Ava: umm...they make mud. Did you know they eat grass?

Petting zoo area. They both had lots of fun. Ava liked it, but wasn't too sure about touching everything. She did end up petting a llama and a baby goat. Adam on the other hand, had a great time touching ALL the animals. The only thing I could think about was hand sanitizer.

Time for the rides. Ava had a blast while Adam watched from his stroller.

chopsticks anyone?

So we picked up chinese food for dinner last night. Ava kept asking, "What are those? What is that?" So I told her that they were chopsticks and that some people use them like a fork or a spoon to eat with. She wasn't convinced. "How?" So I showed her and then it began. She was insistent on using them, and actually we were really surprised that she was able to use them. She ate the rest of her meal using chopsticks. Obviously this is her first encounter with chopsticks and she's 3, so we were super impressed. The only issue now is going to be to get her to eat with regular utensils again since she loved the chopsticks so much.

Please excuse the vomiting child in the background. I would have normally been right on top of that, but was in the middle of catching Ava's first chopstick moments.

Ava and her thoughts on siblings

Many of my friends are expecting babies, and some were just recently born. Ava voiced her opinion about wanting a sister when I was pregnant with Adam, and has recently started that again.

Today at dinner:


Ava: Mommy I don't like Adam, I like a sister

Me: You don't like Adam?

Ava: Yes, but I like a sister too.

Me: Oh.

Ava: (to daddy) We should get a sister and put it in her belly.

Rolando: We'll see.

Me: Ava, how do you think babies get into mommy bellies?

Ava: (thinking for a while) Ummm...they are tiny and they crawl in mommy's back and then they go into the belly and grow big, big, big.

Me: Oh

Rolando: Is that right? What do you think mommy?

Me: Sure. Ava, how about a popcicle?

SNOW

So last week it snowed here in Austin. It wasn't major snow, but it was snow. I was at work and Ava and Adam were home with Rolando. This is Ava's second snow and Adam's first. She doesn't remember it, but it snowed when she was about 9 months old.

Daddy took them both outside several times. Ava in her outfit of choice-a raincoat and pajamas, and Adam who just woke up-in his pajamas and sweatshirt. Oh well...at least they had on hats! Ava had a blast and Adam wasn't sure about the whole thing. They made several snowmen, one of which is still in our freezer. I wonder how long he'll be in there?