I'm BIG!

Merit is completely obsessed wit being "BIG". He tells us all the time that he is a big kid now. He has been asking us lately how big is an inch and how many inches tall am I. It is really cute! We went to the doctor right before leaving for Houston and he wanted to check his height while we were there. While we were in Houston, some of Alicia's friends stopped by with their kids. When he saw the kids he didn't say hi or what's your name, he instead said, "I'm big!" It was hilarious!!!

 

The Polar Express Train

We set up the Polar Express train last night and Merit was overjoyed by this! He has been asking for days now if we can set up the train. So, we spent part of our evening putting the track together and hooking up the wires. Merit was literally dancing he was so excited!

 

Helping with the Outdoor Lights

Merit was really excited about helping us hang the lights outside this year. He was a great helper too! He wanted to hand JP that hammer and nails every time he needed them. He also enjoyed driving his dump truck through the leaves and digging in the various Christmas boxes. It was a perfect afternoon to hang lights as it was warm and sunny!

 

Merit's First Christmas Gift!

Merit couldn't wait to open his first Christmas gift! Poppy sent his gift in the mail. He picked out the cutest book for Merit. He knows that Merit is pretty obsessed with reading books and he found a book about a Boston Terrier who goes to visit his family on the farm. Merit absolutely loves the book. Thank you Poppy!

 

Playing with the Boys!

We had so much fun playing with these two cuties on Thanksgiving day. Merit did a great job sharing his cars with Luke. I was so proud of him! It was quite different then play time while we were vacationing in Destin this summer. He didn't get frustrated or annoyed, instead he gave him some of his cars to play with and then watched him play. Merit really liked playing with Sharon's Star Wars light saber stick as well as story time with Sharon. It was a great Thanksgiving day!

 

Thanksgiving Meal...Delicious!

We celebrated Thanksgiving with Alicia, Marc, Luke, Sharon, Dave, Papa and Mimi. It was a day filled with laughter, delicious food and good conversation. Everyone enjoyed watching the boys play with cars and all sorts of toys. Sharon made three pies and the turkey too. Mom and I made the cornbread dressing, green bean bundles, and a spinach casserole. Alicia made a  yummy frozen cranberry salad. We were officially stuffed after lunch!

 

Thankgiving Day Fun!

Sharon had some neat activities planned for us. She had Merit be her helper, which he thoroughly enjoyed. We played a silly game where we had to draw a turkey on top of our head without looking. It was hilarious! Papa's was the best! Then we made Thanksgiving bracelets using various color beads. I read the Thanksgiving story and we talked about being thankful.  I brought a Thanksgiving tree with me to Sharon's house. We wrote what we were thankful for on the leaves and then hung them on the tree. We certainly made some great memories this year.

 

 

Thanksgiving Morning

We started our Thanksgiving day with yummy cinnamon rolls and the Macy's annual Thanksgiving day parade. Merit really liked seeing the neat balloons and he especially enjoyed the singing and dancing. Mom and I finished up the cooking and then we headed to Sharon's around noon.

 

Fun with David and Daniel!

We always enjoy spending time with Beth and her sweet boys. Merit thinks Daniel is pretty cool because he's a big boy. The boys had a great time playing on the playground, eating a snack together, and playing cars in Merit's room. What a bunch of cuties!

 

Cute Turkey Cookies!

I saw this idea for a turkey cookie on Pinterest but the person used chocolate Oreo cookies and whoppers or Reese's peanut butter cups. I decided it would be even cuter to use the vanilla Oreos. I had caramels at the house leftover from Halloween and decided the caramels would make a good head for the turkeys. I think they turned out really great! Merit had so much fun helping me make these treats. We packaged them up and gave one to each of his friends at Ms. Brenda's house. We attached a "thankful" verse and a little note to each cookie package. Merit insisted on carrying the cookies into Brenda's by himself. He was so proud as he handed Brenda the cookies. He said, "my friends are going to love these Mommy!" I don't think my baking efforts have ever been so rewarding!

 

Happy Anniversary to Mommy & Daddy

I was a tad under the weather this past weekend so we decided to postpone our anniversary dinner. We had a nice quiet dinner at home instead. For the first time, Merit saw our rehearsal dinner and wedding video. He really loved seeing me and JP when we were little. His reaction to seeing the pictures was priceless. JP bought me flowers and he picked up take-out. It was a great night. And, now I have a nice dinner to look forward to this coming weekend!

 

Cute Turkey Pumpkin!

We made the cutest turkey pumpkin this year. I drew some feathers on fall colored construction paper, a turkey head, two wings, a beak, a waddle and two googly eyes. Merit loved watching this turkey come together! What a fun Saturday craft!

 

Visiting Aunt Nancy's House

On Friday we went to Aunt Nancy's house to see her beautiful fall decorations and Max of course. Merit really liked running through Nancy's yard and playing ball with Max. He also enjoyed seeing Nancy's beautiful seashell collection. Aunt Nancy sent us home with a nice aloe vera plant so we can grow some of our own. She has a ton of it growing really well in her yard. Merit can't wait to go back to Aunt Nancy's house!

 

Lookin' Handsome!

This cutie was in desperate need to a haircut. His hair grows fast just like Mommy's hair. He is usually very still and well behaved for the stylist but today he was a bit silly. :) His favorite part of getting his haircut is me letting him pick out a sucker when he's done.

 

Fun Day with Daddy!

Merit and Daddy got to hang out together on Monday while I went to teach my two classes. Ms. Brenda was feeling a bit under the weather so she couldn't keep her kiddos. I loved the pictures JP sent me throughout the day! They had a great day together and I enjoyed my day knowing they were getting in some one on one time.

 

Growing Up

Some impromptu pics that turned out way too cute. Merit likes to climb in and around our trees. I ran in the house to grab my camera. He's so stinkin' photogenic!

 

Election Party with Mimi!

We thought it would be fun to have a little "Election Night" party with Mimi. Daddy is working out of town this week. :( We don't like it when he's gone. However, we do get to spend extra time with Mimi and that's always fun! So Mimi brought over strawberries and I made a chocolate dipping sauce and put some powdered sugar in a bowl. Merit thought this was a fantastic treat! He couldn't get enough and kept asking for more! So, the results weren't what we had hoped for but our family will continue to pray for our leader and our nation.

 

First Time Spending the Night Away from Mommy & Daddy!

Merit has been asking for quite some time now if he can spend the night with Mimi sometime soon. Mimi of course couldn't wait for this to happen! When I told Merit that we had decided he could spend the night with my mom he was beyond excited. He immediately started gathering all of his things. There were a ton of items he wanted to bring with him. He packed, lady bug pillow, bear pillow, both snuggies, dinosaur blanket, blue blanket, 10 cars, and a few movies. Really it looked like he was going to be moving in with Mimi. It was hilarious. He was so happy on the way there. Mommy & Daddy both took him. :) I have to be honest and admit that I was fighting back the tears as I was helping him pack his things and on the ride over to my mom's place. It was truly bittersweet. I was really filled with joy because he wasn't scared or hesitant to spend the night away from home, but I was also sad because it was such a reality to me that he is really growing up. So, we drove away and discussed where to eat and what movie to watch. We had a nice evening at home, just the two of us, with no distractions. I think we will definitely be doing this again soon! :)

 

Leaf Printing

We had so much fun with this craft! We picked out some really pretty leaves from our yard and then some pretty fall paints for the project. It was easy and Merit really loved seeing his finished pieces!

 

Cookies for Daddy!

Merit has really become such a good little helper. He can be very particular too. His job for these cookies was to pick out three M&M's or Reese's to press into the top of each cookie. He was really proud of his work and couldn't wait to serve one to Daddy. What a cutie!

 

Recipe:

http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2012/11/01/bite-sized-peanut-butter-pretzel-mm-cookies/

My healthy modifications:

I lightened these by using PB2 instead of regular peanut butter. I also used half the amount of butter by replacing the other half with 1/3 less fat cream cheese. I always use light butter instead which also really cuts back on the fat content. They turned out amazing!

 

Fun Day with Nana!

We enjoyed spending the day with Nana on Friday. Nana came over that morning and we made a cute spider, played outside and played with the dogs. Then, Nana and I took Merit to his first garage sale. He thought it was great! He enjoyed looking at all of the toys and Nana bought him a couple of items to bring home. After our garage sale shopping, Nana treated us to Chik-fil-A. It was a wonderful day with Nana!