Primary

It really is amazing how fast Merrick is growing up and hitting some major milestones. In church he hit one of those milestones this year when he graduated from nursery and was able to go to primary. It doesn't seem that long ago that he would cry when we told him it was time to go to nursery and then wouldn't let us leave the classroom, a few times we had to have the teachers distract him so we could sneak out. Now, as soon as the closing prayer is said in sacrament meeting he looks at us, asks if it is time to go to Primary, and then bolts out of the chapel for the primary room. He loves everything about primary. He is glad he is old enough to be in primary with his cousins and he loves the singing time and usually ends up singing the songs throughout the week.

Today was a big day in his primary experience because he was asked to say the opening prayer. We didn't have any clue this was happening, but luckily in our church program they print the program for the primary and Jeremy saw that Merrick was going to say the opening prayer today. Merrick had quite the cheering section as Jeremy, Nana, Papa, and I all went to hear his first primary prayer. It was so cute to see him walk right up and sit in one of the front chairs reserved for those that are going to give the opening prayer, scripture and talk and then when it was his turn he walked right up to the podium and with out any hesitation repeated the words to the prayer that I gave him.

It is so amazing how quickly he is growing up. Today it was his first primary prayer, but if I blink I am sure it will be time for his first day of school. I guess I will have to practice not blinking.

Since it was not appropriate to take pictures of a prayer, here are some pictures from his first Sunday in primary.

The Winds of Change

This week my dad/parents signed an employment contract with a company in India. This is about to bring a tidal wave of change into our live that will continue to ripple long after they have left. Here are just some of the changes that will take place over the next several months.

1) My dad will move to India as soon as his visa comes through (probably mid April) and my mom will likely join him around July.
2) My parents will be selling their (also our current) home.
3) We will be moving once the house sells.
4) My parent's dog and possibly our dog will be finding new homes the same time we do.
5) We will have a new baby.
6) I will need to find a replacement teacher to fill my mom's place at the preschool this fall.

As you can imagine these changes are bringing a lot of stress and anxiety right now, but ultimately I have faith that everything will work out for the best. I am really excited for my parents and it will be such a positive experience for them in so many ways. It will also be really good for Jeremy and I. While it may bring additional stress, being on our own again will definitely bring us closer together and cause us to lean on each other more than we have over the last year and a half.

As my new motto says,"Everything will be all right in the end and if it's not all right, then it's not yet the end" (from the movie "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel").

View at the Top

Slowly but surely the weather is beginning to improve in this part of the world. Most of the week the high has been in the 50's and we have been trying to get out more. Last year Jeremy really struggled with the weather and I think that a big part of making this year better is getting out whenever the weather is good. We have gone on lots of walks around our neighborhood and I have been reminded of all the beauty around us. When the clouds are low and everything is gray it is easy to forget, but we live on the top of a large hill and when the skies clear the views are amazing.

I took my camera on our last walk. I don't think my pictures do the views justice, but at least it gives a hint of the beauty at our doorstep.

Hero Worship

As of late Merrick has become very interested in superheros. He wants to wear his superhero cape, wants to play superheros, and is always asking questions about superheros, but it seems like lately the biggest superhero in Merrick's mind is daddy. Ever since Merrick was born I have always thought of him as a mommy's boy, but lately time with daddy is gold. He wants to do anything he sees Jeremy doing, he is constantly asking when daddy will be home from school, and anytime he makes something special at preschool he tells me, "I can't wait to show daddy".

It is a lot of pressure having your every move watched and replicated, but Jeremy is definitely up for the challenge.

Valentine's Day 2013

After much build-up and anticipation this week Valentine's Day finally made its appearance. If I had to sum up the day in a word or two it would be "nearly perfect". The reason I say nearly perfect is that Jeremy and I ended the day by watching the worst movie ever ("One Day"...seriously...don't watch it). Other than the unfortunate ending, the day was perfect.

Of course one of the highlights of the day was the delish heart-shaped food. I made heart-shaped coffee cake and smoothies for breakfast while my boys went to buy me flowers, Merrick had a heart-shaped sandwich for lunch while Jeremy and I were out (more on that in a second) and we had heart shaped whole wheat sausage pizza and Martinelli's for dinner.


As I mentioned, Jeremy and I did get to sneak away for a day-time date thanks to my dad watching Merrick. We added to the day's food perfection by heading downtown to Blueplate. For anyone reading this who is not a local, if you ever come to visit P-town, a trip to Blueplate is a must. We then walked to the Chinese Gardens for a romantic stroll. If I am being completely honest the walk would also go in less than perfect column. We should have driven and ended up walking through some of the sketchier parts of downtown. The gardens on the other hand were pristine and serene and it was nice to get away, if even for just a few hours.


That evening we ate dinner as a family and then gave Merrick his Valentine's gift. This year I made both my boys homemade Valentine's scratchers for their gifts. At first Merrick was the most excited by the candy attached, but once Jeremy helped him scratch off the hearts and he discovered the awesome surprises beneath them (a go-kart racing trip with daddy, a trip to the children's museum, a new car from the "Cars" movie, and a fort and movie night) he was a pretty happy camper. In fact, he was so excited we had to have the fort and movie night the very next day.


Like I said, the day was nearly perfect, but the highlight for me came first thing in the morning when the first words out of Merrick's mouth to me were, "Is it morning time? I have a card for you mommy!" and he ran off excitedly to get the cards he had made for Jeremy and I. He was so sweet about it and never asked once the entire day if we got him anything. He was just so genuinely excited to give his gift. How many three-year-olds are that sweet? I have to say that I am one lucky lady to have both my boys.

Count Down to V-day

I am pretty sure that I have blogged about this before, but holidays in my house growing up were the best. My mom always went all out to make sure they were special for us. I have thought about this a lot since becoming a parent. I want my kids to look back and think "wow mom always went above and beyond to make holidays special for us." I am definitely still a work in progress and have a long way to go before I am at my mom's level, but I am working on it. This year though we have added several new dimensions to our Valentine's Day celebration and it seems like preparations have taken over our lives.

First off, we have our usual type of things planned; heart shaped sandwiches at lunch, heart shaped pizza for dinner, decorating sugar cookies with pink frosting, cards, and flowers. This year I also decided to add delivering homemade cookies and special Valentine's quotes to all our visiting teaching and home teaching families.

For the first time this year we also have the preschool dimension. This means coming up with Valentine's themed crafts, snacks, and goody bags for 18 small people.

Also for the first time ever, since Merrick attends both preschool classes, we have classmate Valentine's to prepare.

I feel like I am complaining right now and that was not really my intention. For the most part all the preparations have been fun and maybe even made me feel like a better mom/wife/teacher. It is just that I was looking around today at the goody bags for preschool, the cookies I was making, and watching Jeremy and Merrick work on his Valentine's and could not help but think that for a "smallish" holiday that is still almost a week away, it really has taken over.

Saturday In The Park (I think it was the 4th of July)

Over the last few weeks we have settled back into our typical routine with work and school. This means that when Jeremy is not at school he is typically studying, even on our precious Saturdays. The problem is that the weather has been improving and we have tried to take advantage of that by having some park time with cousins on Saturdays.

Last Saturday Jeremy was finally able to break away from studying and make it to the park about five minutes before we were ready to head home. This Saturday he decided to take a break and join us and then return to the books.

It was a pretty perfect day weather wise and the park was beautiful. I had never been to this particular park before, but it has tons of paths and is right on the river so it has beautiful views and a dock you can walk out on to. All the cousins had scooters or skateboards and they had a great time.

I think we spent about two hours riding the trails, doing tricks, and having races and Merrick was still devastated when it was time to leave. The day was a combination of Merrick's favorite things; being active, being at the park, and being with cousins. It was a win/win/win and I think for Jeremy worth the study time missed.