Dinner with Friends

Obviously Merit was not too happy about having his picture taken.

Playing on the iPhone after dinner

Giving Amber a big hug

Merit enjoying his first Sonic milkshake!

Not sure if you can tell in this picture but he had been crying. He cried on the way home becuase he wanted the milkshake while we were in the car but we made him wait. It was too messy! :(

We always have so much fun hanging out with Tony and Amber. We met them for dinner and had a great time catching up on life. Merit had fun too! He loves Amber and Tony!

Playhouses at NorthPark Center

http://www.northparkcenter.com/events/eventscalendar.html 

NorthPark Center has the Parade of Playhouses on display from now until August 31st. We met Aunt Nancy and Nathaniel so the boys could see them. The playhouses were truly amazing! We loved strolling the mall and looking at each one. Merit and Nathaniel had a great time together. Nathaniel is so sweet! He held Merit's hand and tried to keep him from running. We are looking forward to seeing Nathaniel again soon!

Last Morning with Alicia

Lounging with Ranger while Mommy & Alicia ate breakfast

Playing ball with Ranger

We had a great time in Houston! We got to stay in Alicia and Marc's guest cottage. It is so adorable! She had it all fixed up for us. The bed was so comfortable and she had yummy snacks for us too. We can't wait to visit again soon!

Fun Times!

Merit playing with Alicia's neighbor's little girl, Julia. She is precious!

Julia showed Alicia how to play kitchen.

Ranger enjoyed watching Merit play with his cars. He did actually put some of his cars in his mouth.

A great ending to another fabulous day!

Day 3 with Alicia - Mall, Carousel and Lunch

This indoor playland was big and Merit had a blast!

Big smile!

We rode the carousel too!

Merit kept making the horse noise, "Nay, nay, nay". :)

How exactly does this thing work???

Lunch with Alicia's friends, Courtney & Diana

We got to the mall early Wednesday morning so Merit could play before it got too crowded. They had a really neat indoor play center. He had a great time jumping, sliding and climbing! We took him on the carousel too! It was only his second time to ride on a carousel and it's definitely safe to say that he absolutely loved it. After our time at the mall, we met some of Alicia's good friends for lunch. It was so wonderful to get to meet these girls. Alicia has talked so much about them and I couldn't wait to meet them. Another great day with Alicia!

Day 2 With Alicia - Fish Gallery

Watching a little Mickey Mouse with Ranger

This is what I get when I ask Merit to smile for Mommy. :)

Aunt Alicia knows a lot about fish. She used to have an aquarium.

She was showing Merit how this variety follows your hand. Cute pic of Alicia's belly too!

Mommy pointing out all of the many different colors of fish in this tank

Merit had so much fun!

This store even had some small sharks and stingrays!

Aunt Alicia did some research before we arrived so we would have some things to do with Merit. Houston has a place named the Fish Gallery. http://www.thefishgallery.com/Dallas It is a very large fish store with aquariums and fish galore. You can go there to buy fish or just look at them. We went to look at all of the beautiful varieties of fish! Dallas has a Fish Gallery too. We will definitely be paying the Dallas store a visit soon!

Bedtime Snack With the Guys

Ranger couldn't wait for Merit to drop a bite or too. What pals!

Early Birthday Present #3!

Tearing the paper off..

I think I know what it is...a new Hot Wheels set!

Alicia and I put it together but Uncle Marc helped us adjust things just a bit.

Merit could not wait to play with this new set!

Another great gift from Aunt Alicia and Uncle Marc! Thank you!

Early Birthday Presents 1 & 2!

Wow! What could it be???

Oh my...another Hot Wheels car!

Great idea Alicia!

Merit opening his second gift

A cool fire station Lego set!

Aunt Alicia and Mommy put it together; aren't we smart. We looked at the picture on the box. :)

Merit and I were able to visit Aunt Alicia and Uncle Marc this week because Daddy had some business in Houston. What great timing! Alicia had a brilliant idea to buy Merit his birthday gifts a little early. By doing this, Merit would have toys to play with while we were staying with her. So, the first night we were there Merit got to open his presents. And, he actually opened them mostly by himself!