tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25895590558740788672024-03-13T11:20:20.195-04:00Sweet Tea in the Old North StateMaggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16279011692365978530noreply@blogger.comBlogger235125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589559055874078867.post-86415927720638584612015-11-05T16:30:00.001-05:002015-11-05T16:30:49.365-05:00First GradeI can't believe that Sims is in first grade! By the time summer was over, Sims was ready to get back to school (and stop going to summer camps). It has been an easy transition for him from kindergarten, and a couple of his friends from last year are in his class now. We took a picture of his first day of school, and of course Merritt wanted to be in it as well.<br />
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I love how proud Merritt is of her big brother in this picture. Sims is growing up so fast and is becoming such a hard worker. We are all very proud of him!Maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16279011692365978530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589559055874078867.post-51634486932094797912015-11-02T16:16:00.001-05:002015-11-02T16:17:48.206-05:00Summer Trips Make Me Feel FineWe took 2 other trips this summer with family. In July we went down to Lake Murray in South Carolina to visit my dad. It was like a mini family reunion with everyone who came to spend the long weekend together. We had so much fun hanging out on the water and on Dad's and Alex's boats.<br />
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We stayed in the cutest little cottages that had a couple of restaurants on the property and a beach area. The kids had a blast together as usual, and the grown-ups actually got to spend a little time together. I am hoping that this will turn into an annual event! And perhaps next time I will take some pictures!<br />
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At the end of summer, we revived what used to be our annual Holden Beach trip with my mom and family. Our hiatus involved going to <a href="http://sweettea-nc.blogspot.com/2013/07/independence-day.html" target="_blank">Ocracoke</a> in 2013 and to <a href="http://sweettea-nc.blogspot.com/2014/07/isle-of-palms.html" target="_blank">Isle of Palms</a> in 2014. I can't believe it had been 3 years since we had been to Holden! The last time we went, there were 2 kids in the family, and now there are 4! I think we were all ready to get back to basics with a relaxed trip staying in a convenient, oceanfront house. With kids it is so much easier when there is no agenda and everyone can do what they want.<br />
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This ended up being quite an exciting year at Holden. There was a sea turtle nest next to our house, and the turtles hatched while we were there. We missed the big hatching in the middle of the night, but we were lucky to see the last few hatch one afternoon.<br />
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A tropical depression came through one of the days. We didn't even know it at the time. That's how much we kept up with the outside world while we were there. The waves were huge, and high tide was extremely high that day. The water was up to the dunes. We even went on a walk during the storm, and it was quite an adventure. (It sounds more dangerous than it actually was.)<br />
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The week went by very fast, but we got a few pictures of the kids.<br />
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We are all ready to go back to Holden Beach next year!Maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16279011692365978530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589559055874078867.post-59445329798516825242015-09-24T16:02:00.002-04:002015-09-24T16:02:21.414-04:00Family PhotosWhile at Lake James, we hired Rich Taylor (<a class="yiv7482215145" href="http://www.richtaylor.photography/" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1443100143737_12432" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.richtaylor.photography</a>) to take some family photos of the whole group. We found a nice place to have the pictures taken at Lake James State Park, and it was a really good experience. Our small family unit hadn't had professional photos taken since Sims turned one year old, so we were overdue for some updates. The nicest thing was having pictures of the larger family group and the smaller family groups, such as Jason and his siblings, and Jason's parents with the grandkids, and Aunt Tina with her nephews and niece.<br />
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I'm mainly going to show photos of our family unit because, let's be honest, if I showed all the great ones, this post might be 100 photos long!<br />
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I have to include this special picture of Merritt and her fairy godmother. Tina is such a good sport, and I know that Merritt will always treasure this one.<br />
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Maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16279011692365978530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589559055874078867.post-48307973530267364932015-09-08T16:05:00.001-04:002015-09-08T16:05:55.909-04:00Celebrating 50 YearsThe first full week of Sims' summer vacation, we headed to Lake James in the foothills of NC. We spent a week there with Jason's family celebrating his parents' 50th wedding anniversary. It was a wonderful, relaxing trip with a couple of fun celebratory touches. We hired a photographer to take family pictures (another post), and we had a 1965-themed party.<br />
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For the party, the house was decorated with 60s accents and with photos from Dick and Vivian's wedding and current family photos. Tina snuck their wedding album to the lake to surprise them. 1965 trivia was hanging all around. Even the food and drinks were 1965-themed! <br />
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After we nibbled on shrimp cocktail, deviled eggs, onion dip and pigs in a blanket, we all had fun with the photo props. Of course, they were 60s themed as well!<br />
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Dick and Vivian were given a gift basket filled with a magazine and movies from 1965 and candy from the 60s. The party ended with watching a video of family and friends wishing them a happy anniversary.<br />
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The rest of the week was spent swimming and fishing. As we left the lake, we took a side trip to Linville Caverns, which really excited Sims. We had read about stalagmites and stalactites, and this was his first time getting to see them in real life. Pretty exciting stuff!<br />
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I hope that Dick and Vivian had as much fun as we had! Happy anniversary, Granny and Grandaddy!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo taken by Rich Taylor - www.richtaylor.photography</td></tr>
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<br />Maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16279011692365978530noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589559055874078867.post-10395504069558792752015-08-17T12:57:00.001-04:002015-09-29T15:28:11.215-04:00Kindergarten RecapI can't believe that Sims will be starting 1st grade in a week! I just hope that he loves 1st grade as much as he loved kindergarten. He had such a wonderful experience with such a sweet teacher. It was just the experience that we wanted him to have. And, boy, did he learn a lot!<br />
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He had been learning some sight words in preschool, but we are constantly amazed by how many words Sims can read. When he doesn't know the word, he is so great at sounding it out to get the word right. At the end of kindergarten, he was reading at a high 1st grade level.<br />
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One of the new things that he learned was math. I don't think he had learned too much math before kindergarten. He really enjoys it (his favorite homework is always math), and he is really good at it. I wonder if all of our talk about how much Jason and I love math has caused Sims to love it as well.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dressed as the Letterland character Mr. A</td></tr>
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His writing improved dramatically. It's not been his strong suit, but I can see that changing. It is getting very nice now when he puts a little effort in it, and he is starting to like to write more and more. The better he gets at it, the more he seems to like doing it.<br />
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His class went on a few field trips, and I was happy to be able to go on all of them. They went to the pumpkin patch, to see a high school play, and to Marbles kids museum.<br />
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He worked very hard on his science fair project. It was optional, but he really wanted to do it. His title was When Did My Favorite Dinosaurs Live? It was a great project for his age because he could do so much of it himself with a minimal amount help. We were so very proud of him! Then we found out that he won first place for the kindergarten projects, and we were even more proud! It was a fantastic project. The leader for the science fair told us that Sims had one of the highest scores for the entire science fair, which was for Pre-K to 3rd grade. We were very impressed!<br />
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At the awards ceremony at the end of the year, he was given a few awards: the Kindergarten Science Award, Excellent Engineer, and Marvelous Mathematician. He was also given an award for completing 9 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) challenges, some of which were held during school hours and some were on Saturdays. <br />
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My mom volunteered in his class every Wednesday, and she and Sims both loved that. She would stay and eat lunch with him. We loved it because Mom could give us details about what was happening in the class. Wednesdays were always special for him!<br />
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The weekly homework load took us all a while to get used to, and I hope that the summer off hasn't softened us too much! I will say that I think he got way too much homework for a kindergartner, but he handled it fine. I just hope that he doesn't get significantly more in 1st grade. There are only so many hours in a day!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo taken the first week of summer vacation by Rich Taylor - www.richtaylor.photography </td></tr>
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This year has flown by! We have loved Sims' school, and we are looking forward to the beginning of a new school year.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Rich Taylor - www.richtaylor.photography</td></tr>
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Maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16279011692365978530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589559055874078867.post-56955518431518730392015-07-07T09:30:00.000-04:002015-07-07T09:30:02.097-04:00Sims' 6th BirthdayThis year, Sims had a low-key birthday party. Nothing like <a href="http://sweettea-nc.blogspot.com/2014/06/sims-5th-birthday.html" target="_blank">last year</a>. This was kind of our reset button, I guess. The party was at our house, and we invited only family and close friends. It was low stress and easy going. I thought it was great, and Sims loved it as much as any other birthday party he's had. Win - win!<br />
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Sims' only request was for there to be Oreos, and he wanted them where he could reach them. In other words, he wanted to be able to eat them without getting permission. We were fine with that. We even made Oreo butter cream frosting for the chocolate cupcakes. Sims loves the Cars movie, so we used Cars themed plates and napkins. He was thrilled.<br />
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The bubble machine was a hit, as usual. <br />
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The weather was nice, so we enjoyed watching the kids play outside. It was a wonderful day! I can't believe Sims is 6 years old now. Wow!Maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16279011692365978530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589559055874078867.post-13109721634265989352015-06-30T09:00:00.000-04:002015-06-30T09:00:04.864-04:00EasterIt's been so long since Easter, I can barely remember all the little details from the day. Let that be a lesson for me! I shouldn't wait so long to update the ole blog!<br />
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I know we started off the morning, bright and early, with Easter baskets. The kids loved them, of course. Sims especially loved his basketball and (one of the many versions of) Blade Ranger from the movie <i>Planes: Fire and Rescue</i>. Merritt was immediately drawn to her owl sippy cup, and she loves the puzzle a lot, too.<br />
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We went to church, then headed up to Mom and Smith's house for dinner and egg hunting.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The mad dash</td></tr>
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Last year, Merritt was watching all the action from the sidelines. This year, she was happy to be out there with the big kids. Next year, Maxwell will be out there egg hunting, too! Maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16279011692365978530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589559055874078867.post-46569717667553304452015-02-20T10:17:00.001-05:002015-02-20T10:17:08.768-05:00Valentine's DayI can't believe that Valentine's Day was last weekend. It seems like it was ages ago already! I guess that's what happens when you have a week filled with sleet, snow and record cold temperatures. Sims has only been to school for half a day this week.<br />
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This year, Sims decided that he wanted to get pre-made Valentine's cards for his classmates. It kind of made me a bit sad, but I got over it quickly, since I still had Merritt's to do. Merritt is in the one year old class, so I had to think of something that wouldn't be a choking hazard. After a quick search of some stores, I decided that she would give her classmates crayons. I found some fat ones that are easy for little ones to hold, and then I found a printable valentine to go with it. Super easy!<br />
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We had one Valentine's family activity that I was pretty excited about it. I have always struggled to find a fun way to celebrate Valentine's as a family without it just being about sweets. (Of course, we started off Valentine's morning with a run to Duck Donuts for "special breakfast" as Sims calls it.)<br />
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At Christmas time, I bought a gingerbread house kit, but we never got around to building it. Sims had built and decorated one at his school, so it didn't seem as crucial for us to do it at home. Christmas came and went, and we still had the kit. Then we had the brilliant idea of making it into a Valentine's gingerbread house! We bought some Valentine's candy to supplement the candy that came with the kit. Sims decorated it with only a little help from my mom. They had lots of fun doing it, and it is the perfect seasonal centerpiece for our dining room table.<br />
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Now I will have a hard time deciding whether we want to do a gingerbread house at Christmas or Valentine's. Perhaps both?Maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16279011692365978530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589559055874078867.post-42858701554577384612015-02-10T11:16:00.001-05:002015-07-06T13:30:59.729-04:00The Homestead 2015After our first trip to The Homestead <a href="http://sweettea-nc.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-homestead.html" target="_blank">2 years ago</a>, we have talked about going back. We loved it there. We finally got to go back for MLK weekend. We stayed for 3 nights this time because it's a long drive up there for only 2 nights!<br />
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There were quite a few moments when we weren't sure we were even going to make it. The night before we left, Merritt woke up in the middle of the night coughing so much that she threw up a couple of times. We didn't know what was going to happen in the morning, but she seemed fine. Her coughing was not as bad. So off we went. Then about 20 minutes into Virginia, she threw up again. We were in the middle of nowhere, and we really weren't prepared for the huge mess. We found a Dollar General and bought everything from towels to bibs to an extra set of clothes for her. There was one point that Jason thought that we should go back home, but we didn't. And we were glad that we didn't because she was totally fine after that. It's really quite funny now that we know that everything was okay.<br />
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So we made it to The Homestead! We had a suite this time, and it was perfect. We had plenty of room for the kids' stuff without it taking over the whole room.<br />
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That night we played family bingo and had dinner at Jeffersons, which they were building/renovating the last time we were there. It was delicious!<br />
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The next morning was a big day for Sims. He tried skiing for the first time, while Jason skiied for the first time in 20 years. Sims went to a half day bunny school, and he loved it. He and Jason got to ski together for a little while before they were ready to call it a day.<br />
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Sims really loved skiing, so I guess we will have to do this every year! <br />
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While the boys were getting ready to ski, Merritt and I hung out in the snow around the slopes a bit. Merritt didn't really know what to think of the snow. She definitely wasn't a fan of it when it was stuck to her hands. While the boys skied, Merritt took a nap, and I enjoyed some quiet time in the room.<br />
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That night we had dinner at Sam Snead's Tavern, which was almost disastrous with an overly tired child who had skied all afternoon. That was to be expected though.<br />
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The next morning we went swimming in the indoor pool. Sims and I went ice skating and enjoyed afternoon tea together, while Merritt napped. Ice skating was lots of fun because Sims and I were the only ones who were out on the rink. The ice skating legs or trainers or whatever they are called (the contraption that you can hold on to while you skate that helps you to stay balanced) helped us out a lot. This was Sims' and my second time out on the ice, and that contraption made us feel like pros.<br />
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Sims and I, also, played checkers in one of the little lounge areas. This was his first time playing checkers, and the 2 of us now love to play together!<br />
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Once Merritt woke up, we all enjoyed a round of mini golf. Of course, mini golf with a 15 month old is a bit difficult. In the end, we just let her pick up the balls and roll them around herself. This video shows the chaos that ensued.<br />
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We had dinner our last night at Jeffersons again. After dinner, we hung out at Downtime, which is a game room. Sims and I played air hockey, and he got to play some video games. He loved that place!<br />
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We got up the next morning and headed home. We were rewarded with a beautiful snowfall as we left. And it was warm enough that we didn't have to worry about the roads. The perfect ending to a very fun trip!<br />
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We are already looking forward to going back to The Homestead. We just love it there!Maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16279011692365978530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589559055874078867.post-1497965999783562952015-02-03T11:28:00.000-05:002015-07-06T13:31:08.205-04:00Our ChristmasWe had a wonderful, busy Christmas season.<br />
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Sims was in our church's Christmas pageant again (for the 4th time). He was a shepherd for the 2nd year in a row, and this was the first time that I was actually able to sit down and watch the entire pageant. Every other year I have been helping behind the scenes, so that I was only able to see the parts that Sims (and Merritt last year) was in. It is such a sweet pageant! Unfortunately, we didn't get any good pictures of Sims in his shepherd costume this year. This is the best one I have. He is on the left in the green headdress.<br />
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We went to visit Santa at the art museum. Their holiday family event is always fun, but Santa is the main reason that we go. Merritt wasn't so excited about Santa though.<br />
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You've gotta love Santa's expression as Merritt started to cry. After we "saved" Merritt, Sims got the chance to tell Santa what he wanted for Christmas, which was a guitar and some surprises. When Santa asked what his sister wanted, Sims just shrugged.<br />
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On Christmas Eve, we had our usual cookie decorating family get together before going to church.<br />
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Sims and Isla really loved decorating the cookies this year, but I couldn't help but giggle at their technique, which consisted of dumping as many sprinkles as possible in one big pile.<br />
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We decided to start a kids table this year for Sims and Isla. I think that we've outgrown our dining room! They made their own gingerbread house place mats, which turned out really cute. We did this last year, and I was amazed at how much more thought Sims put into decorating his gingerbread house this time. He really thought about how he wanted a front door and door to his bedroom. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Table top gingerbread house was the one Sims made in his Kindergarten class.</td></tr>
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Here are some other photos from the day.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maxwell's first Christmas</td></tr>
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Christmas morning was exciting and crazy - just the way it should be with small children. The kiddos woke up fairly late, then we spent the rest of the morning playing with all of their loot. I didn't take many photos because we were just hanging out and having fun together.<br />
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I think that all of their gifts were pretty big hits. Actually, they both seem to enjoy playing with the toys that the other one received as well.<br />
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We went over to Mom and Smith's during the afternoon, and the kids had a big time hanging out. (Have I ever mentioned how much Sims and Isla LOVE each other?!)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sims and Isla playing in their new sleeping bags</td></tr>
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The day after Christmas we took off to Charlotte to spend some time with Jason's family. We had lots of fun, and it was very relaxing. I, of course, have no pictures from it. It was hard to go back to work and the real world after a little over 2 weeks off. It was a fantastic Christmas!Maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16279011692365978530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589559055874078867.post-84621994723668020982015-01-09T15:54:00.002-05:002015-01-09T15:54:45.799-05:00Halloween 2014So, I guess it's time to catch you up with our activities from the past few months! I will start with Halloween, even though it seems like that was ages ago.<br />
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Sims decided a couple of months before Halloween that he wanted to be a bat, which we all thought was a great idea. Jason and I had so many fantastic ideas for Merritt's costume. Many that involved quirky pop culture references, which we would have loved. In the end, we nixed those (for the sake of time) and decided that she would be an owl. So both of the kids were flying creatures of the night!<br />
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Sorry for the terrible photo quality, but it's all we have. Both costumes were super easy (my favorite kind). We lucked up with the fabric for Merritt's costume, which saved us a ton of time. Sims loved the bat wings and wore them around for quite a while afterwards. They were a bit snug in the arms, and I really should make him another set that is more comfortable.<br />
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Merritt had a party at her daycare, and it's always fun to see all of the little bitty kids in their costumes. She was still in the infant class at the time, so she was one of the big kids.<br />
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This was Merritt's first costume, since last year she was just a month old. I put a <a href="http://sweettea-nc.blogspot.com/2014/01/october-recap.html" target="_blank">Halloween onesie</a> on her then and called it a day. I think we should have one more year of choosing her costume before she starts to have her own opinions. We already have so many ideas! (But let's be honest, we won't start on the costumes until the week beforehand.) <br />
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Stay tuned for more updates...Maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16279011692365978530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589559055874078867.post-72349984138450063382014-11-20T15:37:00.001-05:002015-07-06T13:31:16.080-04:00Merritt's 1st Birthday PartyCan you believe that Merritt is already one year old?!<br />
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We had a small, family birthday party at home for her, and it was really nice and relaxing. We had some photos of her around the house, and I made a photo garland for the mantel with her monthly photos.<br />
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We had barbecue and the fixings, and Merritt seemed to enjoy most of the food. We are so happy to have a kid who likes to eat! Jason and I bought her a tea set with a picnic basket, so we used that as the centerpiece for the table. <br />
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We made cupcakes and little gingham bow toppers. It's the little things that make me happy.<br />
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Merritt didn't really know what to do with the cupcake. It was her first taste of cake, and I'm not sure she loved it. She'll come around though.<br />
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She was so excited about the presents, even though I really think that she was just excited about the ribbons. You've got to love this age!<br />
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It was a wonderful way to celebrate the first year of our sweet, little girl! It was a great day.<br />
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Maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16279011692365978530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589559055874078867.post-68253746520385869342014-10-23T10:00:00.000-04:002014-10-23T10:00:03.567-04:001st Day of KindergartenAt the end of August, Sims started Kindergarten. This was a huge transition for him, since he had been going to the same daycare/Pre-K for 5 years. We knew no one who was going to his elementary school with him. But he was so brave. I asked him one morning if he was nervous or worried about starting kindergarten, and he said, "No! I'm excited!" I was way more nervous than he was, but I didn't let him know.<br />
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Jason and I both dropped him off on his first day. It was much tougher on me than I expected. But he has done so well!<br />
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His teacher told us that he is very outgoing and had made lots of friends during the first week. We know that Sims can be shy at first, but once he feels comfortable, he can be quite outgoing. We were so happy to hear that he felt comfortable enough to be outgoing!<br />
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We are all transitioning to our new norm of homework, packing lunches and no afternoon naps. It's a whole new world of PTA meetings, field trips and fundraisers. We are all learning how to navigate it. So far, so good.Maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16279011692365978530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589559055874078867.post-33761627291282438822014-10-21T16:13:00.002-04:002014-10-21T16:22:01.031-04:00The MountainsBefore Sims started kindergarten, we decided that we needed to go on a vacation with just the 4 of us. We couldn't go on a big trip, but we were able to carve out a long weekend. We decided to go to the mountains. We went back to West Jefferson, where we had visited a couple of years ago, and we rented a house on the north fork of the New River. <br />
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It was a rainy weekend, but we had lots of time in between the rain to have fun on the river and around town. The house had a view of a horse farm and the river, and it was very idyllic. We loved eating and hanging out on the covered porch, listening to the river and enjoying the surroundings.<br />
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The river was really cold, but we still had fun in it. Jason and Sims fished, and Merritt and I watched. We saw lots of wildlife, including deer, herons and even a red-spotted newt.<br />
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Sims learned how to cast his fishing rod all by himself. Jason even got it on video.<br />
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We went into town to go the farmers market and visit the Ashe County Cheese Store. Sims was really excited about watching them make cheese. This had been a highlight for him on our first visit.<br />
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It was such a relaxing trip, which is exactly what we all needed before the craziness of a new school year.Maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16279011692365978530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589559055874078867.post-27792100334953399462014-09-04T09:56:00.000-04:002014-09-04T09:56:25.277-04:00First Round of GolfSims finally got the chance to play a round of golf with Jason. In July, Jason
took a day off of work for the 2 of them to hang out and play 9 holes. Sims loves to go to the driving range and to play miniature golf, but he hadn't gotten the chance to actually play golf. He had waited a long time for this chance!<br />
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He loved it, of course! He even got to ride in a golf cart, which was the icing on the cake for him. He also liked pulling the pins before putting.<br />
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And he played really well! He got 2 bogeys and hit
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putts. He really showed off his mad skillz, which was not surprising to us. We are always impressed with his golf talent. And if you don't believe me, here is a video of the second time he hit the ball onto the green from the tee box.<br />
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He was so proud of himself, which he should be!Maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16279011692365978530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589559055874078867.post-40016195270113867242014-08-12T14:34:00.000-04:002014-08-13T09:58:36.212-04:00Merritt at 10 MonthsThe months are ticking by fast! It's hard to believe that it's already time to start planning Merritt's first birthday party.<br />
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At 9 months, Merritt started to do the traditional crawl that I wasn't sure she would ever do. She no longer does the army crawl at all. She even started cruising around this month.<br />
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She loves her monkey, which is in her lap in these pictures. It is by far her favorite toy or stuffed animal. Her face lights up when she sees it, and when she gets a hold of it, she hugs it so tightly. She and Sims have the same monkey, which may be why she loves hers so much. She loves anything that is Sims'. We even bought an extra monkey to have on hand, just in case something happens to one of them.<br />
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By 9 months, we had also gotten to the point where we couldn't put the month sticker on her belly anymore. She immediately ripped it off of her. Hence, the sticker on the chair.<br />
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Now at 10 months, she is cruising around like a champ. <br />
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She is incredibly quick and gets into everything! You really can't turn your back on her for an instant.<br />
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She is getting good at eating puffs and peas by herself. Many of them end up on the floor, but she will get more to her mouth than on the floor! I've noticed that she seems to prefer veggies to fruit.<br />
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Of course, she still loves to suck her thumb. What a cutie-patootie!<br />
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On a side note, the dress that Merritt is wearing in her 10 month pictures was made by her great grandmother (Jason's father's mother) for her Aunt Tina. Isn't it adorable?Maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16279011692365978530noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589559055874078867.post-67889552771215307252014-07-30T14:23:00.000-04:002014-10-21T16:15:52.119-04:00Isle of PalmsFor my family's beach trip this year, we decided to go somewhere different than normal. Alex got a boat this past fall, and he was itching for us to go to a beach where there is a lot of stuff to do on the boat. So we decided on Isle of Palms, SC.<br />
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We stayed in a beautiful home in Wild Dunes on the Intracoastal Waterway, and the view was fantastic! <br />
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We got there for Father's Day, so we celebrated by riding the boat to one of the restaurants on Shem Creek. (I happened to be reading <i>Shem Creek</i> by Dorthea Benton Frank at the time, so I was excited to see this area in person.)<br />
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We also spent a day in Charleston. On the way, we stopped at the U.S.S. Yorktown in Mount Pleasant, and Jason, Sims, Alex and Isla took a short tour of the aircraft carrier.<br />
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I think that this may have been the highlight of the entire trip for Sims! He keeps talking about it and the planes that they saw. He and Jason have even starting watching short documentaries on the U.S.S. Yorktown, and Sims loves them! <br />
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Jason and Sims, also, got to fish a bit on our dock. The only things they caught were baby sharks! That was pretty exciting though. Needless to say, we didn't do any swimming off the dock.<br />
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We spent the rest of the week enjoying the boat and the beach. We rode the boat to Capers Island and Bulls Island. And we got to see a Horseshoe crab, which I had never seen alive in the wild before.<br />
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Merritt rode on the boat for the first time and had her first sippy cup. She was not a fan of the life preserver, but who would be? The thing is massive for such a little baby. We quickly learned that as long as she had her sippy cup of water, she was happy. She would just close her eyes and take a little snooze.<br />
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It was a great week. It had been many years since I had been down in the lowcountry, and I had forgotten how much I love it there. I see more trips there in our future!Maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16279011692365978530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589559055874078867.post-18360664907401876382014-07-10T10:00:00.000-04:002014-07-10T10:00:05.113-04:00Interview with Sims - Age 5The other night I interviewed Sims with the same questions that I have asked in the past (<a href="http://sweettea-nc.blogspot.com/2012/08/interview-with-sims-age-3.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://sweettea-nc.blogspot.com/2012/01/interview-with-sims.html" target="_blank">here</a>) and a couple of new ones. Here it goes:<br />
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Maggie: What is your name?<br />
Sims: Sims.<br />
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Maggie: How old are you?<br />
Sims: 5.<br />
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Maggie: What color is your hair?<br />
Sims: White.<br />
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Maggie: What color are your eyes?<br />
Sims: I don't know. I can't see them.<br />
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Maggie: What is your favorite food?<br />
Sims: Grilled cheeses.<br />
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Maggie: What is your favorite song?<br />
Sims: E-I-Yo. (I assume he was referring to <a href="http://sweettea-nc.blogspot.com/2012/08/ya-ya-ya-yo.html" target="_blank">this</a>.)<br />
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Maggie: What is your favorite treat?<br />
Sims: Candy and ice cream and pie and marshmallows and sweet potatoes.<br />
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Maggie: What is your favorite animal?<br />
Sims: Giraffes. Is that your favorite animal?<br />
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Maggie: What is your favorite book?<br />
Sims: I don't know. Dusty? (Referring to one of his books based on the Planes movie.)<br />
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Maggie: What is your favorite store?<br />
Sims: Toy store. Our favorite toy store.<br />
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Maggie: What do you like to do with Daddy?<br />
Sims: Go to the park.<br />
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Maggie: What do you like to do with Mama?<br />
Sims: Go to our favorite toy store.<br />
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Maggie: Who are your friends?<br />
Sims: Macy, Emily, Emre, Ela, Talia, Merritt and Graham (our cat).<br />
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Maggie: What is your favorite thing to do outside?<br />
Sims: Play golf on a real golf course.<br />
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Maggie: What is your favorite thing to play inside?<br />
Sims: Games like Ruckus.<br />
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Maggie: What is your favorite bedtime story?<br />
Sims: All of them.<br />
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Maggie: What is your favorite thing to do when you wake up?<br />
Sims: Eat chocolate cereal.<br />
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Maggie: What is your favorite shirt?<br />
Sims: This shirt (pointing to the Wells Fargo Championship shirt that he was wearing.)<br />
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Maggie: What are your favorite shoes?<br />
Sims: My normal tennis shoes. The ones that have the bright green stripes.<br />
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Maggie: What is your favorite snack?<br />
Sims: Animal crackers and jelly beans. (Seriously? Jelly beans for a snack? When did that happen?)<br />
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Maggie: What is your favorite way to help around the house?<br />
Sims: Do chores. That's the best thing, right?<br />
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Maggie: What is your favorite place to go?<br />
Sims: To the toy store. Our favorite toy store.<br />
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Maggie: What is your favorite toy?<br />
Sims: Dusty and all of my planes and all my toys and my Legos and my small Legos.<br /><br />
Maggie: What is your favorite way to play with Merritt?<br />
Sims: Give her her favorite monkey.<br />
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Maggie: What is your favorite color?<br />
Sims: Green, blue and black.<br />
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Maggie: What is your favorite vegetable to eat?<br />
Sims: Grape tomatoes. (I don't think he has ever tried grape tomatoes. We are growing some in our backyard, and he promised that he would try them when they are ripe.)Maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16279011692365978530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589559055874078867.post-17582462062390026972014-07-02T15:18:00.000-04:002014-07-09T12:43:58.500-04:00Pre-K GraduationLast month, Sims graduated from Pre-K, and his school had a big graduation ceremony for his class. He was adamant that Merritt needed to be there, so we got her out of her class for the ceremony. (He loves his sister so much!) <br />
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The kids wore graduation gowns and mortar boards, and they sang and danced. It was great! They sang "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades", Kool and the Gang's "Celebration", and "Wind Beneath My Wings".<br />
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Each child stood up in front of the large group and said what they want to be when they grow up. I was so proud of how brave Sims was! While some of the kids needed help because they just couldn't stand and talk in front of such a large crowd, Sims had no trouble at all. He said, "My name is Sims, and when I grow up, I want to be a scuba diver because I like to go under the water." He had told me the day before that he was going to say that he wanted to be a builder. When I asked him afterward why he didn't say that, he said, "I want to be a lot of things."<br />
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It was such a cute and sweet ceremony. It's hard to believe that he will be a Kindergartener next month! He has been at the same school since he was 12 weeks old and has known some of his classmates since then, so this is a big change for him. He's ready for it though, and he is so excited. We are excited for him, too.<br />
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And boy, are we proud!<br />
<br />Maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16279011692365978530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589559055874078867.post-5679135114664828022014-06-27T08:43:00.001-04:002014-06-27T08:43:49.487-04:00Merritt at 8 monthsIt's been a while since I've done a Merritt update. A lot has changed since I updated about her months ago! She has learned so much and is busy learning more. She is now 8 and a half months old!<br />
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At about 6 and a half months, she began to sit on her own and quickly became a master at that.<br />
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At 7 months she started to do an army crawl to get around. This may not seem like a very efficient way of moving, but she is fast! She has crawled the "normal" way a few times, but she quickly goes back to the army crawl. At this point, I don't think she will every do the traditional crawl. She is very happy with the army crawl!<br />
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Now at 8 months, she is pulling up to stand. She is working so hard on this and is doing a great job. She is even trying to stand up without the help of anything. She's not quite there yet. That will take a bit more time.<br />
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She loves to play peek-a-boo and be tickled. She will just cackle! I even caught Sims and Merritt playing together this weekend. They were both laughing so much! Merritt was on one side of the coffee table, and Sims was playing something like peek-a-boo on the other side with him going from one side of the coffee table to the other. She would move around and try to catch him. They were having so much fun. I tried to get the camera to record it, but, of course, it was over before I could get the camera ready. I felt like I was seeing a glimpse into the future with both of them playing together. It was a wonderful sight to see!<br />
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We are so thankful for this happy baby!Maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16279011692365978530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589559055874078867.post-62730957313973406972014-06-11T15:55:00.000-04:002014-07-03T16:07:07.326-04:00Sims' 5th BirthdayWhen it came time to think about what kind of party Sims wanted for this 5th birthday, we explored so many options like bounce houses and museums. But for some reason, I was ready for us to do a more homemade, creative party this year. On our third or fourth time reading Neil Gaiman's <i>Fortunately the Milk</i> to Sims, it hit me. We should do a party based on this book! Sims and Jason loved the idea, so we started to plan.<br />
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Since none of Sims' friends had read the book, we decided to give them the book with the invitation. So we designed the invitations to be bookmarks as well. Jason drew all the art for the invitation, and I love all the details that he added.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Front and Back</td></tr>
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We decided to have a morning party where we could serve breakfast cereal, which was inspired by the book. Having a morning party is definitely the way to go. We were cleaning up around noon and had the rest of the day to relax. <br />
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The centerpiece for the food table was Professor Steg in a Floaty Ball Person Carrier, of course! (If you don't know what I am talking about, then you need to read the book! It's brilliant!)<br />
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This was the first party where we had to plan activities for the kids. I wasn't sure what to expect. For our first activity, the kids decorated spaceships.<br />
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I made spaceships out of paper plates and bowls, and we had markers and stickers for the decorations. After they were finished decorating them, they threw them frisbee-style through hanging hula hoops that we referred to as the space-time continuum.<br />
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This was a much bigger hit than I would have imagined. The kids really liked throwing them back and forth. This could have entertained them for a long while.<br />
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Our next activity was Pin the Eye on Splod. (Once again, you really should read the book!) It was like Pin the Tail on the Donkey, but better. Actually, when I say better, I mean an awesome focal point to our party that Jason spent many hours on.<br />
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Each child had a "stone" or "eye" to place in the right spot on Splod. I don't think many, if any, of the kids had ever played Pin the Tail on the Donkey before, so it seemed new to all of them.<br />
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Then it was time for cereal and fruit! We got a bunch of cereals that we wouldn't typically have at home, so it was super special for Sims.<br />
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After eating, the kids did their final activity. They had to walk the plank over shark infested waters to pull a string on the pinata.<br />
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The sharks were inflatable, and the kids liked jumping in the "water" and playing with the sharks as much as walking the plank. <br />
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We got one of the pinatas that opens by pulling strings, and only one of the strings will actually make it open. Well, it sounds better than it was, since none of the strings actually opened it enough for the loot to fall out. But the kids enjoyed it anyway.<br />
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Before the party dispersed, we had cake. Sims had 2 identical cakes - one was labeled Birthday Cake and the other was Birthday Cake from 15 minutes ago. Both were delicious.<br />
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I think Sims and his friends really enjoyed the party. I was so happy that the activities all worked out well enough, since we were rookies at that. I know that we all enjoyed being creative and planning all the details for the party. And we love that so many of Sims' friends love <i>Fortunately the Milk</i>. It's always nice to share good books with friends!<br />
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And now we have a 5 year old! Here he is the day after his birthday at my niece's wedding.<br />
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We are so proud of our big guy!<br />
<br />Maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16279011692365978530noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589559055874078867.post-76397142579984815462014-05-28T14:12:00.003-04:002014-05-28T14:12:50.566-04:00EasterWe had such a great Easter. This year the Easter Bunny filled 2 baskets, and we got to spend a great day with my family.<br />
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The day started early for us, since we had to wake up extra early for Sims to have time to go through his Easter basket before church. <br />
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They both received a few items of clothing and books. Merritt's basket also had baby food, beginner's sippy cups, bibs and toys. Sims' had lego figures and set, stickers, Planes action figures, and candy. I think that the baskets were a hit.<br />
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When Sims saw Merritt in her Easter outfit, he said with amazement, "She looks like a princess!" It was so sweet. My heart melts a little just remembering it. <br />
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After church, we went to Mom and Smith's house and spent the rest of the day hanging out and hunting eggs. The weather was perfect, and Sims and Isla had the best time on the egg hunt.<br />
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Once they found them all, they hid them again and again. They finally decided hiding them wasn't fun anymore, so they started throwing them into the landscaping to see how many them could hide there.<br />
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A few weeks later, we found a couple of eggs that were still hiding in the yard. Luckily, they were plastic eggs.<br />
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Merritt enjoyed watching all the action from the sidelines this year. Next year, she'll be ready to join the big kids in the hunt! <br />
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Maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16279011692365978530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589559055874078867.post-91062336494379793812014-05-06T15:34:00.000-04:002014-05-07T09:52:11.127-04:00Merritt's BaptismMerritt was baptized on March 2, and family and friends came into town for the big event. Tina even traveled from London to be here!<br />
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After church, we all went over to Mom and Smith's house for lunch. We didn't get many pictures, and most of them weren't all that great. But here a couple of the good ones.<br />
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Tina surprised us at lunch by wearing a fairy godmother costume! What a wonderful aunt and godmother she is! Merritt is a lucky girl!<br />
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Please, prepare yourself now for an overload of photos of Merritt in her christening gown. It's just too hard to narrow them down. (Actually, I did narrow them down!)<br />
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It was such a special day, and we are so happy that so many of our favorite people could be with us to celebrate. It's been 2 months since the baptism. Time is flying!Maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16279011692365978530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589559055874078867.post-78001652529128219472014-02-20T13:31:00.000-05:002014-02-20T13:31:57.431-05:00Winter WeatherThis has been an unusual winter. We have seen snow quite a few times and even had 2 decent snow storms. Since the last week in January, daycare has been closed for almost 5 full days because of snow. We have loved every minute of it!<br />
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After the first "big" snow we had (we only got a couple of inches), Sims wanted to stay out in it for hours upon hours. He had so much fun sledding, and he and Jason walked all over the neighborhood to find good places to sled. Even sledding into a bush and having the snow from the bush fall on him didn't put a damper on Sims' love of sledding.<br />
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The snow/ice storm last week didn't deliver very good sledding snow, but Sims still had a fun time out in it. <br />
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I just loved hearing the excitement in his voice the day after it snowed. He woke up that morning, and the first thing he did was look through the blinds to see the snow. Then he said, "Mama, the snow's still here!" We're just not used to having snow last more than a day around here.<br />
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I know everyone is ready for spring, and the wonderful weather this week has been great, but I would still get excited about more snow. I know Sims agrees with me. He is definitely a fan of snow!Maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16279011692365978530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2589559055874078867.post-41036709421490159712014-02-18T08:00:00.000-05:002014-02-18T08:00:03.163-05:00Merritt at 4 MonthsMerritt is changing and learning fast! This month she has found her toes and loves to grab them, stare at them, and even put them in her mouth. Since it's the winter, her feet are usually covered up, so she plays with them the most on the changing table, when they are finally free. <br />
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Everything now goes in her mouth, not just her toes. Bibs, burp cloths and now toys all go straight to her mouth.<br />
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Yes, she plays with toys now! I think this is a biggie. Actually, her version of playing is grabbing it and putting it in her mouth, but that's much more than she could do last month. She is very deliberate about grabbing the toys, and it is so cute to watch. She works so hard at grabbing them, even though it is getting easier by the day. Of course, the first thing she does with it is put it in her mouth.<br />
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She is rolling over with authority now. Once she rolls over, she gets bored quickly though. If she has her arms underneath her to hold her up, she can be happy for a while looking around. She even took a nap on her belly this weekend because she rolled over into that position and fell asleep. <br />
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I think her favorite person in the world is Sims. She loves to watch him do about anything, and she smiles so big when he smiles at her. I am so happy that these two love each other so much!<br />
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