Growing up way too fast!

Luke and Ben are growing up way too fast for my tastes! Although, our successful potty training boot camp was worth it. In two just two weeks Luke has become potty trained (with the exception of night time and naps), yeah for only have to buy 1/2 the amount of diapers!!!!!

In other news, both Luke and Ben are now eating cereal with milk out of a bowl with a spoon. Goodbye days of dry Cheerios on the tray!





Good to the very last drop of milk!


Luke and Ben have also just amazed us with their ability to learn and remember the letters on our fridge. This week Luke can consistently pick out the letters:

A for Apple
B for Ben
C for Clara
D for Daddy
E for Ethiopia
G for Grandma
H for Hug
I for Ian
J for Jesus
K for Kaylin
L for Luke
M for Mommy
N for Nathan
P for Police Car
R for Reagan
S for Snake
T for Truck
U for Umbrella
V for Veggies
W for Water
Y for Yes

We are still working on the rest! :) Much to our surprise, this week Ben also has picked up on a few letters, the first time he picked out C for Clara I thought it was a coincidence, but he consistently can pick out A,B,C,D,L,M,U and T. He is so funny to watch, A for Apple is his favorite! Here is a little video clip so you can see them in action! Growing up so fast!!!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Love,
Mer

Snow Day!

Today we actually had a snow day, which is very rare here in Raleigh. Unfortunately Mommy had to work, but Daddy was home with the boys to enjoy the fun.

Our friends Andy and Emily from church live in our neighborhood, the boys and Daddy joined Andy and Emily for some fun with snow angels and sledding! I am not sure exactly how much snow we got, but the estimate was between 4-8 inches expected today.

Stay warm!
Love,
Luke and Ben

Fun day at the Aquarium

Yesterday Jeff and I continued our weekend away by taking a drive to the NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. It was wonderful, we had such a blast and can't wait to take the boys there someday soon!

There were plenty of turtles....

Lots of fish...

Beautiful jellyfish...

Sharks.....

A princess kissing a frog??

And a prince being eaten by a croc!!!!

I think all this time to ourselves might have made us a bit goofy! :) We had a blast!


We got to eat lunch at Capt. Bill's right on the water. Of course our meal was complete with true Southern seafood fare including clam strips, crabmeat, hush puppies and sweet tea!


Today we spent some time visiting the site where the original Pepsi was created and a fascinating firefighting museum. We are now home after a very fun weekend thanks to Grandma and Grandpa. They are on their way home to Virginia to take a long nap after their exhausting weekend with the boys!
Love,
Jeff and Mer

Thank you Mom and Dad!

This weekend Jeff's parents gave us a wonderful gift of a weekend away! Luke and Ben will get to spend one on one time with their grandparents and Jeff and I get to spend one on one time together! What a precious gift!!!
We started out yesterday morning headed to New Bern, NC which was the original capital of North Carolina as a colony. We saw a sign for a Country Doctor's Museum on the way, and decided to stop in. It is a very short trip from Raleigh, so we did not stay long but will be back another time to enjoy it more. When we got to New Bern we spent most of the day touring Tryon Palace, which was the seat of government and home of the original NC governor. It reminded us a lot of Williamsburg, VA just not as busy!

They have a ton of gardens which I am sure are spectacular in the Spring!

This weekend has been so cold, it was 16 degrees when we started our trip. All the fountains in the gardens were frozen.

After we checked into our bed and breakfast, we walked around downtown a bit to see the shops. We ate dinner at Morgan's Tavern and Grill! Who knew we had a restaurant named for us?

Thanks again Grandma and Grandpa, we know Luke and Ben are having a blast too!
Love,
Jeff and Mer

Potty Training, Cups, and ABCs

So this week, we have decided to end the battle of the sippy cup. Every meal tends to be a battle of wills, because Luke will not drink milk very well. I have a hard time with this one, because to be honest drinking milk just about makes my stomach turn, unless there are warm chocolate chip cookies involved. Anyhow, we have discovered that Luke does love to drink from a "big boy cup" so he now is almost sippy cup free! It is so funny, every time he picks up the cup he says "careful, careful" to himself.

Here is the milk moustache to prove it! :)
We also have been in potty training boot camp this week. Luke has been interested in potty training for several months now, but nothing consistent. This week we are attempting to jump this hurdle and try to make it more consistent. He loves the stickers he gets, but more than that the kid loves washing his hands! I will spare you the pictures of this wonderful new phase!
Also this week we have been working on our alphabet. For Christmas the boys got magnet letters to go on our fridge, and they play with them for hours! They are not spelling supercalafragalisticexpialadocious or anything (not that I know how too) but they have a lot of fun trying.
Love,
Mer

Two years, can you believe it???

Two years ago this week Jeff and I sent in our initial application to adopt two children from Ethiopia. Now those two little boys God had planned for our family have been home with us for nine months! It is so hard to even imagine!! What an amazing journey this has been. Thank you for being a part of this crazy ride!
Luke and Ben have both adjusted so well, they are growing and developing by leaps and bounds. Yes, Luke is right handed and Ben is a lefty!
This week we will also be completely caught up on all their childhood immunizations they had missed early on!!!!! Yeah! Almost all their baby teeth are in (minus Ben's molars and bottom canines).
I used to keep track of all the words they had learned to say every month, I can no longer do that because it is too many words to keep up with! It has been a busy nine months!
They have had a fun month and a half with Daddy on winter break. Today he went back to school to take a short one week class, then Spring semester starts next week. So now the boys get to spend this week with me!


Love,
Mer

Butterflies, Bugs, and More

This Friday we had the chance to visit with some friends and tour the Life and Science Museum in Durham. It was pretty busy, so we will have to go back on another day when we can explore without so many other visitors. There are barnyard animals, bug exhibits, space exploration exhibits, and a whole greenhouse butterfly sanctuary. The boys loved it, and we loved the chance to just be together and have fun for a day with our friends Matt and Libby and their daughter Charlee.
Needless to say, Mommy was not as excited by all the creepy crawly things as the boys were, but it was still a nice outing!
Love,
Morgans