October Recap

I know it's way past October, but I didn't want to forget all the activities that we (mainly Sims) did then. While Jason and I were busy taking care of newborn Merritt, Sims did all sorts of special things.

A week after Merritt was born, Sims' preschool took a field trip to a nearby pumpkin patch.  Thankfully, my mom was able to be Sims' chaperone.

The next week, Sims went to the state fair with my mom, Neely and Isla.  The kids had a blast, and Sims got to experience carnival rides for the first time.  He even rode a roller coaster!

Sims is in the front seat of his first coaster ride.  Brave kid!

Sims still wanted to visit the pumpkin patch we always go to as a family.  I think he didn't want to miss playing in the huge corn crib.  So we took a trip there with Mom and Smith.  There are no pictures of Merritt on this trip because she slept the whole time.  It was her first farm visit, but she didn't see a thing.  Next year!

For Halloween, Sims wanted to be Jake the pirate (from Jake and the Neverland Pirates). He loves pirates right now, and he had a great time being Jake.  It was also an easy costume for us, since he could use a lot of what we already had around the house.

Merritt didn't wear a costume, but she was still dressed for the occasion in her Peek A Boo ghost onesie.

Sims got to wear his costume to parties at our church and his school.  He really got into trick or treating this year and did a great job.  In a couple of years, he will have a trick or treating partner!

Big Brother Sims

Sims' transition to being a big brother has been pretty seamless.  There have been no signs of jealousy or disappointment in the fact that his baby sister can't play with him.  He has actually been excited about having Merritt here, and he loves her so much!

When he came to the hospital to meet her, he got to hold her in a chair.  We were all surprised at how long he wanted to hold her.  He watched her and touched her tiny nose and ears.  She was asleep the whole time.  Well Sims wanted to see her eyes, so he opened one of them himself and told everyone, "She has blue eyes."  He was so cute and gentle with her.

We often hear him say, "I love Baby Girl," or "I love Merritt Elizabeth."  (He likes to call her by her full name.)

Recently, he's started saying, "She's my favorite girl," and "She's my best friend."

He loves to give her hugs and kisses and try to comfort her when she cries.  He's also become quite protective of her.  When my mom was holding her, he told her to "be careful with her."

Sims is such a sweet, big brother, and we are so proud of him.  I am so happy that he loves her this much!

She's Here!

I can't believe she's already a month old!

 
Merritt Elizabeth was born on October 3 at 10:23 in the evening.  She weighed 7 lbs. 5 oz. and was 20 inches long.  Since then she has been growing (and eating) like crazy.

So far Merritt has been a pretty easy baby.  She sleeps well at night, even though she goes to sleep really late (around 11:00 - midnight).  I remember that Sims did the same thing, but I can't remember when he began going to sleep at a more normal time (for old people like me who like to go to sleep early).

She's generally very happy, except during her witching hour, which is around 9:30-10:30 at night.  Jason luckily found her kryptonite though - the bathroom fan.  It will calm her really quickly, but it's not much fun for us to hang out in the bathroom for long periods of time.  I'm not going to complain.  Hanging out in the bathroom is better than a crying baby.

Sims has adjusted amazing well.  He is the best big brother imaginable!

I assure you that many more pictures are coming.

Last Trip as a Family of Three

A few weeks ago, we went on our last mini vacation as a family of three.  (No more travel for me until after Baby Girl arrives.)  We wanted some special time with Sims before the craziness of having a newborn is added to the family.  We let Sims choose where he wanted to go, and he chose Great Wolf Lodge.  He had been talking about our last visit there, which was a year and a half ago, a lot recently, so we weren't surprised when he said he wanted to go there. 

This time we only stayed one night, but we got there early to take full advantage of the 2 days of the water park.  We had a lot of fun going from one pool to the other, and Sims didn't mind being sprayed with water as much as he was last time.  Before we left, he even got brave enough to go down one of the slides from the treehouse area, which was the largest size slide he could go on due to his height.  I don't think he loved the slide that much, but he is already talking about going down it again on our next visit!  We were very proud of his courage to go down it!

Sims loved the room about as much as the water park.  He was so excited to be able to sleep in a bunk bed in a "tent".  He is still talking about the trip and planning what he is going to do on our next visit.  He loves this place!  It was wonderful having some special family time, and I'm happy that Sims got to go somewhere he was so excited about visiting!  That was the purpose, after all.

Sims' 4th Birthday

I know that I'm 2 months past due with these pictures, but better late than never.  Sims' actual birthday was pretty low-key, since it was in the middle of the week.  He got to choose what we had for dinner (pizza), then we took his new bike out for a ride. 

He was so excited to get his first bike.  He had been talking about wanting one for quite a while, so we figured his birthday was the perfect time to finally get it!  He loves his pirate bike that he picked out.

A few days later, we had a space themed science party for him at the neatest place, Science Fun For Everyone.  All the kids and adults seemed to like it.  I think Jason even wants to have his birthday party there.

The kids played with hydrophobic sand, made "alien sneeze" (slime), and launched rockets into the air.  All of the kids wore lab coats, which made it even better!

Sims helping with the Mentos in Coke experiment

His wonderful reaction to the result

Sims came home with a goody bag full of great stuff, including a lab coat, goggles and a tornado tube.  He plays with the tornado tube a lot!  He loves that he can make a tornado.  I think his party was a success!

Fishing for the First Time

Sims has been talking about going fishing for a while now.  He even told his teachers at school that his daddy took him fishing at a lake, and he had this long detailed story about it, which had no truth to it.  That was when I realized that this kid needed a fishing rod!  We got him one before the Ocracoke trip, so he got to fish for the first time in Silver Lake on Ocracoke.  He was so excited!

Jason bought some squid for bait, and the boys had a lot of fun sitting at the dock and waiting and waiting and waiting for a bite.

I was amazed with Sims' patience.  He seemed so happy just to have a fishing rod in his hand.  Finally, his patience was rewarded!

He caught a pinfish!  Now he has a true story to tell.  Wait!  Does anyone tell true stories when it comes to fishing?

Independence Day

We were lucky to spend the week of Independence Day in one of our favorite locations...

This year we had my family along for the Ocracoke trip, since we won't all be able to make a beach trip in late September this year due to Baby Girl's arrival.  We were so excited to show off our favorite island to all of them!  I didn't take many pictures during the week.  It rained a lot for the first few days, but we got a chance to go to the beach every day.  I did take photos on July 4th though.  Many, many photos...

We started off the day by going to the beach, but we made sure that we were back in time for the parade.  This is my all-time favorite parade because there is nothing commercial about it.  You won't see any typical parade floats.  Locals and visitors just decorate their trucks and golf carts and throw candy to the kids.  Small time fun at its best!

If the Founding Fathers Were Surfers

Blackbeard is a requirement in Ocracoke.

After dinner, we headed to the square dance.  Sims loved dancing on the sidelines,

but Isla wanted to be a part of the circle dance.  You can tell she loved every minute of it!

It was a great day and week!  I'm so happy that my family could join us this year!