Holding His Head High

Judah is holding his head up so well these days. He is growing up so fast! Thanks to my sis-in-law, April, for letting us borrow her Bumbo. He's still a little small for it but it's cute to see him attempt to sit up.

He seems to enjoy flying on my knees.
He loves to look around when he's up in the air, totally different perspective then from lying on his back on the floor.

Judah is here.... at least on the blog finally!

I have been wanting to update my blog since before Judah was born! Now that he is almost 3 months old I guess you could say I'm a little behind. I was gonna write about how labor and delivery went, and bringing him home from California to DC at 2 weeks old, and all that good stuff but now it just seems like old news.

So I will just post some pictures of him from now to back when he was in the hospital. He is smiling so much more now and he makes all kinds of noises. He has been sleeping through the night since last week... hallelujah! I love him soooo much! He is the cutest baby in the world :) and he makes me so happy!

Baby Shower: August 11, 2010

Here are a few photos from a baby shower that was put on for my by my visiting teachers as well as my sis-in-law, Rebecca Hanson. It was so much fun and I received so many super adorable outfits and gifts along with this fabulous cake that was made by a nice lady in my ward.
Baby showers are so fun!

Back to the Blog! A Long Update.

Jon left for Washington, DC on August 2nd and I have been trying to stay busy while he's been gone. He drove cross country with his brother, Doug. Since he has been in DC he has found us a basement apartment to live in, which is furnished and only 7 miles from campus... it's also only about 5-10 minutes from the DC temple. He is currently looking for a job and he started school this week!

I had a Dr appt last week and my doctor told me the baby has started to descend and I was about 70% efaced, but my cervix hasn't started dilating yet. I have been having frequent Braxton-Hicks contractions that seem to be getting stronger and more frequent so who knows how long it will be but I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna make it to my due date. I just hope that he will stay in there long enough for my mom to get here this Friday night. But Jon's sister, Rebecca, has been super helpful and is prepared to take me to the hospital whenever I call.

The Plan:
As soon as my mom, and Aunt Dian, get here Friday night we are going for a very long walk and then my mom will give me a shiatzu massage and hit all the pressure points they tell you to avoid because of concern of inducing labor.... the point is to induce labor. And if all goes well I will start having REAL contractions! The reason I want to do this as soon as they get here 1) because Dian will only be here til Sunday and 2) most importantly I have arranged for Jon to fly in Saturday evening so I want to make sure he has time to change his flight if it doesn't work and I don't go into labor. We were fortunate enough to be offered a rapid rewards round-trip ticket from some dear friends in our ward that will allow Jon to fly here for the birth BUT there are only a limited number of availabilities on flights out here so finding one that meets our needs may be tricky. He may end up having to pay for his flight our here so he can get here as soon as possible (hopefully) and use the free ticket on the way home... which would still save us tons of money! So either way thanks bunches to our friends who provided us with the tickets! But how awesome would it be if I really did go into labor and he was able to be here?!

I have another Dr. appt this Thursday to see how things are going and also to talk about an induction date... so if my plan doesn't work this weekend we can always fall back on that.

My first ever quilt!

I realized I used more "boyish" colors not knowing the gender of the baby but my favorite color is blue so it could go either way to me :). Plus, I'm pretty confident it's a boy anyway.

I am so thrilled with how this baby blanket turned out, and honestly it wasn't that hard. Don't stare at it too long though cuz then you'll see how the pattern is really off but hey it was my first time. Thanks to my sis-in-law, Rebecca, for helping me along the way and letting me use her sewing machine. I can't wait to use it! :)

Another Ultrasound

We had yet another ultrasound today, but this time it was with the Genetics Dept. They wanted to see for themselves that my fluid levels were low. Apparently 10 is the cut off for normal and my levels were somewhere around 5 something at my first ultrasound. Then when my Dr. measured he came up with 6 something. But this time the genetics dept came up with a measurement of 8.6... still low but getting better. They couldn't explain whey the levels were low since the kidneys seemed to be functioning fine and the baby was growing well. In fact, according to my due date I am 20 weeks and 2 days today but according to the baby's size I am 21 weeks and 6 days so I'm crossing my fingers that baby will come out a little sooner than planned :). After all these appointment I'm gonna be able to fill a album full of baby pics before this baby is even born! I'll work on getting some pics posted shortly.

A Sunday Walk

On our Sunday walk the girls and I decided to take pictures next to this cool tree with a whole in it.

I thought this was the coolest tree.
I actually saw this tree on one of my walks a while ago and have been wanting a picture next to it for so long. Finally I got one.
Isabelle hanging from the large branch.
And Claire struggling to hang from it too.
These girls are a lot of fun and so cute.

In Loving Memory of Doak

Jon and I decided that it was best to give our first dog together, Doak, a better home since we wouldn't be able to take him with us when we move to DC. He has been the best dog EVER and I will always remember things I loved most about him.

He was very obedient and responsive. Always wanting to please, and to be by your side.
He loved playing with other dogs and keeping them in line.
He was relaxed and easy going, but playful when you wanted to be. He would always go lie down if you told him too but LOVED to be next to you and loved by you.
He loved to rest his head on you so you would pet him.
He was the sweetest dog. This was on our way to his new home.
He had a funny personality and I loved him soooooo much! I miss coming home to my happy dog who was always excited to be near us. I'll miss you Doak!

We found him a home with a really great couple who will take super good care of him. They have a 14 month old dobie who acts just like Doak did at that age, it's the cutest thing ever to watch them play. I'm so happy that he will always have a friend to play with now.

20 Weeks Pregnant

I had my ultrasound on Friday April 16th. It was so fun to see all the different pics of the baby. The spine was especially cool, it looked like a snake. Jon got to find out the gender while I am waiting to find out til July at my baby shower. Almost everyone else around me knows by now but as long as no body spills the beans to me I think I can last without caving and asking Jon to tell me.

Here's my belly at 20 weeks.
Here is my first maternity outfit.

Yay for being pregnant! Although after my ultrasound the doctor called me and asked me to come back in because he thought my fluid levels were low. They wanted to do an exam to see if maybe I was leaking fluid from my membrane rupturing. After the exam they determined my membrane had not ruptured but the geneticist would be calling. Long story short I have had 4 appts in a week and I have another one on Monday with the geneticist for another full ultrasound. I'm not too worried about it cuz there isn't much I can do but drink more water (which I have been doing) so we'll just see how things go.

2010 Merrill Family Pictures

When Jon and I drove up to Seattle this last time we went for Jon's mom's 60th surprise birthday party. She didn't know all of her kids were coming to surprise her with a party. We also gave her family pictures for her birthday and here are just a few of the 2010 Merrill family pictures.

Merrill Family including spouses

Jeff, Doug & Jon

The Merrill Siblings

Jeff Merrill

Dan & Wendy (soon to be) Jones

Seth & Rebecca Hanson including Cole, Caleb, Isabelle & Claire

Jon & Kristi Merrill

Doug & Liz Merrill including Max, Cate & Ellie

Dave & Diane Merrill

Gma & Gpa with the grandkids

One big happy family!