Josh, Gabriel and I went to the Puyallup Fair Opening Day. Of course it was crazy busy, why wouldn't it be? It was free from ten to noon. So Josh and Gabe went and caught the Rodeo Parade while I went to a horribly scheduled doctor appointment for the little guy waiting to join our family. We met up in front of the fair grounds (after combating traffic and driving like I owned the road) and went inside to enjoy the fun. Well, sort of. Josh is not the most exciting to go with if you also have an 18 month old in tow. Gabe wanted to move and do things and he just wasn't big enough. So irritability set in, and an earlier day than would have happened. But Gabe ended up getting a pretty good three hour nap. When he woke up, I went back to the fair (hand stamp, no re-entry fee) with my mom and the boy. Josh had other plans with a few men from our church. My mom and I must have had something from every single stand possible. Gabriel was bouncing off the walls from Krusty Pups (corn dogs), Ice Cream, Pepsi (small sip, so proud that he HATES it!), Cow Chip (Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie), and even some of Nana's Earthquake burger (size of your head! and way too much beef!). Then we caught the hypnotist and witnessed one of the better Vanilla Ice impressions by an unsuspected guy who fell under and laughed hysterically as the men were subjected to being pregnant, going through labor and having their boobs bit off from the little scavengers. lol AAHHH, totally worth it when you get to see that, even for a few moments. Gabriel was having a blast. Mom and I were enjoying ourselves too. After playing a few games (where Gabriel didn't want the prize, he wanted the ring he was supposed to toss or the duck/boat he was supposed to catch), he finally got these little stuffed toys. He had three small toys for a trade up to the medium size, but he wasn't at all wanting the lions or tigers that were shedding more than a cat in summer. So, with his three stuffed guys twisted together and firmly in his grasp (he was not going to let go of them) and his pacifier in the other (I swear he's graduating with it), we went and looked at the home exhibits and stands with things for sale. Oh, he also got a worm (gummy) and inhaled that thing like it was air. Nice! And after successfully spending the entire day at the fair (only way to do the Puyallup), we gathered ourselves to take off. But then Mom got distracted...
Spooner Farms opened up today for the Pumpkin Patch and all that goes with it. So, Josh and I decided it might be fun to take Misters and check it out. He really enjoyed himself. We did the corn maze and Gabriel was not wanting to be held for any of it. He kept walking ahead of me and trailing behind daddy. It was so adorable. The theme of the maze was 'Honey, I shrunk the Farm' with everything large and magnified to make us look and feel really small. It was pretty cool. They had these huge underwear hanging from a clothes line and this massive lawn mower pretending to mow the top of the corn stalks. After finding four pieces of the broken machine (that was what we were suppose to be looking for in the maze), Gabe decided he was done. So he kept grabbing sticks and pieces of woods and eventually plopping down on the ground to play. Josh was trying to keep him moving, but he was doing pretty well for an 18 month old.
Josh and I have a large variety of toys for Gabe. There is no mistake that we have a child when you come into our home. With his large tent and bouncy horse, push toys and rocking chairs, it's pretty obvious who rules our roost. So why is it that he (and almost any other child I know) prefers what is not suppose to be a toy? Gabriel has more fun with a lower kitchen drawer and kitchen utensils that are rubber or plastic over his $40 dollar rocking chair or discovery dome. Guess he's just getting a few boxes for christmas. Maybe see if someone gets a new fridge and we'll confiscate the box.