Boo-Boos

Merrin has actually had multiple boo-boos already but this one was the first "dramatic" one...or dramatic for me at least! This actually wasn't even her first busted lip but it was the first one that I witnessed first hand! It was AWFUL!!! Merrin and I were enjoying a wonderful afternoon at the pool...well, wonderful until Merrin fell and busted her upper lip! We were actually in the big swimming pool because Merrin loves to be in the big pool with me. She likes to float on her back, swim on her tummy while I hold her and she also likes jumping into the big pool while holding my hands. When we were all done with the big pool we started to walk back to the baby pool and just as I opened the gate to the baby pool, Merrin took off and her body was a little faster than her feet and she fell face first on the concrete...OUCH!!!!!!! I was right behind her so I immediately picked her up, turned her around and then almost fainted because blood was pouring out of her mouth...poor thing! She was crying so hard and I was trying to get the bleeding to stop because I couldn't tell how bad the cut was or if she needed stitches, etc. Luckily I got her to calm down and drink some water so I could assess the damage and THANK GOODNESS no stitches needed. She just has a cut on the inside and multiple scratches on the outside and a HUGE, swollen upper lip! I know this "boo-boo" will be the first of many but I'm not ready for them to be happening so soon! Here are some pics of Merrin's "boo-boo" (all smiles as usual) although the pictures don't do her busted lip justice, it looks much worse in person!

Merrin's weekend

Merrin had herself a busy weekend, full of friends, swimming and train rides! On Friday, my friend Kellianne and her little girl, Katelyn (17 months), came over for a play date at the pool. Our neighbor, Laura, and her little girl, Lily (5 months) who ironically happens to be Katelyn's cousin, also joined us at the pool and these bathing beauties had a great time! Katelyn and Merrin enjoyed a picnic table lunch by the pool and thoroughly enjoyed eating each others' yogurt, it was hilarious...I think they even exchanged sippy cups at one point. Kellianne and I were so tickled at our little giggling girls because they rode in Merrin's wagon and laughed the whole way back to our house from the pool.
There is nothing sweeter than the sound of your child's laughter.








On Saturday, Keith and I found ourselves in unusual territory because we had NO PLANS!! It seemed like it had been forever when we had a weekend with nothing previously planned. Although we probably would have enjoyed laying around the house and doing nothing...our toddler who is transitioning to one nap a day would have become quite bored with us so Keith came up with a terrific idea!!! We took Charlotte's new and exciting light rail downtown and showed Merrin the Queen City. Merrin is officially an "uptown girl"! We had the best time!!! The light rail in itself was exciting and then just walking around downtown and eating lunch at Brixx was a lot of fun. We planned our trip out perfectly by catching the train at just the right time to bring us back home and put Merrin down for her afternoon nap on schedule. If any of you haven't had the chance to ride the light rail yet, we highly recommend it! Oh, and for all you Charlotteans who don't know what "downtown" means...its my country way of saying "uptown"...growing up in the country, we didn't have "uptowns", just downtowns!! Ha!

Nature Museum

Merrin had her very first experience at the Charlotte Nature Museum yesterday. We went with a close friend of mine, Courtney, and her two little boys, Pierce and Holt, who are two of the most well behaved little boys I've ever been around and they are just adorable!! Pierce is 3 1/2 and Holt and Merrin are about 6 weeks apart. We thought the nature museum was so much fun! They have a live butterfly sanctuary, tons of live animals, water and sand tables and a book/puzzle room. I loved this museum and felt it was appropriate for all ages. I definitely think Merrin can enjoy it for many years to come.


Merrin had the most fun at the water table!!














What's everyone looking at? Butterflies?!

Tug o' War

Merrin and Mayzi in a little game of tug-of-war!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO THE WORLD'S BEST DAD & PAPAW! I love you very much!!
Love,
Merrin

Merrin's new friends

Merrin had her first story time at our local library this past week and unfortunately when we arrived we discovered it had been canceled :( We were so bummed but decided to walk around and see if there might be any fun books to check out. Thank goodness we stayed because apparently all the other moms were unaware of the cancellation too! Merrin and I got to meet most of the other moms and their little ones that normally come to story time and I felt like I instantly made fast friends with them. One of the moms I had actually already met because she lives in our neighborhood and goes to our pool. It was so nice to already know someone and two of the other moms that I met graduated from ASU so that was another plus! After hanging around the library a little while we all decided to go to lunch. We must have had a brief moment of insanity because we had 5 moms and 8 children ranging from 10 months to 2 1/2 years old. When we arrived at the restaurant we realized they may not have enough high chairs to accommodate us but fortunately it all worked out and we ended up, believe it or not, having a great time. All the children were very well behaved and Merrin even ate PIZZA which up until that day she wouldn't have touched. We are really looking forward to this week's story time!

Later in the week Merrin's friend, Emma, and her mom, Laura, came to visit. Although it was not the first time our girls had met, it was their first official play date together and aside from Merrin being a little greedy with her toys, I think the girls had a great time! Merrin had fun playing "hide & seek" through her push car and isn't Emma adorable??!!! I am sure there will be many more play dates ahead for these two little beauties!

Funny stuff

I just had to tell a few funny stories about Merrin. I soooooooo wish I had a video clip of her talking but those of you who have been around her lately know exactly what I am talking about. Merrin has started gibbering NON-STOP and it is hilarious!! I can't help myself but I laugh out loud at her on a daily basis because she will get to "talking" and act as if she is in a full blown conversation with me, it is too much! She will cock her head to the side and just start gibbering and look at me as if I'm supposed to respond. Sometimes, I make up her conversations for her and we go back and forth just "talking" to one another. Last night when Keith got home from work we were in Merrin's bedroom getting her ready for bed and she dropped a toy so she immediately said "ut-oh", which is very clear to make out, but then it sounded as if she said "I'll get it" and then after she picked it up, said "I got it"! Now of course no other person other than her doting parents would have interpreted that but Keith and I just looked at each other and laughed because we both thought she said the same thing. It makes you wonder though...WHAT ARE THEY REALLY TRYING TO SAY and on a scary note, it makes you realize that they are understanding WAY more than we think they do!

Merrin also made me laugh recently because she has found Mayzi's "bed" which is in our bedroom, right beside our bed. The other morning, Merrin went running into our bedroom and plopped down into Mayzi's bed, pacifier in mouth and all. Of course Mayzi immediately went up to Merrin and was like "what do you think you are doing" so Merrin thought Mayzi wanted to play and she started laughing and trying to grab Mayzi (Its a good thing Mayzi is a gentle dog)! This went on for awhile so I was able to get some pictures of the two of them "fighting" over the bed!


















Later in the day, I got a little bored and well, you can see what I ended up doing with Merrin...she loved it though and we even got in front of the mirror so she could see her new "doo" and immediately she said "hey" to herself.
She is an absolute riot, as I'm sure all your little ones out there are the same way. On a not so funny note though...Merrin is definitely starting to show her "defiant" side so any suggestions on disciplining a 14 month old, I'm all ears!! I've been reading Toddler Wise which is a follow up to Baby Wise which really helped us get Merrin on a good sleep schedule as a baby. I'd also like to read the "1-2-3" book but that says you should begin at age 2. Another one I'd like to read is by Dr James Dobson called "The New Dare to Discipline" but if any of you have more suggestions, please let me know!

Robbie's Mountain House

My ever so deserving mother-n-law or "mom", Robbie, has recently started building a mountain house and we couldn't be more excited for her! Building this mountain house was a long standing dream of both Jerry, Keith's father that passed away in Feb. 2007, and Robbie's. We sure wish that dad could be here today to watch this dream come alive but its such a blessing to see the joy in mom's face as this house is taking shape. She certainly deserves to have a little joy in her life! We are happy for you mom and love you very much! Here are a few pictures of the house which is scheduled to be completed early December of this year. Our hopes are to spend a "white Christmas" in the new house with the entire Gunter-Kent family!


Here is Robbie along with family friend, Morris Self and the white bearded man in the back is the home builder.



Yep, you guessed it, this is the view from the house and yes...that is in fact Grandfather Mountain and if you look closely you can see the famous "swinging bridge"!


















The home you see in the background belongs to long time family friends, Walt & Betty Windley, who are actually Keith's Godparents.

4 years in the making...

I can't believe how time flies but Keith and I found ourselves celebrating our 4th wedding anniversary this past week! 4 years...wow, it hasn't seemed that long but when we thought about all that's happened in those four years, we were rather amazed that its ONLY been 4 years. Married in June 2004, lived in the Cayman Islands for 1 1/2 years, lost our belongings to a grade 5 hurricane, lived in Canada for over two months (due to that hurricane), moved home to Charlotte, bought a house, got pregnant, both changed jobs while living in Charlotte, had our precious baby girl and a year later, quit my job to stay home with Merrin! Whew, that's A LOT of change in 4 years...no wonder I've been feeling bored lately, things have been too calm! Isn't marriage wonderful though?! I can't imagine life without Keith and although I'm sure he has tried, he probably can't imagine life without me either (because I won't let him). I don't tell Keith enough but I am very lucky to have him for a husband, he is amazing! I LOVE YOU BEBE!

Utensils are my friend

I promise this will be my last post for the day! I'm trying to catch up on some of my blogging if you can't tell although Keith is starting to worry that I "blog" too much now...he said he is going to send me to BA - Bloggers Anonymous! (He thinks he is very funny!)
Anyway...most of my friends out there have been much braver than I have when it comes to "freedom" at the highchair. I have been a little more cautious primarily because I am a control freak but last night Merrin had complete freedom with a spoon and a POT PIE!!!
Survey says...SHE LOVES IT!!! I used to give Merrin a spoon when she was like 7 months old and had no clue what to do with it but I stopped giving it to her out of fear of her making a mess but last night she totally knew what to do and not one drop fell on the floor! Now...I don't expect every meal time to be this enjoyable but I am thankful her first pot pie experience went so well. Also, if any of you are looking for some great pot pie finds...I found that "Amy's" Organic pies are really tasty! Merrin ate the "broccoli pie" last night and I have to admit, it was so good that I ate what she didn't finish! Ahhh, isn't parenting fun??!

My Little Fish

Merrin has turned into quite the little fish lately. Our neighborhood pool opened Memorial Day weekend and Merrin has been several times since. She LOVES the water and doesn't even seem to mind going under which completely shocks me! The baby pool is still deep enough that if Merrin falls while walking across the pool, she will go completely under and if I am not right by her side to pull her up then that could definitely be scary but fortunately I've been able to catch her each time she falls. I know one thing though, I am going to have to watch her like a hawk this summer!! She seems to have no fear and comes dangerously close to walking right up to the edge but I am thankful that she enjoys the water, who knows...maybe she'll be a swimmer like her old mom! This past Sunday we went up to grill out at the pool with a few of our neighbors and had so much fun. It will definitely be a great summer with a little help from our neighborhood pool!

The Graduate

Well, it is official...Noah has graduated from preschool!! KINDERGARTEN, HERE WE COME! It is so hard to believe that my very first nephew is turning 5 next week and will soon be in kindergarten AND that my sister is even old enough to have a child in school blows my mind. Some days it feels like we aren't even old enough to have children let alone one of them starting school??!! My mom, Merrin and I traveled to Pittsboro on Tuesday for Noah's big graduation and loved seeing Noah in his RED cap & gown (we hope this is not a prelude to college as his parents' blood runs Carolina BLUE!).

THANKS AUNT LAURA & UNCLE ERIC

I just had to send yet another huge thank you out to Aunt Laura, Uncle Eric and cousin Emory for giving this wonderful "lil squirt pool" to Merrin for her birthday! As you can see, Merrin is certainly enjoying it...we've used it almost every day this past week!!

Cogentrix

As many of you know, Keith and I took a huge leap of faith this past April by me quiting my job at Cogentrix to stay home with Merrin. Me staying home with our children was something Keith and I always sort of hoped for one day and we feel very blessed that God laid the groundwork necessary for us to do so. At this time last year I am not sure it would have been possible but over the past year God blessed us with the sale of Keith's rental home (his former bachelor pad) so that we could pay off our cars and be in better financial standing to live on one income. Over the past few months I have really enjoyed my time at home with Merrin, probably more than she has!! Merrin LOVES people and on the days that she is in the house all day with me I have to admit she gets a little bored but thanks to some of my friends and our church, we are finding ways to get out and become involved in things. With all this being said, I have REALLY missed my girlfriends from Cogentrix. My job at Cogentrix was probably the most enjoyable job I've had outside of college and it is primarily due to the gals that I worked with. They are an amazing group of girls and I miss seeing them on a daily basis. Fortunately for me, they still include me in their "outings"!! This past Thursday night we all went to dinner and a movie and had such a great time! It was nice seeing them all and hearing the latest that is going on in their lives. I wish only the best for each of you and THANK YOU ladies for your friendship! Pictured below are Jennifer, Kelly, Tara, Denise, myself and Jena! (Along with a few others, Danielle and Angel could not make it but here is a big shout out to them as well!!) Not too shabby for a table full of accountants!!