more whirling

more whirling ... more wind ...

the hectic holiday season

jack and his cousins illustrate the whirlwind that xmas has been this year

santa claus is coming to town ... eventually

---

From: Mershon, Michael [mailto:Michael.Mershon@xxxxxxxxxx.xxx]
Sent: Thursday, December 24, 2009 9:29 AM
To: Jennings, Alicia (NBC Universal)
Subject: It worked!
 

 
Jack just asked to go to bed so santa could come faster!
--------------------------
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Device

the spirit and the letter

our holiday cards recently went out, and while we did not include a letter unsolicitedly detailing what we've been up to, we did add an entreaty to visit the blog to find out our goings-on.

so ... for all those newly visiting or our regular fans in the mood for a recap ... here's how we spent our 2009 (it's been a big year!):

in january we welcomed miss anna jennings mershon (a.k.a. annie) to our family. she could not be a sweeter, more wonderful addition to our family. she was born amid an ice storm but she melted our hearts.

in february, we came home from the hospital with annie and inaugurated a new blog, while saying goodbye to the blog that chronicled jack's 2 1/2 years as an only child. annie learned to smile, we enjoyed a visit from grandma and grandpa, and mommy learned to cope with two children instead of one (assuming you count jack as only one child).

march was in like a lion and out like a lamb. at least we think it was. it was a blur. but we enjoyed annie's continuing growth, jack's many antics, celebrating st. patrick's day and spending time with family and friends.

april found annie sitting and holding her head up, jack continuing to relish his role as big brother, aunt megan visiting from california, and all four of us taking a fantastic trip to florida to celebrate easter and visit with grandma and grandpa. it was our first family trip to sea world -- and then we were joined by aunt amy, uncle bill and cousins brady and parker. april also found us with a spot of bad luck -- a large tree limb that crashed on to our house and required a major roof/attic repair that took months to complete ...

in may mommy returned to work -- with a vengeance. on day two back from maternity leave, she was in russia and italy for 4 days. the following week? ghana. it made for an interesting month, but daddy and the kids all managed well. annie began rolling over and we spent more time with friends, including a memorial day crab feast! annie was baptized at the same church in which mommy and daddy were married and family and friends gathered at our house to celebrate.

june was full and busy -- jack's school wrapped up for the year and he celebrated his third birthday. we had a party at the house and grandma and grandpa, who had just visited the previous weekend for annie's baptism, were able to return to celebrate -- along with nana and grandad and a number of friends. annie developed even more personality and brought us much joy.

in july, we celebrated independence day and worked on independence from diapers for jack. we're pleased to say both were successes!

august brought our annual trip to the beach with friends. this year it was 10 kids and 10 adults -- 20 of us all in one big house on the outer banks of north carolina! it was chaotic and maybe a little crazy, but tons of fun. annie started eating solid foods and our smashed roof from april was finally fixed -- along with some other home improvement projects which it inspired.

september was back to school time -- both nursery and sunday. while jack enjoyed time in the classroom, annie enjoyed some one-on-one time in the mornings without her big brother around so she could develop new skills. even daddy went back to school -- celebrating his 20th high school reunion with friends from lakeview high.

in october, we embarked on some first field trips. jack's was to the pumpkin patch. annie's was to the capitol. mommy and daddy's was to amelia island, florida for a dear friend's wedding and a much-needed getaway while grandma and grandpa babysat. all were smashing successes. the kids also enjoyed halloween -- especially jack who dressed as his most revered role model -- a fire fighter. annie, of course, was the sidekick dalmation.

in november, we celebrated all we had to be thankful for -- annie and jack both getting so big and growing so beautifully (annie even began standing by herself), and wonderful times shared throughout the year. jack treated us to an inimitable and unforgettable 3-year-old's telling of the story of the first thanksgiving before our family meal.

and here we are in december. we've gotten our christmas tree and decked the halls with boughs of holly. we've had adventures, travels, and fun times with friends and family. and we are so blessed to have had such a wonderful year.

we hope you and yours have a wonderful holiday and a prosperous 2010!

The Holiday Spirit

Lest our regular readers think that The Great Mitten Incident of 2009 (see below) presents the full picture of Jack's character ...

Monday nights are big at the Mershon household -- it's trash night! Jack loves to help me take the garbage and the recycling down to the end of the street -- almost as much as he loves watching the trucks come by on Tuesday mornings.

After several years of loving use (read: tons of diapers), our trash can is giving up the ghost. It's missing one handle and the other one is about to go.

This Monday I was muttering to myself about how much I needed to get a new one.

Jack paused for a moment, and then looked up at me: "O.K., Daddy - I'll ask Santa to bring you a new trash can for Christmas!"

Look at our little guy - offering up one of his precious Santa-wishes for Dear Ole' Dad!

And Santa, if you're reading this -- I expect to see something under the tree.

unsurprising mittens

mommy recently returned from oslo where she went to watch the potus get the nobel peace prize.

as per usual, mommy came home from her travels with a little gift for the kids.

for better or for worse, jack has come to expect these prizes, and when mommy returned, one of the first things from his mouth was: "where's my surprise?"

and as he waited, eyes closed and hands outstretched, mommy proffered a white plastic bag.

jack reached inside and pulled out ... mittens. two pair. one smaller purple pair and one larger brown.

"mittens?" he plaintively asked. "mittens are *not* a surprise!" jack declared.

true that, young jack. the surprise was the exchange rate between the norwegian kroner and the weak dollar. so mittens were the splurge.

ah, our grateful, gracious son. christmas ought to be interesting.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

fashionista jack

as mommy was getting dressed today, she asked jack, "should i wear regular shoes or shiny shoes?". jack decided shiny (eat your heart out tim gunn)

then ... he said, "obama will think your shoes are pretty. he'll say, 'oh mommy! your shoes are beautiful.'"

don't think it'll happen, but it would be pretty cool!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

weekend update, saturday

a weekend update so chock-full, we're splitting it into two editions.

fluffy white flakes fell on our fair city and what could be more idyllic and iconic than going to cut your own christmas tree in the snow?

insults 101

today, as we were rushing to brush teeth so we could get out the door to school, jack got frustrated when mommy chided him for playing with a ball instead of heading upstairs to the sink.

so, he said, "forget it! you are a poo-poo diaper!"

it took every ounce of self-control mommy had not to laugh.

and while jack was reprimanded for not speaking respectfully and nicely to another person ... it was also sort of nice to see ... it was so developmentally appropriate -- sometimes you measure the milestones by the bad stuff as well as the good.

just as long as he doesn't make a habit of it ... cause being called "poo-poo diaper" could hurt a girl's self esteem!

standin' annie

unedited and raw ... so excuse the bad camerawork ...

but look at that proud papa watching her little triumph ...

holiday portrait, failed attempt #2

it's like herding cats ... one child is difficult enough ... two -- and one pre-walker??? nearly impossible!

but ... perhaps a winner? or at least a fall-back plan if attempt #3 goes no better ....

turn that sucker black and white, boost the contrast and crop it tight ... it'll look like annie leibowitz shot the thing!

thankfulness, redux

last year, mommy recorded a list of what jack said he was thankful for without any prompting besides the question, "anything else?"

this year the experiment was repeated ... with slightly different results. check out the very gastronomically-oriented list:

• cake
• bread
• butter
• stuffing
• green beans

anything else, jack? "nope. that's it."

that's it.

pediatric update

a quick pediatric update from a dual jack&annie checkup.

jack was due for his 3.5 year check up, and annie her 10 month check up. so, in the interests of efficiency, we booked a joint appointment.

of course, with two kids at the doctor, we didn't have the energy or wits to also document it on film or video ... so this will be the text-only version.

they both received their h1n1 boosters ... and annie also received the booster for seasonal flu, since infant vaccine comes in two doses.

jack was concerned for the entire appointment with whether he was going to get a shot. and while he was not happy about it, he was brave in the end ... and very proud of his "tweety" bandaid.

they were both pronounced happy, healthy kids. and we were reminded yet again just how thankful we should have been (and were) on thursday past.

the stats:

jack, 3.5 years old

height = 39"(+1 inch)
weight = 32.5 lbs (+1 lb.)

that puts him at about the 50th percentile for height and 25th for weight ... on the new growth chart -- he moved up from the infant to child chart!

annie, 10 months old

height = 29"(+ 1/2 inch)
weight = 19 lbs, 15 oz. (+1 lb., 5 oz.)
head = 46 cm (+1 cm)

that puts her at 75th percentile for height, 50th for weight and who knows for head ... speaking of heads ... she still doesn't have a single tooth in hers. she is, however, starting to stand and balance for several seconds before sitting down in a (mostly) controlled way ... prompting mamaxana to make the apt observation that she will walk before she has a tooth. but, the doctor did not seem worried about either prospect -- neither walking soon nor not having teeth.

they do grow up like weeds. and what weeds our children are! cute, cute weeds ...

the story of thanksgiving

as told by jack mershon (with some noisy off-camera help from his sister)

thankful

holiday portrait, failed attempt #1

over the past few years, mommy has elected to send pictures of jack as our family's christmas card. there is no happier way (and no more profound) to mark the passage of time than by the growth of a child.

this year, we're hoping to have a picture of jack and annie to send out.

so, in the service of this lofty goal, we used the beautiful weather and nice light on sunday to try some portaits in the park near church ... in the shadow of the white house.

it went, um, less than swimmingly ... judge for yourselves:

ain't she sweet?

oh ain't she sweet?
see her walking down that street
and i ask you very confidentially:

ain't she sweet?

oh i repeat

don't you think she's kind of neat?

yes i ask you very confidentially:

ain't she sweet?

weekend update, november edition

we can't let november escape without a single post ... and if it's a new post ... it must be a weekend update.

mommy returned from her trip to asia in one piece (mostly). to give daddy a break from his more than week-long single parent duty, mommy and kids left him in peace to do work around the house and watch the ohio state game, and headed off for some errands.

one of which, was getting jack's hair cut. his previous cut had been really more of a -- how to say? -- butchering. so, this time we waited for "the good guy." we don't know his name, but you recognize him by his shirts.

this was only jack's second haircut in the chair by himself rather than seated on mommy's lap, and he has become absolutely intrepid. and, he looked so cute by the end, that the mother of the boy in the chair next to him said of jack, "make him look like that little boy."

unbeknownst to her, her son was in the butcher's chair. ah, well ... she'll learn. we all do.

after that highly successful outing, we continued on to the shoe store to buy jack some new shoes. he was mostly cooperative, but the interesting thing is that we've played out the scene in our imaginative play since -- with jack as the shoe store employee and mommy as the customer.

we followed up with lunch at mcdonald's and a visit to the toy store. for the longest time ... pretty much since he could speak words ... jack has referred to the golden arches as "hot donald's." well, no more. he has informed his mother that it is called mcdonald's and he doesn't want to call it hot donald's any more. although he was convinced to do it just a few more times ... for mommy.

at the toy store, jack looked around at all the toys that he might ask santa for. he was, shockingly, particularly drawn to the fire fighting-related toys. in fact, when nana came to babysit him later that night, and she had the audacity to suggest that he might ask santa for some more books in the series from which they were reading, he responded, "oh, no, i’m asking santa for the firetruck and the fire station and the fire mans. i can get the books at the library.” apparently he decided he was not going to waste his “santa asks” on books!

meanwhile, as jack schemes and no doubt plots his strategy for world domination, annie plays happily with toys. she has gotten very mobile and is unstoppable these days. and she has the bruises to prove it. in fact, the baby gates have all come back out -- including one at the top of the stairs which someone broke last year by swinging on it (hint: it was not the cat) and which daddy fixed while left in peace.

sunday found a return of our family to church. after many recent weekends spent working, it was nice to take a break from the hustle-bustle of life and slow down and reflect for an hour. the fact that it was a pleasant day didn't hurt either ...

we wrapped up the day with what may in fact be our first-ever true family dinner. everyone, even annie, ate together and ate the same food. in fact, annie may have eaten more than jack -- nearly an entire drumstick worth of chicken and egg noodles, too! it was a busy weekend but nice to be all back together again.

Our Guy

One of the fathers at Jack's preschool is a terrific photographer. As a contribution to the school auction, he takes 'action shots' of all the kids. This year's version is here.

black(berry) jack

as we left the house for nursery school today (running late as usual), jack said, "i'm gonna bring my blackberry!"

so, mommy said, "well, that's fine, but when we get there you'll have to leave it in the car because we can't take it in to school."

jack responded, "okay. but i just want to see if daddy sent me a message on email."

ah, the things we teach our children ....

(p.s., i sent this from my blackberry)

miss mershon goes to washington

when mamaxana traded the columbus day holiday for another day off that week, daddy took charge of the kids.

and while jack was in school ... annie made her first visit to the hallowed halls of the cannon house office building on the house of representatives side of capitol hill.

she was an instant hit with the entire office ...

and while her first trip was a huge success, she was too tired to fillibuster, and so she went home after her "optional stop-by" -- as they say in the politics business -- for her non-optional nap.

first field trip

jack set off today on his first-ever field trip. the nursery school was headed to the pumpkin patch, and jack was all set to go with his buddy cache in his car.

the pumpkin patch is actually at the farm that we've frequented before as a family for berry picking, last year's pumpkin and christmas tree ...

but this is jack's first outing without us ...

he was all primed and ready to go -- reciting for us what he was going to do and see. and he was very proud to have his backpack full of snacks, extra clothes and a bag for his pumpkin. and he was excited to wear his fire boots -- even if at first he was not sure they should be worn for any reason other than "emergencies."

the mom doing the driving promised she'd try to take pictures ... so we'll bring those to you if she makes good!