The GA National Fair - Perry, GA

It was a month and a half ago, but in early October the boys and I spent the weekend in Perry so that they could enjoy the GA National Fair and a trip to the pumpkin patch. They had a blast hanging out with Nana and Babu as well as all of the sights and sounds of the fair. A photo montage of our trip...

RF loves Nana and Babu's big fish pond...

Brothers...

Giddy Up Horsey!

Sweet smiles...

RF's turn...

"I'm going to the store, mama. Be back later."

 

Ellis loves the car, too...

 

Swinging at Nana's...one of their favorite things to do...

 

Walking through the pumpkin patch at Lane Farms...

Ellis surveying everything...

RF picked us a pumpkin!

Roaming the farm with clear blue skies overhead...

RF found the hay bale maze. I didn't even have to explain to him what it was - he walked right in and found his way all the way through to the end without any help.

Wandering...

Wandering some more while Ellis watches...

Almost there...

He made it!

Oh and there were tractors...green ones...

and red ones...

and orange ones!

 

Mr. Ellis found something to climb on...a slide!

Ready to go down like a big kid...

 

RF found a 'big boy' slide...

And loved sliding down it...

There he goes...he must have gone down the slide 50 times...

Ellis was kind of over it...

 



My two favorite kiddos holding their pumpkins...

 

Sunday morning we headed out to the fairgrounds to see the 2015 GA National Fair -

the boys had a blast!

"Those are baby chickens, mama. They say bok-bok."

 

"Some bigger chickens, mama. They say bok-bok, too."

"These chickens are hatching, mama. They're so cute."

Saying hello to a goat...

Ellis wasn't as impressed...

Babu showing RF how to talk to the goats...

He was enamored with the cow print pumpkin. He tried to pick it up and take it with him...

"Cows, mama! They say MOOOOO."

From 200 yards away he spotted them...the tractors.

Heaven for RF...

Driving the tractors...

More tractors...

And more tractors...he cried when we had to leave...

They had so much fun that within 10 minutes of being in the car on the way back to Covington, both boys were zonked!

A diggin' good time...

This past Saturday, Robert Franklin turned the big T-H-R-E-E.

When I asked him what he wanted for his birthday he said, "a digger cake" and the 'theme' of his birthday party was born. I'm not a super crafty-person and don't throw over the top parties for my kids (fine for those who do, it's just not my thing), so we kept it low-key, as usual.

I found a cute construction-themed card at Vista Print. Super inexpensive, super simple, super quick and super cute - works for me!

 

The morning began with a excited little boy who devoured a few Krispy Kreme doughnuts to celebrate, "my birthday party day, mommy!"



 



With Meme and Nana and Babu in town, we spent the morning hanging out at home playing with our new three year old boy. He helped us on a few projects before having lunch and receiving his first presents of the day.

An original The Incredible Mr. Limpet movie poster --- he loves this movie and has probably watched it 100 times over the past year.

He was SO excited about the second poster his daddy got him - the AT-AT Walkers from Star Wars - RF calls them Sky Walkers. The side of the frame cracked so RF ran to get his drill so that he could "fix it nice and cosy for my room, mommy."

Hanging proudly in RF's room...

 

By this point it was time for lunch and naps so that mommy could prepare the living room for the party.

 

Birthday lunch for RF - he requested a 'big turkey sandwich'. Ellis and daddy had one, too.

Passed out from all of the morning fun, but SO MUCH afternoon fun was waiting...

ZONKED, too.





While the boys slept we got everything ready for his party so that when he woke up it would be GO-TIME.

RF's digger cake. Super simple and super cute. He LOVED it!

 

Again, super simple. Black and yellow streamers, a few traffic cones, a construction hat (which he wasn't in to very much) and a banner. Good. To. Go.

Photos of his construction trucks on the end of the banner + photos from the night he was born, 6 months, and 1 year on the left side and...

More photos of his trucks on the other side + photos from 18-months, 2 years, and 2.5 years on the right hand side.

He woke up READY TO PARTY! We served a queso-dip, meatballs, pigs in the blankets, and fruit - did I mention I like super simple?

Long enough to take this photo is about how long the hat stayed on his head.

Super excited to open a few presents...

Ready for us to sing and to blow out his candles...

 

He got a little embarrassed as we sang to him, but blew out the candles like a champ.

Present time - a new truck - a concrete truck.

Star Wars book...

A Rescue Bot...Blades...

And a Stormtrooper...

He also got a few other things - books, pants, the Penguin movie, underwear and lots of sweet kisses and hugs from his family...

SO EXCITED about the StormTrooper...

Ellis liked the boxes the best...

And playing peek-a-boo...

Peek-A-Boo!

After the party we hung outside for a while...Mr. Ellis loves to wander around the yard in his big-boy boots...

RF being a helper...picking up leaves with Nana...

And helping get the dirt ready for some flowers to be planted...

Ellis loves to get dirty...didn't care one bit about the dirt and mud he managed to coat his clothing in...

Helping Nana plant flowers...

 

Newborn and 6 months...

 

1 year and 1.5 years...

                       

 

2 years and 2.5 years...

                      

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY, Robert Franklin!



Happy 3rd Birthday, Robert Franklin!

My sweet, sweet boy --- you are THREE!

In, what seems to have been an instant, you have become such a big, big boy.

You are sweet-hearted, super-silly, fully-active, and curiously inquisitive about everything around you.


While you were two going on three you,

-- loved, loved, loved coloring, drawing - in order to send sweet notes and letters to your grandparents, painting - art projects are one of your favorites, using stickers, and doing your "paperwork" in your notepad.

-- continued to enjoy being outside - digging in the dirt, collecting rocks, going to the park - the slide is your favorite, playing in the sandbox, and swinging with Ellis.

-- enjoyed rough-housing with your brother, although we have to remind you sometimes to be gentle as you think you can rough-house with him the way you rough-house with daddy.

-- had so much fun exploring the world around you - a trip to the aquarium in Atlanta had you in awe, day trips to the library, museums, the zoo, a farm - the longhorn cattle and the chickens were your favorites.

-- a few firsts in this year included..
- your first outdoor camping experience - which you did not like once you found out that mommy and Ellis (he was only a few months old) would be sleeping inside
- your first taste of smores
- your first parade experience - you weren't very impressed until the end when the fire truck came by
- your first experience eating at Waffle House - you said that the menu was your treasure map and you thought it was fun to count all of the pictures of coffee cups
- your first experience meeting your GA cousins at Christmas
- your first experience seeing Athens, one of your mommy and daddy's favorite cities
- your first fairly major ouchie - a fractured toe

-- continued to love climbing, animals, tractors and trains, and holding mommy's hand while you fall asleep.

--developed a love of all things construction - tools, construction cones, diggers (back hoes), dump trucks, and bulldozers.

-- developed a love of certain TV shows - Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Octonauts, Rescue Bots, and Mighty Machines.

-- began to really like Star Wars, which has your daddy over the moon with excitement.

-- lost two of your puppies - Lucky and Charlie - and had to deal with their being gone in a very age-specific way.

-- POTTY-TRAINED! Mommy is uber-excited about this one. You are still working on a few aspects of it, but I think you will have it down pat here really soon.

And probably the biggest event of your two-year old year was...

--moving to GA, leaving everything you had known all your life (only 2.5 years, but still) and transition to a new town, a new house, and a new school. We've had a few rough patches, but I have full confidence that this year - your three-year old year - will be an amazing one for you, buddy.


Happiest of birthdays to you, Robert Franklin. Your daddy, Ellis and I love you dearly.

Love,
Mommy