merrick is 9 months?

wow, so this little fella is 9 months! it blows my mind! well it blows my mind everyday... i guess that will never get old. this morning i took the fella in for his 9 month check up... he was all smiles with the doc and was flirting with the nurses... ham.

so here are his stats...

weight... 17 lbs 10 oz (8 percentile)

length... 29 in. (71 percentile)

head... 45.5 cm (52 percentile)

now this is a boy of many toys! he loves them! and if he doesn't have a basket of toys there in front of him he will make his way over to the shoe rack or the books on the floor of the office. i guess that it wouldn't just be the toys he loves... the basket is a major toy as well. he removes all the toys after a while and we will come in to find that he has all but his knees and feet sticking out of the basket.

his new things... calling out for 'mama' when he has pooped his pants.

pulling the plug at the end of his tub. promptly giving kisses when mom says 'give mommy kisses' but when daddy asks he just pats his check. army crawling everywhere but on the hardwood floor. falls asleep at bed and for naps all on his own and the only thing that wakes him up... the toilet. has four teeth. has gotten one hair cut, well trim, already. talks and talks! is fascinated with the blow dryer and will come right next to me so that he can get 'blowed on'. shakes his head for no, biggest smile in the world for yes! he chats anytime he is in the car. loves bugs and will try and pinch ants when he finds them. holds up his star when you ask 'where is twinkle twinkle?' points at the trees only when the leaves are blowing in the wind.

his new love... food! mainly fruits like avocado and cantaloupe. loves a whole slice of bread with out the crust and will devour ravioli!

a two post month...

has it really been almost three weeks since i lasted posted something?? sorry about that...
we have been busy...

mainly this guy...
two weeks ago he had a nasty fever that lasted 5 days! the highest... 103.8! but during the late mornings and afternoons he would get down to about 100.6. it was so sad... he was really cuddly, wouldn't eat that well, and sleep? what sleep? we felt so bad for him... found out that he had a major sore throat... and getting two more teeth.
then he got a major snotty nose and cough... with some nasty gala galas.
two days ago he woke up from a nap with a popped vessel in his right eye (in photo above) that quickly turned the white of his eye bloody red. so now gets meds for that and today looks tons better!
but through it all he has still been his playful, happy, laughing self! in fact yesterday i caught him army crawling around the living room!

happy birthday to...

this guy...

who woke up this morning and said that he gets to do what ever he wants today!

who, out of anything he could possibly want for breakfast, asks me to make him spaghetti.

who is currently outside cleaning the trailer... sorry, rewiring and cleaning his hunting trailer... it's his birthday... i need to be more specific, so he says :)

who, i heard tell merrick this morning, he is turning 25 today.

happy birthday hubba! love you!

she is seven...

going on seventeen....

happy birthday jord!

xoxo, us

playing in the daisy's

uncle jack and aunt jeanie always have an amazing yard full of wild flowers... when we were younger my mom would pose my sister betsy and i in the flowers too for pictures.

note: passie in mouth so child does not eat grass

jord and kasey ran through the sprinklers when we first got there so jos hair was all wet... i feel bad that i didn't get her out again for more pictures.

next time

parker idaho... amish cake night ...mmm!

grill master kasey on the deck... i love this place... who wouldn't

some of my cousins came over for amish cake and ice cream the night before we left... it was so much fun to hang out... it has been so long since i have seen most of them... and i got to meet all of their kids too!

this is my moms brother jack and my aunt jeanie... love them to death! thank you for letting us come and stay at your house... i love it there... and love hanging out and hearing stories. miss you guys!...

...all of you!

yellowstone

old faithful was cool... when we got there we still had some time to kill so we went over to the lodge and grabbed a bite to eat. out on the deck we sat for about an hour waiting... it's hard to believe that this thing shoots over 300 feet in the air out of a 4 inch diameter hole. and its crazy hot water too! pretty cool to see.
these hot springs were everywhere... but this one by far was the prettiest. if it wasn't hot enough to boil me like a cornish hen in 5 seconds i would have jumped in... inviting isn't it??

right off the bat when we entered the park we saw a herd of cow elk... pretty neat. they really don't care that you are there... we also saw a buffalo, bald eagle and tons of geese. all in all our trip was great... i wish that we could have done more traveling in yellowstone... but with two whiny kids it was time to get back...

home again home again

just got back from yellowstone, jackson & parker... more pictures to follow when we settle back in from our 1000 mile, three state journey!

open season

the deer hunt opened yesterday. i was expecting to be a widow for the rest of the year but... this year didn't pan like that past ones. kasey called this morning (he goes just up east canyon, about a 15 min drive from the house) and said that he got his deer...
he was walking down the mountain to give up for the morning and this guy crossed his path. 20 feet away with his bow. the mans was stoked! last year he wasn't able to get up there that often plus i was large with child... the year before that it was the last day of the hunt he came home with elliot... literally elliot the one antlered deer from open season!

and the folks... still shocked that mom touched it... betsy may not like that!

yay kb... so happy for you!

look what pops did...

so kasey sets up the target to pratice his draw and to set his sights on his bow before the hunt. he sets up and shoots up our driveway. its 20 yards to the gate... then heads across the street up the neighbors driveway for longer distances... my pops was totally into watching him so we got out my bow... cause it has less pounds to draw back and he would be able to do it... let me tell you... he loved it!
he did pretty well for his first time... check out the bulls eye...

these two came to play!!

i love it when my mom and dad come to play...

me oooooo so happy!