Johnner's Page

My kids are cute

2009-10-04T09:52:00.000-04:00

And for proof here are some recent iPhone pics from the past coue weeks.

Tv in the bedroom

2009-10-04T09:48:00.001-04:00

For the first time since we have been together Julie and I finally
have a tv in the bedroom. It's really weird, but kind of nice. JD has
really taken a liking to it as seen in this pic of him watching his
shows.

Happy 4th Birthday Anna!!!

2009-08-17T09:13:00.001-04:00

Here is what our Little Girl looked like 4 years ago today. She still won't keep her little mouth shut! Happy Birthday Honey!!!

Anna's First Day of School

2009-08-12T21:20:00.003-04:00

Today our little girl started her first day of Pre-K. She turns 4 next week, and is getting so big so fast. Pictures of the morning can be found in the picasa gallery. Enjoy!

The Merritts Celebrate the 4th in Tennessee

2009-07-05T20:28:00.002-04:00

The Merritts made the trek down to Tennessee to celebrate the 4th of July. Lot's of fishing, eating, and playing were done, and the kids had a blast. Julie was up at 5:30am each day to chase some bass with her dad. She caught a few, and even I managed to land a little one. As always, a fun time was had by all. Would you expect anything less? Pictures of the festivites can be found in the Picasa Gallery.

The Merritts go to the Zoo

2009-06-07T09:41:00.002-04:00

Yesterday we went to the Indianapolis Zoo for Julie's company picnic. We arrived promptly at 9am when the zoo opened to beat the crowds. We made our way through our favorite Oceans exibit where the kids got to pet some sharks, and then made our way through the other exibits. Anna got to ride a Pony after deciding that the roller coaster was a little too scary. We ate our hamburgers and hotdogs and then took off ~4 hours after our arrival. The kids were both asleep about 10 minutes after getting in the car. As always, a fun time was had by all. Check out all the pics in the Picasa Gallery.

My kids are so freakin' cute.

2009-05-23T21:47:00.002-04:00

Today's funny Anna comment

2009-05-19T12:14:00.002-04:00

Today we were on the way to daycare and I was telling Anna that I had to take JD to the Dr. today, and tomorrow I'm going to the dentist. She started asking about what the dentist was going to do, and if I would get any stickers for being good. I told her probably not, and that I would only get a toothbrush.
"What kind of toothbrush are you going to get?" says Anna.
"Probably just a white one, with maybe a blue stripe or something." I said.
"Don't they have ones with characters"
"No, just plain ones".
"Maybe they have a Barack Obama toothbrush" Anna says.

She is so funny.

JD is a tiny boy

2009-04-06T16:48:00.002-04:00

The chart speaks for itself. Look where his weight is. He is just like his daddy. A delicate little flower. < 3%, but he's 25% for height. Make your own curve Jay!!!

JD's 2nd Birthday

2009-04-05T18:39:00.003-04:00

Today our little baby boy turned 2 years old. Time to start trying for another I suppose. We had some cake and ice cream (thanks to daddy). Grandma & Grandpa Merritt stopped by along with Mee-Maw (Cathy). JD was pretty stoked about his golf set, basketball goal, and his Spiderman shirt. Fun was had by all. Pictures of the event cane be found in the Picasa Gallery. Tomorrow it's off to the Dr. for some shots!

Updates

2009-03-15T21:06:00.005-04:00

I haven't made any updates in awhile. I'm lame. We've uploaded a bunch of pictures to the March Picasa Gallery. Today it was really nice outside and we were able to let the kids ride their bikes. They also played on the swings. There are some videos of JD below. Enjoy.

Tonights Converstation with Anna

2009-02-04T18:43:00.007-05:00

Me: I want something cool for my birthday this year.
Anna: I will make you a craft for your birthday.
Me: I don't want no dumb craft, I want you to buy me something.
Anna: Ok daddy, I will buy you a dumb craft.

She is so funny, and has my same sense of humor :)

Busy, Busy Weekend

2009-02-01T19:50:00.003-05:00

This was one of the busiest weekends on record at the Merritt Residence. Julie and her mom drove down to Evansville for a Toby Keith/Jason Aldean concert. They drove back the following morning and we got ready to trek over to Illinois to see a Jeff Tweedy solo show. We got back home about about 2:30 in the morning, and then spent the next day playing in the snow. Pictures of the various events, including some bad blurry concert pics, can be found in the Picasa Gallery.

Kitchen Redux

2009-01-23T20:27:00.005-05:00

So I painted my kitchen a few weeks ago and here are some pictures. It is kinda hard to see the colors real well but it is apple green and yellow. I got "foodie" pics of the kids hung up tonight and I think they turned out really cute. I still need to put up some curtains and get a few more things, but I like where it is going so far :-) Check out all the pics in the picasa gallery.

Our Little Chef

2008-12-25T15:27:00.007-05:00

Anna got a new apron and chef's hat for xmas this morning. Her and Julie baked a cake this morning, and Anna got to pitch in. The pictures are in the same as the xmas gallery.

Xmas at the Merritt's

2008-12-25T15:16:00.005-05:00

We had a fun and eventful xmas at the Merritt house this morning. The kids didn't wake up too awfully early, and were all excited with the gifts that Santa brought them. Julie was a little disappointed with her gift when it wasn't a Wii Fit. She never appreciates anything!!! Pictures of the festivities can be seen in the Picasa gallery.

Fun in the Snow

2008-12-07T19:43:00.000-05:00

Today we went out in the 9° weather to play in the Snow at Grandma & Grandpa Merritt's house. They have some hills behind their house, so the kids could have fun sledding down them. JD reminded me of Randy (Ralphie's Brother) from A Christmas Story. Everytime he would fall in the snow, I would have to pick him up. Check out pictures of the event in the picasa gallery.

No words

2008-12-05T11:45:00.000-05:00

JD is the messiest eater in the world. No further explanation is required.

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-11-28T18:57:00.002-05:00

Well they said it couldn't be done. The critics, and master anglers alike said that it was too cold, and too late in the season to catch a bass. But Julie was determined to get herself a fish. She withstood the 50 degree temps, and bundled up in her purple and white fingerless gloves and went out on the lake. Her efforts were fruitless the first day, but on the second day on the lake her dad was able to snag not 1, but 2 bass. Julie came home empty handed, head hung low. Better luck next time..... More uplifting pics can be found in the picasa gallery.

Bane of my existance

2008-11-23T12:17:00.003-05:00

I bet you thought this post was going to be about my wife Julie, well you are mistaken. It has been getting pretty cold her in Indiana and our family room is always cold. I felt all around our fireplace, and can't find where air is actually coming in, but the tiles around the fireplace, are really cold, and radiate the heat out of the room like no ones business. So this morning I took myself to Lowes, and bought a 4x8 sheet of foam insulation. I cut it to fit the fireplace opening. It's amazing how much of a difference it makes. I'm thinking maybe we should paint it white, or off-white or decorate it like this.

Jackers' Jammies

2008-11-23T12:11:00.002-05:00

Here is a picture of Jackers in Anna's jammies. The Plahitkos came over for an evening of fun and didn't have any jammies. Anna picked these out for Jack to wear, and Stella didn't appreciate it at all. She kept saying "That's not appropriate, Jack is not a lady." It was hilarious.

Halloween Fun and More

2008-11-02T10:51:00.000-05:00

We took the kids out trick-or-treating on Halloween. J.D. didn't last very long after we took away the M&M package he was chewing on/through. Anna and I made the remainder of the rounds with Grandma and Grandpa Merritt. It was lots of fun. Pictures to commemorate the event can be found here

Tonight's Wisdom with Anna

2008-09-26T20:17:00.002-04:00

Tonight I was sitting on the couch watching the pre-debate coverage on CNN. Julie and Anna were sitting at a card table working on a puzzle. The political commentators were all discussing the debate. John McCain this, Barack Obama that, blah blah blah. Anna chimes in:
"Barack Obama is lame" to which Julie replies,
"What?!?, Why do you say that".
"That's what Pee-paw says." Anna replies.
I love having a conservative daughter, and she's only 3!

Anna & Jacker's Birthday

2008-09-06T22:16:00.000-04:00

Today we celebrated Anna and Jack's birthday. We had lots of good food, a bouncy house, a piñata, and tons of fun. All of the pictures can be found in the September Album. Additional photographs will be uploaded to dolbeer.com and latinjones.com in the coming days/weeks/months/years/millennia as the respective photographers find time. As always when kickin' it with the Merritt Clan, a fun time was had by all (except for JD who puked after eating a bunch of food, and jumping in the bouncy house).

Football Season Starts!!!

2008-09-05T21:58:00.001-04:00

Well, today was an official Blue Friday here in Hoosier Town. The family got all dressed up in their respective Colts gear and made their way to work and daycare. Here are a few pictures to commemorate the event. Tomorrow we are having a big birthday party for Jack and Anna's 3rd Birthday. I am sure that fun will be had by all. Those pictures will be uploaded tomorrow.

Anna & The Bunnies

2008-08-19T21:01:00.002-04:00

We found a new bunny nest in the back yard, and Anna just loves it. We have to go out and check on the bunnies every night, and make sure they are doing ok. We haven't seen the momma bunny for a couple of days so I hope the bunnies will be ok. It's an old wives tale that touching the bunnies will make the mother abandon them. Or is it, I guess we will find out! :) Check out all the pics of the bunny fun in the August Gallery.

Anna Turns 3, and Lucas Oil Stadium Opens!

2008-08-17T20:12:00.008-04:00

This was a really busy weekend. First we went to the opening of the Colt's new home, Lucas Oil Stadium. Tickets were free, and it was really packed. We had to stand in line forever at 2 separate gates, but finally got to go in. It was a self guided public tour including the upper decks, locker room areas, and the field itself. It was really awesome, but after all that waiting, the kids were ready to go home.

Then we had a sleep over with the Plahitko kids and then a little get together for Anna's birthday. Her real party with Jacker's isn't for a few more weeks,
but we wanted to commerate the actual day of her birth with some sort of fanfare. We enjoyed cake, ice cream, and the opening of some presents. And as if that wasn't enough, we took off for the neighborhood pool for a few hours. Whew, time for bed.

Pictures of both events can be seen here.

Wow.. no new pics in over a month. I'm lame.

2008-08-14T21:28:00.002-04:00

I finally go around to uploading the latest pictures from the camera. Not a whole lot new going on. JD is getting into everything, and climbing (and subsequently falling) on and off of everything. We've been to the pool a few times, and had tons of fun. Anna turns 3 this weekend. Boy how time flies. Soon she will be off to kindergarten like her big cousin Stella. Check out all the latest pictures in the Picasa Gallary.

4th of July at Grandpa's

2008-07-07T21:05:00.002-04:00

This past weekend The Plahitko Clan, and The Merritt Clan made the trek down to Papa Jim's in Tennessee. The kids all did really well on the trip there and back, and had a blast while we were there. We brought the inflatable pool for them to play in, as well as casting rods for each. We had tons of good food, and lots of fun out on the porch and at the lake. My parents berated us for not letting Anna fish for real, but our ocular nerves were thankful for not being ripped out by an errant hook. As always fun was had by all. Check out all of the pics in the gallery and on the plahitko page if/when it is updated. :)

Anna loves Napster

2008-06-25T08:08:00.002-04:00

Anna loves Napster so much, and she wants Napster to love her too. Every day Anna follows Napster around the house trying to get her to play, but Napster usually runs and hides. This morning while we were getting ready, Napster was laying on the bed and Anna came in and started snuggling with her. It was really cute. Here are some pics to commemorate the event. I'm afraid that when big-fatty dies, we may have to get another cat for Miss Anna.

Fun in the inflatable pool

2008-06-16T20:59:00.002-04:00

We finally got a decent weekend without storms so we could let the kids run around and play in the water. There are also some new pictures uploaded to the Spring 2008 Picasa gallery, but the majority are in the June 2008 one. It's hard to believe how fast our little brats are growing up.

Minivans, Blackberrys, and the Interweb.

2008-04-26T00:41:00.002-04:00

I don't know what I would do without any of these amenities. We're on the way back from TX, Julie is driving and I'm laying in the back of the van writing this post from my Blackberry. I guess I should be resting up for my shift.

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Sea World is the Awesomest place in the Universe.

2008-04-25T12:07:00.002-04:00

The Merritt's went to Sea World San Antonio yesterday. It was the most awesomest place in the universe. The first thing we got to do was pet and feed dolphins. You can't beat that. The weather was really nice and the kids were both well behaved. JD took a little nap right before the Shamu show, and then stood up on my lap and clapped and screamed. You can see all of the pictures for the day's events in the picasa gallery.

Merritt's go to San Antonio

2008-04-23T20:21:00.005-04:00

We are in San Antonio this week to visit the River Walk, and also check out Sea World tomorrow. Today there were a couple of firsts. JD took about 3 unassisted steps (which I didn't witness), and Anna was able to swim a little bit by herself with the aid of water wings (which I also didn't witness). I uploaded several more pictures to the picasa gallery.

New weird Dr. Pepper

2008-04-23T10:36:00.001-04:00

Look at this weird Dr. Pepper I found in Tx. It uses real cane sugar instead of High Fructose Corn Syrup. Weird.

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Merritt's go to Texas

2008-04-20T20:13:00.002-04:00

The Merritt Clan successfully made trek down to Texas. Today we went to the Zoo with Aunt Margaret and Uncle Alex. Tomorrow we are just going to hang out, and then head over to San Antonio to visit Sea World. You can check out all of the pictures in the new Picasa Gallery.

Happy Birthday Baby J!

2008-04-06T19:45:00.005-04:00

Baby Johnner turned the big 1.0 yesterday. We had a small get together and as is said frequently here on johnner.com, 'fun was had by all'. Pictures of the event can be found on my gallery, and also at the Dolbeer's Gallery. There should also be some pictures over at latinjones.com, but those could take until next year to get posted.

We love you Baby J!

This morning's conversation with Anna

2008-04-05T07:58:00.002-04:00

Daddy: Good morning Booga.
Anna: I'm not Booga, I'm Anna, and this is Baby Lobster.
Daddy: Haha. Anna, why do you have such complex speech patterns?
Anna: I'm not Plex, I'm Foofa!

Easter 2008

2008-03-23T20:07:00.002-04:00

We had Easter dinner at our house this year. Fun was had by all. Check out all the pictures in the new Picasa Gallery. I'm thinking about moving my pictures over there. We'll see how it goes.

Easter 2008

New Camera, New Pictures

2008-03-05T19:55:00.004-05:00

I purchased a new digital camera recently so we took a bunch of new pictures. So far I'm really pleased with the new camera. The old one used AA batteries which at first I thought it was a plus, until the re-chargeable started not staying charged for too long. This one is higher resolution anyway, and takes better pictures in low light etc.

Here is a picture of Anna getting ready to watch her favorite show Yo Gabba Gabba! She is growing up so fast, and is so cute with all of her little 'Annaisims'.

And finally, here is a picture of Baby J trying to stand up next to the coffee table, while drinking his bottle, while trying to keep track of the TV. This proves to be very challenging for him at times. He is such a multi-talented wonder.

Baby Johnner get's his picture taken

2008-02-06T20:02:00.000-05:00

We finally got around to taking JD to get his pictures taken. He was kinda fussy while we were there, but we managed to get a handful of good pictures out of the session. They actually printed them there while we waited, and they turned out really good. They also give you a CD with low-res copies of all of your pictures so you can re-order later. Check out all the pics in the gallery.

Nothing new, just new pics

2008-01-13T19:54:00.000-05:00

Nothing new really going on. The Colts lost today which sucked, but oh well. Just got around to uploading a few more pictures of the kids. Anna has her 2nd gymnastics class tomorrow night and I'll be taking the camera. She seems really excited about it, but I haven't seen her in action yet. I'll post the pictures of that hopefully tomorrow evening.

Hilarious Bob Sanders Jokes

2008-01-11T15:53:00.000-05:00

One of my good Pal's Alan Wolfe, send me this Chuck Norris esque quips regarding the Colts Defensive Player of the year Bob Sanders. I felt they were funny enough to post, espically given our playoff game this weekend. Enjoy.

70% of the Earth is covered by water. The rest is covered by Bob Sanders
Indy's Defense is called the Cover 2 because the team is only responsible for covering 2 people. Bob Sanders covers the rest.
Bob Sanders invented black. In fact, he invented the entire spectrum of visible light. Except pink. Tom Brady invented pink.
If he could be any Care Bear, Bob Sanders would still be Bob Sanders, and when you hugged him he'd tackle you for a seven yard
loss. They'd call him Kick Your Butt Bear, and there'd be a picture on his chest of him kicking your butt.
If you say 'Bob Sanders' three times while looking in a mirror, you'll feel pretty stupid. Then Bob Sanders will rush through the door and tackle you for a four yard loss.
When Justin Timberlake brought Sexy Back, Bob Sanders was already there, and he hit Justin so hard he now goes by the name Kevin Federline.
It was once thought Bob Sanders lost a fight to a Bear. But that was a lie created by Bob Sanders himself to lure more Bears to him.
They once renamed a street after Bob Sanders, but they had to change it back. Too many pedestrians died crossing it. Nobody crosses Bob Sanders and lives.
They were going to release a Bob Sanders edition of Clue, but the answer always turns out to be 'Bob Sanders / In the secondary / with a spear tackle'
...a true quote from Bob himself..'I always thought that if I didn't feel it, the other person was hurting more. But I've realized over time that if I hit somebody and it hurts me, it hurts them even more.'
Bob Sanders is 1/8th Cherokee. This has nothing to do with ancestry; the man ate the Chiefs.
Bob Sanders once looked at Edgerrin James funny. That's why EJ's in Arizona.
There is no theory of evolution, just a list of creatures Bob Sanders allows to live.
Bob Sanders puts the laughter in manslaughter.
LaDanian Tomlinson wears a tinted visor so that he will never have to look Bob Sanders in the eyes.
Tom Brady can throw a football pretty far. Bob Sanders can throw Tom Brady even farther.
Bob Sanders frequently donates blood to the Red Cross. Just never his own

Holiday Pictures

2007-12-27T20:14:00.000-05:00

I finally got around to uploading some pictures from Thanksgiving and Christmas. You can see them all in the Gallery.

The kids both had really good times opening all their presents. Anna got a kitchen, a dinosaur, and a new dolly. Baby Johnner just got a bunch of stuff to chew on, which he would do with anything he got anyway.

Long time, no blog

2007-12-13T10:51:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I've posted anything. I've uploaded several pictures to the gallery, but just not posted anything.

Work had been really busy and stressful lately. Things finally started to get unbearable the past couple of weeks so I decided to put my resume out there and see what happened. The very next morning a lady called saying they liked my resume and wanted me to come in for an interview. I scheduled it for that following Tuesday.

The Monday before my interview the 'boss man' and I got into it again. The topic of argument this time was a familiar one. Perform the task of specking equipment, and getting quotes for something without a design or clear specifics of what the requirements of the project are. I informed him that this was an unreasonable request, but he insisted it was simple, and that it is something that could be done rather easily.

This sort of thing happens all the time with him. Several members of my team have gone to him with complaints about this approach, and it continues. He says he is going to change his ways, and never does. We got into a pretty heated argument and I told him I wasn't going to work on it. I was busy doing a million other things and didn't have time to look like an idiot asking the vendor to provide a quote with no specifications.

Long story short, the following day I had my interview and they offered me the position on the spot. I got into work at about 10am, and sent my resignation letter. Moments later I was asked to gather my things and leave the building (standard procedure for a sys admin). I was sad to leave my work buddies, and all the systems I've built, but the stress from above was too much, and just wasn't worth it. I still get paid for my remaining two weeks, and get to start my new job a week early. Extra $$'s is always nice. Hopefully this position will be a lot better.

Indy Airshow

2007-08-25T20:41:00.000-04:00

Today LJ & I took Anna and Stella to the 11th Annual Indianapolis Airshow. The Blue Angels were performing this year so we couldn't pass it up. Both girls really liked seeing all the planes, espically the 'Scary Face' plane. A fun time was had by all. Check out all the pix in the gallery, and the video below of the crazy man stunt pilot below. I thought he was going to crash a million times, but he pulled off several amazing stunts.

70 new pics from July!

2007-07-09T20:17:00.000-04:00

Not a whole lot to say, but I uploaded a bunch of recent pics from the camera. We took the kids to the park, had a 4th of July Celebration at the Plahitko ranch, and swam w/ the kids in our inflatable Wal-Mart pool. Check out all the fun in the gallery.

Anna ascends to new heights in big girldom

2007-06-17T21:45:00.000-04:00

Well, today we retired Anna's crib in lieu of a semi-big girl bed. She was getting to the point of almost being able to climb out of the crib. We decided we should probably get her a new bed rather than let her fall out of this one. She was really excited about it, until we left the room for bed time. She cried for a little bit, but finally fell asleep on her new bed. Good Job Anna!!!

Memorial Day Weekend Vacation

2007-05-28T19:30:00.000-04:00

This weekend the Plahitko clan and the Merritt clan treked down to Grandpa's new house in Tennessee. The kids all had a lot of fun running around, fishing and getting filthy dirty every day. We're sure this will be the start of a summer tradition of visiting them at the lake. The other pictures can be seen in the gallery.

Baby Johnner Smiles!

2007-05-23T19:19:00.000-04:00

The pictures say it all. Our little man has started to smile more and more every day. He's also getting bigger and bigger. All of his clothes are starting to fit a lot more snugly. He goes to the Dr. pretty soon so we'll get to see how his weight is doing. That's all for now.

Slumber Party w/ Stella & Anna

2007-05-19T21:52:00.000-04:00

We had Stella over for a slumber part Friday night. Earlier that day we took her to pick out her 'Build-a-Bear' for her 4th birthday. The girls had a great time taking a bubble bath, and watching a movie and eating popcorn.

Life is so hard...

2007-05-19T21:48:00.001-04:00

Here is a cute picture of Baby Johnner Maxin' & Relaxin' on the couch. Couldn't resist to snap this pic.

Happy Muthaz Day

2007-05-13T20:48:00.000-04:00

Today we celebrated mothers day by letting Julie sleep in really late, and then going to a traditional Mother's Day Lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings. Fun was had by all, and we uploaded a bunch of pix that have been sitting on the camera. Check out the gallery for the latest updates.

NEWS FLASH!!!

2007-05-02T20:57:00.000-04:00

Anna is officially on her path to big-girl-town. Tonight she was sitting at the dinner table and kept saying 'go potty.' So, after we finished I took her upstairs, and sat her down on her new Elmo potty seat, and within a few seconds she did her business. We were all really excited!! I'm sure it won't stay this easy, but it was a great start.

Anna and Baby Johnner

2007-04-19T22:50:00.000-04:00

Well it's been 2 weeks now and Anna is still a really big fan of baby johnner. Every morning she asks about him as soon as she wakes up, and is always concerned when he cries. She's turning out to be a really good BIG SISTER. We'll see how she does once he starts to mess w/ her stuff though. Latest pix are available in the gallery.

Welcome Home Baby Johnner!

2007-04-08T20:30:00.000-04:00

Today Baby Johnner and Julie came home from the hospital. Everyone was given a clean bill of health. There was some concern early on about baby Johnner's heart, but they ruled that out and everything is A-OK! W00t!

Anna was really excited to meet her baby brother that she has been hearing so much about. She seems genuinely concerned whenever he makes a little sound or something. So far no jealousy or anything like that. (for now). As always, check out all the pix in the gallery.

Baby Johnner 2.0 has arrived!!!

2007-04-05T14:32:00.000-04:00

After some issue with getting Julie's anaesthesia to work we got baby johnner pulled out at 11:20 AM. He weighed in at a whopping 6lbs 6oz and was 19" long. Both mom and baby are doing well. I forgot my USB cable, so pix will have to wait for a little bit.. More to come soon :)

Just a few pix

2007-04-03T22:05:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to upload the last pictures from the camera before they get filled up with new pictures of the new family addition. We are all getting excited for Baby Johnner to come. We have his room ready to go, and Anna keeps asking about him. Hopefully she will be just as excited when he gets here, and she hears all his noises. We'll see. The next post will be of his arrival.....

Morning Excitement

2007-02-21T20:31:00.000-05:00

Today on my way to work I began to stop at a 3 way stop. I suddenly realized that there was a large patch of ice beneath me. I struggled to keep my vehicle out of the intersection, but the gentleman behind me wasn't so fortunate. He ran into me and dented up my beautiful g-ride. He then explained to me that he didn't have insurance, and didn't want 'the man' to lock him up. He said he would pay me for the damages, and for some reason, I took him on his word. I'm still waiting back from him in response to my message about the $1142.00 estimate. Updates to come...

Fun in the Snow

2007-02-17T15:18:00.000-05:00

We finally got around to taking some more pictures. I almost forgot that we had a camera :) We got Anna all dressed up in her warm clothes, and let her play out in the snow. I made a sled out of the trash barrel lid and some rope. It smelled pretty bad, but she had fun. Check out all the fun exciting snow pix in the gallery.

New Pictures Finally

2006-12-20T22:01:00.000-05:00

I've been really lazy lately when it comes to taking pictures, and then uploading them. The new job is keeping me busy, and it seems like we have a different family function every day. I finally got around to uploading our pictures from the previous months festivities. As always you can check them out in the Gallery.

IT'S A BOY!!!

2006-11-13T12:15:00.000-05:00

Well, we found out this morning that the next addition to our family is going to be a bouncing baby boy. Well, I'm not sure how much he will bounce just yet, but we'll see. Ultrasound pictures, and video should hopefully be up this evening.... Stay tuned!

An Update Finally!

2006-10-22T09:37:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the long lapse in updates. We've been pretty busy in Merritt town lately. Anna is gettting bigger and bigger as usual, and is walking all over the place. Johnner was released from his sentence at HP, and has secured new employment that he is very happy with. And Julie is happily pregnant again. New baby is due sometime in April. We've taken quite a few pictures over the past few weeks, and have uploaded them all to the gallery. Enjoy!

More Pics from Anna's Birthday

2006-09-06T10:09:00.000-04:00

Apparently the Plahitko's finally got around to uploading the pictures they took from Anna's Birthday, so here is a link to those. Also, Anna got to have a tympanostomy last week. That's a fancy word for Ear Tubes, and sounds cooler. She handled it really well, and was back to her normal self by the afternoon. Hopefully this will cut down on her bi-monthly trips to the doc for ear infections. Check out all the pics in LJ's Gallery.

Happy Birthday Anna!!!

2006-08-17T07:48:00.000-04:00

Well, today is Anna's 1st Birthday. It's hard to believe that already a year has passed. Time sure flies when you're havin' fun. I took a few quick pictures of her this morning waking up. Today at daycare she's having a little party with strawberry cake (it's pink!). As soon as I get the pictures from that I'll post them. Happy Birthday Anna, we love you!

Anna goes to the fair!

2006-08-12T19:59:00.001-04:00

Today the Merritt's embarked on a trip to the 150th Annual Indiana State Fair. We saw lots of cows, and other stuff. Anna and Johnner also enjoyed sharing this year's signature fair food Deep Fried Chocolate Covered Strawberries. They were really good, and we could have gone back for seconds, but they were $4.00. So then we went home and took a bunch of pictures of Anna eating Mac -n- Cheese.

Bed Head!

2006-08-10T10:19:00.000-04:00

It's been awhile since I've uploaded some pictures. It's hard to believe that Anna will be 1 year old in a week! Time sure flies.

Here are a few pics of what we have to deal with in the morning after bath night. Her hair is out of control. Everyone says how cute it is, but they don't get the pleasure of trying to comb it every morning. Click on the pic for more examples...

Cathy looks like Sophie

2006-07-23T22:47:00.000-04:00

I thought I'd mix things up a bit and post something non-Anna related. Cathy (Julie's mom) had me convert an old video she had to dvd. We noticed while watching it that Kim's youngest girl Sophia looks exactly like Cathy. It's weird because everyone thinks that Sophie looks like Todd. Oh well. I thought that a lot of the Grayson clan might enjoy looking at the similarities. Enjoy!

2 minute clip of Cathy/Sophie highlights. @10MB

New Playroom

2006-07-10T19:25:00.000-04:00

We spent last weekend transforming my old downstairs office, into the new PLAYROOM for Anna and her buddies. We got a new ceiling fan for the room, a nice rug to protect the carpet from spills/drool/vomit/poop, some storage bins (pictured to the left), and a nice coat of green paint. We got it done just in time for our 4th of July Celebration with family and friends, ok mostly family.. we ain't got no friends :(

Fun Filled Weekend

2006-06-26T13:48:00.000-04:00

This weekend we went to Conner Prairie for Julie's company picnic. Anna had lot's of fun being pushed around in her 'fancy carriage' and looking at all of the old time folks. We saw some sheep and turkeys, and other interesting stuff. Check out all the pix from the outing, as well as other recent pictures in the Gallery.

Happy Father's Day and More

2006-06-18T21:03:00.000-04:00

Lot's of excitement this weekend. Not only was it Father's Day, but it was also Anna's 10mo birthday, cookout at the Dolbeers, and JULIE FINISHED ANNA'S SWEATER!!!

Checkout all the pix in the gallery!!!

Anna Visits w/ her Cousins

2006-06-11T21:29:00.000-04:00

This weekend we took Anna to go visit her Uncle Tom, Aunt Carla and her cousins. All the kids had lots of fun playing together (except when Anna tried to pull Jill's ponytail out!). Becca, Jake and Emily definitely show great promise as future babysitters! Carla also made the BEST cookies EVER.

Quick Update

2006-06-06T10:07:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to post a quick update on Anna Banana. Nothing really new going on, just keeps growing and growing. She's now crawling all over the place, and pulling up to everything. She hasn't figure out how to 'cruise' yet, but it will be soon I'm sure. I just uploaded a bunch of pics to the gallery, so check 'em out.

Happy Birthday Stella!

2006-05-21T18:51:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we celebrated Stella's 3rd Birthday. For some reason I didn't get any pictures of the cake, or her blowing out her candles. I did get some pictures of her presents, the play-doh party, and of course the babies. Check out the pictures in the gallery.

Mother's Day w/ Grandma Merritt

2006-05-14T21:21:00.000-04:00

Today we went over to Grandma Merritt's for Mother's day. We just did the typical mother's day stuff, and took some pictures of Anna. You can see them all in the gallery.

Pre-Mother's Day Celebration

2006-05-13T21:33:00.000-04:00

Today we had a [pre] Mother's Day Celebration at Casa de Merritt. Fun was had by all. We ate Spaghetti Caserole, and some weird Manocotti stuff that Kim made and no body wanted to eat because it was strange. (j/k Kim, it was ok). The girl pretty much sat around either knitting, or talking about knitting. It sure was a hoot. Check out all the exciting pix in the gallery.

I'm an MCSE!!

2006-05-03T14:59:00.000-04:00

It's official. I finally got around to going to my MCSE classes these past 2 weeks and got all certified. The classes were 14 days straight including weekends, and we had to pass 7 tests. The class actually gets you the MCSE and the MCSA which includes all of the design and administrations pieces of a Windows 2003 network. I just wanted to take this opportunity to brag for a second. Ok, back to work!

Long time....no blog.

2006-05-02T12:10:00.000-04:00

It's been really busy lately with the Merritt Clan. After our Texas Trip, I went back to Texas a few weeks later to complete my MCSE/MCSA certifications. It was a 2 week course including weekends, so Julie and Anna got to stay home and get to know one another.. :)

Check out the pictures I just got around to uploading in the gallery. Anna also just got her pictures taken at JcPenny so if you come to visit her you can have one...

First Family Vacation!

2006-03-20T18:57:00.000-05:00

We just got back from our first Family Vacation to the great state of Texas. We stayed with the Dalgleish Family, and had lots of fun and great food. Click on the picture to the left for the rest of them.

I HAVE CHOMPERS!!!

2006-03-01T17:21:00.000-05:00

A lot sure has happened in these past few weeks. I turned from 5 months to 6 months old, got another cold, got an ear infection, and most recently got 2 TEETH! That's right, I have 2 teeth coming in on my bottom gums. Mommy and Daddy can't quite get a good picture of them yet, but they're working on it. As soon as they do, I'm sure they'll post it. We also uploaded some recent pictures of Baby Jack and Me to the 6 Month Album. Enjoy!

Look at me!

2006-02-15T18:42:00.000-05:00

I'm getting so big! My 6mo birthday is in just 2 days, but I couldn't wait to post more pictures. There are a bunch more up now, including some blurry ones of my pink jean outfit I wore on Valentines Day. Look for more pictures on Friday for my Birthday Celebration!!!

I GOT MY HAIR CUT!!!

2006-02-11T15:23:00.000-05:00

A day of firsts! We were tired of Anna's hair being crazy all the time, and getting in her eyes so we decided that it needed trimmed up a bit. We didn't want to to it ourselves so we took her to the local Cookie Cutters. They gave her a nice little trim, and a sheet with her picture, and a baggie of her cut hair. She didn't seem to mind it, and really likes her new do. She also rolled over for the first time today with the assistance of Daddy, and then did it on her own a couple times. What a BIG GIRL!!!

I <3 Rubiks

2006-02-09T18:55:00.000-05:00

Daddy was showing me how to solve the Rubiks Cube tonight, but it was too hard for my little hands to handle. We haven't posted any pictures for the past week or so, and have been getting some flack from the fam.

Anna turns 6 months old next week, and gets to go back to the doctor to get some more shots. She's really excited about that, and has been growing like a weed. She's starting to get the hang of eating 'big girl food' and doesn't spit it out as much.

I'm a big girl now

2006-01-21T20:13:00.000-05:00

Look I can sit up by myself (sort of). I can sit up now, but if you leave me there for too long, I'll fold in half like scissors. Or at least that's what mommy says. Not sure where she came up with scissors, but whatever.

Nothing else really going on, just wanted to put something up with this cute pic.

Happy Birthday Anna!!!

2006-01-17T08:44:00.000-05:00

Ok, so it's only her 5 month birthday, but it's a birthday none the less. Maybe we'll have a party tonight and put some candles in her Rice Cereal. I wonder, would that be 5 candles, or just less than a half of one? Oh well, I guess I won't worry about it.

Keep yer head up girl!

2006-01-04T21:38:00.000-05:00

Well the holidays are officially over now, and we are getting back into our daily routine. We put Anna down for some 'tummy time' the other day and she was able to hold her headup really well. We took a bunch of pictures, and a video and posted to the gallery.

I'm also working on getting something new working on the sidebar (to your right -->) that will show if any new pictures have been uploaded recently. That will make it a lot easier to see if there are any new pictures, even if there isn't a new entry on this main page. Yeah, I get bored sometimes :)

Christmas 2005

2005-12-25T11:05:00.000-05:00

Today we got to celebrate Anna's first Christmas. Santa brought her lots of neat presents. As you can see it did not take long for her to pass out from all of the Christmas excitement. Check out all of the Christmas pics here.

Operation: Semi-Solid

2005-12-19T19:30:00.000-05:00

Today was Anna's 4 month Dr. Appt. Everything went well, and she is growing like a weed. The Dr. gave us the green light to start feeding her some rice cereal. As soon as Anna and Mommy got home we whipped up a batch of the delectable treat, and got down to business. Check out all the exciting action in the gallery!

Thanksgiving 2005

2005-11-25T09:13:00.000-05:00

We had our family Thanksgiving at the Dolbeer's yesterday. For some reason we didn't feel it necessary to take any pictures with our camera. Pictures of the event can be seen over at Dolbeer.com

Grayson Family Thanksgiving

2005-11-21T08:37:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we had our annual Grayson Family Thanksgiving. This always falls on the Sunday before the real Thanksgiving. We went to Grandma Grayson's house for Julie's dad's side's dinner. All the food was really good, and all of the babies and kids got to hang out together. We also stayed to watch the first half of the Colts/Bengals game. A fun time was had by all. Check out all of the pictures in the Gallery.

New Page Layout, and Anna turns 3 months!

2005-11-12T16:01:00.000-05:00

I was getting tired of the old page layout, so I've changed the template and gotten rid of the old navigation buttons. You can now get to the image gallery by clicking on the link on the right hand side.

Besides that, Anna turns 3 months old this week! I've created a new photo album in the gallery to store her pictures from this next month, so check back often!

Anna goes to daycare

2005-11-07T16:18:00.000-05:00

Last week was Anna's first week of daycare, and Julie's first week back at work. Horray! ;)

Anna is adjusting to the change really well, and is making lots of new friends. We need to start taking some more pictures, but there are a few new one's in the Gallery. Check back soon!!

Great Grandma Grayson's House

2005-10-24T08:53:00.000-05:00

Yesterday all of us went over to Grandma Grayson's house for what ammounted to a Thanksgiving Worthy meal. She fixed turkey, stuffing mashed potatoes, swiss steaks, mac & cheese, chicken and noodles etc. It was really good, and we had a nice visit. Us boys spent quite a bit of time working on her computer trying to get all of the spyware removed and all of her updates installed. Check out all of the pictures in the gallery.

Pre-Halloween Celebration

2005-10-22T20:53:00.000-05:00

Today we went over to Aunt Kimmie's house to eat some fall weather food and carve some pumpkins. The pumpkins all turned out good except for Todd & Abbey's which wasn't picture worthy :) Check out all the pictures in the Gallery.

Pumpkin Patch

2005-10-09T13:36:00.000-05:00

On Saturday we went out to the local Apple Orchard and took some pictures around the Pumpkins. It was about the first real Fall day we had. It didn't even get to 60 degrees so I had to keep Anna bundled up under my coat most of the time, but we took her out for a few quick pix.

More pictures of the two babies

2005-09-21T12:30:00.000-05:00

Christy and Jack came over today to go on a shopping trip with Anna and Julie. Here are some more pictures of the kids together.

Little Buddies

2005-09-16T23:52:00.000-05:00

Another exciting evening at the Plahitko house brought a photo op of the new babies. We will also be having another Colts party Saturday and hopefully we can get some pix of all the kids in their Colts gear.

Are you ready for some football?

2005-09-12T21:39:00.000-05:00

We had our first Colts get together of the year yesterday, and got all the kids dressed up in their new Colts gear. For some reason though their mom's didn't see fit to get a group photo of them all together. Oh well, dad will have to take matters into his own hands next week. Enjoy all of the pix in the Gallery

More Baby Jack Pix

2005-09-09T09:09:00.000-05:00

We went to the Plahitko's last night and had dinner and took some more baby pix. You can see them all in the Gallery

LJ has also posted some pix on his site http://lj2k.johnner.com

Baby Jack Attack!!!

2005-09-06T20:54:00.000-05:00

Anna got her first new cousin today. Christy and LJ had Jack Andrew Plahitko today at 12:33pm. He weighed 6lbs 10oz, and was 19" long. With Christy and Julie being identical twins, this makes their kids and our kids essentially 1/2 brothers & sisters. Neat-o huh?

Check out the pix: http://johnner.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=20