Wahoo Summer has officially begun

It must be summer time because we have officially broken out the pool key and went to the pool this morning.  I LOVE our neighborhood pool and it helps that it is right behind our house so all we have to do is throw on our bathing suits and walk out the door to the pool.  John has taken JJ a couple of times on Saturdays while Calli has been taking her nap, but this was the first time that I took both the kids during the week.  I have SO many great memories of this pool.  We love to go swimming in the mornings because nobody ever comes.  The afternoons tend to get crazy but when we go from like 10-12 we will often have the pool to ourselves.  When we first got there the kids went off running and I sat down thinking I would be in the pool in a minute but they were having so much fun and playing so well that I actually sat at the pool and relaxed while watching my kids play.  It was crazy!  I have wondered since the day I became a mother when that day would arrive and out of nowhere it snuck up on me.  Too bad it is about to end with the birth of our new little munchkin but I enjoyed it while it lasted.  And to be totally honest I LOVE swimming so it is actually super fun for me to play with the kids and swim with them plus as the Summer rolls on it will be to hot to not be in the water, but today it was just what the Dr. ordered my poor legs get so tired and swollen after standing for too long so this heavenly day at the pool was just what we all needed.  We stayed for almost 3 hours and they both still cried when we left.  Silly nuts I told them we have ALL summer to swim and play at the pool.  I so hope this baby will sleep so we can play at the pool, that is my plan at least.  :)  I had taken a really cute picture of both JJ and Calli but somehow it got deleted, but don't worry I am sure we will have many more photo opportunities at the pool this summer.

Memorial day at the Beach!

We had such a fun and productive Memorial day weekend.  On Saturday we cleaned and organized and got all the baby stuff ready and then on Monday we treated ourselves to a PERFECT day at the lake.  It was so fun having daddy there and so helpful for me of course because I am running low on energy and stamina these days.  The kids had a blast running and splashing and swimming with daddy and doing danger tricks of course.  Daddy even swam them out on his back to the yellow line where they could sit on it and be so "big."

Mommy was the photographer and played some ring around the roses and built some sand castles with Calli.  The weather was perfect and we even go some sun tans.  We headed home for naps and then we did some grocery shopping that evening.  We all went so I wouldn't have to go the next morning with just the kids by myself.  I can't quite keep up with them these days if they run away and I wanted to stock up so I knew it would be nice to have 2 carts.  The only problem of course with bringing John is how the list seems to double and we are buying things I never new we "needed." :)  I was grateful he came but we may have broken the bank!

John was such a trooper because he had tons of work to do and people were calling him off the hook because Memorial day is a really busy selling day at the beginning of the season but he knew the kids would have so much fun at the beach so he came with us.  Our family fun days of four are limited so this was a great way to remember this little stage of our family.  We are excited to come back now as a family of FIVE!!

Sleepy Sunday

After church on Sunday we came home and I put miss Calli down for her nap and went to lie down to take a little nap of my own.  Well I was definitely resting but I had a hard time falling asleep so I decided to come out and see what the family was up to and this is what I found:

JJ doesn't take naps anymore so it was hilarious that he was snoring away, and clearly John was exhausted to be sound asleep on the floor in that position with his shoes still on and arms folded.  I was dying laughing to myself.  So then I had to go check on little lady of course and take a picture of her sleeping away.  I was a little jealous that I wasn't getting any beauty sleep because I sure could use some but I was happy everybody else was dreaming away and it was nice to have some quiet time for sure.  

Our little Graduate

I cannot believe our little man has already finished his first year of pre school!  He has been going this year on Monday and Wednesday mornings from 9 - 12 and has been learning so much.  I was debated for a while whether or not to enroll him because it is hard to watch your baby grow up, but I knew it would be a great thing for him and great for Calli to have some one on one time with Mommy.  I am definitely glad we enrolled him and now we are excited for a long summer break to have lots of fun with our little man before the fall.

On his last day of school they had a little program for the families and they each got their certificates and little presents from their teacher Miss Angela.  It was super cute to watch them perform some of the songs they had been working on during the year.  Calli of course wanted to be a part of the show and sat next to JJ which of course he loved.  I didn't get a picture of it, but at one point they were standing and he had his arms around her it was so sweet.

A few days before his preschool graduation he took some lunch bags upstairs and filled them with some of their toys and then brought them back down and said he was going to give these presents to his friends and teacher at preschool.  I hadn't even thought of getting little gifts but I thought it was such a sweet idea I suggested that we could go to the store and he could pick some presents out and use his money to buy them for his friends.  He has a jar of coins that daddy usually drops his change into and JJ LOVES it.  He plays with and counts those coins ALL the time.  He loved the idea of buying presents for his friends but he wasn't so sure he wanted to use his coins so he said maybe we should use dad's money!  So we talked about how one of the great things about giving gifts to people is sacrificing from ourselves.  I told him it was his choice and we didn't have to buy any presents only if he wanted to.  So he thought about it for a long time and then said maybe we could find a store where you buy gifts but they don't take your money.  :)  I told him I have been looking for that store for a LONG time.  I also told him that mommy had a long list of chores for daddy when he got home from his trip and that I bet he could help daddy and earn some more money for his jar.  He liked that idea but still needed to call daddy and confirm that there were some opportunities to gain back his money.

So we headed out to the store (the dollar store) and he had his bag of money in hand.  It was a bit chaotic trying to leave without the whole store in the cart but he found some bug catching kits and picked out one for each of his class mates and some dry erase markers for Miss Angela.  He said she loves her board so she would love those markers.  So we counted all the coins and he was so excited about what he had purchased.  He bought one for himself as well.  After we got home I grabbed some more of the lunch bags and put the names of his friends on them so he could pick which color he wanted to give to each friend.  The next day was his party and he was SOOO excited to give out all of his presents.  It was the best part of the day for me and I think for him too.  He is such a sweet boy and so sensitive and kind.  He has always been so good and giving and sharing and wanting to make others happy.  Every time he gets a snack or a treat from baseball or some where he will break it in half to share with his sister or he will always get two suckers if we are at the Dr. to bring one home for daddy.  Every Wed. at school was treasure box day where they got to bring a little treasure home and I can't tell you how many times instead of picking something out for himself he would bring home a bracelet for me or for Calli.  His teacher said she had never had a child do that before.  She also told me that when they had their easter egg hunt as a class they were each supposed to find 6 eggs but they lost 3 and one little girl only had 3 and was sad so they all looked to find the missing eggs and couldn't find them so JJ on his own just walked over to her and picked up 3 of his eggs and put them in her basket.  I was so proud of my little man when she told me that.

Here is their class picture minus one who was being shy and one who was sick that day.  And then one with their teacher of course.  After the presentation part was over we had a little swim party down the street at the community pool.  It was a super fun morning celebrating my favorite little 4 year old boy in the whole world.

I can't believe how much he has changed and developed this last year.  It was a bit of a struggle to get him to want to go to school at the beginning of the year but by the end he would go just great and always seemed to have a great time when he came home.  I can't believe that Kindergarten is just over a year a way.  I am soo NOT ready to let my baby head out into the big bad world to fend for himself but I know he will be amazing he is such a responsible and good boy I am excited to be a part of his growth and development.  Way to go JJ we are so proud of you!!!

Pirates and Fro Yo

While daddy was out of town for 8 days we planned lots of fun little activities to entertain ourselves.  On Saturday we decided to go see the Pirates movie and then get some frozen yogurt afterwards at our favorite shop, yumilicious.  The movie was pretty cute, JJ loved it and Calli liked it pretty well but she has never been one who wants to sit still for a whole movie.  I got them each their own little snack pack which they love of course and that keeps Calli still for at least half of the movie.  The last 30 mins she just had to stretch her legs and walked up and down the stairs and sat on a few of them.  I didn't mind as long as she was in sight and not being loud.  There were only a few other people there so it was great.  

My kids sure do love ice cream, I can't ever get a good picture of them because they won't pay any attention to me while they are devouring their delicious treat.  It was a fun afternoon and then we headed home.

Oh what a day!

So in an effort to not have to travel right after the baby comes, John decided to leave for 8 days right before the baby comes, which of course is the lesser of the two evils especially since it is the beginning of the crazy, busy summer season, but I still was a little nervous about him being gone that long.  One because I didn't want to go into labor with him gone and two because I just don't have quite as much energy as normal and my children are the energizer bunnies!  Well, we made it through the 8 days just fine and daddy got home last Wednesday and baby still hasn't come so we are all good!  However we did have a couple of "interesting" experiences to say the least.  :)  

Thursday's are typically my most interesting days anyway because I wash my hair usually for one and I don't have lots of fun things planned to entertain my children I sort of want them to entertain themselves happily playing together without making any messes while I get things done around the house.  Well, even though I don't vocalize this they some how know when it is Thursday this is the day mom is going to try and ignore us so we are going to make it very difficult for her to not notice us.  The funny thing is that on most every day when I don't ignore them or have much to do, they get along great and are playing just fine by themselves we don't even need to have something fun planned.

Well after there had been numerous quarrels as I was trying to get the kitchen cleaned up after breakfast.  I went to take a shower and wash my hair and shave my legs heaven forbid.  When I opened the bathroom door I found JJ with a bowl of cereal in my room watching a cartoon.  I thought to myself how is this scene possible, so I walked into the kitchen and this is what I found.  I was encouraging independence but this isn't exactly what I had meant.  I couldn't believe how he just thought to himself ya know I am still hungry mom can't help me so I guess I will just help myself and he sure did!

We need to review a little more about how to put things back once they are taken out I guess and how important it is to NOT leave the refrigerator open AFTER you ask mom first if you can have something to eat.  But I have to say I was pretty proud of his problem solving skills he showed.  And its nice to know my children won't starve if I ever decided to never get out of the shower.

I decided since I had practically ignored my children all morning in a desperate attempt to clean my house that they deserved a little fun that afternoon and then I could keep my house in order if we left.  So we headed out to Chuck E Cheese.  THis is one of our favorite places to go but with all the nice weather and fun outdoor activities we have been enjoying lately we haven't' been in a while.  So the kids were excited and had a blast!

Calli has become so brave over the last year and loves to ride on all the rides now.  It is so cute watching her.  

JJ on the other hand has decided he has outgrown all the rides and is now on a mission to play more of the games and get as many tickets as possible.  Here he is showing off all of his hard work.  He was so cute because he kept walking off on his own trying to achieve his goal.

And of course there is always time for some family fun with air hockey.  JJ and I were playing first and then Calli came up and took over my spot.  I love this little table it is so perfect for their size.  

I was thinking how cute and fun these little munchkins of mine are and how good they were being and then about 2 mins. later Calli told me that while she was playing up in the play scape tunnels that she had decided that would be the most appropriate time to pee her pants.  AWESOME.  The crazy thing is is that she hardly ever has accidents seriously ever, so I don't know what happened.  I figured since it was a Thursday after all that it was just how it goes.  My apologies to any other moms and kids who played up in the play scape that day.

Happy Mother's Day!!! By John Merris

This post is dedicated to my best friend and a truly amazing mother!  Almost five years ago Cindy gave birth to JJ and ever since he was born, she has been chasing him.  It was a big adjustment when he started walking, but Cindy had things well under control.  Two and half years ago things got a little trickier when Calli was born and she added a new dimension to our world.  Instead of chasing, Cindy was dragged everywhere she went, many times in different directions, simultaneously.  In a couple weeks, our sweet little Cambri will be born and we are starting to think that, maybe, we are in a little over our heads.  Bless Cindy's heart.

But I must say, Cindy is the most amazing mother to our children and I am the luckiest man to have her as my companion, my friend, and the mother to our children.  JJ and Calli adore their mother; they cry every time she leaves and when it's Daddy's turn to put the kids down at night, they won't fall asleep until Mommy comes in and sings them a song.  I have not ever met a mother that spends more time exploring with her children than Cindy does.  The Dallas Zoo, Children's Museum, Aquarium, Planetarium, Beach (at the lake), Pool, and Duck Pond are frequent stops for Cindy and crew.  She mentioned tonight that they have been to the Children's Museum eight times this year already!  When it comes to holidays, including birthdays, in Cindy's world time stops.  She take every opportunity to make each holiday magical for the kids and it works every time.  The kids light up when Cindy's master plans unravel on special occasions.

During her most recent pregnancy, Cindy has been extremely uncomfortable (more than she was with the other two); Despite her difficulties, she has not slowed down a bit!  I am amazed everyday when she tells me all that she did and accomplished with the kids while I was taking a break (meaning, while I was at my day job).

I am so glad that Cindy chose to be a mom for her job.  She is one of the most intelligent, hard working people I know; when we met, she was preparing for law school and could have had her pick of careers.  I've never heard her complain once; on the contrary, she reminds me, even on her sometimes frustrating days, how happy she is to be a mother.  The sacrifice she makes for our family is one of the greatest blessings of my life.  On this Mother's Day I pay tribute to her: My sweetheart and the BEST mother my kids could ever ask for.  I love you baby.

John