Warning!

OK, so maybe in retrospect it wasn't such a smart thing to do. But now I know & would like to pass along my new pearl of wisdom, lest any of you fall into the same trap that I did.

Eating an entire large bowl of Chex Mix for dinner is not a good idea. It may taste wonderful at the time, but will lead to an extremely unpleasant night.

Can anyone say heartburn?

Lesson Learned

It's Great to be Eight!

The day is finally here! She's 8! 8 years of fun, laughter, kisses, hugs, and princess dresses.
I can't believe it!
We love our little Boo.
Happy Birthday, Emma!

Big Head, Big Head, Big Head!

(1st b-day cake. Yum!) Really, I do love my kiddos, but let's face it. They have big heads.

Take James, for instance. Today at his 1 yr checkup he finally made it onto the growth chart in weight.

He's 18 lbs, 7 ounces- that's in the 3% range. Yay!

Height- 29 inches- 23%

Head- 75%!!!!

It makes them intelligent, right? At least that's what the little Chinese waitress at the restaurant said the other day. And I quote: "These babies with giant heads just crack me up. But if they have big heads then they're extra smart."

(Extra smart, huh? He looks a little goofy to me!)

I was a little flabbergasted, but what am I gonna say? He's cute & that's all that matters. He'll grow into that head. I did!And in other news, we had an earth-shattering event here the other day. Emma has finally reached that special age of accountability. Yep, she'll be 8 next week. And so we embarked on the next phase of childhood for her-

EARRINGS!Mommy was REALLY mad that they wouldn't let us use the real diamond earrings that Uncle Butch gave her when she turned 1. I've been holdin' on to those babies for 7 years now, just waiting for this day. But when the minimum-wage tattooed lady says you can't use them, I guess that's that. Shiny blue would have to do.Watch out world! She's all blinged out & ready to roll!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

We LOVE our Daddy!

He is the best, and the universe conspired to give him some pretty great presents on his birthday yesterday (in addition to the awesome stuff his family picked out at the store.)

We have been waiting for this green egg FOREVER! And Super Blackbeard decided to start laying right smack dab in the middle of Daddy's big day.

Also, the littlest Merriman was being hot stuff, showing us how well he is learning to stand: Awesome, right? So imagine our surprise when he decided to just bypass the wobbly first step & walk 2 feet or so. I was just taking a pic of the standing & instead got this one of his very first steps. See how far he went on his first try? Crazy!This is his 2nd attempt:

(by now he was giggling so much that he kept falling down)

From standing still to walking in 30 seconds. Great, we have another Jack on our hands!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Photo Book

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One Good Thing About the Cold

It was 32 degrees as I drove into my driveway at 7:15 tonight. That's past just cold- that's stinky, filthy, yucky cold.

Now there's lots of bad things about the cold. The car that doesn't want to run, the chickens that have to peck holes through the ice to get a drink of water, & the red-nosed, miserable children come to mind.

But there's one good thing about it- when you forget your groceries in the car for an hour & a half, the frozen ravioli is actually a little harder than when you pulled it out of the freezer at the store! Yay! That's WAY better than forgetting them in July, right?

p.s.- Now before you all go callin' me a wuss, YES, I AM! I am an AZ girl through & through & this weather makes me want to crawl under the covers & hide there 'till February, 'cuz that's when spring comes here!

Happy, Happy Birthday James!

Day 1 Day 365It's true! James is turning the big #1 today!

I can't even express how much I love this little munchkin. He is the center of our family- the one we all go to when we need a smile or a big slobbery kiss.

He's starting to stand on his own, though it's pretty tough to convince him to get up & try to walk.

NOTHING is more fun than cars right now, complete with sound effects (I have to get it on video for you- it's awesome!). Boy, he's all boy!

He's mischevious:Silly:and oh, so adorable:

Happy Birthday, James!
We Love You!