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

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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!
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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!
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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.