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!

Ultrasound and 13 Week Belly Pic

Here's little baby from my Feb 22 appt. This is a profile view. Sorry it's blurry this is a pic of a pic.

This is baby waving at us. It was the coolest thing to see the little arm waving at us. It's kind of hard to tell in this pic.

This is at 13 weeks.

February 22 Doctor's Appointment

I was going to try to post pictures of the ultrasound but I'm still trying to figure out how to scan them so that they still look ok. I'll continue to work on that.

I had intended to go to this appointment by myself since both Jon and I work at the same law office it's kind of hard for both of us to leave at the same time. So I dropped Jon off and I went to my appt. When I finally got in to see the doctor (or nurse practitioner this time) she gave me the run down of what we would be doing during the appt. Jon had mentioned before that if they were going to do an ultrasound he wanted to be there. So when she told me very casually that they would be doing an ultrasound I immediately called Jon and said get over here as fast as you can. Fortunately our office is kiddy corner to Kaiser so he just ran over and made it just in time to see our baby waving at us and moving around. It was so awesome to see the little arm reaching up and waving back and forth. Jon and I both gasped in aw. She printed like 6 pictures for us including one with the arm in the air.

Everything else with the appt was normal, I don't have much of a family medical history which is a good thing. I always like to hear the doctor (or NP) say "Well, you're definitely pregnant!" For some reason that's very reassuring to me even though I can clearly see the baby myself in the ultrasound, I suppose it's nice to hear it straight from the professional though. Especially since I haven't noticed a whole lot of common symptoms except for being tired. Although by now I am in my 13th week and I am definitely starting to show :)

Another Sunday Afternoon

I was asked to give a talk today at church on the freedom to choose. Actually every time Bro Tanner in the bishopric asked me to speak I conveniently had to be out of town :) but I told him I was willing so he very graciously booked me out about a month and a half later. It didn't seem to make it any easier to get up in front of the whole congregation but I appreciated all the time studying and preparing. Apparently I did well because several people in the ward said I did well and they said they couldn't tell I was even nervous but boy let me tell you I was trying really hard to keep my voice from quivering.

I thought I would take some pictures today of a typical Sunday afternoon at our house. When we get home from church Jon usually starts a fire and we'll let Doak come inside if it's raining outside, which it was today.

Doak loves to give Jon kisses, and Jon loves to receive kisses haha. (These pics were taken with my iPhone so you can't really tell that Doak is doing anything cuz he's blurred out, sorry about that.)

Jon often time has the tv on while he's working, as you can tell he looks distracted.

Once the fire is burning he'll relax and enjoy some sporting event, this happens to be the US vs Canada Olympic Hockey game.

While I take a much needed nap. Jon always joins me, he looks forward to his Sunday naps all week long.

Even Doak gets to take a nap inside. This way it keeps him from being outside barking and keeping us up while we're trying to sleep.

We woke up to my visiting teacher dropping by to bring us over dessert. She's so thoughtful and sweet to make them look so nice, Jon and I are just excited to eat them!

Baby Gender Myths

Here are some of the myths that I have come across to determine whether our baby will be a boy or a girl.

Feeling good, no severe morning sickness. BOY

Age + number for the month you conceived and the sum is an odd number: GIRL

Your baby's heart rate is at least 140 beats per minute. BOY

You are carrying low. BOY

You are craving salty or sour foods. BOY

You are craving protein -- meats and cheese. BOY

The hair on your legs has grown faster during pregnancy. BOY

Your left breast is larger than your right breast. GIRL

You prefer sleeping on your left side. BOY

Your skin breaks out. GIRL

You feel graceful during pregnancy. GIRL

My sister, Keri, has a theory that if the oldest boy of a family has a boy first then the next boy in the family will have a girl first and so on. So Jon's older brother had a boy first so according to her theory Jon will have a girl first. GIRL

Jon's brother-in-law, Seth Hanson, apparently has a knack for being able to call whether a baby will be a boy or girl. He had two boys and then two girls and he called it accurately before each one was determined. He says that we are going to have a boy. BOY

The Hanson boys say I am going to have a boy. BOY

The Hanson girls say I am going to have a girl. GIRL

It's still early to tell but so far the tally is GIRL 6 to BOY 9. My mom has convinced me to wait until my baby shower to find out whether I'm having a boy or a girl. My wonderful sister-in-law April from the New York Newmans has so kindly offered to throw my a baby shower in July. I am going to let her decide how she wants to surprise me with the news. So Jon will be the only one to know until he decides to tell others, as long as they can keep a secret from me : ).