The McLain's

My photo
Our journey began October 2005 when we met in our Single's class at Prestonwood Baptist Church. We were engaged in June 2006 and were married on November 17, 2006. JP works for ROMCO as a Product Support Sales Manager and I will begin teaching part-time for the Dallas International School in August 2011. We have one little boy, Merit Cross. God has truly blessed our family.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Bad Hair Day!



This is what Merit's hair looked like when he woke up this morning. It was definitely the worst hair he has ever gotten out of bed with! He didn't seem to mind me capturing this moment on camera.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

"Night, Night", or, "Nigh, Nigh"!

Quite possibly the most adorable thing Merit has done...he repeated, "night, night" after JP and I said it to him. I told Merit to tell Daddy, "night, night" and to our surprise he said it! We were so excited! He then kept saying it over and over again. What fun times we are having with our precious little boy!

Monday, March 28, 2011

My Birthday!


Well...my birthday did not go quite as expected. I basically didn't get any sleep on Sunday night so Monday was a tough day to say the least. I functioned quite well despite only sleeping less then two hours. My room mom gave me two hours for lunch and then brought cupcakes for the class. It was a nice treat! One of my moms sent me a bouquet of beautiful flowers and a balloon. We decided to wait and go out to celebrate our birthdays this coming weekend. So...I'm looking forward to my birthday dinner this Saturday night!

Sunday, March 27, 2011

J.P.'s Birthday Dinner





I made JP his favorite casserole, Poppy Seed Chicken for his birthday dinner. I also went to Truluck's and bought him his favorite dessert, carrot cake. Their carrot cake is truly the best carrot cake we've ever had. Merit got to taste carrot cake for the first time. Oh my...he thoroughly enjoyed it and then begged for more! The pictures tell all!

My First Banana Malt, Yummy!




My mom, Merit and I went shopping on Sunday. We stopped for lunch at Potbelly and my mom insisted on getting a banana malt for Merit. He had never had a milk shake or a malt. He took one sip and then looked at me as if to say, "is this okay?" He smiled really big and then took another big gulp. I think Mimi might have started something with this one.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Papa's Birthday Dinner!






We took Papa to Maggiano's to celebrate his 90th birthday! Yes, we already had a big birthday bash for him but this week was his actual birthday. We had a wonderful time! Papa really enjoyed the dinner and his incredible dessert tray. Merit had a fun evening too. He really liked looking at the beautiful tulips at Northpark. Happy Birthday Papa!

Playing In My New Sandbox!



I went to Home Depot this morning and bought Merit the supplies to make a small sandbox for our yard. I bought two bags of Play sand and a large, shallow plastic container. He already had some toys for the sandbox so we were pretty set up. He had a ball playing in it this afternoon!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Already Trying to Climb the Trees





Merit is definitely all boy. Not only does he have two skinned knees at the moment but he is trying to climb in our trees! I think I'm headed for a lifetime to injuries and worry!

Trying to Blow Bubbles


Merit loves for me to blow bubbles for him. Lately though, he wants to try to blow them by himself. He doesn't quite understand how to blow and he kind of sucks in instead. I kept wiping bubbles off of his lips and nose. What a cutie!


Sunday, March 20, 2011

Sitting At My New Table!

 Stacking blocks on my new table.

 Really concentrating

 Doesn't my new table and chairs set look great! Mommy did a good job!


I finished Merit's table and chair set the Thursday of Spring Break. I moved it into his room and he wanted to sit at it immediately. I still remember how special I felt having my own table and chairs and now Merit is sitting in the very chairs where I sat many years ago. Isn't that wonderful! I have amazing parents who decided to save it knowing that someday their grand kids might want to use it. Thank you Mom & Dad! I love you both so very much.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Playing Tee Ball!



Well...Merit is not actually playing tee ball just yet. However, Daddy took him shopping last weekend to buy his first bat and tee set. His is trying to swing the bat and hit the ball. It's pretty cute to watch him.

Peanut Butter & Jelly - Yummy!

 Hmmm...this is interesting. This is definitely not ham or turkey.

 Wow! This is good! Finally Mom took the hint that I am not so into ham and turkey sandwiches right now.
Ummm, umm, good...right down to the last bite!

I decided to let Merit try a peanut butter & jelly sandwich because lately he is not very interested in ham, turkey and cheese. Well...it was hilarious. He devoured the sandwich and kept signing, "more" and "please". I guess he may take after his Daddy. JP told me he had peanut butter & jelly every day for his entire school career! That's a lot of peanut butter sandwiches!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

First Taste of Frozen Yogurt!

First taste, not too sure about this.
 


Carolyn & David with Merit
 

The Johnston's met us at Yogurtville for Merit's first taste of frozen yogurt. I had Carolyn in my Reading class years ago and I've grown to be very good friends with their family. We had a great time catching up. Carolyn told me all about her trip to Pine Cove; Marcy went with her and had fun too! Merit tried several different types of frozen yogurt. He did not care for the Coconut. He really liked the cake batter. He kind of liked the strawberry banana. All in all, I would say he didn't get very excited over frozen yogurt. I will have to keep trying though. Daddy doesn't really like it and I need a buddy to go with me.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Feeding the Ducks and Spending Time with Aunt Sharon





Aunt Sharon came to visit us this week. We had so much fun catching up! We took Merit to the duck pond by our house. I had not taken him before and I was looking forward to doing this with him. He had a great time! He threw the bread after we showed him how and then we ran out of bread. I remembered that I had some Cheerios in the car so we used those. The ducks didn't like the Cheerios as much as they did the bread. Merit, however, enjoyed the bread and the Cheerios both! He'd throw some and then eat some. It was so cute! Sharon, we are so glad you came to spend time with us!