To the Fair!

We ventured out in the cold this morning to check out the Tulsa State Fair. It was an adventure.

Here is a list of things that happened and things I learned at the fair:

1. Adele pretty much screamed for the whole first part. We were those people with the screaming baby. On the plus side, she still has that newborn-ish cry that isn't so loud. On the other hand, people get really nervous when a little baby is crying non-stop. They like to make comments. A knowing smile from someone who's been there is appreciated. A comment like, "You better stop pinching that baby," "I think someone's hungry," "Whoa, that baby's really crying," makes me want to hit the commenter in the face. I've been told to stop pinching my crying baby more than once. Who says that? And why? I know they're joking, but it's super annoying. Usually only older women make this comment and then hover around saying more annoying things. Once a lady said this to me and then asked to hold my crying infant. I wanted to yell at her, "Are you kidding me? I don't know you? Why in the world would I hand you my crying baby who you just accused me of pinching? Do you really think you could make this situation better?" Instead I just weakly smiled and said, "no thank you" before quickly walking away. Some people.

Anyway, back to the fair. Adele screamed a lot. Adam, who was pushing her in the stroller while I went into the petting zoo with G-man, took her out to hold her and found poopy leakage on her new pants. Yep, we had a major blowout. Lovely. I carried my screaming child through the rows of rabbit hutches to the bathroom, stripped off her pants and found that her diaper had leaked all the way down both legs AND up her back. After giving her a wipes-bath, changing her clothes, and trying to ward off the pinching accuser, Adele stopped crying. Whew!

2. I learned that I ALWAYS need to pack a plastic bag for dirty, blow-out clothes. Thankfully, Adam stuck one in at the last minute.

3. Adele refuses to take a bottle. We've tried and tried and tried with basically no success. Consequently, I've become much more willing to nurse her in public. It's not really my first choice, but sometimes you just have to pretend like you don't feel awkward. I learned to feign confidence when I was teaching. It's a skill that has served me well. So, I nursed my baby at a picnic table in the kid building at the Tulsa State Fair. The stroller served as a "shield" and, even though I was burning up, I left my jacket on in order to be more discreet. I probably should have ditched the jacket and covered up with a blanket, but then Adele gets sweaty and hot and doesn't want to eat. No one seemed to notice (hello, it was the kid zone and everyone else was pushing strollers and trying to wrangle their own kids), except for the random volunteer who felt the need to show me an email forward on her phone about breastfeeding in public. It was a funny (I use this term loosely) picture of a pig. I think she was being supportive, but maybe not. Apparently it was "make annoying comments" day at the fair.

4. I am thankful that Adele is a fast eater.

5. Graham is not scared of animals. I'm glad. He loved the petting zoo. I wish there had been a calf in there, but he had fun petting (and brushing) goats, pot-bellied pigs, an alpaca, a llama (who he almost poked directly in the eye), sheep, a few fawns (who has ever heard of deer in a petting zoo?), a donkey, and a wallaby (you know, like a mini-kangaroo). He was really gentle too. Having a sister has been good for G.

6. There was a mama and a baby wallaby. At one point the baby hopped over, crawled into his mama's pouch and totally disappeared. All you could see were his two, little front paws sticking out. It was a super cool animal moment.

7. I learned that my fair experience and Adam's fair experience growing up are totally different.

8. We briefly stopped into the hog barn where Graham watched some pigs coming down the main aisle on their way to the show ring. He called them horses. We need to spend a little more time looking at live animals instead of just pictures in our books. I'm a little distressed by this.

9. Fried oreos are, let's say, interesting. The taste is kind of good but the texture is a little too mushy for me. And yes, I could feel the years ticking off my life as I ingested a fried oreo.

10. Lots of people must buy hot tubs at fairs. I saw more hot tubs today than I have ever seen in my life.

11. The huge sandbox in the kid building is super fun for kiddos and super not-fun for parents. We opted out of that activity.

12. Graham really needs a pair of boots. The last time we tried some on he said "too tight" over and over. Maybe someday he'll want to wear a pair.

13. After the blow-out and public nursing, Adele was super happy and then fell asleep in the stroller. She slept the whole rest of our time at the fair. That made the fair a lot more fun.

14. I would much rather be at the fair when it's cold than when it's hot. Bundling up is so much easier than having sweaty kids to deal with.

15. Whoever decided to put a hand-washing station outside the petting zoo building was a genius!

16. I really like spending time with my family. Even though chasing a two year old can be exhausting and dealing with a screaming baby can be stressful, making family memories is worth it.

*Sorry there are no pics in this post. I brought my camera but it did not make it out of my purse. And I don't have an iphone, so no quick pics with that either.