Amelia on the farm
One of Amelia's favorite videos is "Baby MacDonald" which is all about the farm. In the video, there is a big red barn, lots of fruits and vegetables, and of course the farm animals. So when there was an opportunity to visit a REAL farm, I thought it might be something Amelia would enjoy.
Lisa was working in Chicago so Amelia and I went up to Wisconsin to visit our friends Jason, Ruth, and their newborn Leah. We made plans to go to a farm where you go and pick your own crops and pay on your way out. So I dressed Amelia in her "farm clothes" (overalls) and we were on our way.
It was a beautiful, clear day, perfect weather for a farm expedition. We parked right next to a big red barn just like in Amelia's video. As soon as we got out of the car Amelia made a mad dash for the pumpkin patch. She learned, very quickly, that pumpkins were fun to touch and to sit on. She also learned the word, "pumpkin." We found a small pumpkin and Amelia picked it up, walked over to our cart, and put it in. That pumpkin is in our kitchen now.
We then went by some of the animals. There were several chickens and a couple of roosters. Amelia was playing in the grass when she heard the rooster's "cock-a-doodle-doo!" She looked up, then whirled around toward the direction of the sound, and froze. The rooster called again and you could tell she knew what was going on. So we moseyed over and Amelia was excited to be looking (through the wire fence) at all of the chickens and roosters. She would point and say, "chicken" and "bock-bock." They were giving her lots of attention and some other children were feeding the chickens through the fence. Amelia put her hand up to the fence and one chicken thought Amelia had some food. Long story short, Amelia got pinched. But she wasn't hurt at all, she just stared at her hand, then back at the chickens, then at her hand again. At that point we moved on to the apples.
The main crop at this farm, apparently, is apples - lots of different kinds of them. Amelia enjoyed running among the apple trees and picking up things off the ground. Every time she finds something she runs over to me, holds out her hand and, while giving me the stick, leaf, or blade of grass, Amelia says "thank you." This time, she played this game with apples. Amelia knew about the red apples, but here she learned that apples can be green, too. She gave me a couple so we added them to the cart.
It was pretty sunny so Amelia and I spent some time in the shade while Ruth and Jason went to pick some vegetables. Here we found a few more animals - some rabbits, and a pig. When we came across the goats, Amelia wasn't sure what they were so she called them "doggies," "sheep," "horses," and "cows" (they were black and white). What also confused her is that they sounded a lot like sheep ("BAAAAA"). I'll confess, I didn't know for sure what they were either, until I saw the sign "Don't feed the goats!"
We also saw some ducks in a round pen. Amelia thought it was fun to chase the ducks around the pen. She and another child were at one point on opposite sides of the circle. Those poor ducks didn't know what to do with themselves.
By now Ruth and Jason were ready so we went into the big red barn to check out. While we were waiting a couple of farm kids (a boy and a girl) played with Amelia. The little boy had a toy car with flashing lights which he shared with Amelia. She was a good girl, she took turns playing with it and gave it back without a problem. Amelia was also patient with the little girl who was trying to play with Amelia's hair. Eventually the boy ended up chasing his sister around and around Amelia who was in her stroller - it was pretty funny to watch Amelia taking all of this in - just staring at them with a look of bemused curiosity.
After paying for our one pumpkin and five apples (only 75 cents!) our day on the farm was finished. So we said goodbye to the animals, plants, and the big red barn, and left to pick up Lisa. It wasn't long before Amelia was asleep in the car. An exciting day on the farm.
Lisa was working in Chicago so Amelia and I went up to Wisconsin to visit our friends Jason, Ruth, and their newborn Leah. We made plans to go to a farm where you go and pick your own crops and pay on your way out. So I dressed Amelia in her "farm clothes" (overalls) and we were on our way.
It was a beautiful, clear day, perfect weather for a farm expedition. We parked right next to a big red barn just like in Amelia's video. As soon as we got out of the car Amelia made a mad dash for the pumpkin patch. She learned, very quickly, that pumpkins were fun to touch and to sit on. She also learned the word, "pumpkin." We found a small pumpkin and Amelia picked it up, walked over to our cart, and put it in. That pumpkin is in our kitchen now.
We then went by some of the animals. There were several chickens and a couple of roosters. Amelia was playing in the grass when she heard the rooster's "cock-a-doodle-doo!" She looked up, then whirled around toward the direction of the sound, and froze. The rooster called again and you could tell she knew what was going on. So we moseyed over and Amelia was excited to be looking (through the wire fence) at all of the chickens and roosters. She would point and say, "chicken" and "bock-bock." They were giving her lots of attention and some other children were feeding the chickens through the fence. Amelia put her hand up to the fence and one chicken thought Amelia had some food. Long story short, Amelia got pinched. But she wasn't hurt at all, she just stared at her hand, then back at the chickens, then at her hand again. At that point we moved on to the apples.
The main crop at this farm, apparently, is apples - lots of different kinds of them. Amelia enjoyed running among the apple trees and picking up things off the ground. Every time she finds something she runs over to me, holds out her hand and, while giving me the stick, leaf, or blade of grass, Amelia says "thank you." This time, she played this game with apples. Amelia knew about the red apples, but here she learned that apples can be green, too. She gave me a couple so we added them to the cart.
It was pretty sunny so Amelia and I spent some time in the shade while Ruth and Jason went to pick some vegetables. Here we found a few more animals - some rabbits, and a pig. When we came across the goats, Amelia wasn't sure what they were so she called them "doggies," "sheep," "horses," and "cows" (they were black and white). What also confused her is that they sounded a lot like sheep ("BAAAAA"). I'll confess, I didn't know for sure what they were either, until I saw the sign "Don't feed the goats!"
We also saw some ducks in a round pen. Amelia thought it was fun to chase the ducks around the pen. She and another child were at one point on opposite sides of the circle. Those poor ducks didn't know what to do with themselves.
By now Ruth and Jason were ready so we went into the big red barn to check out. While we were waiting a couple of farm kids (a boy and a girl) played with Amelia. The little boy had a toy car with flashing lights which he shared with Amelia. She was a good girl, she took turns playing with it and gave it back without a problem. Amelia was also patient with the little girl who was trying to play with Amelia's hair. Eventually the boy ended up chasing his sister around and around Amelia who was in her stroller - it was pretty funny to watch Amelia taking all of this in - just staring at them with a look of bemused curiosity.
After paying for our one pumpkin and five apples (only 75 cents!) our day on the farm was finished. So we said goodbye to the animals, plants, and the big red barn, and left to pick up Lisa. It wasn't long before Amelia was asleep in the car. An exciting day on the farm.
posted by Lisa, Mike, Amelia, and Diana at 8:26 PM
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