Just Pics

Jakey's first dip in the pool. (Technically, his second. The first was our trip to Lubbock.) It took him a little while to get used to the water, but he warmed up to it in no time.

"Soapy, Daddy! Granddaddy's name Soapy!" ~Jon

Jonathan is under the laundry basket.

Awww!

Brothers, hangin' out in the pool.

This was Jake's first time in the big bathtub. (I figured if the boy could climb out of the infant tub, he's probably too big for it!)

Jacob tackled his big brother.

Baking Daddy's birthday cake. Everyone knows the best part of baking a cake is licking the bowl!

"For Those of You Just Joining Us..."

Whew!!! It's been a long time since my last post! We've had a busy summer, and there's been so much going on that I haven't had time to post anything up until now. I promise to try not to let that happen again! :)

Let's see, where to start...

John's brother, Marshall, got married on June 6! :) The wedding was in Midland, so all the family got a little "vacation" that weekend. Jonathan and Jacob spent that weekend with Grammy & Paw-Paw (my parents), so John and I got a little time to ourselves for the first time since the kiddos came along. The wedding was absolutely beautiful! Marshall's wife, Kristin, is so sweet and she is so much fun! She and I had lunch together after they got back from their honeymoon. John and I both so happy to have a new sister in our lives, and we're looking forward to getting to know her better.

The evening we came home from Marshall & Kristin's wedding, our church's Vacation Bible School started. I taught one of the 1st & 2nd grade (the biggest class this year--so big we had to divide them into 2 groups) classes. They were an awesome group of kids, and it was such a blessing to be able to teach them. This was also Jonathan's first year to be in an actual class. He wasn't too crazy about the opening assembly each night, but once his class got started he seemed to have a pretty good time. He even looked forward to going back each night. On Family Night, he even got up on stage with the rest of his class and sang a couple of songs for the parents! Afterwards, since all the kids raised so much money for missions, they got to throw water balloons at the entire church staff. Jonathan dropped one of his balloons and didn't get a chance to hit his Grammy, but he got Paw-Paw with one!

A week after VBS, we headed to Hollis, OK for the Trammell Family Reunion. (This is my dad's family on his mother's side.) We've gone pretty much every year for the last several years. This time there were some cousins there that hadn't been before, and Jonathan made a few new friends. Father's Day was the next week. John has been wanting so much to attend a major league baseball game, and this year the boys and I gave him the chance to do just that. His schedule is quite busy this year between work and his CPA exam, but as soon as the door opens he's thinking of maybe a Rockies or a Rangers game.

We had an awesome Fourth of July this year! My cousin, Lacy, was visiting from Kansas. We cooked steaks out on the grill at my Nana's house, then went out and found a spot between Wal-Mart and Lowe's and settled in to watch the fireworks. Jonathan was really into the show, and it was so much fun to watch him enjoy the display! Jacob, on the other hand, just slept right through it all!

John's birthday was extra special this year. His birthday and his dad's birthday are only a week apart, so we had a big dinner at Marshall & Kristin's house to celebrate both their big days. The boys gave Daddy the entire animated Transformers series from the '80s on DVD, and I gave him golf lessons. Then John got to spend his first birthday ever with his biological grandmother. We had dinner with Millie and her husband, Richard. Then the next day we went to the new Transfomers movie with our good friends the Hannas, and got our families together for dinner that night. Over this past weekend, we also had a chance to get together with John's biological Uncle Rick & Aunt Susan and have lunch.

Jonathan & Jacob continue to grow and grow. We took them to the zoo last week--again with our very good friends the Hannas! The other night, when I was giving the boys their baths, we decided to try something new. Jacob already tries to climb out his infant tub, so I thought why not put them in the big tub together?!? It was quite an experience, but they both seemed to have a good time. And it's much easier to bathe them both at the same time rather than do two separate baths. It's hard to believe we're only a week and a half away from Jakey's first birthday! He already stands and will walk along while hanging on to the edge of the coffee table. (He won't let you hold his hands and try to walk him, though!) Jonathan's speech contines to improve every day. He knows all his family member's first names, and he uses them on a regular basis. Now if we could just get the concept of sharing down...

Anyway, that should bring you up to speed. I'll be more prompt with the posts from now on! I have pictures of a lot of the above events I'll post as soon as I can. Also, I'll be sure to post a blog about Jake's first b-day here in the next couple of weeks, and we have friends coming up the first week in August for a friend reunion and I'll be sure to blog about that too. There's lots more Merriss mania to come, so stay tuned...

Family Update/Memorial Day

A little Father/Son study time...

Watching morning cartoons together in the laundry basket.

He took a chunk out of a crayon and got mad when Mommy took it away.

Move over, Backstreet Boys!

Just in case you haven't already heard, John finally got his grade back on the section of his CPA exam that he took back in April. It is my privilege to announce that HE PASSED!!! He got an 82! He takes the last two sections this weekend--one on Friday (he has to go to Lubbock for this one), the other on Saturday. If he passes these two sections he'll be all done! We are so grateful to all of you who have supported John and kept him in your prayers all this time. We are so blessed to have such wonderful family members and friends in our lives.

My dad called from Israel yesterday. (Only four more days until he comes home!!!) We passed the phone around and even let Jonathan talk to his Paw-Paw. It was one of the sweetest moments! I wasn't sure if Jonathan would actually talk to him, but he carried on a full conversation. Of course, I was only able to hear one side--mostly "Yeahs" and "Okays", and he even ended with "I love you" and "Bye." I asked my dad if Jonathan actually seemed to understand him and he said that Jonathan responded appropriately to every question. His talking is really improving!

Jacob is officially crawling, and he is all over creation! He discovered the dog's food and water bowls the other day. I walked into the kitchen just in time to catch him take the water bowl and pour it all over himself! I was hoping at least one of our children would ignore those bowls, but (unfortunately) it looks like both of our boys have been fascinated by them.

Today was Memorial Day. Usually our family has a cookout or something, but with my dad being gone and John having to spend the day studying, we didn't plan anything special this year. The boys and I put on patriotic shirts, and we went with my mom and my Nana out to the cemetery to visit my Paw-Paw and put flowers on his grave. Since he was a Vet, we took a small flag to put out. Jonathan got to hold onto it until Nana was ready to put it in with the flowers. It was kind of a special time for me because I haven't been out to the cemetery in a while, and it was the first time the boys got to "meet" Mommy's Paw-Paw. Afterwards, the boys and I went out to eat with Nana, and Mom got ready to go to her parents' (Grandmama & Granddaddy) house. At the restaraunt, Nana called my cousin, Lacy, on her cell. We got her voice mail, and Jonathan left a special message for Cousin Lacy: "Hi, Lacy."

Milestones

Well, Jacob has achieved another new milestone in his young life. Little man is now officially mobile! He finally started crawling the other day!!! I am so proud of him. The little guy has been working so hard lately to get his chubby little legs to cooperate with him, and he finally tasted the victory of success! I have a short video of him starting to crawl for the first time. The video on our camera doesn't record sound, though, and Jakey gets a little shy when the camera is on him. I can't find the USB that connects the camera to the computer at this moment, but as soon as I find it, I will post the video as well as a few new pics of the boys at play. Now if I could just keep the boy away from our glass coffee table...
I'm nervous now because both of my boys are going to be constantly on the move. I now have not just one I have to keep constant tabs on, but two. I see good times ahead! Oh, and one thing more--Jacob finally got two more teeth in on the bottom! Now he's evened out: 4 on top, 4 on bottom.

Jonathan has a new game he likes to play--"boucnin' on Mommy!" (It's really more like tackling than bouncing...) I thought rough-housing was something boys did with their daddies. Jonathan will rough-house with John somewhat, but lately I'm the one he likes to pounce on. It's fun for a while, but I don't know how much more of it my poor body can take. I think I'm going have to nip this particular game in the bud before somebody gets hurt. "It's all fun and games..."

John is set to take two sections of his CPA exam this month. He takes one on Friday, the 29th (he has to go to Lubbock for that one) and another on Saturday, the 30th. If he passed the last section he took (which he still has no grade on), and if he passes these next two sections and the grades come back in time (it only gives them 3 weeks to get both grades back)--he will be completely done and will officially be a CPA!!! Please pray that God will give John the strength that he needs to get through this and (should it come to this) the will to keep pressing on.

We are less than a month away from Marshall & Kristin's wedding! John's already been fitted for his tux, and he's already booked our hotel room for that weekend. Vacation Bible School starts the Sunday we come home, and I'm teaching a 1st & 2nd grade class. We'll probably get back into town around 2:00 that afternoon, and that will leave me with three and a half hours to get my room decorated and line up with my kiddos to march in. Whoo-hooo! This will be Jonathan's first real year in VBS, and I hope that he's going to have a wonderful time. My dad's in Israel right now. (This is like his fifth time over there.) He went so he'd learn how to lead a group on his own, which he's planning to do Spring Break of 2010. I got an e-mail from him this morning, and he's having a blast!

Love to all our family and friends out there!

Mother's Day

This was my third Mother's Day, and I just have to say I think it was the best one yet! My gift from John and the boys arrived at our door on Thursday afternoon: two dozen beautiful red roses, bubble bath, shower gel, bath caviar, and a little box of chocolates! (Do my guys know how to spoil me or what?!?) Jonathan and Jacob even made cards for me with their little handprints on them. During our worship service Sunday morning we had a dedication ceremony for all the parents who wanted to dedicate their babies ages two and under. (This is something our church has done for the past several years now.) John and I were thrilled to dedicate Jonathan on the Mother's Day after he was born, and this year we were just as thrilled to dedicate Jacob. There's just something about dedicating your child on Mother's Day that makes that day extra special. For lunch we all went to my Nana's house and my dad made steaks on the grill. For Mother's Day presents this year John and I got our moms little heart-shaped music boxes (I'm not sure I could even tell you now what song they played), and we also got our grandmothers a little something. My grandmothers each got a little heart-shaped plaque with a special saying on it, and since this was John's first Mother's Day with his biological grandmother, she got something a litte more special--a jewelry box that plays music and has a special saying about grandmothers on it. After lunch we spent the afternoon delivering all the gifts, then we headed up to the hospital. Our music minister's wife got an extra special Mother's Day gift this year--a brand new baby boy! It was a long day--for all of us--but it was a good one. We hope all of the mothers in our lives had a good Mother's Day. You're all so precious to us, and we love you very much!!!

Jacob's 9-Month Check Up

Jacob had his 9-month check up yesterday. I am pleased to report that we had an easy--and perfectly healthy--visit! Little man has dropped off a little in the height and weight department (he's now in the 25th percentile for both), very much like his big brother did. Jakey now weighs 18 lbs, 15 oz. and is 27 in. long. He's still gaining and growing, but not quite as rapidly as he has been up until now. (I think he gained only a little more than a pound and an inch over the last three months. Of course he did get pretty sick in the middle of that three months...) Even though he still looks a little chunky to me, it's looking like Jacob is going to be on the skinny side--like his brother. Just to make sure he's not just having trouble gaining weight, we're going back in next month so his pediatrician can do a weight check. There was only one thing about Jacob's visit that made me a little nervous. Dr. Hoving checked his eyes once during the visit (like always), but before she got up to leave she grabbed the flashlight and checked them again. I asked if his eyes were okay, and she told me they were fine, but Jacob has a condition (I can't even tell you what the medical term for it is) where one eye appears to turn inward--though it really doesn't. The doc can tell that his eye is normal because the light is symmetrical on his eye, so the whole inward thing is just an illusion at this point. She said as he grows the problem should correct itself. But if it doesn't (or if I notice that his eye looks like it's going inward all the time) he could possibly develop a lazy eye. It's nothing to worry about now, but it is something we need to watch out for.

Jacob is up to six teeth now (4 on top, 2 on bottom), with more on the way. He is eating a wide variety of foods now--including more table food. He loves toast, cheerios, mac & cheese, animal crackers, banana pudding, and even some chicken! (Yes, we're starting to add meat to his diet now!) He's not too wild about scrambled eggs; mostly he just picks at them. Whereas Jonathan is our picky child (about the only thing I can get that boy to eat well these days is peanut butter & jelly sandwiches), Jacob is a little more open to trying new things. Hopefully he won't be as much of a picky eater. We're also trying to get Jakey used to the idea of drinking from a sippy cup. He got so grabby with Jonathan's cup that I went out and bought him a couple of transition cups. I try to give him a little juice a couple of times each day. He mostly just plays with his cup--if he acknowledges it at all. But I'm hoping he'll move to a sippy cup faster and easier than little Jon did.

The boys are getting to the point where they are actually starting to play together. Jonathan is still not too big on sharing, though. I've got my work cut out for me, I guess. This summer I'm also going to try to "homeschool" Jon a little bit. We've got a new Christian bookstore in town that sells materials to help parents work with their kids on things like the alpahebet and numbers and colors...I think I'm going to try and sit down with him and see how far I can get with that. He can already count to 5, and he can tell you how old he is; he can even recognize a few letters of the alphabet. As far as his colors go, I still don't know which ones he can actually see and which ones he only has memorized. (We still don't know to what extent--if any--he's color blind, and we may not know for sure for a couple of more years. And we get to go through all of this again with Jacob!) John and I are still talking about the possibility of preschool for Jonathan. He also starts AWANA in the fall, and Vacation Bible School is only a month away. I want him to be able to actually "do" the things other kids his age may be doing.

The boys were also supposed to have their first official sleep-over this weekend. John and I are going to Midland next month for John's brother's wedding, and my parents offered to keep the kids. The only problem is that we're going to be gone for two nights and three days--so my parents would have them all weekend. They've never spent the night away from home before, and we're not sure how they'd do. This weekend was supposed to be a trial run, with my parents having the option to call us if the boys are having a hard time getting through the night. However, both my dad and John are sick right now, and passing germs back and forth is probably not the best idea. My dad is going back to Israel on Tuesday, and we really don't want him getting sick while he's over there. If we're still going to do the trial run overnighter before we leave for the wedding, my mom may be going at it alone. (BTW, neither John nor my dad appears to have the swine flu--or any other flu for that matter. Both cases sound suspiciously like food poisoning.)

Anyway, I think that just about covers everything that's been going on with us here lately. It's time once again for me to handle the lunch rush around here and get the boys ready for their naps. Until next time, lots of love and hugs and best wishes!

Weekending

He looks so tiny in the great big king size bed!

Mommy & her boys--hanging out at the hotel.

Science Spectrum--I think the daddies were having more fun than the kids at this point!

Jonathan & Rory checking out the treehouse.

Abby & Jonathan banging on the big drum.

This past weekend was an awesome one for the Merriss family! We met up with our very good friends--the Hanna family--and took a weekend-long roadtrip to Lubbock. We arrived around dinnertime, so after checking into our hotel we had dinner at the Japanese restaurant Ohanas (Lubbock's version of Kabuki). Jonathan was more interested in the chef cooking our food at our table than he was in actually eating the food! The chef really played up to him too--trying to get him to catch a piece of chicken in his mouth, playing with fire, making a volcano out of onions, and even spelling out "I love you" in the food. Jonathan started mimicking him halfway through the service, trying to cook just like the chef was. Jacob got his first taste of Japanese food and apparently loved it! I let the little guy have a sampling of my soup and he quickly became addicted. He wound up splitting it with me!

We stayed in a really nice Super 8 Motel. Our room had a jacuzzi (sp?) in it! (I soooo want one of those for our house!) It was the boys' first time ever to stay in a hotel. I think they had a blast. The kiddos got together for a "slumber party"--they stayed up until about 1:00 in the morning watching VeggieTales! Afterwards all four of us slept together in the giant king size bed. For as small as the boys are they sure do take up a lot of room! I had Jacob either on me or slightly off to one side of me all night long, and Jonathan slept in between John and me. Sometime during the night he wound up with his feet on the pillows and his head either down in the blankets or propped up on my hip. Yes, it was an interesting night. Needless to say, neither John nor I got very much sleep that night. After breakfast the next morning we tried out the hotel's indoor pool. John took both of the boys out in the water. Jonathan did pretty good until John attempted to put his head under water. After that, Jonathan pretty much wanted to stick close to the steps, where he could put his feet down (and he wanted to be wherever "my Taira" was).

After lunch we took the kids to the Science Spectrum, which is kind of like the Discovery Center in Amarillo only bigger and (I think) a little bit better. There are all kinds of exhibits and activities. You can also watch a 3-D movie on a huge screen with your seat moving to interact with the movie. (That part is called Omnimax. We decided not to go for the movie though; we worried the kids would be a little scared.) There's even a play room for kids under five. The kids did pretty good, but we went to Science Spectrum late in the day before heading back home and none of the kids had had a nap, so there were a handful of meltdowns (mainly from Jonathan). In the end, I think he had a pretty good time in spite of it all. Next time we'll remember to take the kids first thing in the morning! :)

We had a really wonderful weekend, and hopefully we'll be able to do it again soon. Now we have to get back in the groove of things back here at home. I'm trying to get the house somewhat back in order. Jonathan and Jacob are trying to get back into their routines. And John is leaving for California in the morning--thankfully only for a day (he has to do an inventory count on Thursday, but he's on a plane home first thing Friday morning). Reality is not nearly as much fun as a weekend getaway.