11.11.11 was yesterday.

Meant to post to the blog on 11.11.11 but didn't make it. Oh well!

We recently checked out a new park called Chattahoochee Bend State Park. We went on a green building & site tour with the designers. It said kids welcome. We were the only ones who jumped on that. Mercer was bored during the building tour, but he stood out when showing all of the adults how the playground equipment worked. We want to go back to this state park this spring to camp.

There are platform camp sites, the river nearby, and bath houses ~~ it's not roughing it, but it would be a big step to camp away from home.

This last picture is really over exposed, but still captures typical Mercer... walking along the wall - then jumping off & loving every second of the descent back to the ground!

Last week, we had our first parent-teacher conference. Mercer is having a hard time concentrating and focusing on "sit down" activities nor will he take naps after lunch with everyone else. He is, however, doing very well academically-speaking. This week, I popped in during day to watch him play sports with a guy who comes to teach classes at the school. He brings equipment from different sports. When I was there, he had them doing some sort of balance exercise and later throwing around a ball with a lacrosse stick.

We've noticed that Mercer gets pretty frustrated and will burst into crying. (We've heard this from other parent of boys of the same age. Maybe they don't know how to cope??) We are thinking that a sport may help him with control, focus, and getting some physical energy out. We've talked about signing him up for a sport (soccer or t-ball) in the spring when he's 4.

Mercer is very into Mercer Mayer books right now that feature the character Little Critter. We have a ton of the books ~ partially because we like the author's name : - ) but Mercer is actually really into them & the stories. I don't think this made it to the blog previously, but after we brought Mercer home - months later - I was going through some things and found one of my favorite books as a kid... it was a Mercer Mayer book! There must be something appealing to children in the drawings and stories!

He's also getting into Dr. Seuss & Cat in the Hat a bit. This is good b/c I'm a huge fan of Dr. Seuss as well and enjoy reading it to him. Some nights, Mercer reads his books to me. It's pretty cute to hear him make up lines that go with the images and/or recite part of the storyline of the book that he remembers from the times that we've read them over and over again. He's really starting to show a lot of imagination!

Several days ago, Mercer played as if he was taking Todd to school. He did this over and over and over again for at least 15 - 20 minutes. He has also been "making" us food out of thin air and having us eat it. He usually makes pizza or sandwiches. And- he does things that is "all boy" - turning almost any object into a sword, an airplane, or a car & flying it through the air.

He also thinks it's hilarious to say the word poop and to burp (which is usually followed by an excuse me). Yes... he "all boy!"