Into Extra Innings

I knew I had it easy with Merritt... 5 pounds 15 ounces, 2 pushes, and she arrived. The doctors had been predicting Ross would be in the 8-9 pound range. With only 2 days until 42 weeks, I began to wrap my head around the idea that Ross took his time growing... he would probably also take his time making his appearance!

We had a long day that was eased by the wonderfulness that is epidural. Around 8 pm, the doctor came to check on me and explained that a C-section might be in my future. I said no, under no circumstances did I want a C-section. They gave me another dose of epidural, told me to reconsider, and told me they would be back in an hour. I took a nap. When doctor and nurses came back everything was fine and I was ready to push.

Ross was born a little after 10 pm, weighing in at 8 pounds, 11 ounces. We are so thankful we have a handsome, healthy boy!

After his bath, the nurses gave him a mohawk - maybe he will become a RockStar intead of an All-Star!

Let's Play Ball!

For the past 9 months I have been looking forward to this day! We checked into the hospital at 6:45 to be induced. So weird to think that my little All-Star would be born today! His birthday is so fitting for our family ~ all of the special days in our family are on the 27th of different months {we are thinking about moving Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas to the 27th too!}

The week before FOUR...

The week before Ross' arrival, we wanted Merritt to feel as special as possible, knowing that alot of our attention would be focused on Ross. Merritt has been our whole world, our princess for over 3 years and I have been nervous about her reaction to a new baby taking that attention. I had planned to do as much as I could with Merritt, no matter the heat or errands that needed to be done before Ross arrived.

When my sister-in-law called and asked if we wanted to go to Kiddie Acres, we of course, said yes! Merritt loved all the rides and hanging out with her cousins! Afterwards, we kept the 'Merritt is going to be the BEST big sister' day going by eating lunch at Mighty Fine Burgers and then a trip tp the Arboretum to feed the ducks, turtles, and birds.

Wow! Check out the belly behind Merritt's head!

We also joined our friends, Kat and Trenton at the Austin Science Center for some exploring. My little scientist LOVED the magnify glass. A couple of times she pointed it at my belly to see if she could see Ross.... I thought about telling herthat if she saw him, ask him when he was planning on coming out!

First Movie Date!

Last week Merritt the Bear went to see Pooh Bear! This was her first trip to the theatre and her first real movie {Unless you count Sex and the City Baby Day at Alamo Drafthouse when she was a month old.} She found he movie poster while we waited for our friends to arrive.

How cute is this? Merritt and her 'boyfriend' Trenton holding hands on their first date! Both Trenton's mom and I weren't sure how they would do at the theatre... Would they be able to sit through the whole movie and stay interested, would they talk and yell and disturb the other movie-goers, would they tell us when they needed to go potty? The answers are Yes, Yes {it was a theatre full of kids so no one really minded}, and Yes.

Show me your POPCORN! I am not sure what they enjoyed more... the popcorn or the movie!

It was wonderful for so many of our friends from our playgroup to join us! I think they used each other as examples of how to behave during the movie. My nervousness changed from how would they behave to, I hope her popcorn doesn't run out before the movie ends! It was so funny during each preview, Merritt would ask where Winnie the Pooh was! Trenton had a great time dancing to the preview music while Merritt enjoyed her popcorn.

Here is Merritt and I in our very best Winnie the Pooh Yellow! Our friends Katie and Leah brought us Winnie the Pooh headbands that our other friend Jen designed to go with her Winnie the Pooh friendship lessons.

Merritt wore it to go see the movie AGAIN with her Daddy! And my parents have plans to take her to see it again while she vacations with them next week!

Summer Wedding Part 1

Here are some pictures from Adrianne and Josh's wedding at Reunion Ranch. Merritt loved the cows and even found a Longhorn. When you ask her what a Longhorn says, she replies 'Hook'em Horns!'

I now pronounce you husband and wife... The Kiss... and for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Hobby!

Merritt loved the scenery around Reunion Ranch. Her she is looking beautiful in front of the old wagon.

Daddy came to join us after his groomsman duties were finished. She loves her Daddy!

There is one thing our group loves to do... Dance! ANY kind of dance! When we get together, wedding, BBQ cook-offs, Saturday nights we dance. Not well, but who cares!

Summer Wedding Part 2

I love weddings! Here are some more pictures from Josh and Adrianne's wedding! Merritt wore the same Flower Girl dress as she wore in Sarah and Jason's wedding last month. The dress was a mini version of Adrianne's dress!

We told Merritt to look for her Daddy at the end of the aisle and he would give her a lollipop. Both Merritt and the Ring Bearer couldn't see their dads over the heads of the guests, so Beau and Justin had to come get Merritt and Zeke - too sweet!

Merritt enjoying some of the groom's cake. I had 2 pieces of the bride's cake - one piece each for Ross and I :0

Merritt, Beau, and I danced all night long! She loved the fast dance music and bright lights.

So tired by the end of the night! We didn't get home until midnight, luckily everyone slept in the next morning.

Hobby/Neal Rehearsal

Our wonderful friends, Adrianne and Josh are getting married! Beau and Josh have been friends since middle school and all of the wives LOVE Adrianne! She has beeen an amazing influence on Josh :) Merritt loves them both and I was thrilled when they asked if she would be the Flower Girlin their wedding!

Merritt is becoming a professional Flower Girl with 2 weddings in the past month! I am thinking of renting her out for weddings in need of a beautiful Flower Girl {got to start saving up for her own wedding!}.

The wedding and reception were at Reunion Ranch. Merritt had to try out the Red Wagon while the adults continued the rehearse... As I said, Merritt is a professional, she doesn't need to rehearse!

We had a wonderful dinner at Maggiano's thanks to the Hobby Family! The food was A-MAZ-ING, I was so glad that I didn't have to worry about fitting into a 'skinny' dress for the next night - one of the benefits of being pregnant!!

Adrianne gave Merritt her first jewelry box as a thank you for being in the wedding. She loved the dancing ballerina and continued to ask me to make her dance to the music, even during the bride and groom's speeches.

Duck Pond

Last week, we took a trip to the local YMCA and visit the ducks at the pond. I am not sure who ate more bread while we were there... Merritt or the Ducks. My girl is a carb queen! As it turns out, the 3 to 5 pieces of bread she ate while feeding ducks was her lunch!

We went to the pond with our friends Leah and Quinn {and their mommies too}. As the girls fed themselves and the ducks, the moms chatted about recent trouble with temper tantrums {not our own but our daughters'}. I wondered if it had something to do with Ross joining our family or maybe instead of the 'terrible 2's, it's the terrible 3's? Hopefully it's just part of toddlerhood and it will be over soon!

Soon the geese and turtles arrived and the girls shared their love of carbohydrates with them as well.

At our picnic lunch, Katie read the girls Duck stories from the books she had brought along. Merritt loved listening and then wanted to read the books again on her own. I love that she LOVES books. I am not sure if it has anything to do with her OCD, but after hearing a book 2-3 times she has it memorized and loves to read it to anyone around her.

After our picnic lunch, Merritt played in the sand and on the nearby playscape. She refused to climb the stairs to go down the slide after seeing the big kids run up the slide and then slide back down. She wanted to do it the way the other kids did it. The teacher in me had to restrain myself from correcting this inappropriate behavior, it's my summer break too, afterall.

A Day at the Lake

Since it's 103 degrees here on most days {usually by 10 am it feels like!}, we have been trying to stay cool anyway we can. We are lucky to have some great friends whose parents have a boat that we have definitely taken advantage of! We have been out on the boat 3 times in the past week and Merritt has become comfortable on the boat and in the lake. {If you know me, I do NOT like water. Period. There was an unfortunate incident when I was a child and have never learned to swim.} I am trying not to put that same fear in Merritt, so here is the family picture of us having fun in the water :) And if you notice closely... Yes, she is wearing a life jacket AND is in a floatie that I think is necessary.

After watching everyone take rides on the Jet Ski, Merritt wanted a turn too. I took a deep breath and said 'Ok.' As I watched them drive off, I could already hear Merritt yelling for 'Daddy go faster!' She came back to me with a huge smile {and in one piece} and immediately asked to go again... and again.... and again.

This is me on the Jet Ski... it is budgie corded to the boat and the ingnition is off {my kind of jet sking}.

Merritt loved watching all the boats, jet skis, and water skiers go by! Eventually all of the fun, water, and sun would have the sleepy effect! Once we would decide to go cruising {or as we like to say, 'Go House Hunting on the Lake'}, the motion of the waves, Merritt is out...

Thank you Auntie Yourli {Lori} and Silly Uncle Jay for inviting us out - we had a wonderful time!

You're a Firecracker Project

While blog hopping I landed at 2 of my latest blog obsessions ~ Shindig and Lil' Luna ~ I check out their fun new ideas daily! I had to try to make these Firecracker Gifts for Merritt and since I was making one... why not 2 :) You can find more specific directions on how to make the Firecrackers on their blogs but I will give a brief description of how I did it.

I hopes of finding all the supplies at one store, I headed to the Dollar Tree. They didn't have Pringles chip cans there so I went with Doritos cans instead. It was a good thing too because I went a little crazy with the surprises I put inside and I am not sure everything would have fit in a Pringles can {I had a long list of places I was going that day and seemed to pick up a little something from each place I went!}.

Step One: Turn the can over and with a knife, cut the silver bottom off. Then empty the chips into a plastic baggie {or into a bowl for a snack while you work - just watch out for orange fingers if you are eating Doritos}. Using a damp paper towel wipe the inside of the can and the silver bottom clean.

Step Two: Put all the goodies inside the can. Some of the treats I put in my cans were Patriotic Sticker Sheets, Silly String, Red White and Blue Lei, Paper Chinese Firework, American Flags, Stars and Stripes beach ball, Paper Di-Cuts ofAmerican symbols, and Red & White Pinwheels.

Step Three: Reattach the bottom of the can with hot glue. This will ensure that when the Firecracker is opened, they can hear the 'pop' of the top!

Step Four: Decorate! If you use Pringle cans, there are FREE printables that will cover the can perfectly at Shindig and Lil' Luna! I bought a package of patriotic scrapbook paper at Tuesday Morning for $3 that covered the Dorito cans. For the lid, I cut 2 slits in the plastic and threaded ribbon, tinsel garland, and pipe cleaners through. Since I couldn't fit the fabulous 4th glasses into the can, I used them as part of the decoration for the lid. Use your finger to wind the pipe cleaners and garland around to create a spiral so it looks like the lid is exploding. I also added some glitter stars, American flags, and an initial of the person receiving the Firecracker and...

BOOM! You're ready to set off the perfect Fourth of July Firecracker for the Holiday!

July Fourth Fun!

This week we started our Fourth of July fun in June at our friend Leah's Meme and Papa's pool! They were so nice to let our playgroup come visit, cool off, and have red, white, and blue fun! Merritt and I brought a little 4th of July firecracker, since we can't set off the real thing, as thanks for inviting us!

The pool was amazing! It had the perfect shallow lounge area for Merritt to walk in {and of course line things up}. I think the hit of the pool party was the fishing set, everyone loved using the fishing poles to catch all the pool toys!

Also notice my little firecracker's bathing suit - Merritt's first 2 piece- very patriotic!

Everyone had such a great time playing and snacking. Check out Trenton's orange hands - I think he enjoyed his Cheetoes! Too bad he wouldn't share with Kat, she had to get her own bag :)

Instead of three men in a tub... check out the three girls in a float! Love this picture of the girls floating in the pool!

After a yummy lunch of mini burgers, hot dogs, fruit, and chips {during which all Merritt could talk about was the 'blue cake'} we sang Happy Birthday to Scarlett, who turns one today and ate cupcakes.

We are thankful for so many things during this time of year... Our brave soldiers that keep us free, our new home that keeps us safe, and our friends and family that make us feel so loved!

Merritt's Big Girl Room!

I have been working on Merritt's 'Big Sister' room for almost a month now. I found a pink, black, and white pattern that I found at Target that I love :) My mom was sweet enough to order Merritt's 'I am a Big Girl Now!' bedding to go with the Big Girl bed that Beau's mom got her for her birthday.

My Dad came to help with a 'To-Do' list that was getting way to long and repainted all the furniture white {I added the different pinks to the dresser and black knobs to complete the look}.

I also repainted Merritt's shelves and letters to match her new bedding. I am still going back and forth on whether I want to repaint the flowers because they have zebra print on them and there isn't any other zebra in the room. Thoughts....

I have found some really great deals for the room too at Ross, Home Goods, and Hobby Lobby! Those cute rugs were on clearance at Hobby Lobby for $5!!

Merritt loves her new room {although she sneaks into Ross' room daily to sneak toys and make sure he isn't in there yet!}.