Today we went to Wolfe's Neck Farm with our friends Stella (mama Sarah), Charlie (mama Mara) and Greyson (mama Christina). It was chilly but gorgeous outside with swift fluffy clouds on a bright blue sky. The snow is just starting to melt, and the parking area was full of mud and puddles.
Mattimeo
Stella
I think Stella and Meo were excited to see each other again because they could not stop smiling at each other. We tried to encourage them to give each other either a hug or kiss, and Meo seemed will as he leaned forward waiting for Stella to grace him with an affectionate greeting, but instead he just got a pretty smile which pleased him just as well. It is good to have friends that fill us with so much joy.
Meo waiting for a kiss
Stell and Meo just smiling at each other so happily
Happy greetings among friends (photo taken by Sarah)
Stella smiling at Meo (photo taken by Sarah)
Meo smiling at Stella (photo taken by Sarah)
Leaning in for a kiss (photo taken by Sarah)
Once we said our hellos and how-do-you-dos, we headed into the barn to see the animals. Now keep in mind that the main reason I wanted to go to the farm was that Meo has been obsessed with making farm animal noises for like a week. He says "moo", "quack", "bwack", "neigh", "baaa", "aroooh" (dog), "oink" and even has a strange sound for goats. Here is a video of him making some of these sounds:
It had been a while (all winter) since we had seen real life farm animals though, and Mattimeo was quite afraid of them. He did not want me to put him down, and when I did, he preferred clutching to me and occasionally giving out a little shriek when any of the animals moved in such a way that he grew even more nervous. Here is a video that we sent Robbie demonstrating this:
Fortunately, he was okay when I held him in my arms, and we went around and I petted the animals. He made animal sounds and seemed to enjoy himself despite being incredibly intimidated. The one place he did feel safe to walk around was by the bunny and chickens. He loved the chickens and was doing perfectly fine until a couple of the chickens flew up onto their feeding canister and started quarreling a bit. Meo screamed and clung to me for dear life. Besides that he was content clucking at the chickens with the occasional fearful glance back at the sheep behind me.
"Oh my gosh mom, this is kind of scary" (photo taken by Sarah)
Safe between the rabbit and chickens
Chickens
Worried glance towards the sheep
I think one of the funnies things that happened during our visit was while we were standing by the cows and horses in the back of the barn. I was holding Meo up so he could see and he was happily "mooing" and "neighing" at them. Now here I should add that Meo has quite the "moo"...I actually think it sounds pretty realistic, but also very funny. Here is a sample:
Well, while Meo was "mooing", perhaps some of the cows though he was speaking their language, because they starting "mooing" back...and this completely took Meo off-guard and he shrieked a little. Poor Meo! They just were talking to you!
(photo taken by Sarah)
Eventually I decided to but Meo in the baby carrier and wear him on my back, and that calmed him right down as he was perfectly content and safe close to me. In the carrier he was fine going up close to the animals.
"Is this the way out?"
"Oh god, there's that goat again!"
"Mom, get me out of here!!"
Meanwhile, the other children didn't seem nervous of the animals at all and even ran around petting and kissing them. It was really quite adorable.
Stella going to kiss the goat (right before she got a bit of a head butt, which she took amazingly well)
Charlie and the chickens (photo taken by Sarah)
Stella and the sheep (photo taken by Sarah)
Greyson and the sheep
Sarah and Stella looking at the sheep
Sarah and Stella
Mara giving Stella some treats
New goat on the farm
(photo taken by Sarah)
At one point we took a break from being inside the barn to run around outside and play. Stella certainly LOVED playing in the mud. She was splashing in the puddles with her boots, scooping it up with her mittens, splattering her face and even sampling it. Meo was in awe of her behavior and faithfully chased her around the lot stomping in puddles and watching her. I think mud season is going to be especially exciting this year.
Stella and Charlie
Charlie, Stella and Meo
Stella and Meo
Stomping in the mud
Watching Stella
Very pleased with the filth
So much fun!
Playing in the mud
Sarah and Meo chasing after Stella
Splash
Sarah and Stella
Polishing her mama's boots with some mud
(photo taken by Sarah)
Oh, I should add that during this mud fest, Meo did manage to trip once and landed splat front first into a puddle. His jacket, pants, and hands were covered in mud and he was not happy. I think he was mostly upset because his hands were cold and wet and he didn't know what to do with them. I cleaned them up and put some mittens on him and he was as right as rain again.
Uh-oh, a stumble
Filthy
After our fun in the mud and in the barn, we said our good-byes to Charlie and Stella.
Charlie kissing Stella
I feel like this should be a still from an action movie where a t-rex is approaching them
Mutual kiss between Stella and Charlie
Christina (with Greyson) and I (with Meo of course) then headed out onto the trail behind the barn for a quick walk before heading home for the day. We soon realized that we should have brought our snowshoes, as it was tricky walking out there. But we had a nice walk nonetheless and Greyson got in a little snooze.
Wolfe's Neck Farm trail
Sleepy Greyson
All-in-all, it was a wonderful morning at the farm. I hope that next time Meo won't be so nervous around the animals, although even if he still is, I know he will eventually begin to be comfortable again. I think he enjoyed seeing them nonetheless as he spent the rest of the day talking about them, reading farm books to me and playing with his wheely farm animals. Thank you friends for joining us!
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