family hugs

D. and I have noticed that when we hug (or kiss), Isaiah always watches us and smiles his biggest smile. Sometimes he walks over to us with the sweetest grin on his face. Of course, we always pick him up and make it a family hug. Loving him is part of our love for each other. I was telling my friend about this via email and she said that family hugs are the way we learn about God's love for us. God is a "we"--a trinity--and he is already love. He is inviting us to join in on the God-hug and he wants us to share in his love. What a beautiful gift!

Isaiah's Escapades

This should make you smile.

(make sure the volume's on)


Isaiah's Escapades from D. Merricks on Vimeo.

Isaiah is on the move

Tonight is the night! Isaiah really started walking tonight. We were playing together and D. and I started encouraging him to walk between us. As he realized that he could do it, we started scooting farther and farther apart, and eventually Isaiah was walking across the room. When he realized he could do it, he didn't want to stop. He was walking all around the living room! We have entered toddlerhood and we are excited and a little nervous about the adventures ahead!

who's out there?

Listen up readers:
Every now and then I'll talk to someone who says "Hey, I saw your blog!" but I didn't know that you were keeping up with us through the blog. So leave us some comments and let us know you're keeping up with us! We'd love to hear from you.

she's "that mom"

There is a lot of info in the news about how Mississippi is the most obese state in the nation. Oprah was in Meridian last week kicking off a national weight loss challenge! (Heard it on NPR). I am wondering why everyone is so surprised about that when every kids meal at every restaurant is made up of some fried food and french fries! It doesn't take much to realize that 2+2=4, right?

So last night, we went out to eat as a family as a special treat. We went to Oby's (they have good salads), and I ordered the kids' meal for Isaiah. BUT instead of fried chicken, I asked for grilled, and instead of french fries, I asked for cherry tomatoes. They looked at me a little strangely, but they did it! And Isaiah thought it was a special treat since he LOVES tomatoes! The girl at the register said--"He's going to be the only healthy baby in Mississippi! All of our babies are so fat!" I told D. that if they think I'm weird, at least there is worse stuff they could say about me than that I want my kid to eat healthy!

So, yes I am "that mom." And I am okay with it.

one year portraits

Isaiah is one year and one week old! He is growing so much and changing every day. He isn't really walking--he takes a few steps here and there. He does best when he doesn't think about what he's doing. I maintain that he's hard enough to keep up with anyway (think of the speed-crawling I mentioned before), so it's really fine if he takes a while to learn to walk.

He continues to have a voracious appetite. It is really amazing how much food he puts away. His current favorites are broccoli and cherry tomatoes. He likes grapes a lot too.

His new favorite activity is pushing the toy cars we got him for Christmas all around the family room. He is really starting to play by himself more, which is something we are thankful for!

Story time

It's time to start telling stories about Isaiah. Now that he is (almost) walking, he is all over the house. Whenever I open the door to go down the hallway, I can hear the "pitter patter" of little hands and knees speed crawling behind me. (If you haven't seen him crawl, you cannot understand that it truly is speed crawling!) I have to close the door to the bathroom quickly or he gets into his two favorite places: the toilet and the toilet paper. For some reason, our toilet is really fascinating to him, and he loves to put both hands on the sides and stick his head down and gaze into the pool of water inside. Thank goodness for antibacterial gel that kills 99.9% of germs, right? When I close the lid to the toilet, he gets a very determined look on his face that involves the pursing of his lips. It looks something like the picture I've added here. He proceeds to unroll the toilet paper as fast as he can. Speaking of that, I need to go to the store this afternoon before we run out of toilet paper!

My Red Wagon

Isaiah got a red wagon for Christmas from his Nana and Papa. Looks like fun, doesn't it? His cousin Anna liked it too, or maybe it was Uncle Miles who liked it so much.

Noteworthy firsts

First birthday!
Isaiah turned one year old yesterday. We had a fun, low-key day together as a family. We went out to breakfast, went to Square Books, Jr. to play, took naps, and hung out with some friends. It was a good day!

First fall!
Isaiah fell and bumped his head today. He has his very first bruise smack in the middle of his forehead. We were all a little traumatized by the incident, but we have recovered and moved on.

First steps!
Isaiah took his first steps today. He was pretty excited about it. He took four or five steps in between D. and I several times! He would not take any steps to show off at church tonight, but he was tired, so we're okay with it! We did get some on video and will try to post that soon.

We have SO MANY pictures from Christmas and his birthday party... we haven't posted any because it is a bit overwhelming, but we will get some more pictures up soon.