Today we visited the State Fair. We do it every year -- neither child has ever missed it -- we even brought them in utero!
It's incredible what a difference a year makes. Last year at this time Marissa was 5 weeks old and it was a bit challenging. I remember trying to nurse her in public, being cognizant not to be too terribly close to the animal barns (I got mastitis anyway) and attempting to be somewhat discreet was...well, a challenge.
This year, she's 13 months and she is very close to walking. She took her first steps on Sunday, August 27th, exactly her 13 month birthday. She had fun taking in the sights and especially the tastes -- she loved sharing Wayne's milk shake, fries, cookies, etc.
But the biggest change was actually with Lindsey who, for the first time, wore UNDERWEAR and not diapers to the fair. She also LOVED the rides. I think she went on 8 or 9 rides, and went all by herself! (Except for a few, like the Giant Slide, see below.) Wow! We had so much fun taking her around to those rides. We spent a total of 5 hours there, a record for us.
It makes me think of the day that is coming when she will be too big for the kiddie rides, or even if she's not too big, she won't have interest. Or the days when she wants to hit the fair starting at 6 pm because "all the good stuff" happens at night, i.e. concerts, drinking, etc. I know I know, I'm getting way ahead of myself, but it continually reminds me to drink up these moments, to cherish the innocent smiles as she rides the teacups, to soak up those giggles.
