Merrick at 21 Months

Merrick's cold weather gear gets used nearly every day when Mark walks the girls to school.

There are so many little things I want to remember about Merrick at this age, that I decided that I will continue the monthly updates for Merrick until he turns two in February. After that, I plan on changing and doing a monthly or bi-monthly family update with pictures for all of our adoring fans family and friends (haha.)

It has been a good month and we have been keeping busy. Merrick continues to grow and change at an amazing rate. He can understand an amazing amount of things we say, and is saying a lot to communicate as well. Tonight at dinner, he said, "Big bite" right before he popped some food into his mouth.

He likes to help around the house, and really likes for things to be in their place. When he wakes up, he wants to be sure and put his pacifier away (in a cup that we keep on top of his dresser). He'll pitch in when we're cleaning up around the house, and likes to put clothes in the hamper (regardless of whether they are dirty or clean...)

He was very impressed by these huge balls in the girls' gymnastics room at the rec center.

Merrick was a trooper recently when a stomach bug hit him. When he got sick in the middle of the night, he called out to us, and whimpered, "Yucky." Luckily, he bounced back and it was just a 24 hour bug. He's a pretty tough little guy, actually. The more he runs around and moves, the more bumps and bruises he sustains. But he usually just gets up and keeps moving. Sometimes, he'll even give a little laugh before he darts off.

On one hand, he is all boy: When we are walking through the neighborhood, he insistently shouts, "Basket" whenever we see a basketball hoop in someone's driveway. Sometimes, when we are sitting on the couch together, he will get a little impish look and randomly head butt me like a little goat. He still loves playing with balls and recently started to dribble a bit and is starting to develop the motor skills to catch. On the other hand, the influence of two older sisters is clear. The other day, Merrick was dancing around to music, and he had the help of an older sister in putting on a tutu to complete the look...

Lately, he has taken to wearing a purple cowboy hat around the house. It is a really cool hat, though. I should know, because it was mine when I was a kid. :)

It was fun to see Merrick getting into the Halloween celebrations for the first time this year.

Merrick enjoyed all the pumpkins around Halloween. He looks so big in this picture!

Mark shot a nice buck in early November, and Merrick had fun admiring the antlers.

Peeking out of the house we made out of the box from our new freezer. Boxes really are the best toys!  

It seems that there is less baby and more big boy every day as I watch him interact with the world around him...I just want to freeze some of these moments and hold them in my heart forever...