Fair Day

The weekend before last was a busy one for us. There always seems to be fun things happening that we want to have Dylan enjoy and it's tough to make time for them amongst the chaos of having an infant around, trying to get some projects done at the house and, well, just keeping up with life in general.

At one of the parks we frequent for play dates, there was an advertisement for a fair that one of the private schools in the area was putting on. The weather was nice that day so we decided to check it out. We got started out later than planned (thanks to Mike letting me get a little sleep in the morning while he played with the boys) and arrived about an hour after the fair had begun. Not a big deal except that the only parking was a shuttle ride away and we only had an hour until nap time. Mike dropped me and the boys off at the fair and went to the lot to wait for the shuttle to get back.

While we waited, Dylan was excited to do the bounce house. I distracted him away from it as long as possible (wanting Mike to be there for the fun) and we went to a toy sale they were having. For $1, we bought a few little used toys that have brought Dylan hours of enjoyment. Unfortunately Mike was still not back and Dylan was just dying to go in the bounce house. Mike said not to wait so I bought some tickets and helped him get in. It was his first time in one and I obviously couldn't accompany him since I needed to stay outside with Cade in the stroller. Poor Dylan didn't really know what to do. He just kind of wandered about during his time in there. I wish I could have gone in and bounced with him to have made it more fun for him. In any case, even though he didn't do much he seemed ok with the experience. So, it was on to the carousel next to it.

Wandering Aimlessly in the Bounce House

It was pretty much the tiniest carousel known to man. Just as it was about to start, Mike showed up so I was able to join Dylan for the ride. He chose a horse on the inside circle and I stood next to him with my back up against the middle. Since the thing was so small, it was like I was just spinning around in little circles and I quickly became dizzy! I changed positions to stand more with him facing forward by the horse and was able to make it through the ride without getting sick. Man, I'm getting old if a stupid little carousel can do me in.

By this point, Dylan was fading. The crowds and activity was a bit overwhelming for him so close to nap time and he was half checked out. It being so much effort to get there and another activity we (Mike and I) wanting to do before leaving, we pressed on. What could make us such bad parents to drag around a poor tired child, well Barn Babies of course!

The Barn Babies experience has pens of little critters you can pet as well as some babies wrapped in swaddling blankets you can hold and cuddle. Dylan can get snuggly when tired so luckily this activity worked very well for him in that state.

Bunny Baby

After the first bunny, Cade was hungry so I made my escape to find a corner to sit and nurse him while Mike stayed on with Dylan. Mike said Dylan was very gentle and huggy with all the animals. Ahh....my sweet boy!

After the Barn Babies experience, we had a few more tickets to use so we went to the fair games designed for little guys. Dylan did the sucker tree where we didn't find a marked sucker (ie didn't win), fished for little fish in a pond where we got 1 token and did a spin the wheel game where we also lost. With our one token, we went over to the price area to see what it could be traded for.

Classic Mom mistake, I picked out 2 things I thought he would enjoy and gave him the choice. Dylan is not good with multiple choices...especially not a tired Dylan. Not that he kicks and screams, I just don't think he understands the concept of one or the other. He got attached to both choices very quickly. In a choose your battles fashion, I just let him have both. Yeah, I'm not going to win mom of the year for letting him "steal" a prize but we made our donations to the games and I just didn't want to make that scene just then. After we got home and realized Mike had a pocket full of forgotten tickets, I felt a lot less bad about Dylan getting a toy soldier and a little rubber ice cream cone.

Luckily we caught a shuttle very quickly so we were able to get to our car as quickly as possible and head home. I'm glad we went but it's always tough to do special things during nap time. The tired kiddo just doesn't get the full enjoyment out of it and melt downs seem to be imminent. Glad we avoided disaster on this go round.