Ian loves when we sing to him, but I’ve had to change the lyrics a bit.  As with my animals, I want my child to learn that his name is who he is, so I like to personalize his music a bit to try to engage him a bit more.

• Little Ian had a farm
• e…i…e…i…o
• And on that farm he had a Reggie
• e…i…e…i…o
• With an oink oink here
• And an oink oink there
• Here an oink
• There an oink
• Everywhere an oink oink
• Little Ian had a farm…

See?  We add Ian’s critters into the song as well, and change their sounds to be a bit more realistic.

In all seriousness, Little Ian does have a little farm.  I grew up around a menagerie of animals and want him to do the same.  Animals teach compassion, responsibility, dedication, and reward.  It’s one thing to own a bicycle, it’s another entirely to own an animal whose very existence depends on you.  I want Ian to always understand that his actions have consequences.  Who better to teach him that than animals?  If you jerk on Bear’s reins or flop on his back, he’ll be happy to put you on the ground.  If you scare Chaco, she runs to my bedroom and hides.  If you throw the ball for Mogwai, you commit yourself to at least an hour of playing fetch.  Consequences!

At just eight months old, Ian already has such a love for animals.  I’ve written before about how much he loves his puppies, and how much he enjoys bouncing on Reggie, and now he’s learning the delights in raising chickens.

Ian gets so excited when he sees us pulling on our mud boots –he knows that means we’re going to feed animals.  Our newest chickens cluck and and carry on louder than any other chickens we’ve ever had.  Ian giggles up a storm when he hears the chickens’ racket.  If we make clucking noises at Ian he grins and crawls towards the back door.

Another of Ian’s favorite features of farm life is John Deere.  Just as Ian loves riding Reggie, I think he loves driving the tractor even more.

I don’t think this upsets Grandpa too much as he’s a diehard John Deere fan.  In fact, he’s even brought Ian quite an array of John Deere and Carhartt overhauls and shirts.  If you’re going to be a farm kid, you’ve got to dress the part!