Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

We have been celebrating Dr. Seuss for the past couple of weeks. We have been busy reading our favorite books and playing learning games. {And sorry about this pic! it was taken tonight with my phone when I remembered I needed a picture of her}

We made Cat in the Hat hats!

And even one for little brother... although all he really wanted was to chew on his!

We worked on graphing and some fine motor skills with coloring in the boxes.

Merritt loves patterns, I think it is part of her ocd :) I hope her love reading continues throughout her life and if it does get hard, then I want her to remember that there are fun adventures inside each book!

Ross 7 Months!

Oh handsome boy!! Here is my little man during his seventh month... This month has been a tough one for him, the ongoing ear infections, 2 MORE teeth, and constant need to be in mom' arms have made for an... tearful month. Once the second doctor told us that the 2 prescriptions the first doctor prescribed weren't suppose to be given at the same time because they cause upset tummies, Ross felt better about life. We had to pospone the 6 check-up while he was feeling bad so we will have to make another trip to the doctor for some shots... I keep forgeting to make that appointment because I hate him having to get so many shots.

Ross is doing great with all the norms. He LOVES eating. I am making his food just as I did with Merritt's {I just can't pay 80 cents for 1 jar when I can get a bundle of bananas for the same price and it lasts for 2-3 weeks}. With his new teeth {the vampire ones and the 2 bottoms - the teeth in the middle on top are missing - maybe dentures?} he is eating everything we put if front of him.

Everyone that is around him swears he is saying 'mama' and I love it!

Ross is sitting up great without any assistance and within the past week has begun to pull himself up. Instead of crawling to get a toy, he will turn on his bottom and scoot until the toy is withi reach. A couple of times he has gotten himself on all fours but then isn't sure if he wants to put forth the effort to actual go anywhere.

Little man was not 'feelin' tonight's photo shoot so these are a few before he began screaming.

I {HEART} Valentine's Day!

Some people love the fall because of holidays like Halloween or Thanksgiving. Some like Christmas time and winter fun. Me... I love Valentine's Day! It is totally a Hallmark holiday and I don't like chocolate and I would rather have alot of things over flowers but I can't help LOVING this month. I think some of the reason is that I know spring is right around the corner... Today Sir and Lady Valentine received some mail from their GG & GPop. Merritt was so excited to see her name on the envelope! After I let her open her card, she insisted that she needed to 'show Ross' how to open mail. Both of them loved their cards... in different ways. Ross wanted to taste test his while Merritt wanted to stare at herself in the mirror that was inside the card.

She even took it to bed with her and had me include it as one of her bedtime books.

We also made Merritt's class their Valentines - they read "I 'wheelie' like you" and have a toy car tied to a foamy heart with a heart ribbon. On the back, she wrote her friends' names all by herself.

And you know me being a teacher, I couldn't leave out Merritt's teachers!

For each of her SCENTational, SCENTastic, and SCENTrific teachers, I attached a little card to their favorite scent of Scentsy wax. Also for their sweet tooths, some brownies... Yum!

Super Cute Shooting for Brownie label is from http://laurenmckinsey.com/

Love to Learn!

My little Valentine LOVES to learn {especially when I call it 'playing games' and not 'Mommy School'}! This month I took advantage of some wonderful Pre-K packs that I have found on Pinterest - definitely check them out if Mommy School interests you! Here's Merritt standing in front of her LOVELY work!

My friend Jen made these last year and I printed out a bunch but never got around to using them until this year. Lady Valentine loved sorting the sweetheart candies, counting them, and then graphing the hearts. This activity became a nightly 'game' at dinner time - each night we opened a new box. I was also amazed at her memory because she would remember the day before's count and compare the amount!

The Valentine Pre-K pack I downloaded from Over the Big Moon was fantastic! The graphics were super cute and included lots of different activities that were just right with what she is doing at school.

Oh and the best part - it's FREE :) http://overthebigmoon.blogspot.com/2012/01/valentines-day-pre-k-pack.html

Ross 6 Months

Today my little man turned 6 months... and I am in disbelief that it has already been 6 months. The Mr. and I decided long ago, for many reasons but mainly we prefer to play man-on-man defense rather than zone defense with our children, that we only want 2 little people. I have tried to soak up every ounce time, love, and laughter I can get with my little man knowing that this will be the last time I will have a child this age.

We have been incredibly blessed to have have a happy and healthy boy. I think the comment I hear the most is, "Wow, is he always this happy?" And my reply is a smile and nod. He is happy a majority of the time!

The person he smiles at the most?? Merritt. He adores her. She sings to him, plays with him, and her morning job is to pick out his toy he takes to Ms. JoAnn's everyday and he lights up when she enters the room.

Our boy is growing... his 6 month is next Tuesday and I will find out exact measurements. Like with Merritt, I am making his food and this month we added squash to the rotation with banana, sweet potatoes, and pears. Next on the menu - peaches! His 2 bottom teeth came in together 2 weeks ago and I have been slowly introducing 'chunkier' foods that he can chew or gum.

Ross' accomplishments this month include sitting up on his own, reaching for objects and then immediately putting that object in his month. He no longer lies to lay on his back for long periods of time {5 minutes} and will roll over to his tummy. He has begun to push off and turn and reach for nearby toys.

Love this boy!

New Years Eve!

Happy 2012! I hope that all my friends and family have a happy and healthy 2012! Merritt was a little nervous of the sparklers at first but then loved waving them around the backyard.

In 2011, 2 of our best friends had babies. Ava invited Brooks and Ross to party at her crib for New Years and they let their parents tag along too. Wow - how New Years Eve has changed now that we are - gulp - grown up! Can't wait to watch these 3 grow up together and be as close as their parents are!

New Teeth!

This past week, my little man hadn't been quite the same...

His drool had a similarity to a water faucet, his sleeping wasn't quite so sound, and his smiles{while bright enough to light up a room} weren't as big. We had a sneaking suspension that we might need to break out the steak knives soon and here they are... two new bottom teeth!