Lately I’ve started singing along to some of my favorite songs.  Here, I accompany Daddy on ‘Seals on the Bus’.

My other favorite songs are ‘Itsy Bitsy Spider’ and ‘Old MacDonald’.

Yesterday, M&D took me on an adventure to see some cows!  We went to McClelland Dairy Farm, where they have lots and lots of them, and they offer tours.

At first, I was a little worried about what cows eat.  Turns out this young Jersey calf was just being friendly, and NOT trying to eat Daddy’s watch.  Phew!

Of course, then she started to go for Mommy’s pocket.  I kept a close eye on her after the watch incident.

Mr. George McClelland gave the tour, which included a chance to milk one of his prize show cows, Valentine.  At 1600 lbs, Valentine was a bit imposing, so I decided to leave the milking to the professionals.  Maybe next time.

And here are the professionals at work in the milking parlor:

(Ed. Note: Thanks to Laurie Proctor for the pictures (and for organizing the outing through SRMC). Daddy forgot his camera…)

• The cows can produce between 5 and 14 gallons of milk a day, depending on their diet (low protein grass yields lower milk production, high protein feed results in higher milk production).
• It takes 4 to 20 minutes for the cow to get milked in the parlor.  Each of their 800 cows are milked twice a day.
• Cows have a 9 month gestation period, and they live from 6 to 14 years.
• Cows are kept in individual stalls (as pictured above) for the first months after they are born so that the farmers can monitor their health and keep them away from other cows that might be sick.
• The milk from McClelland’s Dairy goes to Clover Stornetta, which is the brand of milk we buy!

Last weekend, Grandpa and Uncle David brought Grandpa’s race car up to the track by us to go racing!  M&D took me out to the track to see what this was all about.

The first order of business was getting to wear these big ear thingies, which was really the pits.  I mean, I had to wear them in the pits.

Of course, I got to experience the race just like Grandpa does: complete with Chips Ahoy cookies sitting in one of Grandpa comfy race chairs! Grandpa, you can invite me to the races anytime.

I quickly found my critical role as morale boostin’ high-fiver.  It’s just a good thing I was done with my cookies when it was time for Grandpa to go.  I got to give Grandpa the big good luck sign as he headed out to the track.

Then we went to the stands to watch.  Boy do those cars go fast.  When they weren’t driving by, I had fun climbing up and down the chairs.

And on the way back to Grandpa’s parking place, I found a car of my own to drive!  Somebody left this one unlocked with the keys in the ignition!  I got to turn the steering wheel and everything!

I can’t wait to come see Grandpa race next year!

After the Marilyn Monroe incident, M&D decided that I needed a haircut – my first!

Here I am with my original curly locks:

And here I am now, with my “older kid” haircut.

Do I look 2 yet?

Our trip started with going to the airport, and getting on an airplane!

I got to sit right next to Daddy!  The plane ride was fun because I got to eat snacks for almost the entire time.

And watching the big fans go around and around was fun, too.

We went to visit Grandpa and Nanna, and when we went to lunch, we parked right next to a FIRE ENGINE!

The fireman that was there was very nice and let Daddy and me sit in the driver’s seat!  Wow!

Later, we went to the park and I had fun on the swings…

…and then I spotted a garbage truck rumbling by.  I persuaded Daddy to let me down from the swing so I could chase the truck.  We were in luck as we caught up to José on his break, and he was nice enough to let me up into the cab with him.  WOW!

And then I got to sit with Grandpa in his RACE CAR!  I can’t wait to see Grandpa driving his race car for real!

Later, at Aunt Danee and Uncle Tommy’s house, there was an Easter Egg hunt.  “Cuz” Avery and I found all the eggs in no time flat.  Check out Avery’s swell hat!

Ma got us some nice Easter baskets, and Aunt Danee and Aunt Carol got us bunnies to play with.  Thanks Ma!  And Aunt Danee and Aunt Carol are really Great Aunts.

Oh, and I got a new aunt this weekend, too.  M&D said that while Grandma was looking after me, Uncle Ryan got married to Aunt Liz.  If aunts give you stuff like Easter bunnies, I’m all for having as many aunts as I can!

M&D got me a a bike trailer for Christmas.  Now I can go along with Daddy on his bike rides, and also help him get more exercise.

This baby has pneumatic tires for a smooth ride, and a completely enclose-able riding compartment for optimum passenger comfort.

Along with my new trailer I also got a bike hat.  M&D say that I always have to wear this when I go riding with Daddy.

I look forward to many fun hours cruising with Daddy – past those unlucky kids in those slow strollers!

Recently, M&D got a me-sized table and chairs.  Yay!  And even better, I got to help Daddy feel special by letting him help me put some of the parts together.  (He loves it when I do that.)  Here you can watch us at work.

Grandpa and Nanna came up for a pre-Thanksgiving visit.

And Wow!  Look what they brought for me!  My very own Lightning McQueen Trike!  It has lights and makes noises and everything!

Here, Grandpa is explaining the finer points to me, like did you know that there is a 1kg weight limit to the rear bin space?  That’s ’cause this baby is built for speed!  (Once I can reach the pedals, I’ll report on just how much speed it was built for.)

In between rides on the new trike, I got in some quality reading time with Nanna.  I made sure to let her know how many words I already know.

Grandpa got some reading time in, too.

We also took a trip to the park to see the ducks.  What we actually saw were some really, really large geese.  It turns out we have something in common.  We both like bread!

We also squeezed in a visit to the park where I got to go down the curvy slide…

… and climb back up again all by myself!

All in all, we had a great visit.  I’m looking forward to seeing Grandpa and Nanna again at Christmas time!

Last weekend, we went to the park and this nice lady followed us around doing what Daddy normally does – saying “smile” and “Ben!  Look over here” “Wa Wa Wa Wa”.  You know, crazy stuff.  Anyway, now there’s some pictures of me & M&D.

(Ed. Note: Thanks for the preview of the nice photos, Jeneanne!)

I had a great visit at Grandma Tice and Jay’s house.

For starters, the weather was very warm, and there was this nice cool fountain to play in!

I got soaked and loved every minute of it!

Then there was a hose to investigate…

…and then some watering cans to move around.

Finally, I got a ride on the mower with Daddy.  Maybe next year, I’ll work up the nerve to steer!

The next day, there were more hoses to investigate…

…and a splash in the pool with Daddy as chaperon!

I also was delighted to meet my Great Aunts Carol and Jean, and Great Uncle Phil.