July has been HOT!

Temperature records have been breaking in Atlanta (and in DC while we were there as well).  It has prohibited us from spending as much time outside as we'd like, however, we've still done some good things.

Something we've been working on for awhile:  our neighborhood community garden.  Awhile back, Mercer and I planted some pea and cucumber seeds.  (We planted some other types of veggies too, but they didn't make it.)  The peas fizzled out pretty soon - as it was too hot and they're a cooler weather plant. 

The cucumbers have been extremely prolific.  Additionally, we purchased and planted watermelon, eggplant, bell peppers, and tomatoes.  There are some additional plants that we picked up along the way (early on there was some trading going on).  We've got some sort of hot peppers, a cantaloupe, celery, purple basil, and tomatillos (we think).   We had squash and zucchini too, but they didn't make it.

There was a lot of work in the beginning, but at this point -- it's pretty much just weeding our plot, keeping it watered, and keeping our watermelon tendrils out of our neighbors' plots.  Mercer likes to water the plot (and sometimes us) and harvesting the fruit / veggies, as seen in these pictures.  Here, he is riding home in the waggon on his "watermelon pillow."

We'll be turning it over for a fall garden soon & putting in cooler weather varieties.

I've also been trying to do some other activities with Mercer too.  (People keep telling me that it's the experiences you create that kids remember.)  It's tough to squeeze in activities between work & just every-day life, but I hope he's enjoying some of them! 

We've been doing a bit of hiking, searching for letterbox stamps (or "treasure stamps" as Mercer likes to call them), and making food items from scratch - such as peanut butter and fruit-filled popcicles.

We made t-shirts for the 4th of July.  For the white shirt, we used potato stampers -- which he thought was pretty cool. 

He wore it to the local parade we attended on the 4th.  The other that we made was a red shirt with glow-in-the-dark "firework" bursts.  He wore that one for fireworks on the square later in the evening. 

Last month, we found a scooter at a yard sale.  It took a little while for Mercer to warm up to it, but he latched on pretty quickly.  He's had a few spills, but he realizes that he can jump off and still land on his feet.  He's warmed up to riding this more so than his bicycle that he's had since February.  His bicycle gear has come in handy, though!  He's pretty serious about putting on his helmet, elbow pads, knee pads, and gloves.  (Probably helps that they're all branded with Spider Man logos & pictures.)


Speaking of Spidey... thought that I'd snap a shot of some of Mercer's favorite things these days.  He's into super heros, monster trucks, and Star Wars LEGO stuff.  He's into spinning tops and bouncy balls -- in fact -- we have a game that we've started where we close all of the doors int he hallway & send bouncy balls flying in the hallway & stairwell.  Additionally - on the softer side - Mercer loves watching the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cartoon and he has to sleep with his Froggy every night. 

He "prays" now at dinner most nights... supposedly something they do at school: 
- Hands on your lap
- Sitting up tall
- Your friends are beside you
- Our food is in front of us
- We are ready to eat.
- An apple to eat. 

(Todd & I think the last one is supposed to be "bon appetite" but Mercer insists it's an apple to eat.)

Another thing he's picked up from school:  he's learning to read!  He's been sounding out letters and actually putting small words together.  It's quite cool~

The next post will be about his first day of "school" which starts next week. 
'Til then - have a good one!