Kevin Minnis

“Oh this is the Grandpa one.” - Jayden

This past weekend we took a trip to the Minnis Farm. Jayden was thrilled and couldn’t wait to help Papa and Great Papa. He wouldn’t take a nap on Saturday because he just had to help Papa feed the cows. One of his favorite things to do while on the farm. We also did some exploring with Jayden and Josie. Kevin took Jayden out on Great Papa’s 4-Wheeler. They both had a good time and could have ridden all day. Josie was infatuated with all the cows. Even though she wanted to see some sheep too. But there are no sheep on the farm.
Jayden actually let a cow lick his fingers. That hasn’t happened since he was probably under 1 year old. He thought that was cool. Josie was going to let it lick her fingers until it jumped and she got scared. Maybe next time. Good thing for their “farm boots.” It was extra muddy with all the melting and rain. Josie loves her “farm boots.” She would wear them everyday if i let her. Even the big boys like their farm boots too. Kevin is modeling his new boots for the next issue of “G.Q.” Quite the stud he is, huh? I, on the other hand, need to invest in some farm boots! “Cosmo”–here I come!!

The most exciting thing from the weekend was actually witnessing a birth of a cow! Tis the season for births and after 6 years, I actually got to see one live. “Ace” as I like to call it, was born around 9:30 Friday night. I gave him/her the name Ace because it was the first birth of the season and my first birth to see. (Except my own children). It was really really cool. Man, to think we as humans get the opportunity for drugs to cope with the pain! Poor animals have to go through it all naturally. Thank Goodness for an Epidural! The cow really didn’t make any noises, she just kind of walked around/laid down and had him/her. It was fun watching the process afterwards of the mama cow, owning her child. It takes awhile, but she warmed up to it and started to lick her clean. (could you imagine if humans had to lick their child clean, yuck!!!) I’m glad it was a good birth and not one of those where Kevin’s dad would have had to pull it out! So it was a happy ending!

Kevin, Jayden, Josie and I, rode out in the bucket of the tractor (loader bucket) the next morning, to see baby Ace. They had moved the mom and baby so that they could be alone. The kids thought that was really cool to ride on the tractor like that. They were also excited to see the baby. Great papa was even more excited to take us out on the tractor to see it! What a ride!!

Tonight Jayden sleeps for the first time without his “blanky” since he got it when he was just a baby. It’s quite monumental to have him part from it. He decided today that he would give it to another baby who really needed it. The baby he chose was Josh and Jodi’s baby, Olivia. He didn’t have too hard of a time going to sleep, but you could tell he was sad. I thought  it would be fun to write a short poem. So here goes.

I miss you so, my taggy blue.  

Please bid Olivia well.

You gave me comfort,

through thick and thin.

From the time of constantly carrying you,

to the having you only at night.

Take care my taggy blue,

I’ll miss you so. 

This past Friday and weekend Kim and her Mom, Sister, and Niece took a shopping trip to Minneapolis, MN. That means I got to take care of the kids for the weekend. I did have planned to go to Humboldt to help my Brother and buddy, Scott, put in some cabinets that Scott had ordered from my Brother’s business. But, Tasha, one of our friends that was going to take care of the kids while I was gone ended up getting the flu. I wasn’t quite sure if I should even attempt to take the kids for an hour and a half drive by my self. I ended up taking them and managed to stay sane. Josie cried for at least a half an hour on the way up and both of them had their moments on the way back, but I managed.

How does a single parent manage to handle two kids? All I can say is I don’t know how. Take the simple thing as having Jayden needing to go to the bathroom. We stopped near Ft. Dodge on the way back and had some McDonalds (I know, I usually dislike eating there, but it’s quick and the kids usually eat something there). Well, about half way through our lunch, Jayden needed to go use the bathroom. Not a big deal if Kim and I were both there. Obviously, I took Josie (with chicken nugget in hand) in with Jayden and I. Everything worked out okay, but still, it’s not fun having to deal with both of them at the same time…making sure Josie doesn’t touch something she shouldn’t and keeping her chicken nugget off the floor.

All in all, the kids were pretty good for the whole weekend. But, it sure is nice having Kim back home.

This will probably be short. It’s amazing how fast Josie is catching on to things. She’s almost 19 months and so far has sat on her potty and gone in it 3 times. Yeah! Amazing, I know. To most people this isn’t a big deal, but to a parent, this is huge. Now, if we can just find small enough undies for her. The ones Kim got last night are huge and that’s the smallest they make.