2 years ago today, we celebrated Mercer's adoption

It was his official adoption day. We went to court in the morning for the judge's review of our paperwork, social worker's recommendation, and and ruling. We had a big party that evening. Two years has passed quickly in one sense when thinking about his development and growth. But, it feels like "forever" that we've had Mercer -- it feels like he's always been a part of our family.

Today, we hung out as a family -- going out to breakfast, playing here at the house, then going to an annual picnic that our church was having. It was at a historic "meeting camp" site nearby. (It's a place where many denominations of churches gathered starting in the 1800s. There's a large open-air heavy-timber church which is pretty cool.) After eating, Mercer was drawn a few times to the open-air structure where there was singing, but the highlight was definitely the playground. Here's a pic... this is something I started & still think is sort of funny... but I know one day will haunt me -- him opening his mouth & showing me what's inside. He ate a blue cookie & wanted to show me.

Now - things may seem a little confusing if looking at hair style. In the pics above (from this weekend) Mercer's hair is shorter. He got a haircut a couple of days ago. The pics below are from last week. There's one pic that has an adorable long curl going right down his forehead. oh... I hated to see those long curls go!!

Last weekend, we went for a hike at a spot that Todd & I like (there is water and building ruins along the way). Mercer actually did a great job on the hike. Todd & I had to carry him a little bit, but he moved along the trail for the most part. Well, until he'd get distracted by a tiny worm.... or river viewing platforms that he would have to dance around and explore every inch of. The thing that kept him moving the most, however, was logs buried in the ground. He would see one and run to it. Then, he would jump off of it. He'd see another & take off again. We took a number of breaks along the way -- once for a picnic lunch, once to explore the rocks in the water, and once to get another stamp in Mercer's letterboxing book (someone had buried a box in the park & left description enough for us to find it).

Mercer has had some "eating" firsts this week. He ate his first hotdog (well, really it was a veggie dog) at a Braves / Mets baseball game earlier this week. He ate his first piece of fried chicken at the church picnic earlier tonight. He had his first "kids meal" at a fast-food restaurant... ate 2 chicken bites from chick-fil-a, a few fries, and an apple juice (this one, I'm not proud of, but we were on the run & were both getting cranky because we hadn't eaten lunch). And, he had his first piece of bacon at breakfast today. It was turkey bacon and to him this flat piece of meat looked odd. Once he tasted it, he gobbled it up quickly, though.

Mercer has picked up a new habit - not a good one - where he's grabbing and scratching when he dosen't get his way. Todd & I are trying to work on nipping this in the bud and hopefully this is a short-lived phase that he's going through. He's been getting frustrated really easily too. And he also squeals "stoooooppppp" when we're trying to help him do things. Very independent... and doesn't want our help! (He kind of sounds like a whiny teenager when he does this.) It's a little bit funny -- for now.

Another picture from our hike... This is the face he makes when he wants a treat. I can't imagine what he wanted while we were out there, but had to post. We're SO onto him, although he thinks he's being cute & sweet.

One final thing, Mercer is starting to show that he's scared of things. He'll put his hand over his mouth & gasp or he'll cover his eyes. One thing that is interesting, though, is that he's not afraid of the dark. He likes to run into his closet in his room & shut the door. In the bathroom, he'll cut off the light and say dark. You ask him to turn the light on and he doesn't want to.

He's always keeping things lively here!