Papa's 90th Birthday Celebration!

I Can Open The Door!

Look, Mommy & Daddy! I can open the pantry door!

Wow! There is really neat stuff inside this door. No wonder Mommy & Daddy keep it closed.

These look good, can I have one? Please!

Merit has really grown and can now reach the door knobs. This weekend JP showed how to open a door with a particular type of handle. We only have two of these doors in our house, thank the good Lord. Merit was so excited when he figured this out. He opened and closed the door over and over again. I was not quite as excited. I'm sure you can guess why. Oh my.

Mimi's Birthday Dinner!

We had a wonderful time celebrating my Mom's 60th birthday. We had dinner at Luna De Noche and I made her favorite cake. Merit and Ashleigh got to come too! Happy Birthday Mimi! 

Maverick's Birthday Party!

Picking out the wooden car for Mommy to paint.

Ready to participate in the race!

Maverick ready to blow out his birthday candles!

Maverick turned two and we celebrated with him on Saturday. Amy planned a really cool Cars themed party. All of the kids had a blast! They painted race cars, raced cars, won a trophy and played a bean bag toss game. Merit had a great time and really enjoyed seeing his cousins.

Lounging

Lounging in his chair. Too funny!

Look at that face. He is very intently watching something, I'm not real sure what.

These pictures were taken after we got home from Mimi's birthday dinner. Merit was very irritable during dinner and I thought he must have been feeling bad. Well, he was perfectly fine when we got home. He laughed and played and was very content. I'm thinking maybe he doesn't care for loud restaurants. I have noticed that he puts his fingers in his ears when it's loud. I think he's going to have to get used to loud restaurants.

Ball!

Merit wakes up saying "ball" and really says it all day long. It is so funny. He seems to be obsessed with balls. He throws them to the dogs constantly. The dogs, of course love this. We play a game with him where I say, "1...2...3" and then I throw the ball. He runs after it and brings it back to me. It's kind of like playing fetch with the dogs but much more fun! He runs into my arms and just hugs me. It is so sweet. We're so thankful for Merit. He is such a blessing in our lives.

The birthday girl, Holly and Jessica.

Holly blowing out the candles on her dessert. Good shot of the prego belly. So cute!

Merit reading after he finished his meal.

The guys never cooperate when we try to take pictures. It is very frustrating!

Cute picture of the girls. We always cooperate for pictures!

We had a great time celebrating Holly's birthday on Friday night. We met at Mi Cocina for dinner and I brought chocolate birthday cake. Merit had a good time too; at least for most of the evening. He began to get restless toward the end because it was a little past his bedtime.
Happy Birthday Holly!

Daddy's Home!

Merit was beyond excited when J.P. got home Wednesday night. He ran to the back door and couldn't wait for J.P. to pick him up. It was so sweet to watch his enthusiasm. J.P. brought home new glow-in-the-dark, dinosaur pajamas from Grammy and Papa D. He's going to look pretty cute in them. We spent the evening playing in Merit's room with puzzles, books and having pillow fights. Merit loves playing with Daddy.

New Haircut

I gave Merit a little haircut this week. I was really nervous because he has great hair and I didn't want to cut it too short. My mom helped occupy him while I cut. It is hard to keep a 1 year old still. He kept looking at himself in the mirror. I think he likes the way he looks. It looks pretty good. Hopefully I'll get better at cutting his hair. Pratice makes perfect, right?

Signing "Love"

Merit is doing the cutest things these days. We taught him the sign for "love" last week and now he is doing it really well. The other morning when I woke up JP got Merit out of his bed and put him in bed with me. He started patting my cheek and then he did the sign for love. JP said, "Oh, you love Mommy." He then signed "love" again. It was so adorable! We sure do love our little boy and now he can tell us that he loves us too!

Vacuuming With Mommy

Merit has always liked the hum of the vacuum. When he was really little I would sometimes vacuum and clean house with him strapped to my chest in a sling or while holding him on my hip. Now when I vacuum he is not bothered by the noise but instead he follows me from room to room. In recent days, he has wanted to push it himself. Monday was President's Day and I decided to do a little cleaning while home. Merit kept following me wanting me to let him vacuum. So, I handed it over. Maybe this will become a habit or even a treat! Ha, ha, ha.

Our First Trip to the ER

Saturday was a great day! Merit and I went shopping, played outside with the dogs and went to the park. Saturday evening the three of us went to church and then met our friends Tim & Holly for dinner. Merit adores Tim & Holly. He always smiles at Tim and wants to play with him. It is so cute! We had fun at dinner and so did Merit. We put Merit in bed around 9 and he went right to sleep. Around midnight we heard Merit coughing. We both thought, how strange that he is coughing. Where did that cough come from? Unfortunately it continued and worsened so I went to get him. J.P. and I thought the cough sounded so different then his usual allergy type cough. It sounded strange; almost like a bark. J.P. went to the computer and searched for The Croup on You Tube. After we heard the recording we knew Merit must have come down with The Croup. We couldn't believe it though! So...we both through on some clothes and in the mean time Merit was getting very worked up and coughing more. I think he was scared because he was having trouble breathing. Anyway, off we went to Presbyterian Hospital of Plano. J.P. drove very fast but while we were in the car Merit calmed down and his coughing subsided a bit. We got to the ER and when we walked in the place was empty. Great news for us because that means Merit would be seen quickly! Merit started waving to the lady at the check-in counter and the policeman on duty. He didn't act very sick and really didn't look sick either. We took him back and they checked his temperature and his blood pressure. He sat perfectly still in Daddy's lap watching every move the nurse made. His temp was normal and so was his blood pressure. By this time he wasn't coughing very much at all. However, the doctor and nurse heard him when we first brought him in and they said they knew it was The Croup. The doctor and nurse told us their typical protocol and said to plan on staying for a while. I was sitting on the bed holding Merit in my lap and he was very still and quiet. I then put him down on the bed and he started laughing and sticking his tongue out. The doctor and nurse laughed and said he was the cutest thing they'd ever seen. They also wanted to know how he had so much energy at 1:30 in the morning. We wondered the same thing. The nurse gave him a steroid shot and he didn't like that very much at all. Then they started a breathing treatment but Merit did not like the mask at all. So...they just waved the mist in front of his face so he'd breathe it in. They then placed a sensor on his toe to monitor his blood pressure. It glowed red and he kept touching it and looking at me as if asking, what is this mom? Merit and I sat snuggled up on the bed and JP sat next to the bed. We watched the movie, Despicable Me, while we waited. Merit fell asleep in my arms around 3 and we were discharged at 4:30. We got home and went straight to bed. Disappointingly though, Merit did not sleep in. He woke up at 7:30. Oh my...we were pretty exhausted all day but made the most of our day together. Merit played some but was definitely not his normal happy, giggling self. What an experience! We are so thankful for doctors and medicine. Thank you Jesus for giving people the desire to become doctors. Thank you Jesus for taking care of us once again. Merit is feeling better and on the road to recovery.

Girl Scout Cookies, Yum!

Against my wishes JP gave Merit his first Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookie. I'll have to admit...Merit devoured it and then asked for more. You can see from this picture that he was definitely enjoying himself; kicked back in his chair. We are not going to make a habit of this! Especially the timing; the cookie was given before lunch! And, my rules are pretty strict...no dessert before your meal!

High-Five!

Merit loves giving people high-fives. This is a picture of him taken Saturday night at church. He gave Hunter Jackson a high-five over and over again. It was adorable!

Silly Boy

What a cutie! He is wearing my old Breckenridge ski shirt. Look at that smirk. Looks like he's up to something to me!

Playing With My Dogs

Merit and I played outside today. Isn't it strange that Merit is wearing shorts in February? I was wearing shorts too. It was pretty warm, around 75 degrees, I think. I trimmed some of the dead branches in our flower beds and Cali, Maui and Merit enjoyed playing with them. I trimmed, the dogs grabbed the branches and ran and then Merit ran after them. You can see that Merit was holding on so tight that he actually fell because the dogs were pulling at the branch so hard. It was too funny watching them. I had to try to capture this moment the best I could.

Turtle is Going For a Ride

Merit spends quite a bit of time riding in his car. Lately he has been taking not just the dogs for a ride but also his stuffed animals. It is pretty funny to watch him. He goes to his room, grabs one of the animals, and then puts it in his car. Sometimes he just pushes the animal around the house in the car and other times he gets in too. He is so entertaining these days.

Hammer Time!

The Johnston's gave Merit a really neat toy for his birthday and we just got it out this week. Merit received a lot of toys for his birthday and I decided to save some of them for later in the year. Well, this toy is great! You place the balls in the slots and then use the hammer to push them through the slots. Then you can watch the balls roll through the maze and come out of the hole at the bottom. He absolutely has a ball, no pun intended, with this toy! We have played with it for hours upon hours this week. Thank you Marcy, David and Carolyn! Merit and I love you all.

Yummy Sucker!

He kept reaching for the bowl of suckers at Dr. Tyuluman's office. I finally gave him one and he made the biggest mess with it. He really enjoyed it though!

When Will Daddy Be Home?

J.P. has been traveling a lot lately. He has been gone the past two weeks working in San Antonio. Merit and I can't wait to have him home this weekend! We have had a fun and busy week but we have missed Daddy. Merit really misses him when he is gone. He will be home Friday night and he will leave again on Sunday. At least we'll have him for a couple of days.

Pretty Cookies!

Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies

2 dozen (serving size: 1 cookie)

1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons light butter , softened
2 tablespoons light cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg white
1 cup white whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray

Drizzle:
1/3 cup raspberry preserves (all-fruit preserves)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract
red food coloring

Preheat oven to 375°.

Beat granulated sugar, cream cheese and butter with a mixer at medium speed until well-blended (about 5 minutes). Add 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla and egg white; beat well. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt, stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture, stirring until well-blended. (Dough will be stiff.)

Place dough in the refrigerator for one hour or so. It will be less sticky and easier to work with. Form 1/2 inch balls by rolling between the palms of your hands. Place balls on sprayed cookie sheet. Press with your finger to form a small well in the center of each cookie. Spoon preserves into the center. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cookies stand 1 minute and then remove and place on wired cooling racks.

Combine powdered sugar, food coloring and almond extract; stir well with a whisk. Drizzle sugar mixture over completely cooled cookies. Enjoy!

Valentine Treats!

Raspberry filled Thumbprint cookies!

Decorating supplies and such.

Cute packages almost ready to go!

I almost have all of my homemade treats packaged and ready to be delivered. The only thing I have left is writing a little note from Merit on paper hearts and attaching them to each package. I have treat bags for each of Merit's teachers, my mom and Nana and my friends that help with Merit during the week. I'll post the cookie recipe later today. They are scrumptious!

Valentine's Day without Daddy

Finishing dinner and ready to open his gift.

Merit opening his gift from Mimi.

Oh my, a turtle!

Merit and Mommy both ready for bed. It has been a fun but long day!

Beautiful! Thank you Daddy and Merit!

J.P. had to leave for San Antonio this morning. I'm getting tired of him being gone but he is working hard and doing such a great job for ROMCO. He surprised me at work today with beautiful roses and a box of chocolates. The card read, "Mommy, I love you and Daddy loves you too. Happy Valentine's Day! Love, Merit". That totally made my day! Mimi came over and we had a delicious dinner and dessert too. I set the table with red candles and red accessories. Merit and I gave Mimi and fancy apple from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate factory, homemade treats and a new picture frame to hold a picture of her and Poppy. Mimi gave Merit a stuffed toy turtle. Needless to say, he really adored it. Mom gave me some new earrings and a candle too. It was a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day Dinner

Merit enjoying another one of my Thumbprint cookies!

Before dinner with one of my sweethearts.

After dinner with both of my sweethearts!

Mimi came over and stayed with Merit while JP and I went to dinner. She always asks if she can babysit but honestly we rarely go anywhere without Merit. He is a really good little boy and does very well when we are out and about. JP made reservations for us at Maguire's and we enjoyed a fabulous dinner. Maguire's is always good! We got home in time to see Merit just before his bedtime. We attempted at taking a new family picture but Merit doesn't always stay still long enough to get a good picture. Oh well, I tried.