at home with a weepy 2 year old today...

Little guy has a fever and he's gnawing on everything. Maybe getting more teeth in? Don't know, but unfortunately, he doesn't feel well -- lots of things (small things) makes him sad and weepy. Poor guy.

Our plan to get rid of the pacifier may be thwarted this weekend.... we thought we'd tackle it over a long weekend so that we didn't miss out on too much sleep on a school night. We'll see what tonight holds?

Speaking of pacifier -- this is Mercer's first 4 syllable word that he's said plainly. "pac-i-fi-er." His voice gets a little bit softer and a higher pitch when he says it. Also he inflects his voice at the end like he's a little unsure of what he's saying. He does that when he tries to say other 3 & 4 syllable words like helicopter (cop-ter?), cylinder (cyl-cyl-lur?), chiropractor (prac-tor?).

He went to his first chiropractor visit last weekend. It was really cute. The guy we go to doesn't crack bones, so we were not afraid of that. He just looked Mercer over, felt his spine. His legs. His neck. Later that day, we also went to our annual neighborhood putt-putt golf tournament.

There are more and more kids each year at this event. Mercer met & played with a boy 1 month younger than him who lives on the next street over. He also played putt-putt at a house that has a little boy that's a few months older than him that we don't know so well. This is on top of the kids around his age that we already do know. +/- 6 months, there are 6 boys and 1 girl his age! During the golf tourney, we were not able to take many pictures. Todd & I were "tag-teaming" watching Mercer while socializing or playing golf. We caught him trying out a Sit-and-Spin for the first time (he spun off every time he tried it).

The day afterwards, all 3 of us played the hole at our house over and over again. Todd built a ramp and the ball - once hit up the ramp would drop into a pot / determine your score. A total luck of the draw type of hole. As seen here, Mercer really likes taking the golf club and whacking things with it!

Tomorrow starts the 3 day weekend. Thankfully, we didn't have major plans because at this point, our plans now depend on how little guy is feeling. We're hoping to check out another state park -- this one with a marina so we can take a boat ride, ride bikes, and/or hike?

One thing I know for sure that will happen this weekend: I will be learning how to "can" vegetables this weekend. Long story - but I got a free water bath canning kit, cases of a bunch of free jars, and a book on how to do it. I'll blog about canning in a couple of weeks after I host a canning party. Since I have to "teach" I will need to get in some practice in the next few days.

Have a safe, healthy, enjoyable holiday!

enjoying listening to the sound of...

...Mercer getting a bath. From in here, I hear lots of splashing and laughing.

There have been several other things that have been really great lately:

- when putting mercer to bed, i often rub his belly to get him to calm down. sometimes he reaches up and rubs my arm. he's being loving and gentle back.

- trying to play games and "trick" us -- giving a deep hearty laugh when he thinks he's succeeded

- showing his pleasure in things such as a raspberry sorbet "mmm! yummy!" or a purple & green tow truck that drove by us this week... "oooooh! pretty!"

- best of all: giving really big hugs. he'll put his head on my shoulder, wrap his arms around my neck, and give a big, long squeeze. i don't know why (medically speaking), but it feels like a little bit of a rush runs through my heart. seriously. it's pretty cool. fulfilment.

Last weekend, we went to Piedmont Park. I wanted to go to a lecture & a tour on an old granite bath house structure (seen in back) that I participated in the "visioning" of a green renovation on several years ago. That was part of the reason we went to the park - but the other part was to ride bikes on easy / relatively flat / paved trails and explore the landscape.

The park is a part of Atlanta history. It was the site of a World's Fair at the end of the 1800s. Unfortunately, a lot of the structures that were built were dismantled after the event and the granite blocks were sold. There are little bits of granite left throughout the park and there are some very scenic areas especially around the large lake in the center. There's an older playground (designed by Japanese sculptor, Nogushi) that I've played on as a kid at one end of the park -- and there's a new playground somewhat in the middle (next to the old bath house) which Mercer seemed to really enjoy.

The weather's been great and we are trying to hang out outdoors as much as possible. We went to a baseball game earlier this week. A first while there: Mercer tried a few bites of "dippin dots" - ice cream of the future (Todd thinks it's hilarious that it's been "futuristic" ice cream for 15 or more years.) But, what's really blog-worthy about the game: Mercer pretty much got kicked-out of the Kids Zone at the ball park. Honestly, he's just too young and he doesn't understand the rules. The kids are supposed to walk along one side of a partition, then take turns running down a running-track / tag a base at the end. Mercer kept going under the partition / running into the kids sprinting down the track. One guy there was very patient with him, but he must have went on break; the next guy in charge ofthe venue was clearly in the wrong job - because his demeanor with children was pretty bad. Oh well. At least Mercer wasn't offended. He thought it was fun to go under the partition and run to the other kids.

Mercer has also begun to ask more questions. The past few mornings have gone like this:
"Where's daddy" I answer - he's at work. "Why?" he replies. He's satisfied with the answer I give him, but I know the day will come when he follows my answer with another "why?" This is just the beginning of THAT adventure... the never-ending "why's"

we had a fun mother's day

We decided to do something a little different yesterday - we went to a state park for a picnic, a short hike, and mountain biking! The biking was tougher than we were anticipating... but it was a lot of fun! I am grateful that Todd was carrying Mercer on his bike - there were so many times my bike fish-tailed or slipped that I don't think I could've kept it together like he did. Yay, Todd!

We chose this park because we haven't been there before and because of the picturesque covered bridge spanning a river and a dam. The picnic area next to the bridge was full of people, but we found a spot in the shade in which to enjoy lunch before biking and hiking. Here, Mercer is giving me a hug and a kiss. : - )

There were also ruins there (we love hiking where there are ruins!). These ruins were located at the end of a canal that ran parallel to the river. The remnants of an old stone walls and a power house were there.

Mercer did much better with his helmet and on the bike than he did last year. He actually wanted to put the helmet on and he was trying to climb onto the bike when he saw it - so it wasn't hard to get him into the child's bike seat on back. All-in-all, it was definitely a memorable mother's day adventure! I'm really glad we did it.

We've taken a step towards moving Mercer to a regular bed. We took the side rail off of the crib -- turning it into a "toddler bed." There is a shorter rail on the side that prevents him from rolling off, but allows him to crawl in and out of the bed. Unfortunately, the first week or so it was on the bed - it apparently changed the dynamics so much so that all he wanted to do was play when we were trying to put him to bed. The past few nights have been better thankfully.

Merer is taking interest in his tricycle. Some older kids on our street have been riding it a little bit - so he wants to as well. He's getting the hang of putting his feet on the pedals - but can't quite reach / doesn't quite have the strength to push himself forward on it. He'll be there soon. In the meantime, we can push him along with the handle on back.

He's also taking interest in going to the potty. He wants to sit on it, but not use it yet.

Mercer is in a sort of funny phase. Lots of things are apparently gross to him now. Ants - "ewww gross!" Pollen on the ground - "ewww gross!" Crumbs on the table - "ewww gross!" But, that's starting to morph into "ewww poop." Ants are poop. Crumbs are poop. Flowers are poop. It's quite entertaining!