They Call it Global Warming

Over the last few years there has been lots of talk about global warming.  Typically they talk about all the negatives associated with it, but right now what I know is that we have had an extremely mild winter and this past week felt more like May than February.  If that is a consequence of global warming then bring it on.

Due to all the sunny days, the goal for the week had been to spend as much time out doors as possible.  We have taken several walks, gone to the zoo with cousins, gone to the park, and just generally played outside and soaked up the vitamin D.

We spent so much time outdoors that by the time Saturday rolled around and I ask Merrick what he wanted to do, I didn't even feel bad when he wanted to go to the Children's Museum (a mostly indoor activity).  Of course the museum was a big as usual, but the kids particularly loved the temporary circus exhibit.

Looking ahead there is still a lot of sunshine to come, but I know sooner or later the rain will return.  Until then you can bet we will be loving every sunny minute.

V-Day 2015

Yesterday was Valentine's Day, one of my favorite days of the the year, and surprisingly a day that I love even more since having kids.  Last year we started a family tradition of a scavenger hunt where each stop tells each child something we love about them, gives them some candy, and directs them to the next clue.  At the end they find a small present that we have gotten them.  While I thought it might take a few years to catch on, when Merrick woke up in the morning he started asking right away if we were going to do it.  I guess I accomplished my goal of turning it into a meaningful tradition.

This year Merrick had to wait a bit for the hunt because Carrigan slept in, but we kept him happy with a special trip with Mommy to buy everyone Valentine's Day doughnuts.  The hunt itself went just about flawlessly until the end when Merrick was searching the whole room for their gifts while CC just sat on the footstool that was holding the gifts.

The other highlights of the day were a family bike ride and Merrick telling me I was the best mommy ever when I told him I was making them heart pizza and Valentine's (pink) applesauce for dinner.  Actually Valentine's Day is the perfect holiday for Merrick because he is naturally very affectionate and loving.  He was even the first one to tell me "Happy Valentine's Day" when he jumped on my bed very early in the morning and shouted it mere inches from my face (he had also apparently already rushed in to tell Jeremy who was in the bathroom).

Eventually the kids did go to bed and Jeremy and I had a chance to celebrate on our own with some Thai take-out and apple cider.  Jeremy broke is cardinal rule (established after our wedding) and bought me a purse and tickets for a date night to the Portland Underground tour, which I have always wanted to do.  I got him tickets to go with his friend Matt to see two March Madness tournament games.

It was a great day all around.  I guess I should not speak for the rest of the the family, but I know I sure felt the love.

Let There be Light and Goodbye Nana

This week, after a nearly two month visit, Nana went home to India.  It was really great having her here and we all miss her already.  Not ones for an uneventful goodbye, we decided to spend her last afternoon here hanging a new light in her entry way.  Jeremy had already hung new lights in the kitchen and dinning room, but since there are 17 foot ceilings in the entry, this change was not an easy task.

Brendon and our family friend Rob Reed came and braved the highest heights (and it turns out Brendon does not do so well with heights).  My mom, Rob's wife (Lora-who does the preschool with me), and I played assistant, running tools, paint, light bulbs, towels, etc, up and down the ladders.   It did get a little precarious at one point and we all stopped to say a prayer for safety, but within about 2 hours it was all done.  It think both Rob and Brendon were glad to have their feet on the ground again.

A few other things before I bid you ado for another week, Jeremy has a really big second interview for a job this week so we would appreciate any thoughts and/or prayers on his behalf.  The other thing is that since no blog would be complete without some pictures of the kids here are some from our adventures this week.  Merrick got a little creative with the track for his cars and Carrigan got a little creative with a highlighter.

Everyday Us

I was thinking over the last few weeks that while I do my best to write on the blog every week and feel I do a pretty good job recording the activities and events of our life, what I seem to miss out on is the cute/silly/smart things that the kids do and say everyday that I am sure I will forget over time.  This week nothing major happened and I started wondering this morning what I was going to blog about and then it occurred to me write about some of those little things that normally get passed by.  So with out further ado, here they are:

Merrick- I have been commenting lately how Merrick is like one of those HUGE dogs that thinks they are a lap dog.  He is SO tall, towering over everyone his age, but he is my little snuggle buddy.  He always wants to climb on me, sit on my lap, and cuddle.  He is also super sweet with his sister.  Just today at church he would pull something out of my bag to look at, CC would scream "Bubba" (Brother) and rip it out of his hands, he would just let her and move on to something else.  He also loves to draw her pictures of doggies lately (something she is always asking for).  The only time I ever have to get after him about how he is interacting with his sister is when he is over cuddly/smothery which she tends not to love.  On a side note, I just had to take an hour break from working on the blog because he was trying to give her hugs and accidentally pulled them both off the couch, injuring them both.  Sometimes he loves her a bit too much.

The other thing that I want to mention about Merrick is his curiosity.  You can't just tell him a story because he will have a million follow-up questions about tiny details (what color of car where the people driving? what was the weather like?, etc.).  I think the best way to describe it is that he has this ability to look at things from different angles and I think that is unique for his age.  A few weeks ago he had gotten a new toy and we needed to pick up some "C" batteries for it and I had told him I would get him batteries when I went to the store the next day.  Before going to the store, Jeremy and I finished the process of buying his car.  When I told Merrick about the new car he asked me how much it cost.  I told him a lot, but he kept pressing me for the details.  Eventually we got down to the heart of the matter when he asked me if we would still have enough money left over to buy him batteries.

One other note on this subject, he loves animals and loves to learn facts about them.  Last week when we went to the library he insisted on getting a non-fiction book about wombats and he is already planning on getting one on platypuses on our next visit.

Carrigan- In many ways Carrigan is the exact opposite of Merrick.  She is not easy going, on the contrary she usually know what she wants and how she wants it.  She wants to eat her banana but only if the peel is still on it and if it sits out too long she deems it an "ucky nana".    Sometimes this is challenging, but in other ways it is easier because you never have to guess what she wants of how she feels about things.

She has become such a talker, almost like my little parrot, repeating everything I say.  Every night/nap time I sing her "You are my Sunshine" on repeat.  She has started singing along singing "sunshine away" over and over while I sing.  The other day I was counting to see how fast Merrick could do something.  I got to seven and stopped, only to hear her say "eight".  Her increased vocabulary is also helping with with the stubbornness mentioned above, she is learning to say "please" and "sorry".  I have to say my favorite things she says these days are "hold you mommy" and "love you"....I hear those a lot lately.

The last thing I want to mention about CC is she really likes routine and consistency.  If you look let her look at pictures on your phone while you change her diaper, you must do that every time from then on.  If you draw her a picture of a doggy while you are coloring, you must do that every time you color (see above about Merrick drawing her doggy pictures).  My mom is still visiting and few weeks ago my mom showed Carrigan a video on her phone of my niece Isabel (Bay-bel as she is most often called).  CC quickly began referring to it as the "Bay-bel show" and anytime now she see my mom's phone will begin asking for the "Bay-bel show".

Well this post may have been boring or uninteresting to you, but for me it is the little things that my kids do that makes me love them the most.  I am really grateful to put just a few of them down before they are gone from my memory forever.