Our Little Punk, I Mean Pumpkin

Merritt got into the Halloween spirit at the family dinner Eric's grandmother hosted on Sunday (thanks Gammer!).

Milestones

At the tender age of 10 1/2 months, Merritt can now drive a car (kind of) and feed herself with a spoon (sort of)! And yes, we do a lot of drooling on our shirts and eating dinner in our diaper around here.

Feeling Fall-ish

Even though we're still having 90-degree days here, we got into the fall spirit this weekend at our local pumpkin patch. Merritt loved watching all the kids run around and even picked out her own baby pumpkin!

Like a Fish!

She's a natural in the water-- check out this stroke! Swimming (or "swimmin', swimmin'" as we call it) has been one of Mer's favorite afternoon activities while staying with Hoop and Bobbi. After two weeks though, our power is finally on and we're back at home-- woo hoo!!!

Still Powerless

I'm a little behind with my Merritt postings because we are STILL without power due to Hurricane Ike and still at Eric's parents' house in the 'burbs. The power company is saying we should be back in business by Friday (please, please, please!). In the meantime, we've been really enjoying our time with Hoop and Bobbi-- Mer definitely loves all the extra attention and Jessie is "peacefully co-existing" with Irma, Hoop and Bobbi's beloved but kind of crabby dog. Stay tuned for pics from our post-Ike adventures just as soon as we get back home!

The Ire of Ike

So first thing Thursday morning, Mer and I were at the grocery store, jockeying for a grocery cart and trying to procure extra bottled water, diapers, etc. for our hurricane preparedness when Eric called from San Antonio and told us to just load up the car and get out of dodge, or Houston, as it were. Three hours later, Mer, Jessie, Eric and I were all settled in at Eric's home-away-from-home-- a one-bedroom apartment where he stays while working in S.A.

In spite of the nervous anticipation leading up to Ike's landfall, drinking my wine out of a coffee cup, and hoofing it up and down three flights of stairs so Jessie can go to the bathroom, we've had a great time and have succeeded in turning our evacu-ation into a vac-ation. We've seen family and friends and have been eating at all of our old faves from our college days.

As of right now, the power is still out at our house and we're planning to stay put until it's back on-- no a/c with a 9-month-old is not something I'm eager to get home to. Our neighbors and friends have checked on our house and Ike took his toll on our backyard, but it definitely could have been worse. To follow is a photo our friend Todd took where you can see that our back fence has been torn down, as well as a big tree. The fence in the picture is actually our neighbor's on the other side of the alley.

Yea Mer!

Merritt's latest trick is clapping and cheering... for herself. I think it's pretty funny how she just conks out at the end like a wind-up toy out of juice.

Bobbi's Pics

When I go to work a few days a week at Kick, Merritt is so fortunate to be in the care of Eric's mom aka "Bobbi" and they have the best time together. To follow are some great pics captured by Bobbi:

Jumpin' around at Hoop and Bobbi's
Bubbly with HoopMer and Jess with their respective toys (somehow Jess actually knows which are her toys and which are Mer's-- a brilliant pup!)
Sisters!
Peeking from the bath