Hoedown at the Farm

Last week, Nana and I took the twins to the family farm for a little outing.  Great timing for us, as the cows had been herded up and in the corral patiently waiting for their annual spring insect control routine. The bull had been separated from his "girls" and paced the corral until one of the cowboys put out some feed for him. The big guy has to have energy to keep up with his cows and all their calves. 
Emma walked to the corral with some help from Nana and I took Nathaniel in my arms to see the cow commotion in the paddock. There was a lot of mooing going on and my mother's dog, Ginger, was not especially helpful. She doesn't know she is a small poodle, not a large herding dog. She tried to herd the already penned cows which just made the cows more antsy. My mother had to take Ginger back to the farm house, leaving me with the antsy twins. 
Emma is my little daredevil, she likes to get closer, she wanted to get in the pen with cows. Nathaniel, on the other hand, is a bit more cautious, and one cow in particular, sent him into tears.  She had a particularly loud, high pitched moo, it startled him. At first, he stuck out his lower lip, pouted and then began to cry. 
It was fun to be at the farm with my mother and have her show my children their roots.  My mother grew up on the farm during the depression and through WWII.  I hope my children get to spend a lot of time with their Nana at the farm. I'd like them to carry some of the history in their hearts.
A couple of days later,  the children and I went to hear story telling at Barnes and Nobles. While we were there, I purchased a Melissa and Doug handmade, wooden with sound farm puzzle and a book, Baby Baa Baa to reinforce their time spent on the farm.   Today, I heard Emma say, "pig, pig, pig" when she was working on the farm puzzle.
Tomorrow, the twins and I are taking Daddy to the Dallas Zoo.  I wonder if I can find a book or a puzzle with zoo animals to reinforce our learning experience. It would be fun to hear Emma say "penguin, penquin, penquin" or perhaps she'll say "tiger, tiger, tiger."
It's off to bed, because tomorrow is Zoo Day!!!