the past two weekends, we didn't have plans but...

...we ended up doing some great stuff!

Last weekend, my friend Susan was passing through town and gave us a call. She and her kids stopped by the house for awhile then we all went bowling. We have been wanting to give this a try. We thought -- rolling a ball & crashing things -- Mercer would love it!

And - he did enjoy it for the most part. The hardest thing for him, however, was waiting his turn. But - all of the kids did great... and Todd bowled a really good game too (probably because the gutters were blocked by the bumpers!)

This weekend, we had an impromptu offer to go for a boat ride... which we gladly accepted. Our neighbors Pam & Orie have a pontoon boat which is perfect for cruising around the lake just north of where we all live. We tooled around the lake for a couple of hours 'til the sun set. Orie let Mercer "drive" the boat a couple of times -- adjusting the throttle, steering the wheel, and honking the boat's horn. He's giving the experience a thumbs up!

Mercer enjoyed it so much that this morning, he put on that coy smile... squinted his eyes and said "I have to tell you something, Mommy." Usually he wants something... a treat. Well, this time he wanted a different sort of treat: "I want to drive Orie's boat again!"

Mercer's language is really pretty good for a 3 year old. There are a couple of things that he says that are really adorable, though, that I don't want to forget. "Shosslate" translated is chocolate. "Lellow" is yellow. We'll have to take a video of him singing his ABC's and singing You are my Sunshine. Kids have the most adorable high-pitched voices that make these songs absolutely priceless. We'll see about trying to post some video of that sometime soon.

We don't have plans next weekend either. Who knows what we'll end up doing?! Have a great week.

Some things don't go so well... some do.

Meant to post these Father's Day pics in the last post. I changed that blog post title and put in this title that some things don't go so well:

We went for a hike, however, Mercer didn't do too much walking on his own. He seems too distracted to stay on the trail and move forward. Much of the walk, Todd ended up having to carry Mercer. We reached a new bridge that was recently built that was under construction (with a big crane) the last time we went hiking on that trail.

Better than making it to the new bridge -- was watching Todd teach Mercer how to skip rocks under the bridge. Little guy was more interested in throwing rocks in an making big splashes, however.

It was hard to pull him away from the water, but it was late and time for lunch / a nap for Mercer when we got done with the hike. One problem with trying to get a tired & hungry toddler to walk back is that tiredness and hunger override listening & moving. Once again - Todd ended up carrying Mercer almost the whole way back. It was a tough hike on father's day, but we did see a deer along the way which was pretty cool. Amazingly, he was not that afraid of us and took his time eating leaves.

On a more positive note, this weekend, we camped out in the back yard -- and -- Mercer slept in the tent all night!! Yay.... it went really well!

When Mercer was 1 - we went to a friend's mountain house. He was too distracted by all of the noises to sleep, so we moved him inside (in his pack-and-play) under the watchful eye of our friends who were inside.

When Mercer was 2 - we tried to camp in the back yard of one of our neighbors. It didn't go so well because there was still a lot of activity around the camp fire and a lot of noise -- he cried and cried so I brought him home not to distract the others trying to sleep in the tents around us.

But now that Mercer is 3 - he did it! It probably helped that we have the white noise from the pond to drown out most noises... but also that his friends who came to camp out with us also went to bed around the same time.

I think the kids wore each other out... Jumping on the air mattresses (although they kept saying that they weren't jumping)... catching fire flies (and each other)... and running around. Earlier in the evening, they also participated in a little artistic project -- which I borrowed the idea of doing from the lady who has the company Nerdy Baby. We weren't sure if the kids would like it... THEY LOVED IT. (basically mixing primary colors of water in ice cube trays with other primary colors to make greens, oranges, purples, and browns) it was messy - but perfect activity for outdoors.

I think that we're going to give "real" camping a try soon. (It would - of course - be fabulous if he were 100% potty trained. We'll keep working on that!) He is very concerned that we are happy. If he goes poop in the potty - he asks "are you happy mommy?" Yes I am. "Is daddy happy?" Yes, Mercer, he is happy. "Is everyone happy?"

Another phrase: Mercer will do something bad so we get onto him. Next he'll say "sorry. I not mean to." or "sorry. I not do it again." Which - unfortunately - we know that he did "mean to" do that thing... and he will do it again. But it is funny that he thinks this is what we want to hear.

One final anecdote: Mercer is very into his ABC's now. Loves singing ABC song, but really loves reading books (over and over) about ABC's. We've bought a few, but have also checked out ABC counting books, ABC car books, ABC alligator & animal books, ABC spider books. Interesting what a voracious learner he is!

And - we'll wrap with a post about something that took place this week: Mercer took an "intensive" series of swim lessons. Over the past couple of years, we've been taking him to group swim lessons. We thought things were going well... he became unafraid of the water when he was young... he learned to blow bubbles... he can climb out of a pool... he can pretty much float on his back by himself. He would sometimes jump in the water unassisted, but mostly not. He was progressing, however, he was still not swimming.

This "intensive" series taught by a woman with a pool in her back yard was half-hour lessons 4 days in a row. It was basically one-on-one (sometimes she had a helper so it was two instructors for the one kid). After his 1st half-hour lesson, Mercer jumped in by himself into the arms of the helper. Then he swam from that guy over to the woman unassisted... about 8-10 feet. WHAT? after 1 half-hour lesson?! By the end of day 4, he can jump into the pool and start swimming... and can swim across the short end of the pool!

She recommends that he come back next year for a refresher and to learn some more skills. SOLD! We liked the other place, but he was so distracted and not getting that personal attention -- which he apparently needed & thrived from! Cool~~

Tomorrow - for the 4th of July - we're going to watch some fireworks up at Marietta Square with a group from church. If there are some good pics / good stories to share, we'll post again soon. Have a safe & happy holiday! (No blowing off any fingers!)

Happy Anniversary... Happy Birthday

This past week has been full of milestones: on June 10th, Todd's parents rang in their 50th wedding anniversary. Two days later, Todd welcomed his 40th year of life. We will celebrate his parents anniversary later this summer when the whole family gets together in NJ, but we did go ahead and celebrate Todd's birthday in a unique way this past weekend.

We rented a 3 bedroom timber-frame house up in the NC mountains and invited some friends and their kids to join us. We ate and drank a lot of good food and wine including several of Todd's favorite foods. We went to the nearby downtown of Bryson City to see what it was all about. We were there on a Sunday and most everything was closed. But - the area around the train station was hopping... and apparently this is a big thing for Bryson City - train rides for kids and adults through the Smoky Mountains.

We went for a hike in the nearby Great Smoky Mountains National Park. On this relatively short hike (1 mile +/- each way), we came across two waterfalls - including a spot in front of one of them where there was a shallow pool. The kids - Lily, Mercer, Alex, and Aaron - had a great time dipping their toes in the cool mountain water. This particular area was very populated with a lot of people walking up the trail with inner tubes and floating down the river. Perhaps one day we will partake in this, as it looked like a lot of fun. The kids also spotted different kinds of bugs along the way - interestingly - there were a lot of little purple butterflies there.

The following day, as everyone was leaving the rental house, Todd and I were preparing for another adventure to tackle on our way home: to go on a hunt for a letterbox hidden in the nearby Nantahala Village. (Here, Mercer is sporting his letterbox bag, hat, and sunglasses in hand. The sunscreen & bug spray have been applied.) He is officially ready for "the hunt" which led us through a complex of cabins and by an old working farm-turned day spa. Then we continued toward some horse stables and into the woods. It was a nice walk at first, but as the hike continued, we started to wonder how much longer the journey would take. The trails were walking / horse trails. Unfortunately, we never got to see any horses - but we saw lots and lots... and lots of horse poop along the way. Because of that, Todd carried Mercer for much of the hike so he would not hit any of the targets. Finally (after 1 1/2 hours of walking) we followed the last clue to the hidden letterbox. After so many paces... there is a large vine-covered tree on the left. Look across the path from the tree to a group of rocks knee-high and the box is under the rock on top. Well, there were several vine-covered trees and groupings of rocks, but we did it... we found it! It was pretty rewarding because we weren't even sure if it was there -- it had been several years since anyone else had logged its find. Mercer had fun exchanging stamps in the stamp book.

The clue also said there was a nice picnic spot, so bring a lunch. Well, it wasn't obvious at first. We were surrounded by tall trees, lots of foliage, lots of vines climbing ever upward. It was actually dark in the woods, but about 20 yards further down the path we could see a clearing... and... it was gorgeous. We had our own little private picnic spot in a cove off of the beautiful blue-green waters of Lake Fontana. We watched little fish swim by at the clear waters beneath us and dragon flies playing and flitting around us. There were some spiders on the rock where we perched, but Mercer didn't notice those thankfully. In the distance, we could hear a woodpecker. Above us, a hawk was flying. It was absolutely stunning. It made up for the dark, damp, horse-poop-filled trail!

Once we were finished eating our lunch and taking it all in, we decided to make our way back to the car. Thankfully, the directions to get back took us a different way -- a much shorter route to the lodge where we parked. And - as a bonus, it took us by this beautiful weeping tree and stone ruins.

It was a tough hike. It was one of our most challenging letterbox adventures, but perhaps our most rewarding? We persevered. We didn't give up. We found the stamp, a gorgeous picnic spot, the tree and stone ruin... as well as a part of the NC mountains that we want to go back and explore more!

Reflecting on how rich our lives are...

It's been awhile since posting. We've spent a lot of really really good time together as a family. In fact, I was just reflecting on how rich our lives are.... all 3 of our lives.

Since posting, we've attended our annual neighborhood putt-putt golf tournament and had a great time with our friends; luckily, they have children that Mercer adores. It's a win-win for all of us. We spent Memorial day weekend together as a family. Intentionally, we stayed at home so that we could complete a project: build a sandbox for Mercer. We love our back yard... it's a wonderful space for the three of us to play in, to entertain friends, and to relax. Mercer has learned to enjoy the things that we do back there - tinkering in the garden, interacting with the fish in the pond, watching the water move through the stream, and the stone wall (he climbs & jumps off of it). Likewise, we have learned to enjoy the thing that he does back there - playing chase, hide and seek, and kicking a ball around.

But, the sandbox is the first "fixture" that we've incorporated into our back yard specifically for him. He knows that it is HIS space.

And with that in mind, he was thrilled when we suggested that we host a play date in the back yard. For days before hand, he kept saying "friends coming over? to play in my sandbox?" He would go through a list of friends that he wanted to have over. (This list started with some neighborhood kids, then went into a list of kids from daycare, but we "cut it off" at just the neighborhood gang... which he was still really excited about.) The same group of neighborhood friends we played with at the putt-putt golf outing were back at our house in order for Mercer to host & entertain. After several of the kids played in the sandbox, they all cooled off on a water slide we set up in the back yard. Then, they moved onto playing with sidewalk chalk and sidewalk paint (mostly by jumping on the bottle of paint & seeing how far it would squirt out). It was a fun evening for all of us - adults and children alike.

This sandbox is a unique one, of course. It is made of cedar and has a lid that keeps neighborhood cats out, but the lid folds to form benches on either side of the box. We saw one online that was smaller, so decided to build here instead - and make some modifications to the design. Overall, we're very happy with it... and seeing that Mercer has played in it almost every day since we built it last week... he seems happy with it too.

Later Memorial Day weekend, we went to the Chattahoochee Nature Center for some hiking, exploring, and a picnic. I was most fascinated by our happening upon a group of geese eating flowers and leaves off of some tall grassy plants. For awhile, we lurked behind some bushes in order to watch, then Mercer's attention was turned elsewhere, so we moved on. The geese munched from the tops of the flora... and eventually we walked right past them. They did not move. Apparently, they are used to people.

After eating our picnic lunch, we played a little frisbee out in an open field. We thought this was Mercer's favorite part because he got to run and throw something... but when asking him about what the highlight of his day was, he said he liked hiding in the bushes. And eating blueberries (we had just finished some angel food cake and berries).


I think he must really love blueberries. Earlier in the week - we were praying. He goes through his normal "thank you for mommy... daddy... and Mercer" then he names a friend or a family member. One night, he said thank you for blueberries and strawberries. CUTE!

Some other cute things he's doing: he seems to be very concerned with our happiness and pleasing us. We're still working on his potty training... and when / if he goes, he immediately asks "are you happy?" Sometimes randomly he'll ask if we're happy too. When we say yes, and hug him, he smiles really big. LOVE that!

He's been able to count in order to 20 (with a little bit of help around 13, 14, 15, 16). Just like his ABC's... it's memorization of how things go in order. But - he's starting to recognize objects and groups of objects and associate a number with them. There are 4 geese. There are 2 motorcycles. I have no idea if that's normal at this age -- he's moved past rattling off numbers in order, but we're fascinated by his comprehension and development. Seems simple, but I love how he is relating things with others by a similar trait. "Mommy, the sky is blue like your car and daddy's car is the same color as the trees."

It's a cool thing to watch. Yes, indeed, our lives are rich!

this is the first time in 20 years...

that we are without a pet in our house. Earlier this week, we had to put our cat, Pigg, down. He was suffering from kidney failure. He lived a long time -- 15 years. Todd adopted him before he was weaned from his mother... a stray cat that was living under my mother's house.

He got his funny name not from the puffy nose he ended up developing (some sort of allergy he had did this to his nose and also made the pads on the bottoms of his feet puffy too). He got his name because when he was a tiny kitten, he wallowed in his food like a pig. Todd used to feed him baby food on a plate and milk in a little bowl. He would lay down on the plate and suckle his food and milk. He used to have the stuff crusted all over his belly and face. Todd used to have to bathe him... and - for awhile - he was a cat that actually liked water. He would even jump in the shower!

We had a funny name for our first cat together too. There is history behind his name as well.

My freshman year in college, my roommates and I smuggled a cat into our dorm room. I ended up with the cat, Haley, after school let out. Sophomore year, she lived in and out of the rowhouse I was renting in Savannah... and while out, got pregnant. She gave birth to several kittens: one solid gray - one black / white - one stillborn - and one gray / white. The gray and white one was tiny and had problems breathing and walking. The rowhouse had hardwood floors and this small "runt" would drag his back legs behind him while pulling himself forward with his front legs. When he would stop and sit, his back legs would flop out to the side of him -- like a frog.

Eventually, the condition improved and he grew (and grew and grew). He was a big lump.... a big loving and easy-going cat who passed when he was 14. I took it pretty hard when he passed.

Todd and I adopted another cat while in Savannah. We were going to name her Tadpole (like a little baby frog) but we thought that was silly. We were calling her Kitty while we tried to figure out a suitable name, but we never could. Kitty - a very original name - stuck. We wrote about Kitty a couple of years ago on the blog when she passed at the ripe ol' age of 14. Mercer was too young to remember her though.

Pigg - on the other hand - Mercer knew quite well. So far (two days later) he's doing ok. He pretty easily accepted that Pigg wasn't coming back. Every now & then Mercer asks about the cat - but we tell him that he's gone / he was really sick / he died and went to kitty heaven. Mercer says "ok" and moves onto something else.
We all had a nice weekend together. Sitting together a lot. Giving hugs. Giving treats. All of our animals will be missed.

just found an application to associate with the blog...

By posting this "badge," brighter planet will offset 350 pounds of carbon - which is like turning off 100 light bulbs for a day..... or going 2 weeks without a car

Pretty cool.

strawberries and a monastery

While the weather is nice, we are trying to spend as much time outdoors as we can. We are having a blast running around the back yard, kicking balls, chasing each other while Mercer yells "I'm going to get you", swinging on the hammock, and peddling the tricycle on the sidewalk.

Last weekend, we took some of Mercer's friends along as we tried out a new experience: picking strawberries. All of the kids did really well, each picking red berries instead of those that were unripe. (It kind of looks like we're really putting them to work?!) They made sure not to pick the squishy ones. Todd & I told the kids that they were not allowed to eat any berries while out there -- that we had to take them home & wash them first. They complied, so they were rewarded with strawberries and angel food cake when we got back. (followed by a little t.v. on the couch.)











I plan to put the canning skills to use that I learned last summer... making strawberry jam & maybe even one with a little kick to it too?

Yesterday (on Mother's Day), we went to a monastery that we've talked about visiting for some time - the Monastery of the Holy Spirit (http://www.trappist.net/). The church was open air when we went. It was cool inside and through the open windows, you could hear birds chirping outside. It is definitely a serene place, but we could not stay long... with an active 3 year old in tow. We spent the majority of our time outdoors - watching geese, ducks, and bugs that we happened across. We had a picnic lunch under a tree then played kick-ball for awhile. Here, I'm giving Mercer a kiss and getting a slobbery wet smooch in return.

Also as luck would have it, they just opened a series of new buildings last week which added a lot to our experience because we like to look at interesting architecture. The monks practice the art of bonsai. They also produce stained glass and make some edible products to sell too in order to support their order.

Afterwards - while in a different part of the state (1 hour from our house) - we sought out a letterbox that was planted in nearby historic downtown Conyers. The place where the letterbox was originally hidden was a gem... a garden with rock out-croppings, stone walls, and a flowing series of koi ponds. Unfortunately, the letterbox was not planted where the clues led us to (we looked around for quite sometime) but we're still glad we went, for we discovered a lovely little spot that - if in the area again - would be worth another visit.

We don't have anymore adventures planned anytime soon, but who knows what the weekend will bring?!