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!