Buttercup finally had a cow!

Hint: Turn the Music Player off for this post (or at least pause it for the videos). There's too much good stuff in the background on the videos, especially the llamas talking, the birds cooing, and the soft moo of the newborn calf.

Almost a week after Bruce predicted Buttercup would have her calf within the next two hours, Buttercup finally got that calf out! (We are beginners at this!)

But before I tell you about that, I have to record the following.

Here is a marble track that Joseph and Peter have been working on diligently over the last 10 days or so. This has been serious business. When the video was taken here, it had already been worked over by Libby and her friend Dallas (i.e. had to be rebuilt), and had been worked on for hours and hours. But here is the final version on video. It's pretty cool!



Pretty fun, huh?

I also want to always remember the Piano Recital we had on Tuesday night.
This is Maddy, one of my fun students, and I, as we played a duet. (You made the blog again Maddy!)
And this is Will, otherwise known as a Jedi Knight (see this blog post), standing in front of the Steinway Grand Piano that we got to play on during the recital. Will is in my Primary Class at Church, and he is just a hoot! He can't sit still to save his life, so I have to get creative in how to teach him, and he just grows on me week to week. I love this Jedi Knight!

After the official Recital, the other families left and our family stayed another hour, with each child begging to have a turn on the Steinway. It was amazing to play on this piano! Josh played Go the Distance, and was glowing afterward. Joseph relished playing his own composition on this piano, and Jesse couldn't contain herself. She was in tears at one point when she thought her turn was over and she wouldn't get another one! At one point, Josh, Joseph and Jesse all played Hundred Years together, on different pianos, and it made me cry it was so cool. (You can hear a snippet of Josh playing Hundred Years on the marble track video above!)

I want to congratulate Mary and Peter! They were the only ones that had their songs memorized, and they played them perfectly! Way to go guys. Yes - Peter played his song, with the fingers that are sticking out of his cast!

Have I put a picture of Peter on yet with his hot pink cast? You've got to see it! I'll get one on soon.

The venue for this Recital was a local music store that allows you to rent the Recital Hall for only $10. So, I figure we can go down to this store every month for Home Evening and have a family Piano Recital on a Steinway. The Taco Bell afterward contributed to everyone's happiness as well. :)

So, on to Buttercup. On Wednesday morning Bruce said, "She's going to have it today." This time, he was right. I have full pictures of it on Picasa, including the birth (not for the faint of heart) if you want to see it. But here are some highlights.


Thanks to my friend Wendy (mother of Jedi Will), who came over to see the birth and helped take pictures! They also took a little tour around the farm, with Jedi Will gathering the eggs
and feeding the llamas and the horses. Wendy commented, "When we lived in California we would pay to go see a farm like this." Needless to say, Farmer Bruce would rather show a four year old around the farm than just about anything else he can think of, as evidenced by this video below.


My friend DaraDee also stopped by a few hours after the calf was born, and this is little Abigail seeing the calf.

And this is the Sister Missionaries coming out to see the calf after our dinner together.
You can see a little piece of Peter's pink cast here! All the nurses were impressed with the choice of color, "A man not afraid to wear pink - we like that!"

The calf had a hard time figuring out how to nurse. Late last night Bruce finally had to put Buttercup in the stanchion so she would stand still enough to let the calf nurse. He had to do it again this morning. Hope they get the hang of it soon.

By the way, for the unenlightened (like me), here is the dictionary definition:

stan·chion (stnchn, -shn)

n.

1. An upright pole, post, or support.

2. A framework consisting of two or more vertical bars, used to secure cattle in a stall or at a feed trough.

AND, Bruce wanted me to inform you that Buttercup didn't have a "cow", she had a "bull calf".

Bull - male that has not been castrated
Heifer - a female before she has a calf
Steer - castrated male
Cow - a female after she has a calf

Now you know!