New Year's Eve Bowling!

We took Merit bowling for New Year's Eve. What a perfect way to spend the evening! Merit has been begging us to take him. I made an indoor bowling game during the ice storm and he absolutely loved it. Since then, he has been itching to go to a real bowling alley. He acted like a pro and even told me he was better then me. It was so cute! We are looking forward to taking him again!

 

Christmas Morning 2013

Christmas morning didn't start as early as I remember some of mine as a child starting. Merit usually sleeps in a bit and this morning he was up around 7:30. I was glad he didn't get up too early because I was up way too late! In fact, JP left me awake and went on to bed around midnight. I think I finally hit the pillow around 2. Merit stood speechless as he looked at his new Superman bicycle and red RC Corvette. He was very surprised and excited to say the least. We really took our time opening gifts, taking pictures and enjoying time with each other. I made some yummy cinnamon rolls and we also enjoyed hot chocolate! What great memories!

Visting the Trains at Northpark

This event has become a Christmas tradition for me and Merit. He gets so excited about seeing the train display at Northpark and so do I! He studied intently the beautiful trains, the very detailed scenery and his favorite display was the State Fair of Texas are. His favorite and most memorable part of our visit was probably seeing the train crash. We have actually never seen that happen before and it was quite exciting.

Love these times with my boy!

 

Happy Birthday to Katelyn!

Another Visit to the State Fair!

 

Everyone knows how much I enjoy going to the great State Fair of Texas and now my little boy feels the same way! He couldn't wait to go again this year and especially to see the new and improved Big Tex. He was quite obsessed with Big Tex last year and the fire that occurred. So, he was really looking forward to seeing Big Tex with his new clothes, boots, etc. He was not disappointed that's for sure! He wanted to watch him talk and wave over and over again while we were there. We were really happy that Mimi took a day off to join us too! Nana had already made one trip to the fair with us when it first opened and she wanted to come again also. We rode the DART rail to make it even more of a special treat! It was a wonderful day!

Special Friend - Matthew

Another special treat for my Fall Break week was that I invited Matthew to spend the day with us on Wednesday. These two boys have so much fun together! We can't wait to do this again!

Our First Birdhouse Build

 

This was the first time Merit has built anything out of wood. We had so much fun doing this together! He really enjoyed using the hammer and unfortunately my kitchen table has the marks to prove it; bad mistake on my part. He painted it with colors of blue, white, orange and black. He wanted to use the same colors as Dusty the airplane. He did a great job building his first birdhouse!

LEGOLAND with Mommy & Nana!

We started my Fall Break with a trip to LEGOLAND! What a great way to start my week off! Nana met us there and we had a wonderful time. Merit wanted to ride the rides over and over again. It was truly a special treat for all of us!

Fireplace Update

 

From drab to fab! I love how this turned out! It's amazing what a couple of cans of spraypaint can do!

More Science Experiments!

 Today we made green slime and food color designs in milk!

4 Year Check-Up

 

What a big boy! He really enjoyed this check up until we got to the part with the shots. That was pretty traumatic for him. Then to top it off, the nurse sent us upstairs for lab work. I have never heard of a 4 year old needing lab work done. Anyway, he was very glad when it was over and we went straight to Sonic for a treat; a chocolate shake. We then stopped at Walmart and I let him pick out something special for doing such a great job; he chose Dusty the airplane from the movie Planes.

Birthday Shopping with Mommy & Daddy

JP took the day off on Friday and I met he and Merit and Toys 'R' Us for some birthday shopping. Merit received birthday money from Grandma and Pimpa and he couldn't wait to spend it. He picked out Megatron, the Transformer. This shopping trip was a great way to start his birthday weekend!

 

Baseball Bean Bag

I ordered Merit a baseball bean bag as part of his birthday. We took all of the beans out and replaced them with his stuffed animal collection. He has accumulated quite a lot and this bean bag will be their new home. Thanks to Alicia for this great idea! Merit really loves lounging on it and so does Cali!

 

September Swimming

Brenda's pool is finally finished at we couldn't wait to try it out. We only have a few more weeks of swimming weather left so we have to take advantage of this!

 

September Cars & Coffee

Merit and I always enjoy meeting JP at Cars and Coffee. He gets there really early and we get there at a bit more reasonable time; usually around 8:30. Merit wanted a picture in front of his favorite car and I think he might be flexing his muscles in this pic. :) After Cars & Coffee we all went to breakfast at one of our favorite spots. It's become one of our favorite family traditions.

 

Let's Go Rangers!

Papa 'D' treated us to an evening at The Ballpark in Arlington. We had a great time watching baseball, eating snacks, and making new friends! I took Merit to the Ranger's gift store and let him pick out a Texas Rangers car. He chose the Mustang. What a fantastic evening!

 

Pool Fun!

While we certainly had much fun at the beach, we also enjoyed the pool. Merit jumped off the side over and over again and thought he was quite the big kid imitating the other boys at the pool.

 

Can't Get Enough of the Beach!

Catch of the Day!

We spotted a large blue crab and grabbed our nets. He was way too fast for us! However, a nice older gentleman chased him up to the shore and grabbed him for us. We put him in the little pool and watched him snap at us with his pinchers over and over again. The kids loved watching the crab! We let him go after an hour or so. It was a fun experience!

 

Flying High!

We all had fun flying Poppy's beautiful kites in Destin this year. Merit really loved watching them soar high into the clouds.

 

Popsicles on the Patio!

These two cuties had the best time enjoying popsicles on the patio. Good thing we stripped them of their clothes before hand because they were pretty messy in the end!

 

First Day in Destin!

Just the way we remembered it...beautiful! Merit couldn't wait to get to the beach. Look at this boy! What fun he was obviously having!

 

Uncle Marc's Lucky Charms

Uncle Marc introduced Merit to this kid cereal last year in Destin and he couldn't wait to have it again! We don't buy it when we are at home so this is was a real treat for him!

 

We Made It!

It was a long drive, 16 hours to be exact. We made good time until we came to Mobile and then it was slow moving from there. This little guy is very excited about being in Destin!

 

Big Blooms!

Jump House with Ashleigh

Special friends, special times...so thankful for Debbie and her friendship.

 

Boat Races!

Boats from the Dollar Store worked perfectly for rainy day activity! He did this for an hour or so and loved every minute of it!

 

Busy, Busy Boys!

Just a little more play time before we head back to Dallas. I absolutely love watching these two play together. Luke is now at an age where he really knows how to play and he watches and mimics everything Merit does. This means Merit needs to be on his best behavior! We had a great weekend in Houston! It was short but we packed a lot in!

 

Saturday Night in Houston

It was a perfect Saturday night! Special times and memories made.

 

The Houston Zoo!

The boys had a wonderful time at the zoo this weekend. Alicia and Marc have a family pass so we all got in for free! How nice is that! Merit's favorite part was watching the seals swim and play and he also really liked the LEGO zoo animals. What a treat!

 

Alphabet Cookies!

I would say he definitely enjoyed eating these just as much as he enjoyed making them!

 

My Little Scientist

Thanks to Billy Nye the Science Guy, Merit and I have had so much fun doing Science experiments together. I know he has learned a lot and I've even learned a few things too!

 

My Two "Loves"

I missed one whole day with these two guys! I wasn't gone very long but I certainly did miss them! We celebrated Mommy being home by going out for frozen yogurt and spending time building with LEGO's together. Love these two!

 

 

Christine's Wedding Weekend!

We had a wonderful time celebrating Christine this past weekend! So happy that God has united this woman of God with a man of God. It's a match made in heaven!

 

Popsicle Stick Shapes activity

Footprints Playdough activity

Our Sweet Doggies

They really are such good dogs!

 

Nana Fixed Snuggie!

Nathaniel Visit!

Fun in the Sun!

Cars & Coffee Day!

Trolley Ride and Klyde Warren Park Visit

My Handsome Boy

Merit's Special Friends

Swim Lessons Completed!

Lightning McQueen Everything!

Happy Birthday to Nana!

Cheerios Bird Feeder Craft

Father's Day Treats for Daddy!

Play Ball!