I often pass this cute farm while driving. I notice that they were having a "Maple Sugar Days." I looked it up and it seemed like a cheap family friendly event, so we decided to go. Plus it was a good study break for Shawn. I am so glad we went because we had so much fun and learned that we want a maple tree. This is the time of year where the sap is coming up the trees, so all the trees had little spigots that only went into the tree a few inches with a bucket attached. This is us trying to see if there is any sap.
Once they collect the sap, all you have to do is boil is for a LONG time and ta da...you have syrup.
Behind us is boiling sap magically turning into syrup This farm is used for four H events etc, so they had lots of animals for us to see. Kanyin loved loved the horses! Now whenever I show her a picture of a horse she gets so excited and she says "sstt sstt" I guess that means horse in baby language. She wasn't the biggest fan of the goats, but she did love the pigs. I don't know why Shawn decided to pet the pig. Actually it was trying to bite him, so that is probably why, but his hand smelt like nasty pig for a long time.
We even got to try the syrup. We would have loved to buy some, but real syrup is a little on the pricey end. We will probably stick with the fake stuff while we are living on the student budget.
Shawn and Kanyin learning about maple trees.
The old farm house
Just had to throw this one in there.
and this one.
Moral of the story is we had a grand old time at the Fox Chase farm and are hoping to make it back to the sheep shearing day! Love living in the east. So much to do!
No wonder babies have to sleep all the time...they grow so much in one year! Kanyin turned one on February 25th. It's hard to believe a year ago, our lives changed completely! After having a baby, I decided that birthdays should also be a day of celebration for the mom. It took a lot to get Kanyin here, so I think I should get a cake or something. :) I really can't imagine life without her now. Thank you to those who helped celebrate with us and sent her packages etc. She is a spoiled happy little girl. Her birthday ended up not being all roses though....poor girl got her hand caught in the oven drawer while her birthday cake was baking and got some really nasty burns on her fingers! I felt so bad. I still feel really bad. Especially when I get comments in the store like "oohh her poor little fingers." They are pretty much healed now, but it was for sure a traumatic day for the both of us. What I don't get is she still wants to play with the oven drawer.
Kanyin took her first steps a few days before she turned one. She could walk, she is just hesitant. Growth wise, she is pretty average, except for her head which is in the 90th percentile. Not sure what happened there.
Kanyin has turned out to be quite the character. Some of her LOVES include:
-Dora the Explorer whenever I ask if she wants to watch Dora she says "de de de" and gets really excited
-Cheese She could eat cheese all day if I let her
-BooksThis girl loves to read. Especially Dr. Seuss books. Sometimes I will find her surrounded by toys, and there she is looking at a book. Her favorite thing to do in the car is look at pictures in a book. She has just started talking gibberish while she is holding her books. SO so so cute.
-Play Chase (especially with her dad)She loves it when we get down on the floor and say "I'm gonna get you!" She will turn the other way, scream and crawl as fast as she can.
-Bathsno matter where she is or what she is doing, as soon as she hears that bath water running, she is right there ready to go.
-Walks Kanyin is usually always on the go, except for walks, she is usually really content and enjoys the outdoors.
-Emptying the kitchen drawerit's pretty much a ritual now that while I am cooking she empties the tupperware drawer. At least it keeps her happy and allows me to cook. She just started learning that there are other cupboards and drawers with exciting things inside. Most of which are not baby safe, so we need to do something about that.
We have loved being parents. It has been such an enjoyable time with lots of learning experiences in between. Shawn and I thank our Heavenly Father through prayer for bringing Kanyin into our family. It is a great responsibility becoming a parent. Whenever I think about all the negative in the world today, I get nervous about being a mom. I think about Kanyin going to school etc and how I hope what she learns at home will help her to be a strong girl. I love this quote:
"Raising our children is a much greater responsibility than we can do alone without the Lord’s help. He knows exactly what our children need to know, what they need to do, and what they need to be to come back into His presence. He gives mothers and fathers specific instruction and guidance through the scriptures, His prophets, and the Holy Ghost."
—Cheryl A. Esplin
This does give me comfort knowing as long as ask for the Lords help and stay on the right path doing those little things to have the spirit in our home, he can guide us and help in raising children.
Happy Birthday Kanyin! Click Here for the link to my photography blog where her one year pictures are posted.
I also made this video to document her first year. My goal is to do this with all our future children as well. We will see if that really happens :)
