She said it’s been too long since the last post. So – here it goes:
I posted right before we left for NC the Saturday before Christmas. We went up to visit my mom & dad’s family there. On the way up, we stopped in SC to visit my college friend Cindy and let Mercer stretch his legs / crawl around / play for awhile with her children.
We saw all of my mom’s family at a Christmas gathering on Sunday.
Mercer enjoyed himself at the party too and could’ve played with the bow from a package all night if we let him. (It was hard to get him to open any presents, honestly, after the thrill of the shiny bow!) 
He did take interest in a red remote-controlled car that was opened nearby and kept crawling over to it – trying to grab it.
We also went to see my dad’s mother – Mercer’s great grandmother – as well as his sister for short visits with each. We didn’t get to see everyone that we wanted to, but our time in NC was brief (basically 2 full days).
Tuesday, we loaded up the car and headed for Washington DC – where Todd’s brother Jim lives. Mercer was able to meet two cousins there, Nathaniel and Marley, who he had not seen before.
He also got to partake in a Hanukkah celebration, as Jim’s wife, Becki, lit the candles of her menorah as well as that of their kids. And – as luck would have it – they were having a pot-luck dinner that night with their friends, so we got to partake in that as well. 
Wednesday, we were back in the car – headed up to NJ to stay at Todd’s parent’s house. Todd’s sister (and 5 children – ages 17 to 8) arrived shortly after we did and the festivities there began. It’s always very busy / bustling there with that number of folks under one roof. They were all very excited to see the baby.
The next morning – Christmas morning – the excitement and activity level rose as the kids all wanted to open gifts. They were allowed to open their stockings but – they had to wait a short while for Todd’s brother, Bob, and his son, Sam, to arrive before opening. Mercer was drawn to the shiny wrapping paper, of course, but did seem interested in some of the toys (there weren’t many bows to distract him). He was especially interested in the remote-controlled cars that the cousins got that rode on the ceilings. Yes – that’s correct. They were vacuum-powered and the suction held them on the ceilings and walls. He got one too, but we haven’t opened it yet. Todd was happy to see this gift... click to enlarge! 
There was enough activity with the others riding all over the place! Also – Mercer got in the habit of pointing up. That meant “put a car on the ceiling… NOW.” (translated, of course.) Todd’s brother Jim and family arrived that night. 
So – in Todd’s parent’s house there were his parents, the 4 children (Todd included) and their spouses, and 9 grandchildren. It was / always is crazy!
We were in NJ a full two days as well, then packed back into the car at 4:40 am Saturday morning (ugh) and drove for 12 hours (including stops) back to NC. We got in one last visit to my grandma and grandpa – Mercer’s great-grandmother and great-grandfather… as well as a visit from an aunt. We were there for less than a day before we packed back into the car and headed to Asheville NC where we are now. Todd’s project in Asheville is beginning to wrap up and he has been doing punch-lists and walk-throughs of a number of the buildings. I’ll blog more about Asheville and the final leg of the journey home later. But I “needed” to get this done to get Shelli off my back. : - )
There have been a few things that Todd & I have noticed over this past week with Mercer:
His crawling – he’s mastered it… and is pretty fast now. He’s pulling up on furniture a lot and seems to want to stand more than sit. (We’re in trouble, for he’ll be walking sooner than later!)
He’s beginning to throw tantrums (at least with me) when I feed him… pushing the spoon away or grabbing it and throwing it! We’re tinkering with his feeding amounts and schedule, as he seems to be hungrier than he has been in the past / he can’t seem to eat enough. (Suppose it’s the crawling around and burning of extra calories – or maybe he’s hitting a growth spurt?)
He’s starting to communicate more and understand us more now. He points at things that he’s interested in. He pushes things away that he’s not interested in.
He’s starting to really emulate us. We say bye-bye. He says bub-bub. Bottle and ball come out as “ba.” We say uh-oh. He repeats that. We say ok. He says oh-aye. He’s trying to copy the sounds that we’re saying and the variation of voice (higher and lower pitch). It’s really pretty interesting.
He’s turning into a little person… looks and acts less like a baby this past week!
We hope that each of you had a safe and happy holiday. Our best to you in 2009! (The next post will probably be “next year.”)
I posted right before we left for NC the Saturday before Christmas. We went up to visit my mom & dad’s family there. On the way up, we stopped in SC to visit my college friend Cindy and let Mercer stretch his legs / crawl around / play for awhile with her children.
We saw all of my mom’s family at a Christmas gathering on Sunday.
Mercer enjoyed himself at the party too and could’ve played with the bow from a package all night if we let him. (It was hard to get him to open any presents, honestly, after the thrill of the shiny bow!) 
He did take interest in a red remote-controlled car that was opened nearby and kept crawling over to it – trying to grab it.We also went to see my dad’s mother – Mercer’s great grandmother – as well as his sister for short visits with each. We didn’t get to see everyone that we wanted to, but our time in NC was brief (basically 2 full days).
Tuesday, we loaded up the car and headed for Washington DC – where Todd’s brother Jim lives. Mercer was able to meet two cousins there, Nathaniel and Marley, who he had not seen before.
He also got to partake in a Hanukkah celebration, as Jim’s wife, Becki, lit the candles of her menorah as well as that of their kids. And – as luck would have it – they were having a pot-luck dinner that night with their friends, so we got to partake in that as well. 
Wednesday, we were back in the car – headed up to NJ to stay at Todd’s parent’s house. Todd’s sister (and 5 children – ages 17 to 8) arrived shortly after we did and the festivities there began. It’s always very busy / bustling there with that number of folks under one roof. They were all very excited to see the baby.
The next morning – Christmas morning – the excitement and activity level rose as the kids all wanted to open gifts. They were allowed to open their stockings but – they had to wait a short while for Todd’s brother, Bob, and his son, Sam, to arrive before opening. Mercer was drawn to the shiny wrapping paper, of course, but did seem interested in some of the toys (there weren’t many bows to distract him). He was especially interested in the remote-controlled cars that the cousins got that rode on the ceilings. Yes – that’s correct. They were vacuum-powered and the suction held them on the ceilings and walls. He got one too, but we haven’t opened it yet. Todd was happy to see this gift... click to enlarge! 
There was enough activity with the others riding all over the place! Also – Mercer got in the habit of pointing up. That meant “put a car on the ceiling… NOW.” (translated, of course.) Todd’s brother Jim and family arrived that night. 
So – in Todd’s parent’s house there were his parents, the 4 children (Todd included) and their spouses, and 9 grandchildren. It was / always is crazy!We were in NJ a full two days as well, then packed back into the car at 4:40 am Saturday morning (ugh) and drove for 12 hours (including stops) back to NC. We got in one last visit to my grandma and grandpa – Mercer’s great-grandmother and great-grandfather… as well as a visit from an aunt. We were there for less than a day before we packed back into the car and headed to Asheville NC where we are now. Todd’s project in Asheville is beginning to wrap up and he has been doing punch-lists and walk-throughs of a number of the buildings. I’ll blog more about Asheville and the final leg of the journey home later. But I “needed” to get this done to get Shelli off my back. : - )
There have been a few things that Todd & I have noticed over this past week with Mercer:
His crawling – he’s mastered it… and is pretty fast now. He’s pulling up on furniture a lot and seems to want to stand more than sit. (We’re in trouble, for he’ll be walking sooner than later!)
He’s beginning to throw tantrums (at least with me) when I feed him… pushing the spoon away or grabbing it and throwing it! We’re tinkering with his feeding amounts and schedule, as he seems to be hungrier than he has been in the past / he can’t seem to eat enough. (Suppose it’s the crawling around and burning of extra calories – or maybe he’s hitting a growth spurt?)
He’s starting to communicate more and understand us more now. He points at things that he’s interested in. He pushes things away that he’s not interested in.
He’s starting to really emulate us. We say bye-bye. He says bub-bub. Bottle and ball come out as “ba.” We say uh-oh. He repeats that. We say ok. He says oh-aye. He’s trying to copy the sounds that we’re saying and the variation of voice (higher and lower pitch). It’s really pretty interesting.
He’s turning into a little person… looks and acts less like a baby this past week!
We hope that each of you had a safe and happy holiday. Our best to you in 2009! (The next post will probably be “next year.”)
1 comment:
Aunt Shelli can now rest easy! I love having this avenue to watch Mercwer grow. How blessed the three of you are! I wish you an eventful, fun and magical New Year!
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