E-I-E-I-O

I think farm week has been my favorite summer week so far! There are TONS of fun/funny books that have a farm theme and about a MILLION craft ideas on the web. Plus, I couldn't wait for another trip out to Ardenwood farms!

We started things off with a silly cotton ball craft that really got Ezra excited for more art! I filled a bowl with white craft glue and showed him how to dip cotton balls, then smoosh them down onto the sheep outline...

Once all the cotton balls were on we decided the picture looked a little bare, so we pulled out the markers and crayons and added some grass and sky.

Didn't it turn out cute? The ears got covered up and his eyes are a little skeewompus but overall I was pretty proud of this poofy creation of his. =)

He had little whisps of cotton stuck to his fingers for the rest of the afternoon. =)

Next we made baby chicks! I cut off two egg cups from an egg carton and Ezra slathered them in pretty water colors...

Then I put a drop of tacky glue in each one and he smashed a HUGE yellow pom pom into the glue (you can't even see the pom pom in this pic...he's doing such a good smashing job. ha!)

Then I handed him a second yellow pom-pom with glue dots on the bottom...he stacked this on top of the first...

he added googly eyes and a little orange beak. They came out kind of crooked and alien looking..

but Ezra LOVED the way they felt! He kept rubbing them on his face and ears saying "pom-pom" hypnotically...then pulling them away, looking at their silly eyes and saying "peep peep" He's so funny!

Next up, we created a cow door-hanger...Ezra was in one GROUCHY mood this day...so this is the only picture of him working...whew! I'm sure if I could understand his angry babbling he would have been saying "get that camera out of my face, woman!!"

Once I put it away things turned out pretty well (the nose, tail, and ears are my doing). Don't you love how the eyes are so crazy?

For our Friday field trip, we met up with a few friends across the bay at Ardenwood Farms.

We saw a big horse....even if he didn't make it into the picture...

some VERY friendly sheep (they reminded me of cats...).....

a WHOLE barn full of HUGE tractors......

a field of sheep....

Can you see the little bird on this one's back? I laughed really hard about that!

We also saw a pair of GIANT hogs!!

Ezra was not as brave as his friend Ruth...he kept his distance...=)

but there was a pair of baby pigs right next door...

and EVERYBODY liked watching them eat.

After looking at the animals we took a train ride. Cache and Ezra got to see a tractor working in the fields.

By this time the babies were getting pretty hungry so we sat on the farm house lawn for a picnic. Ezra remembered playing in the gazebo at our last visit so we had to sit on the steps for a while and reminisce.

For the first time ever, when I pointed the camera at him and said "say cheese" he smiled, posed and said "CHEEEEEEESE"! LOVE IT!!

Our friend Heidi took our picture together...

and then we made her jump in for a close up....apparently it's TOO close for Ezra who's trying to lean away from these two crazy ladies. =)

As we were leaving I had to get a shot of the flower lined fields. This picture in NO WAY does justice to how beautiful it was!

After nap time we sat down for a simple craft.

I spread glue on the shapes, placed them, and Ezra got to BANG, BANG, them into place. Oh how he loved it!

I found a sheet of "farm" stickers in the dollar section at Michael's so Ezra created a sticker scene.

When he finished he looked up at me, laughed, and said "dog chasing"....can you see why? I also really like that he put the vegetables in roughly the same place...was that an attempt to create a garden? =)

We got another "Daddy treat" this week when Talin drew a horse body for Ezra to paint. First we started with the "legs"

Then he decided that paint wasn't near enough...the horse needed crayon and marker colors too. I said OK, but ONLY brown and black. HA!

After a little googly eye action...

Ta-dah! A stand up horse! Obviously I couldn't keep my hands off of this "Daddy project"either. I LOVE painting in the stuff that Talin draws...it's just too irresistible. I think that Ezra was ok with my meddling...he didn't yell at me like he did with the cow craft so I took that as a good sign.

After it was dry and ready to play with, Ezra named it neigh-neigh...or...he just kept saying neigh neigh because he was playing with a horse....either way it was cute. =)

Yep...I really do think this was my favorite week so far!

Our books this week were: One Red Rooster, Old MacDonald Drives a Tractor, The Flea's Sneeze, Can You Make a Piggy Giggle, One Tractor, Old MacDonald Had a Farm, One Magical Morning, Tough Chicks.