The County Fair

Over the weekend we were at the county fair. I have been particularly looking forward to it this year for many reasons:

~ Cayman's reactions and observations are so much more developed than a year ago. We wanted to show her the animals, the lights, the food, and take her on some rides...and watch for those exuberant expressions that let us know what she's thinking.

~Both Mike's family and my family were at the fair on the same afternoon. I absolutely love living near our families. When Mike and I finally made it back to our little beloved northwest Ohio about 3 years ago, I felt settled simply because this is where our families are.

~I have surpassed the pregnancy nausea {for the most part} and am feeling great! Even the fatigue has leveled out some. Walking around the fair, all the noise, dust, smells...I knew it wouldn't send me to the nearest bathroom or trash can. I was excited to get out and enjoy all of it. Especially the food!!

~Cayman has a borrowed fish tank at our home and it has been sitting empty. We were waiting for the fair when Cayman could throw oodles of ping pong balls at the tiny fish bowls to win one for herself. Throwing balls is Cayman's favorite thing to do {well, technically throwing anything is her favorite, just ask Grandma Sue how she got her puffy lip last week}.

Cayman continues to be frightened around any animal. She stares at them with great curiosity but prefers to keep them at a far distance. She jumped every time the pigs grunted loudly. We also saw goats, sheep, cows, rabbits, llamas, ponies, and chicks. In the pig barn Mike exclaimed, "Mmm, that looks like a good piece of bacon." So over in the llama's circle I exclaimed, "Mmm, that looks like a good skein of yarn." He got my joke and we laughed.

Cayman's Aunts holding the two newest members of her family, one from each side.
{On the left}: Aunt Stacey with baby Makenna.
{On the right}: Aunt Cara with baby Ty.

Baby Ty

CeCe, Sidney, and Madison standing in line for the next ride.

Grandma Sue and Sidney on the Scrambler.

Cayman adored her balloon she was given.

Grandma Sue climbing aboard the Clowns with Cayman.
Just look at Cayman's face. When did she begin to look so grown up?

The Crazy Bus was Cayman's favorite and by far also the most "wild" ride she went on. But she laughed and laughed while those little knuckles turned white from holding onto the bar in front of her so tightly. And when the bus came to a halt, she immediately signed "more".

Winning a fish...

It didn't go in.

Throwing more balls.
None of them went in.
But one of Grandpa's did plus another little girl, who had won several fish, brought one over to Cayman. So we came home with two fish.
Maybe my next poll I put up will be "How long will these fish live?".




Riding the Merry-go-Round.



There's that big girl look again.



And again.

She's been our baby for so long it feels and then suddenly, in spite of the many emergencies we had this summer, big girl looks and reactions have been emerging every where from her. It feels beautiful.