Welcome Riley Scott!

Sorry it's been so long!  As you know, a lot has been going on.  We made it through Thanksgiving and then welcomed Riley Scott Merrick to the family on Dec 14th at 10:30 am after about 3 hours of labor (and thank goodness because my epidural was almost completely ineffective on the left side!).  He weighed in at 7 lbs 13 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long.  Emerson has been such a great big brother. Aside from being a little more sensitive, he seems mostly unaffected by it. He loves to give Riley big slobbery kisses on his head.  My mom has been here to help for most of the first two weeks which has been wonderful. I have not had a chance to upload Christmas pictures yet, but it was great! Those will be coming soon along with an update after Riley's two week check up which is scheduled tomorrow.  Hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday and please have a safe New Year!

Halloween 2011

The dog door and more

Today Emerson learned what the dog door can really do for him. He has always enjoyed playing with it and sticking objects through it, or just his head out of it, but we never had to worry about him actually using it. So, early this morning he was playing in the laundry room brushing Bodie with a paint brush...the usual :)...I didn't notice how quiet it had gotten until I heard a faint "A, B, C, D....". I look out the back window and there he is, half way across the yard in nothing but a short sleeved T-shirt, sweats, and socks...50 degrees outside, dewy dirt and grass up to his ankles, heading right for the slide and singing all the way.  I opened the door right as he was situating himself on the platform for his descent.  I was trying my hardest not to look as amused as I was when I hollered "What on earth do you think you're doing?", but apparently I wasn't very convincing.  He grinned from ear to ear and proudly exclaimed "Emerson outside!". We haven't been able to keep him inside all day.  He got up from his afternoon nap on the couch and barely acknowledged me...right out the dog door.  We got home from the grocery store and he walked straight inside...and right out the dog door.  Needless to say, we're going to have to do something about the dog door. :)

Baby Merrick is still doing well. They continue to say that he feels like a pretty petite little guy, but nothing outside of normal.  We'll probably schedule an induction for December 14th which means we have just about 7 and 1/2 weeks to go!  Still no name and now nowhere for him to sleep as has Emerson decided to take up residence in the crib again (he had been doing well in the toddler bed for over a month and then just changed his mind), but for some reason we're really not that worried about it.  I'm sure we'll pull something off at the last minute.

Link to 20 month blog photos

https://picasaweb.google.com/Caitlin.Merrick/20Months27Weeks?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCImzxeDu3YCMYg&feat=directlink

20 months/24-28 weeks

Here are lots of pictures!  I'll write soon!

19 months/23 weeks

Everyone is happy and healthy!  Emerson is really starting to push his limits to see what he can get away with, but he still seems pretty easy.  I haven't had to leave a public place because of his behavior...yet :).  Actually, he's really on his best behavior in public.  There are people to say 'Hi" to and the scenery changes so he's perfectly content.  He starts trying to push our buttons when he's stuck inside because of the sweltering heat and bored to death. He's using 2 and 3 word sentences, but a lot of it is something only his mother would understand right now.  He did something the other day that gave us a good laugh.  He picked up the TV remote and held it to his ear and said "Hel-Lo"...he really puts emphasis on the "Lo" almost like he's getting a diva attitude with whoever is calling... he made some gibberish noises, then turned and looked at me and said "It's YaYa" so matter-of-fact-ly like, who else would it be Mom??  Then he turned his head away again, there was some more gibberish into the remote, then turned back to me and said "And CiCi".  

We had a follow up ultrasound today because they weren't able to adequately assess baby Merrick's stomach the first time, but everything looked perfect this time.  I put a hilarious ultrasound picture in the slide show. It's a frontal view of his face and that is his mouth wide open and almost smiling...he looks like a mardi gras mask or a little old cartoon man. He's just a little smaller than Emerson was in the womb and seems to be staying that way.  He was actually measuring for a due date of Dec 19th today, instead of the 17th, but that is not a big enough difference for them to change the actual due date.  He's still right on track. Emerson's due date was moved a whole week closer because of his initial size and then he kept measuring a little larger by a day or two as it progressed. Momma was eating too much and not exercising lol.  I'm happy to say I have only gained 10lbs so far this time, woohoo!

For those having trouble...

Some blog visitors have reported being unable to see the slide show/link to Picasa Web Albums in the previous post with Emerson's 17-18 month photos.  If you encounter this problem, try clicking the link below.

https://picasaweb.google.com/Caitlin.Merrick/1718Months?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCLuG2c2QqInTngE&feat=directlink

Emerson is 18 months!

Emerson had his 18 month check up last week.  He is still on the same growth curve and a very healthy boy. I am always worried that he's getting too skinny, maybe because I see so many images of chubby babies as the norm, but the Dr. said he's just right and doesn't need to be any chubbier. He has a vocabulary of over 60 words, not including animal sounds/impressions :) and the Dr. said he is definitely ahead of the game verbally.  He made sure to point out that just because he is verbally advanced doesn't mean he will potty train any sooner or more easily hehe.  We do have a potty for him and we try to have conversations about it every chance we get, but we probably won't really start trying until he's closer to two.  Which means I'll have a newborn to feed and Scott will have to be the potty trainer hehe. These photos cover a several month span, but I made sure to keep them in chronological order.  Gosh he changes so much in such a short period of time! :(

19 weeks 2 days- It's a boy!

     We had our routine ultrasound today and everything looked great.  He's a mover!  I haven't felt him move as much as I did with Emerson and they said it is likely due to where he implanted- the placenta on the anterior portion of the uterus and the baby generally staying behind it.  I feel really well.  Aside from needing a little more sleep and being moody when I don't eat frequently enough I barely feel pregnant at all.  I have gained 7lbs and a 5-10lb weight gain is ideal for this gestation so I am on track to gain the recommended amount of weight this time...so far :).   We are still thinking about names...

I know, I have really been slacking on the photos.  The early pregnancy fatigue is starting to let up a little bit so hopefully I will have have more time to devote to other things besides sleeping.  We are all doing well! Emerson is growing like a weed and talking more every day.  As you can see, he is also feeding himself :)                              

New addition!

Ok, I failed to make an announcement post on here, but today we are 12 weeks and 3 days pregnant with baby Merrick #2!  We had the first trimester screening today and they said baby looked perfect.  The Dr. is leaning towards boy, but it's still a little early to be sure.  Baby was a wild man in there...the poor ultrasound tech took 30 minutes trying to get all of her required images because he was rolling around in circles and flipping all over the place.  He has all 10 digits, two hemispheres in his brain, a healthy heart beat, intact spine, and all of the appropriate organs for this gestational age.  I am totally happy with any gender, but I think I breathed an unexpected sigh of relief at the thought of it being another boy.  I have three bothers, I have a son...I am familiar with boys.  I have no idea how to do hair or paint nails and if she was anything like I was as a teenager, she would worry me sick lol.  I would also have to be the bad guy while Daddy is wrapped around her little finger.  This way I get my Momma's boys who will love me even after they go through puberty and Daddy can be the bad guy :).  SO excited, either way...just ready for December to be here!!

Sentences

Emerson is using more two word sentences!  He said "bye bye duck" and "bye bye toodle (turtle)" when getting out of the bath tub this weekend.  He also says "Peas (please) Mama".  He said Gramma for the first time this past weekend while we were at my Mom's in Arkansas, but it was when he saw a picture of my mom, not to her face. He also saw a picture of Ally and loudly hollered "Yaya!" and then wouldn't let us turn another page in the album.  He kept turning it back to Ally's picture and saying "Yaya, Yaya, Yaya".  He is starting to run and dance.  His P.W. and Miss Debbi got him a Yo Gabba Gabba DVD and he just loves it.  He climbs up in his red chair and just sits there with a giant grin on his face watching.  Occasionally he will get up and jump around and dance with them.  I am finally coming to terms with the fact that he needs his first hair cut. He has this mound of curls on the back of his neck that, when wet and brushed straight, go down to the middle of his shoulder blades.  I just don't want to part with them!  His bangs are in his eyes and his hair covers his ears.  I am constantly putting it behind them and sweeping his bangs to the side.  If I could just trim the sides and front I would, but then he would have a curly mullet lol.  I can't do that to him.

Allergies

Emerson went for his first allergy appointment this morning.  Good news!  He is not allergic to Bodie!  They only did a stick test for dog because he is not old enough for immunotherapy and the dog allergen is what we have the most control over.  He has been on Singulair for over a month now and it is managing his symptoms quite well so the Dr. didn't see the need to put him through additional testing yet.  It is very promising that he is not allergic to dog because that is one of Scott's worst allergens and more and more research is showing that genes play a strong role in allergies.  Hopefully his are minor and his symptoms are just exaggerated by living in Oklahoma. 

16 months

15 months!

He survived his 15 month check up.  He won't need any more vaccinations 'til he's at least 2, I think.  He is still on the same growth curve in the 75th percentile for length and the 40th for weight.  His Dr. was impressed with his verbal skills.  He said they usually look for 5-6 words at 18 months and Emerson already has around 10 fairly well enunciated and appropriately used words.  Prior to this visit Scott had to take him to get his lead level drawn, which is routine, and it sounds like it was a nightmare.  It took 3 different phlebotomists and none of them were skilled in pediatric blood draws.  There was blood on both Scott and Emerson's clothes when they got home! Part of me wishes I would have been there, but it was probably for the best as I most likely would have overreacted, called them all incompetent, stormed out of there, and he'd have had to go through it all over again somewhere else.  Sometimes it's better to leave mothers out of it :).  Emerson's baby cousin Frank Willard "Tripp" Merrick III was born beautiful and healthy a little over a week ago and we are very excited about it!

For those of you who don't already know, Scott was promoted to Sales Manager at work!  We are very proud of him!  It has been stressful for everyone because he hasn't been able to find someone to fill his previous position, his help, so he has a lot on his plate at work and we're trying to get a self-contracted addition to our house started at home and then we have a dog and a baby and a marriage that need attention...oh and there's sleep and food too...:)  But we're hanging in there and we can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Hope everyone has a great Easter!

'I pooped'

Emerson said 'I pooped' at school today! And he had in fact pooped :).  He seems to pick up a new word every other day now.  He says 'up' when he wants to picked up, or to be taken out of his highchair, or when he wants help lifting something up.  He also says 'please', but it sounds more like 'peas'.  When he sees a picture of a fish he opens and closes his half puckered lips to imitate one.  Tonight we were eating gold fish crackers while playing on the living room floor and I gave 2 to Emerson so he popped one in his mouth and carried one over to share with Bodie.  He did this several times in a row, but then when I commented on how sweet he was being he started just waving them in front of Bodie's face, giggling, and then putting them in his own mouth hehe.

14 months

Officially walking!  Everyone says it gets harder once they start walking, but we are really enjoying it.  He is so much more independent and seems to really take pride in being able to do more himself.  New spoken words include duck, apple, and tat (cat).  When asked he can identify all parts of the face, cat, dog, bird, tree, shirt, shoes, socks, red, and blue.  He knows which part of the body each article of  clothing belongs to and he thinks he can put them on himself, but it's quite funny to watch because he will do something like hold his foot out and simply drape a sock over it and then look at it, head cocked to one side, like "Something just isn't quite right about this".  He likes to spend most of his time outside.  We are really looking forward to the warmer weather so that we can take him to neat places.

Almost 13 months

1 YEAR!!

Emerson had a great 1st Birthday and we loved being able to share it with so many of you.  He took his first steps last Sunday!  His check up went very well...still tall, skinny and healthy. He says 'Hi', 'ights' (lights), 'ot' (hot), ball, he attempts to say thank you and outside, and has also said something resembling "all done" on a few occasions when his bottle was empty.  He can point to eyes, ears, and nose when asked.  He barks like a dog when we point to a picture of Bodie and ask what sound a doggy makes. Blueberries are his favorite food. We are having so much fun!