Can you help us solve a mystery? And a few more tidbits...

Someone generously sent Mercer a savings bond -- but it looked like it was automated & there was no name on it. I called the US Treasury, but the only thing they could tell me from the serial number is that it was done through a BB&T -- but couldn't tell what state or city. So - we want to write a thank you note, but can't! If a member of Mercer's blogging public sent this or knows of who sent it -- can you please let us know. We would like to properly thank the appropriate person!

On a separate note, my childhood friend, Susan, announced she's pregnant. We're excited and "indirectly" feel that her visiting & holding baby Mercer made the call for parenthood a little stronger! : - ) When visiting she asked her husband, Chad, to hold the baby and see if he could go for "just one more" child?! This would be their 4th -- assuming that there's only one in there baking!!

I forgot to mention in the stats in the last blog that Mercer's heart rate is sort of like a hummingbird's. Out of curiosity, I asked the doctor what should it be. She said around 110 beats per minute. She did a quick check and his was around 120. I always thought it felt fast -- but -- Who knew it would be that quick?!

I'm on my way up to NC on Saturday morning. I've been thinking about going to my grandmother's family reunion this year b/c we have a beautiful bouncing reason why to go. I've sometimes shy-ed away b/c the question would always come up: when are you guys going to have children? That was a tough question for us for such a long time. I used to ask people that same question 'til all of the fertility stuff we went through. Now I need to be pretty darn sure that they're not going through any troubles before I ask that question.

I'm going to take a couple of days off from work (to try to balance my hours out some too) and hopefully see the majority of my mom's family and dad's family while there. I may not be able to blog over the weekend -- but if you're checking YouTube for videos, Todd may be able to post one or two over the weekend. I shot a video of Mercer sitting up on his own. Todd said he did this last weekend, but we caught it on tape today. (Of course, we have to put him in that position, but the fact he's doing it is progress!)

Take care. Candice

Mercer's 5 month stats - 75% all the way...

Took Mercer to the doc Friday for a couple of immunizations (we're staggering the shots so he doesn't get them all at once and he is now about a month behind on his "4 month old" shots). In the "frogs and fish" photo here you can see that he's sacked out afterwards. Shots always seems to do that to him. We skipped a party at my office in the afternoon and we skipped the Concert on the Square so we could let baby sleep and sleep as much as he wanted.

His stats were as follows:

17 lbs 8 oz.... 26.5" long.... 17 1/4" circumference for his head. All three categories: 75 percentile compared to other 5 month olds which means he's smaller than 25% of 5 month olds nationally and bigger than 75% of them.

Saturday we had a busy, but fun day. Walked to the square for breakfast and to go to the farmer's market (of course). Then walked home and MADE ice-cream. Seriously! 1st time ever! We had 5 adults and 5 children come over for a cookout / picnic that afternoon. It was very hot and muggy, though, so we had the picnic indoors. The adults sat at the dining room table and kids sat on the floor on a blanket. They thought it was an adventure. Later, we went outside to have ice cream (the kids could add their own toppings).... and they blew off some energy afterwards playing in the rain that came pouring down outside. I think they all had a blast. Here's a couple of the boys, Declan and Aaron, enjoying the porch swing after their run in the rain. Mercer slept through most of it amazingly. (Still zonked after those shots the previous day?)

Sunday we went to church to participate in a baptism of Mercer's buddy, Jackson. We stood up beforehand and presented Jackson to the priest, then carried him back from the altar as his God-parents. We liked the priest who led the sermon and performed the baptism. He told the story of St. James (which is the name of the church) and it happened to be St. James' day. He talked about the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela (in Spain). Todd and I went there on our honeymoon... it's the final destination of the great pilgrimage in Europe. It was so cool to re-live our part of our travels through the priest's story! Check it out if you want: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_Santiago_de_Compostela

Here's a picture of Mercer sitting on his own (with the help of one of those foamy chairs) and some of the kids at the reception after the baptism. It was a big day for Mercer. He received a blessing that day AND he got throw-up on his foot from baby Brody (in navy). Baby Brody and baby Jackson are both the same age -- born in early November. Quite a size-difference in the two! The guest of honor is trying to negotiate to get his foamy chair back. Mercer's the youngest baby there / not 100% able to sit up on his own yet, so he had to borrow it.

Oh yeah - Mercer ate carrots Sunday (mixed into his rice cereal). He could tell something was different, but did a pretty good job eating it. He was especially messy with his food -- and his diaper did some interesting things today b/c of the carrots last night. I think next week we'll experiment with peas. (I've been reading & it's suggested that you only introduce one new food a week as to see if there are any food allergies.) I'm travelling next week, so I'm going to use jars of baby food that I have on hand - but following the peas, I think I'll dive in and make some baby food!

I think that's about it for now. Wanted to post some of these cute pictures we got over the weekend and update his stats. Have a great week!

5 months old today....

Has it already been 5 months? Well, luckily, it doesn't seem like things are flying by -- which I'm glad. I think that we're both taking life slower... taking it all in... enjoying parenthood.

I forgot to mention that Mercer's progressing in a couple of other ways: he is no longer being swaddled at night to sleep. It's been 4 or 5 days in a row. Yes, he'd stir and wake a little throughout the night, but for the most part is sleeping through. From what I was reading - swaddling is dangerous once they're able to roll over in the swaddle.

Another thing we were noticing recently is how - when you hold him up in a standing position - he sort of dances and marches. His legs will move up and down a little bit in an alternate pattern. Because of this, we pulled out a Johnny Jumper thing for him to play in. He's able to spin himself around in it and bounce a little. I shot some video of him when he first went in it... then a short clip taken about 1/2 an hour later where he seems to enjoy it... and another short clip from Todd seeing Mercer in the jumper for the first time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hm_-FCIywxE

Finally, I wanted to include something that was touching. My uncle's wife, Francis, takes my grandmother, Edith, to the library to see the blog and the videos of Mercer about once a week. Francis writes:

Hi Candice,

Just wanted to share with you that I took Edith to the library today to enjoy the happy squeals and "conversations" from Mercer in the videos. We had to get some headphones to allow her to "hear" everything while she watched. There were several times that she laughed out loud at his sounds and expressions. It is also so sweet to hear all the love in Todd's and your voices as you talk to Mercer. Thank you for continually adding to your blog.l... How wonderful your "li'l M" can bring so many smiles to so many people!

Isn't that great! That alone makes it worth keeping the blog alive!

Here's another clip taken from today: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5B4G4ZhgeA&feature=user

Good night. enjoy. Candice

He's up to some new tricks...

Mercer started talking. Well, chattering really. Saturday he was full of things to say. Sunday too. He did it some today after I picked him up from daycare. Guess it's his new thing?! It's really cute. Todd's posted a couple of videos on YouTube if you care to listen (and try to decipher it for us). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMl1mt-ViY8 I'm crushed. He says da da da da. Sometimes he'll babble on and on then take a big sigh and keep going. He has discovered his vocal chords and wants everyone to know it.


Mercer's been sleeping a lot. Think he's going through a growth spurt? He has gotten REALLY heavy lately somewhat quickly. Don't have his stats at the moment, but I'm taking him to the doctor Friday for his 4 month appointment. (He'll be 5 months and 2 days old. Doesn't make sense, but.....) I'll report his stats after his appointment on Friday.



We hung out with two different sets of new neighbors this weekend. It was nice getting to know some of the young couples moving into the 'hood. One couple has two little girls and the mom is pregnant (due this week) so there will be ANOTHER friend that he'll have close in age on our street. Sunday, some of my co-workers came up for a visit with Mercer. He had an exciting weekend full of socializing. He really seems to like people and other kids. We're so lucky! (This is a picture taken at brunch at a restaurant on the square after going to the farmer's market.)

There's another YouTube video of him trying to put the pacifier in his own mouth. Close to the end he's jamming it up against his face just missing the hole (his mouth). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxCHTq6dU5k

Think that does it. Good night. C

Another first.... Mercer discovered his big toe.

Wow. Staggering news, huh? I guess everything he's doing now is discovery. I had him somewhat propped up / sitting, but he was slumped over and saw his feet. Since he's teething, he immediately lunged forward for his foot and put his mouth around his big toe. In no time, it was covered with drool.

He also rolled over several times this past weekend. So - he's now becoming proficient at it, I suppose. I think he really dislikes being on his belly b/c each time, he rolled from his tummy over to on his back (he hasn't gone the other way yet - from back to belly). I heard him struggling in the play pen the other day, so I snapped a few shots / caught him rolling over through a series of still shots. (I didn't do video b/c it takes him too long to roll at this point. It was a series of a few minutes to get all the way over.) We put more frames of him rolling over into a video (sort of) on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11ga18eNg7o

Several people have been asking about the daycare situation... a few weeks ago, I witnessed something un-hygienic with one of the teachers. Todd talked to the director of the facility and she was apologetic of course. Several days later, I saw the same teacher yelling at a construction worker. Not cool because it was in front of the children. One child was wailing (a 9 month old on his first day -- never been away from his mom before) -- but I'm sure it was scary for ALL of the kids. We haven't seen that teacher since. (yay)

Todd talked to the director this afternoon, and a new teacher is starting tomorrow and the 12 month olds to 18 month olds are finally moving to the adjacent room. I was thinking the infant room was too crowded / too many kids for my comfort, but now Mercer will be one of 4 infants in the baby room. (yay again!) I think we're squared away for the time being and are ok with the daycare now.

Check out this cute video. I was out in the hallway shooting into Mercer's room Todd was reading him a story before putting him to bed. Love it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNW-DLz7rVY

Candice

Forgot to post M's stats last week. More pictures.

We took an unofficial height and weight of Mercer. About 1 week ago (at 4 mo and 1 week old), he was 15 lbs and 25 3/4" long. He's grown almost 2" each month for the past 4 months!!

We're sure he is slightly larger this week!

Tuesday night, we were invited to meet a neighbor up on Lake Altoona and go for a pontoon boat ride. This was Mercer's first boat ride -- and was really nice for Todd & I to go / relax. Todd put a video on YouTube if you want to watch it... but we thought instead of posting, we'd put this nice family picture on the blog. I like this other picture too -- Todd, Mercer, and our neighbor Orie (the captain of the boat for the evening taking a break). Thanks for the relaxing trip, Orie!!

There is a GREAT video that you'd definitely want to check out on YouTube: Mercer and His Mirror: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3UTcZe4JRI He has discoverd the baby in the mirror and is so cute!

There's also a video posted of Mercer eating. We captured it because he's starting to really like his food and he's chomping at the bit to eat it. (We'll start working on adding vegetables this week mixed in with his rice cereal.) But - one funny thing in the video, "Mercer Starts to enjoy Solid Foods," is that he's blowing bubbles while eating and making a huge mess. I ended up wearing some of the food this time b/c he got some power behind one of those bubbles with a mouth-full of food. Good times.

On the 4th of July, we walked up to the square to watch the parade & attend a craft fair in the square... and then walked home to hang out for a few hours. Later that day, we walked to a friend's house (on the other side of the square) for a 4th picnic then headed towards the square to watch fireworks that night. We weren't sure what Mercer was going to do when the fireworks went off, but as luck would have it... Mercer's schedule was messed up & he ended up eating his bottle around 9:15. Fireworks started at 9:20. Mercer ate through the whole thing. He would jump every now & then, but he never got scared. he was too focused on his bottle. (At left, he's sporting his new red & blue sun glasses (and a hand-me-down shirt w/ flag). He looked very patriotic!

My mom came on Saturday. We didn't do much - grandma Gloria and baby Mercer got to hang out while Todd & I vacuumed out the pond. We had a low-key day for the most part -- but Sunday -- what a day! We decided to head north and visit a museum in Cartersville GA: The Booth Western Arts Museum. We were so surprised and impressed with it. We expected to see a lot of traditional-style pieces, however, there was a lot of modern art represented, sculpture, and cool movie posters. Also, there was a Presidential Exhibit that was very large and included statistics / hand-signed letters / and photographs of each president. We would definitely recommend people to check it out! http://www.boothmuseum.org/permcollection.htm Afterwards, Todd and I went out on our first "date" since bringing Mercer into our lives. Mom offered to babysit. We went to see the movie Hancock (we enjoyed it) and we also went to a nice dinner. (FYI - over the past few years, we have tried bread pudding at all sorts of restaurants around Atlanta and found one Sunday that will be at the top of our list: Rum Raisin Bread Pudding from the Lobster Bar. YUM!) Thanks for the evening out, mom!

Now, we're back to the daily grind - but we're savoring the great time we had over the long holiday weekend! We hope you & yours had a safe / fun holiday.