Favorite Things

Unrolling the toilet paper

seeing how close he can get to the edge

playing with the flour and sugar in the pantry

story time with dad

getting his teeth brushed

standing up in the bathtub
unloading the dishwasher

Cafe Rio (okay maybe that's my favorite thing)


at 10 months:
25 lbs
32 1/2 inches

Getting Ready for Work

1st Trip to Disneyland

Here is Johnny with his dad at Disneyland. They have the same smile. I love it. We couldn't wait to put Johnny on his first ride.

First up, the carousel. I didn't know there was an art to choosing a pony on the carousel. But apparently there is, because Brian must have tried out five different ponies before settling on this one. And it sure was a nice one. Perfect for Johnny's first ride. All settled in a ready to go.

The ride hadn't even started yet and Johnny was already having the time of his life.

And here they are waiting...

And waiting...

Still waiting...

Right before we started moving, Brian decided that Johnny was ready for his own pony.

"Are you sure about this, Dad?"

Then dad let go... and he was all by himself! His knuckles were white from holding on so tight.

But it was worth it for that rush of adrenaline. :)

Then we moved on to the Dumbo ride which was so exciting that we couldn't get Junior to focus on the camera. Here's the best shot.

And I guess we only went on two rides, because I don't have any more pictures. I always do that... start out so ambitious in the beginning that I just can't keep up. Oh well. At least we captured a few precious smiles. Disneyland is SO fun!

And here's the reason we went (I stole this picture from Connie's blog). Our adorable cousins, Cindy, Sarah, Ana & Jared.

marky's visit

My baby brother Mark has been coming to visit me every year since he was 11. He's turning 17 this year, so it's definitely a long standing tradition that I hope we can always keep up. I'm sure his future wife won't mind coming to my house for her honeymoon. Mark and I are just about that tight :)

We've already done all the big stuff, Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm, Universal Studios, etc. etc. This year Mark just wanted to hang out with us. We tried to do a few fun things like a visit to Grandma Shirley's, a UCLA volleyball game, bike riding on the beach and a trip to the Long Beach Aquarium. Here are a few pictures from the week:

Marky took a few photos for his Facebook page. You know, to rub it in to all his friends in Idaho who weren't spending spring break in California:

Notice the lady passed out on the sand. I always find it strange to see people laying fully-clothed on the beach like that. Hmmm, I hope she's not dead. It'd be tragic to die so close the the lifeguard tower.

I thought Johnny might be too young to enjoy the Aquarium, but I was wrong. He loved it! He splashed in the wave pools (which you're not supposed to do), pounded on the glass of the fish tanks (which you're also not supposed to do), and crawled all over the filthy ground (after which he put his hands in his mouth, of course).




A few pictures on the pier in Long Beach. It's so pretty there!

Poor Brian had to stare at a computer screen all week long:

sunday duds

leaps and bounds

Junior seems to be reaching a lot of milestones lately. It is so fun to watch him grow. Only two days after I wrote a whole post about how he couldn't wave...he did! And to a complete stranger in the doctor's office, I should add. No one warned me about how proud and weepy this would make me feel. I might have gotten a little teary-eyed. Here he is waving to me at home:

Today he crawled on his own for the very first time. Though he doesn't make too much ground and teeters on the edge of a face plant the whole time, it's unmistakable. He IS crawling! Here's the raw footage. You're watching history here, folks.


He's also...

Standing up in his crib when he should be sleeping (I should really do something about those blank walls!)

Sitting up to the table like a big boy

Getting into all kinds of trouble in the kitchen

Practicing the get-away

And just getting bigger and sillier in general (is that a word?)

is he waving?

I have to share this video because it's so cute and so funny. I'm sharing it even though my laugh in the background is way too loud and kind of embarrassing. Sometimes I just can't help it. You know? So in the video, it looks like Johnny is waving at me. But he's really not. That's why it's so funny. He's never waved at anyone in his whole life (8 months is a long time to go without waving. you try it). So what he's really doing is trying to reach back behind himself to touch the bookshelf. He's really into surfaces and textures. I don't know how else to explain it. It's just his thing. Brian stood him up and I guess you could say we were both a little surprised that 1) Johnny can stand up by himself and 2) he can wave ;)!

Johnny - 7 months

My friend Amy came over to capture a few everyday moments in the life of little Johnny Merrell... playing on the floor, lounging in his undies, splashing in the tub, and playing with his momma. She did a great job of catching Johnny just being Johnny, wide-mouthed grin and all. I find myself cherishing these everyday moments and wishing that they wouldn't go by so fast. I feel so grateful for a healthy baby and for the chance to be his momma. Hope you enjoy!

Día de Amor

Johnny spent Valentine's Day with his favorite lady, Great Grandma Shirley. She absolutely adores him, which tickles me pink. But as much as Johnny loves Shirls, he has recently discovered that he is strong enough to launch himself out of anyone's lap. And so he did his best to escape. He just wants to go, go, go!

Grandma managed to distract Johnny with his valentine, a card with a few dollars inside. He went straight for the envelope and had it shredded in no time. Partly because he's obsessed with paper, and partly because he just got his first little chomper on Sunday!! Hooray! Grandma said that next time she's just going to give him an envelope!

I know, this one is fuzzy. But I like this picture of Johnny with his dad. They are both so handsome.

Did anyone watch the show, "The Worst Cooks in America?" It inspired us to make molten lava cakes for Valentine's Day. The trick is to not overcook the cake so that it oozes when you cut into it. It only took us two tries to get it right. Darn. If it were up to me, we'd keep getting it slightly wrong so I could keep eating our mistakes. I don't mind if its not gooey inside... I'll take chocolate in any form I can get it! Don't these look so purty?! Brian made a delicious vanilla sauce to go with it and made it look so fancy.

Here's the crew getting ready to dig in! Happy Valentine's day!

Big Hands

If "palming" were an Olympic sport... J. would win the gold. He can palm his snack canisters. Is that an amazing feat 0r what?