Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Bird feeder



We have a hummingbird feeder out back. There appears to be a turf war going on over it, and the hummingbirds don't always win out!

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Grandma Jones comes to Tucson!



Grandma Jones spent almost a week and a half with us, and it was great! She cooked us yummy food, took care of Naomi during Val's hospital stay, did some cleaning, baby-sat while we went on a date (going somewhere w/o kids?? novel idea!), took us out to eat, and spoiled us all in general! Ever since she left, Naomi has been asking "Where's Grandma?" and, after listening to my reply, saying "Let's go find her!".

THANKS FOR COMING!!! Come again soon!

Bath paints


Naomi picked out a small "welcome" gift for Gabe, and she got a present back from him: bath paints! She started out by mostly smearing them around, but we've since expanded to the tile wall to smear the colors into snowmen, balloons, boats, hand prints, and other fun shapes. I dole the paint out liberally each time so we can hurry and use them. I think we'll try bath crayons next instead of the paints!!

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Gabe's tricks

We took Gabe to the pediatrician when he was a few days old, and she checked out his reaction to being on his tummy. He propped right up to the level they expect of a 4-month old. I thought it was a fluke, but this morning he did it again and held it for a bit. This kid is a turtle, craning his neck and looking all over the place.

(Mom, you can tell Ed Storey that the quilt was bright enough that Gabe wanted to pick his head up and see what was on it! See 3rd pic)

In other random news, Gabe has also rolled over a few times. He goes from his tummy to his back and has rolled both ways (over his left side and over his right side). This doesn't bode well for tummy time efforts, so I guess it's good that he has decently strong neck muscles already!

Monday, April 14, 2008

Coming home


Gabe in motion

Gabe's calling in life

Will Gabe grow up to be...
...a politician/used car salesman?
...a great thinker?
...a body builder?
...a french chef ("magnifique!")?
...an opera singer?











Gabriel Porter Merrell




Gabe was born April 11th at 3:50pm. He weighed 8lb 11oz, and was 20in long.

Pre-induction



Val had her induction appointment Friday at 9:30. Here's a few pics before we left.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Baby update...or lack of baby update

No baby yet...however, I did have an appointment on Tuesday and was told that I was dilated to a 3, almost a 4. So if I don't have the baby by tomorrow morning (Friday), they are going to induce me. That means anyone who predicted a birth date next week or beyond is not going to win (see previous post).

That also means Grandma Jones is coming tomorrow to stay for a week! Naomi has a couple of activities lined up for when Grandma Jones comes (but most important is riding the merry-go-round/carousel down the street), and she talks about it lots!

Monday, April 07, 2008

Time to hear your input!

All right, people. If you feel so inclined, post a comment with the following details on your prediction for Merrell Baby #2:

Date and time of birth
Weight
Who's he going to look like
Anything else you want to add (could it have escaped our notice all this time that I'm having twins?)

Here is some info if it helps make your prediction:
My official due date is 4/20/08. I am 38 weeks and 1 day pregnant. Naomi came at 37 weeks and 2 days (so this little guy is already late...in my mind!). Naomi weighed in at *7 lb. 4 oz. and CLEARLY looked like a Merrell (I still get those comments all the time).

At my 37 week appointment (1 week ago), I was 2 cm dilated, 75% effaced, and the baby was in a -1 position. The doctor randomly guessed he was about 7 lb.

Now a word to the wise: I am a completely hormonal, irrational pregnant female. If you predict for me to go over the due date by 2 weeks or have a 13 pound baby, I may initiate a discussion with you on why you do not feel there is a Supreme Being or some measure of mercy in existence who has compassion and watches over us!

Update: the previously listed weight was a typo, not an exaggeration.

Swimming pools and bowling balls



















We have an inflatable pool for Naomi that we set up earlier this week. I thought by leaving the water in it for a few days, the water temperature would get warmer and it would be fun for playing. That didn't work at all - it was COLD! Naomi didn't mind it, though, and would play in it until we pulled her out, chattering teeth, blue lips, and all. (We usually put her in a bathing suit, but this was the first time in and we didn't think she would stay for long!)

The pool actually has a whale slide that connects to it; we will wait until the water really is a little warmer to set that up!

And for those who have requested pregnancy pictures, here is a shot of me. It feels like (and looks like!) there's a bowling ball under my shirt!

Naptime



















I feel energetic these days, right up until a few hours after getting up (long stretch, huh?), and then I crash. On Saturday I took a monster nap and Naomi joined me! She has never slept in our bed and hasn't fallen asleep when touching me since she was itty bitty. I woke up before she did and desperately needed to move my arm which was under her head, but I left it there quite awhile longer just to soak in the peaceful cuddling!

Sunday, April 06, 2008

General Conference entertainment



Naomi actually watched some of Saturday's General Conference sessions with us. Mostly she was entertained by gluing macaroni noodles to stars (our budding artist's first time gluing noodles to paper, so naturally it needed to be documented!). Sunday's entertainment was Play-Doh!

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Easter fun!

Here's Naomi on Easter morning, discovering the loot the Easter bunny left on the table.


















And here's the pretty girl all dressed up for church.

I DO groom my child occasionally...


...but you can't always tell it since she tends to roll around on the couch, hide under pillows, and find all kinds of other ways to mess up her hair. I have resigned myself to messy hair and using hats!

Fun on the trike!


Here is a picture of Naomi on her birthday trike. It's great - she can't pedal yet, so she puts her feet on the pedals and we use the push bar to propel her around. She likes to be pushed around inside and outside, and she enjoys ringing the bell and telling us which direction to go. Thanks for the birthday present, grandparents!!