happy 2009.

celebrate! we will be away from the computer for the next few days, so we'd like to wish everyone a happy and safe new year. get out your whipped cream and iron out those resolutions while there's still time.

eve.

we realize we're doing this a little backwards, but it's been a long couple of weeks. here's mercer fixated on the angel chimes on christmas eve.

remote control christmas.

it was less than 20 months ago that mercer couldn't hold his own head up or even roll over onto his back. now he can play with remote control cars on the wall.

mercer's new trike.

uncle quinn gives mercer a test drive on his new trike. thanks, meMa!

mercer's new guitar.

mercer is a one man band. strum, strum goes the guitar.

mercer's new drumset.

mercer loves his new drumset. boom boom go the drums.

happy holidays.

it's been a busy couple of weeks here at mercer hq. we've been finishing up some last minute shopping, preparing the christmas goose, visiting friends in faraway lands, and getting colds. mercer has been a good lad this year, so pop thinks santa will be kind. they speak often (so there are no duplicating of gifts) and santa was especially proud of mercer for a few reasons. this year, mercer has:

* gotten through two emergency room visits for severe fever
* learned how to form questions using speech ("what's this?" "what does this do?" "where'd it go?")
* improved his kicking skills and ability to say "goal!!"
* cast a spell on the phillies that made them world series champions
* learned how to play well with others in school, getting an older toddler girl to retrieve his coat for him at the end of the day
* started to learn how to jump
* gotten mistaken for a 3-year old
* increased his vocabulary (cat, fishes, hat, shoes, etc.)
* danced like crazy
* drummed like crazy
* developed a liking for trains ("choo-choo's")
* learned how to turn on the chirstmas lights
* driven daddy to work when daddy is too tired
* learned how to brush his teeth, wash his hands, tell people when he has gone to the bathroom in his diaper (yum)
* behaved himself in the big city
* been mistaken for a girl about once a week (what's wrong with a pink polo?)
* survived a cat claw slash attack (thanks, cooper!)
* gotten his first (and second) haircut; also got an unofficial haircut by the geniuses at day care - well done!
* mimiced a waiter who was sneezing at a diner
* learned how to run with pace
* developed a favorite side dish in mushrooms with soy sauce
* learned how to get mommy to do anything he wants while acting totally different when she's not around
* and many more!

happy holidays to all of our faithful reader(s) out there. we'll be pretty quiet from here on out due to all of the celebrations. there might just be a christmas update because, honestly, what's cuter than mercer in his christmas pj's?

mercer and daddy are silly.

there are a couple of things here that you'll probably never see again. first, pop wearing a baseball cap backwards. second, mercer and daddy freestylin' on an infant nasal bulb.

new video host.

we're trying out a new way to show video here since a few of you told me that you couldn't see the old ones. try this. if it doesn't work, leave us a comment.

this is a pretty old video taken by our friend scott on his camera. kinda scratchy, but you get a lot of mercer cuteness.

cleaning out the inbox.

here's an old blackberry photo of mercer's second haircut. we didn't really go crazy taking pictures of the second cut. mercer was pretty well behaved and he just needed a trim. kinda looks funny here, to be honest...

a visit with santa.

it took some time, but by the end of the visit, mercer and santa were close friends. he's looking off camera like last year, but it's the only shot where he didn't look scared. and doesn't santa look like he just stole mercer's wallet?

one per day.

mercer has gotten to the point where he's learning at least one new word per day, if not many more. it seems as though there's too many words for mercer to handle at once. you can see his wheels spinning as he wants to spit out as much as he can at once, but it all usually comes out as babble. he does manage to string some thoughts together, though. some of his best phrases include:

"what's this?"
"where'd it go?"
"pee pee!"
"bye-bye"
"let's go"
"night night"

some new words: fish, breeze, cat, juice, milk, brobee, please, thank you, help, goal, elmo

he can also make a few animal sounds: moo, sssssss (snake), ribbit, hwouck hwouck (pig snort), raawwrr!

he can say almost any short word at least once right after you say it, but his memory is pretty fleeting at this point. still, he's doing pretty well for a boy occupied with trying to destroy himself and his surroundings.

play date!

mercer and co. headed north to visit danielle and her parents joanne and dave in mahopac, ny today. it's the first time we've seen danielle (or her parents, I think?) since she was born. it was great. danielle is a beautiful little girl and her parents were great hosts. first, we stopped for lunch at a local barbecue place called holy smoke. then, it was back to the house for running, playing, running, homemade brownie eating, more running, and more playing. mercer loved danielle's toys, especially anything related to elmo. he also enjoyed a toy car that he scooted around on all afternoon. the kids tired themseves out quite nicely as mercer promptly fell asleep on the ride home.

thanksgiving.

mercer and co. had a great thanksgiving. lots of friends and family visited and lots of different foods were eaten. mom and pop cooked up turkey, stuffing with sausage, french onion soup, stuffed mushrooms, roasted parsnips with bacon, mashed squash, maple glazed carrots, sour cream mashed potatoes, candied yams with walnuts, green beans with olive oil and hot pepper, and probably a few other things.

the best part of the holiday, however, was the entertainment. here's mercer putting on a drum clinic for mom, pop, and uncle quinn. the sound was even more deafening in person.

from the archive: mom and pop

look at these young kids! it's mom and pop from the 70's and 80's!