Merrilee Bear, Mooster the Rooster, Moo Moo, Mer...

What is not to love? This outfit was thoughtfully purchased by my stylish friend, Christie Turley to fit him in the winter of '09. He appears to be quite tall, so we're so glad he got some good use of it in the random cool weeks of spring. I'm hoping we can still fit him into the overalls in the fall.

This picture reminds me of a campaign photo for Mayor or something. I can just see it now, "Mer bear for Mayor". Or a realtor headshot. Hehe.

One of my favorite things is that Merrick already has crow's feet from smiling so much.

A little shot into his private life and his cute little cloth diaper.

In addition to some quick picture updates, here's a little sneak peak into Merrick's life. He's got a tooth. And I officially have a nipple piercing. No ring yet, still on the hunt. And as we speak (at 3:45 am) he's busy talking to himself in his bedroom. He talks a lot. Usually in a high pitched shriek. And I'm not refering to a cry. He really has this air-being-let-out-of-a-baloon voice he really likes to do. And he especially does that when he's tired. I'll be driving along listening to the shriek and chatter, then BAM. Asleep. And he makes a cute face when he's trying to immitate big people talking that resembles a frown. Just trying to figure out how the facial muscles work. He likes "p" and "b" and "d" sounds. And sticking his tongue out and blowing to make noises. He also likes to eat his feet and stick them in his mouth, which is very common, but he takes it a step further by latching on to his big toe and actually sucking his "thumb" toe. Cute? Something like that. He sits up so well by himself (I realized a few weeks ago that kids his age should be doing that, so I tried and within a few times, he did. I guess I should keep up on stuff like that?) One of my not so favorite things is the way he soothes when nursing or when I'm holding him and he's tired. He CLAWS my arm skin, right by my bicep. And PINCHES tight. No matter how short I cut his nails, I'm getting pinched. Over and over. It looks like I am a cutter. Nope, just Mooster.

Sneak Peek of Lily Mae

I borrowed my adorable cousin, Lily, to take a few fun pictures of to get to know my camera better. She is a total character, lots of spunk, and very fun! I haven't seen Bryndee (her wonderful mother and most handy photo assistant on the planet) since, so I'm posting a few unretouched just so she (and the family who cares) can sneek a peek. Thanks Bryn!

SOLD

This item is no longer available for sale. She decided to go back to UT with her dad. She is missed by Merrick, Eddy and I.

Teenager for Sale-$1 OBO

As mentioned earlier, we blessed Merrick Thanksgiving weekend so that all of our family could be in town. While they (all 17!) were here, my niece, Kayla and I hit it off and we offered her a place to stay to get away from UT and to have a fresh start in a sunny new place. Lots more goes into that, of course, but that's it in a nutshell.

Let me tell you a little bit about her. She is very smart. Gorgeous, a talented singer, and an excellent writer of poetry and lyrics. She's funny, fun, great with her hair and makeup, takes fabulous pictures, makes friends very quickly, and has more common sense in certain areas than people twice her age. She is also very helpful around the house, and good at communicating. Oh, and Merrick LOVES her. But there is one critical detail in this whole story. She's also 17. Which, loosely translated, means that all of these qualities that I adore and love about her are here and then gone in a flash. Then back again. Sigh.

For those of you who are considering adopting a teenager any time soon, allow me to warn you-it's not for the faint of heart. Especially when you've just given birth to your first angelic child. Even more of a risk when you're married to the kindest, most loving and gentle man on the planet who happens to be very confrontation averse. I only recommend taking one on if you are mentally, financially and maritally stable. And you are as tough as nails and okay with establishing and enforcing tough boundaries. And you are okay with sleepless nights and lots of standing your ground. And encouraging your husband to do the same. And encouraging him again and again until you could scream, cry and/or run away. It is also advisable that you be certified in parent/child relationships and communication and trained to pick up on subtle cues and hints when something might be amiss. Perhaps someone who is a tracker or who has a background in private investigation is best. Some other things to consider beforehand is how much you enjoy, hmmm, shall we say "spontaneity" in certain, ummm, areas, if you catch my drift. Or how seriously you take having the ability to go where ever you want when ever you want without worrying that you'll come home to a wild party. In addition a phone plan with unlimited texting is required. Before you decide to commit, please, borrow my teenager and I'll waive the $1 fee.

How Could I Resists?!

Kylynn and Brinton are some of the best big cousins Merrick could ask for. They help babysit him on Fridays while I'm at Tantrum working. No sooner have I brought him inside in his stroller and they're climbing into it, tickling him, playing peek a boo and laughing. He loves to see them and his face lights up. I decided to take them out to play at the park one day and get a few pictures of them with thier snot noses, messed up nap hair and food/marker/who knows what on thier faces.

Here Ky is staring at her crazy brother. They are so good together and have so much fun. Mrs. Kylynn. She is such a gorgeous girl. She's mostly sweet and she loves her little cousin, Merrick. She is quite the little ham and is lots of fun to be around.

Brinton has a great new abiltiy- He can WINK! One day he got really excited because Merrick accidentally winked. He ran up to us and said, "Look, Merrick can wink, like me!"

I love this guy!

Oh, Brinton and his cars. He loves cars. He'll turn anything he finds into a car. He makes up stories about cars.

Tritonman

Running Club International, 4 members and counting, took place in our "team's" very first triathlon. We started running just before Christmas and Rachelle and Kira completed their very first triathlon ever. It was the UCSD Tritonman on February 21. I was so proud. A beaming president, if you will. (I am the pres. and founder :) Tiffani couldn't make it out, but we were joined by Rachelle's friend, Jamie. We stayed at the Lindbloms beach condo in La Jolla. We had so much fun doing the race, even though I almost backed out because of a wicked cold. Oh, not to mention the FREEZING water. The race was at Fiesta Island, right by Sea World.Team R.C.I.

Mooster's first trip to the beach. He loves the water and the outdoors. Good kid, isn't he. He is so easy to travel with, so happy, so easy going and so much fun. We're a little bit in love.

Merbear and Eddy at the beach. Eddy was so excited and proud to introduce our little "Ruler of the sea" to the ocean for the first time. I think it went well. He should be paddling waves sooner than later. Here are the participants, or shall we say, triathletes, with their children. Merrick turned 5 months old that day. I was glad that my body let me do a little race so quickly after he was born. Half Iron Man? Maybe next month. I am so glad that we got this little group of buddies together. I love the girls that I run and work out with. I think that we are good for eachother and it's so much more fun to set goals and accomplish them with great friends!

Para Mis Padres

I've always thought it was cool that my parent's birthdays were 2 years and 1 day apart. My dad's April 1 (55) and my mom is April 2 (53). Don't they look great?

My dad, the genius. He can take anything, horrific as it may be, and turn it into a beautiful house. My mom, the saint. She can take anyone, horrific as they may be, and love them and turn them into a beautiful person. I love them both more than I can express, I am grateful to them for loving me and giving me a fighting chance at surviving this life and it's experiences, and I am so glad that they were born and that they decided to get married and stay that way. The genius (for marrying my mom) and the saint (for staying married to my dad ;) They're both my heroes and I hope to be a little bit like them when I'm older (except for with more hair than my dad, and better eyesight than my mom).