Tuesday with Alicia

We began our day with breakfast together. After breakfast, Merit and I got out the play dough and decided it would be fun to experiment with his cars. So, we made really neat impressions of the cars and their tires. We made some really cool tracks through the play dough too. Merit had so much fun doing this! After craft time we went on a walk and then played at the playground. We enjoyed lunch outside on the patio. The boys took naps in the afternoon, I worked out and Alicia tried to catch some sleep herself. That night Papa and Mimi came over for dinner. Papa really loved getting to see sweet Luke and Alicia. It was a great day!

Sweet Luke!

Merit now pretends to drive us to Cowboy Chicken in the playground jeep. :)

Watching a little Curious George before nap time.

Mimi gave Luke lots of lovin'!

Merit tried to teach Luke how to play with his monster trucks.

What cuties!

Aunt Alicia & Luke Arrive!

Alicia and baby Luke arrived Monday around noon. We enjoyed a picnic lunch and some playtime outside. Alicia brought a some Easter treats for Merit, which he thoroughly enjoyed opening. The boys took naps and Alicia and I got to spend some time catching up. After dinner we played hide 'n' seek and played cars too. Merit was so excited that Alicia and Luke were coming and really loved his first day with them!

Our Little Fireman

So, at the end of an unsuccessful attempt at potty training we decided we needed to do something special and fun, just the three of us. We got ready and went to dinner at P.F. Chang's. Merit devoured the lettuce wraps and enjoyed the Almond Cashew Chicken too. We even celebrated being a family and spending time together with chocolate cake. We are so blessed to have Merit and we want him to know that it's okay if he's not ready to use the potty just yet. After dinner, we went to the local fire station. Merit was beyond excited about this! He got to climb up in the truck and pretend to drive. One of the highlights of this fire station visit was that one of the 10 ladder trucks in Dallas is housed at this particular station. We got to see the ladder truck park at the station and then the ambulance came in right behind it and parked too. The lights were flashing and Merit was in complete awe as he watched. I was actually pretty much in awe too! I couldn't believe how big the ladder truck was! After the ladder truck parked Merit got to climb up on it and he even got to walk across the ladder. By the end of our time there, Merit was telling us that the fire truck was his. Too cute! What an incredibly special night and a great way to end the weekend!

Saturday Donuts & Unsuccessful Potty Training

We began our Saturday morning the usual way, with a trip to our favorite local donut shop. Merit gets so excited about this outing. He says, "yuuummy donuts!" He always picks out one of the donuts that has sprinkles on top. Look at his smile. Love it! After we enjoyed donuts we decided to give potty training a try. It didn't go so well. :( I had prepared very well. Check out the pictures. I let Merit pick out some of his favorite treats; candy and things he doesn't get very often. We even bought a few Hot Wheels cars as incentives. So, at the end of day two we decided that Merit is just not quite ready for this stage yet. And, I decided that I'm totally okay with that! Summer is less then two months away and I think he'll be ready by then. :)

 "That's the one I want Mommy, please."

Look at all of these motivating treats! Wow! I'd definitely use the potty to get the candy! Ha!

Cool "Lightning McQueen" potty seat for Merit.

He actually did go on the potty a few times.

And, he received a new car each time he went. Obviously we can't keep this kind of reward system up.

Happy boy! :)

With a Happy Heart...

my sweet boy walked into Ms. Brenda's house this morning and started singing, "Jesus Loves Me" to his friend Emily. We had been singing the song on the way to Brenda's house and I asked him if his friends knew the song. He told me they didn't know it so I told him he should teach them. Wow! It's amazing how much Merit understands these days. I hope he will let his "little light shine" every day either through songs or words.

Slide Time!

After we enjoyed making some really neat crafts, we spent some time at the playground before it got dark. Merit really likes the slide that has twists and turns. What he likes even more is climbing back up the slide after he's slid down. :) What a silly boy!

Art Night at Prestonwood Elementary!

My mom and I took Merit to Family Art Night at Prestonwood Elementart school last night. They had make'n'take craft stations set up around the entire school cafeteria. Merit wanted to do everything! We didn't have enough time to do everything but we did make some really neat things! The googly eye monsters were so much fun to make. You drop paint on white paper and then blow the paint with a straw. The pretty butterflies were made by drawing designs on the butterfly with a white crayon and then spraying water color paints all over it. The shaving cream art was by far my favorite. Spread shaving cream all over a cookie sheet then drop food color on top of the shaving cream. Use a skewer or toothpick to swirl the paint around the shaving cream. When you have finished your design you gently press construction paper into the shaving cream and lift straight off. You then use a plastic knife or shower squeegee to gently scrape the shaving cream off of the construction paper. You will then have a beautiful work of art!

Helping with the Yard Work

Merit tried to help Mimi and Mommy in the yard on Wednesday night. We finished dinner early and then went to work raking leaves out of the front flower beds. The beds desperately need to be prepped for some flower planting. Merit had fun scooping up the leaves and trying to put them in the big trashcan. He was pretty entertaining to watch. :) As you can see from the last picture, we raked and scooped a lot of leaves!

Race Cars for Lunch!

Merit wasn't feeling well Wednesday so I wanted to make him a fun and special lunch. Both of us have been bothered by allergies the last couple of days. So, I used the race car cookie cutter and made peanut butter & jelly race car sandwiches. He was so happy when he saw this and couldn't wait to eat them!

Terrific Tuesday

J.P. left for Houston early Tuesday morning so my mom came to stay with us for a couple of nights. Merit really loves having her at the house with us. However, he acts totally goofy with her and sometimes I have trouble settling him down. Tuesday was a beautiful day. We spent time that afternoon and evening playing outside and then we ate dinner on the patio. We just don't get enough days like this in Texas.