technical note.

just a note to those who may not be aware - you are able to click on any photo posted on this blog for a much larger photograph. so, if you're straining to see mercer's chubby little face, just give the photo a click and you'll see it much larger. the photos are quite large, so this might be best if you have a quicker internet connection.

mercerMusic:
muscles - "chocolate, raspberry, lemon, and lime"
muscles - "jerk"
muscles - "ice cream"

the florida recap.

the clan spent the past five days visiting mercer's great-grandma and grandpa in sunny florida. mercer did not disappoint, spreading happiness and cheer everywhere he went. he slept well, ate well, and even behaved himself quite well on the two 2.5 hour plane rides. here's a quick recap of our fun.

thursday, january 24: car service picked us up and took us to white plains airport at 6:30am. had to wake mercer up, but he was in good spirits. he fell asleep as the plane took-off, but only slept for a half hour. arrived in orlando around 11AM, got our rental car (a chevy HHR - not a car, not an SUV, but peppy to drive) and took off for dunnellon, where his great-grandparents live. mercer did well in the car (and new car seat) and we arrived in dunnellon around lunch time. the weather was pleasant - upper 60's. we said our hellos, talked, squeezed, and poked at mercer for a good while. we went to a spaghetti dinner put on by the youth group at great-grandma and pa's church. it reminded pop of the spaghetti dinners he used to volunteer for with his youth group. mercer had a little bit of cheerios and pasta, too!

friday, january 25: after breakfast, we all went to rainbow springs state park so mercer could see some wild flowers, trees, shrubs, swamps, and waterfalls. the springs were bubbling and remains around 74 degrees all year long. the weather was breezy, but very nice. then we headed to ocala for a late lunch. mercer had a little piece of cucumber that made him throw up, but other than that, he was happy. we did a little shopping and relaxed for the rest of the day, wishing it were warm enough for mercer to take a dunk in the pool.

saturday, january 26: we decided to take a road trip to cedar key, a kind of a tourist destination an hour north on the gulf of mexico. pop hadn't been there before, and we're always looking for ways to expose mercer to new things. it was a bit rainy on the way there, but it cleared up in time for us to take a walk around. it was a quaint little town where we had a very good lunch. mercer made fast friends with the waitress, who was completely taken by him. we even let her carry him around the restaurant a little bit so we could have a few bites to eat. after lunch, we strolled the town, browsing here and there; showing mercer the gulf. afterwards, we drove to a mall we thought had an indoor merry-go-round, but they must have taken it out because we couldn't find it anywhere. no worries, it was still fun. that night, we ate dinner at a fine italian place called carmella's. pop had the veal, mom had some pasta, and mercer ate baby food, pasta, sauce, and probably some cheerios.

sunday, january 26: after morning mass, great grandma and pa showed mercer off to everyone while we chatted and drank coffee and ate doughnuts. then it was off to a big breakfast. mom, pop, and mercer napped for a little bit before going to ocala national forest that afternoon. it's a huge park. we were in search for some quick and easy hiking trails, but we discovered that the park is really more for RV'ing, camping, and that sort of thing. we did find a nice lake to dip mercer's feet into. he enjoyed watching the waves lap ashore. once we got home, great-grandpa grilled up some delicious steaks for a very good sunday meal.


monday, january 27: we lounged around most of the morning, watching cartoons with mercer. we had to get back to the airport by 1pm to drop off the rental car. we said our goodbyes and vowed to come back to florida when the weather was better for swimming. we will, for sure. mercer was pretty good on his flight back. unfortunately, the flight coincided with naptime and dinner time, so he was a bit whinier than usual. making it easier though, was the extra seat we had in our aisle. someone must have canceled. oh, how beautiful it is when they close that cabin door and you have an empty seat next to you.

thanks to the great-grandparents for a wonderful trip. it's good to be back here in the freezing northeast.

food stuffs.

we gave mercer a few new foods tonight. he generally likes everything, but these had different consistencies than mercer is used to. he is getting more difficult to feed because he's much more active. we tried:

watermelon: liked it, but choked on it and threw up a little. will try smaller pieces next time?

yogurt: loves this.

chicken: really worked this over in his mouth. didn't seem to mind it, but it took a while to get down. we only gave him a very tiny piece.

seltzer: we had to use this to wash the chicken down. he loves drinking from cups, so we gave him some seltzer in a cup. he makes a great face when we drinks seltzer.

tomorrow mercer has his nine month checkup, so we'll ask the doc for some tips. we'll post his vital stats as soon as we get them, too.

sleep tight!

soften the corners.

we bought our first bit of baby proofing today. we've been worried that mercer will fall and hit his head on one of our coffee table corners, so we got these padded things that you stick on with double-sided tape. so far, mercer has targeted these ugly things as new objects for sucking. pop tried to move in on mercer's new suck toys, but he was slapped away each time. they're not the prettiest things, but it gives us a little peace of mind that a simple accident won't turn into a major emergency. but we have to say that the amount of baby proofing products out there is simply ridiculous. i think some basic parenting goes a long way and it seems that a lot of lazy parents would rather blanket their houses with baby proofing than discipline their kids by saying "no."

anyway. sleep tight.

quick saturday note.

nothing much of note today. mercer is growing, standing, holding on to things, slapping, playing, learning. went out to dinner tonight and mercer behaved himself very well, sitting nicely in his chair and smiling at all of the other diners.

the whole clan is tired tonight. sleep.

bare bum.

two nights. that's how long it took little mercer's bare bum to get used to bath time without his trusted bath chair. he's an amazing kid. he loves playing with his bath toys (especially an octopus that shoots water from its mouth) and splashing water all over pop (and the floor). we reckon he'll start crying when it's time to take him out of the water, but that's understandable. pop is the same way. mercer spends a little bit more time in the tub now because he loves playing so much, but he still goes right to sleep afterwards.

also, mercer turned 9 months yesterday. goodness. he's so big.

sleep tight.

curtains!

as you all know, mercer has been waking up in the early morning to stand in his crib, stare at us, and whine until we wake up. it's not as fun as it sounds, so we decided to give him his own "room." pop hung a nice, thick curtain in between mom and pop's crib and mercer's crib. it's been two days and so far, so good. mercer has woken up, but he has yet to whine or climb to his feet (not that we know, anyway). he coughs, wakes up, and then goes right back to sleep like he used to. he sees a big blue thing where mom and pop used to be and he stays put. good boy. we'll see how long this lasts and what the long term effects will be, but for right now it's good to get more than 5 hours of sleep.

mercerMusic:
school of language - "rockist, part 4"

standing up for what he believes in.

so mercer has had an eventful few days. he can now pull himself up on almost anything and stand. not by himself just yet, but he can balance pretty well. this includes the crib and pack and play. he loves to crawl towards mommy when she is sitting on the couch, grab her knee, and pull himself up. he also loves the applause he gets every time he does this.

what he hates, though, is whenever we have to take a toy away from him. that crying will take some getting used to. he usually stops after five seconds, but that initial burst of tears is a real ear-buster.

we've also started giving him a bath without a bathing chair. we know we've been late in taking the chair away from him in the bath, but it's so easy to give him a bath with it. but, we really need to get him used to a regular bath. he doesn't like his bare bum on the tub, crying every time we put him down, but we'll get there. practice makes perfect.

mercerMusic:
stephen malkmus and the jicks - "baltimore"

grandma.

rufus wainwright - "hallelujah"

double major.

two pretty big adjustments were made yesterday. first, mom and pop got mercer a brand new car seat. it's one of the priciest available, but the positive reviews couldn't be ignored. plus, it will last mercer for a few years (65 pounds), so we're definitely getting our money's worth. it has tested very highly for safety and also has a lot of great features not found on too many other models out there. it's a convertible car seat, which means that it is still rear-facing until he reaches a certain weight. then we spin it around so he can face forward like a real person. we also needed to get the seat for our upcoming trip to see mercer's great-grandparents in florida.

the second adjustment was moving mercer's mattress to the lower position in the crib. mercer had been climbing all over the top railing for the past few nights, so it was clearly time to make the change. mercer is kneeling, sitting, crawling, and grabbing like crazy, so this move will provide some extra security at night.

mercer is back on his day care schedule and doing great. they had to put up a gate for the door because mercer kept trying to crawl out! good boy!

mr. personality.

mom and pop were discussing what, if any, personality characteristics mercer has, and who they might have come from. we both agree that, physically, mercer is pretty much Pop, The Sequel (except for the blue eyes). no real debate there.

mercer is usually pretty mellow. he gets that from pop. mercer loves to nap and sleep and gets annoyed when he doesn't have enough of it. that's from mom. he's also willing to meet new people and befriend them right away. that's all mom. mercer doesn't complain too much when he's got a wet diaper or is hungry; he soldiers on. a lot like pop (minus the wet diapers). his cheerfulness and giggling probably comes from both mom and pop, but many of you know he can get very serious, concentrating on the task at hand. that's pop. he likes mellowing out on the couch, too, watching law and order or soccer. that's mom and pop. he also likes going to museums, parks, restaurants, and stuff like that. just like mom and pop.

so far, what we know of mercer's personality seems like a perfect split between his two parents. not bad. it's strange how we can already see little things like this. maybe we're just seeing it because we want to. maybe it's too early to tell anything about his personality. it's fun to think about, though.

sleep tight...

on kneeling.

so pop just put mercer down to sleep. he is flying solo this weekend with mom out in central pennsylvania for a baby shower.

for the past few days and nights, mercer has been going through what i guess you could call a phase. maybe it's teething, maybe it's sickness, maybe it's just regular development, but it's been a little rough. mercer has been whining an awful lot, not getting many naps in, and not sleeping through the night; oftentimes waking up between 1:30AM and 2:30AM. in addition, he has also learned how to kneel. and he loves it. so when he wakes up at night, he kneels in his crib and just stares at us in our bed (which is maybe 2 feet away)....whining...and staring...and whining...and staring. mercer needs his own room. and fast.

we get him back to sleep, but only after some feeding, changing, and soothing. actually, mom does all this while pop overreacts.

tonight, pop tried a new approach. he kept mercer up a little later, playing with him nonstop with no tv (gasp!). he also fed him a lot more food - and even food for babies slightly older than him to fill him up but good. everything has gone according to plan so far; mercer is slumbering away. but when the clock strikes midnight, pop will begin to tremble, for a certain little someone just might be awake...watching........

sleep tight...or not.

the crawler.

happy new year, everyone. how many resolutions have been broken so far?

well, what better way to ring in the new year by announcing that mercer is pretty much crawling now. it used to be that he would just roll over and over to get to his destination, but now he motors around pretty efficiently on his belly. he gets up on his knees and grabs at just about anything, too. oh yes, and he loves to lunge. all good progress for him - more grey hairs for mom and pop.

this morning, he has really taken to pop's guitar. maybe he likes the wood or the hollow sound it makes when he bangs on it. pop will sit mercer clear across the room and in seconds, he's right back at the guitar again. amazing. he also likes sharp corners, wires, and anything expensive. and you'd think he'd be tired after all this crawling activity, but it has been quite the contrary. his naps have become shorter and shorter. oh well. best to just roll with the punches.

sleep tight and crawl it up!