Back to School

We made it! Hooray!

Of course, the majority of our stuff is still in Utah (until OP's 3-day weekend when he can go up there and bring it all back). That means our beds and the fridge.

How are we surviving? We're crashing at my lovely sister's house. I know, poor her and her hubby, huh?

Anywho, the first thing on our agenda when we got here was to get the girlies enrolled in their new school. Boy, was that an experience. Let's just say their last school was vastly different than their new one. Like, I was a bit terrified to leave my precious babies at this school.

I must admit that I do not adjust well to change, however.

I took the girls out the day after we arrived in blessed AZ so they could buy themselves new outfits, which they have been saving up for. 4 hours and 5 stores later, they finally had their clothes in hand. We journeyed to Target (nada), Old navy (Piper's shoes), Marshalls (not even close), the Disney Store (Adi's Minnie Mouse shoes), Walmart (for cheap accessories, of course), and finally Children's Place. Finally, at Children's Place, I told them that mommy had to go home and lay down, so if they don't complete their outfits here, they would go to school naked.

That worked.

They chose their ensemble and Porter and I finally got a well-deserved break.

Here are my little ladies in front of their new school:



After dropping off the girls, Porter, Pluto and I chilled at the park.



After having a complete breakdown (Did we do the right thing? Should we have stayed in Utah? Am I over reacting? Is this new school going to steal away their innocence forever? That kind of thing), I picked the girls up, and they came walking out in the center of a huge crowd of girls. Needless to say, they had a great first day and they love their new school.

I am still not convinced. But if they're happy, I guess I'm satisfied... for now.

Sew Crazy

Here he is. The teeny, tiny boy that has done a number on my body these last few months. This is actually him 11 weeks ago, but I never did post this pic from my ultrasound.

Now I know trying to discern what is going on in an ultrasound for the most of us is like trying to read braille. It just doesn't make sense. But if you look close enough on the right side, you can see his face. Can you see his two little eyes?

If you find the eyes, then you will be able to see his little nose. And guess what? It appears as though he will be our fourth child that was gifted my exact nose.

Doesn't it look flat on the end? The funny thing about that is when I was in labor with Porter-Pot, right before he came out, Orrin said, "Let's just hope this one doesn't have your nose." The nurses were horrified! I think a few of their mouths hung open (yes, I had several nurses, it was a like a party in there).

I laughed pretty darn hard since my nose is a mystery to my family. It doesn't belong to my parents, nor their parents, but it seems to be a strong enough trait that my kiddos all end up with it. Yes, you read that right, there I was ready to push out a baby and I was laughing.

"It's an inside joke," I tried to convince the nurses. I don't think they ever forgave OP though, seeing as how they stopped sneaking him meals.

It's not the best picture, mostly because I was too lazy to scan it and decided to just take a pic with my camera to transport it onto here.

I felt a little bad when I realized that I haven't really posted anything about this new buckaroo who is getting ready to make his grand entrance into this world. Trust me, we are so excited for him (Porter the most, I think). I've been sewing up a storm to get everything ready for him.

A plethora of blankets:

Swaddling types,



And the big kind that I mainly use for covering up while nursing in public.




The hand-quilted sort of blankies. This dumb owl blanket that I decided to quilt around every. single. owl. Not smart, Courtney. Definitely not smart.




Little bibs,



burpcloths,




and onesies,




Let's not forget the binky clips (let's hope this kid likes pacifiers, 'cause I have about twice this many),




A blanket made to fit inside of his car seat,




And more. But they are packed away already (some already in Arizona), so I will leave them up to your imagination.

I just really haven't had the time to take these pictures, what with this move looming over my head. But, I decided that I had better make time, or else it just plain wouldn't get done.

And I need to toot my sewing horn at least a little bit, right?

We've also gotten his car seat, stroller, swing, pack 'n play, a bumbo... etc. You know, all those things we had and then I got rid of before we moved? Yup. Awesome. Not to mention the other essentials; diapers, socks, wipes, diapers, onesies, outfits, nail clippers, diapers, jammies, sleep 'n plays, diapers... did I mention diapers?

And yet, there's always more stuff to buy, isn't there? *Sigh*

I've also made little gift sets for the kiddos to get when I leave to have this little man.

The girls get these:





Baby dolls to love, a diaper bag, a variety of blankets, burpcloths, bibs, their own binky clips, headbands, boppy pillows... everything to make them feel like little mommies themselves.





Now, what to do for Porter? And then it hit me. The kid loves dogs. Seriously. He loves them. So here's what he's getting:



An adorable puppy to pack around, a hobo bag, a dog bed, a food dish, a bone, a collar and a leash. Oh, and the puppy's own blanket, too.

So, in case you thought I've been just sitting around here on my laurels, you now have picture proof that I've been sitting on my laurels, sewing!

Goodbye, Hogle Zoo

We decided to take one last trip to our local Hogle Zoo. And then we didn't get to see very many animals while there.

Note to self: they bring in most of the animals when it gets too cold. And then some just weren't there. And half of the zoo was closed due to a new exhibit that they are building. Shouldn't admission then be half off also?

Anywho, we still found ways to entertain ourselves.

Piper posed for photos.



*Warning- the girls got to do their own hair today*




Porter was just being his goofy self.



And he was pretty much permanently attached to his daddy. Same old, same old.



Piper is our little adventurer and doesn't seem to be afraid to do anything. I'm pretty sure that she would have jumped in the green pool and swam around if OP hadn't grabbed her right after I took this pic.



Adi, who has a few more of my genes, covered her nose and tried to rush through the stinky exhibits.



"But Courtney," you might be saying to yourself right now. "Aren't you supposed to be on bed rest? And isn't walking around the zoo the exact opposite of lying down and resting?"

Well, yes. That's true.

Luckily, my husband, the hero, promised to rent me a wheelchair and then wheel me around the zoo.

And then he brought me this.




Seriously, I was angry. I admit it. The best part was the beeping that went off as I backed up. Awesome.

I eventually got over it. After all, OP kept pointing out that I didn't want to risk the baby just because I'm a bit prideful. Grrrr.....

I was soon booted off to give everyone else a spin.



Adi enjoyed walking with her daddy and reading maps (the entire time she kept pointing out the routes that we needed to take).



This one is pretty cool, eh?



And I tried to get a group photo throughout the whole zoo, and finally demanded one before we left.

This is what I got:



All in all, it was fun. Luckily us Merrills are pretty good at entertaining ourselves, with or without animal assistance.

A Showering of Owls

When Aunt Whitney visited for Halloween last week, she and my momma threw me a baby shower. It was a smallish one (I think they are now referred to as "Sprinkles"?), but it was oh-so-cute!

Take these cupcakes, for example:



I love these dudes. I never did eat one of them. How can you eat such a cute face?

My mom and Whit spent most of the day in the kitchen making this stuff. And I got to sit and watch. Pretty sweet arrangement, right?



Here's the hooty-owl diaper cake. Adorable? Oh yes! I wish that I had taken 360 degree pics of this thing.




These little dudes kept popping up everywhere (notice the owl blanket in the background that my mommy made for this bambino).



The girlies were stinking excited for the shower and even gave their soon-to-be-born little bro some blankies and rags.



I planned P.G.'s nap so that he would sleep through the shower. And that lasted for about 30 minutes.

At least he came up dressed. Usually the kid sleeps in his underwear and sees nothing wrong with lounging around in them the rest of the day.



I wish that I had taken a ton more pictures (like of my mom & sis), but I've been a bit tried (read: lazy) and just couldn't get myself to do so during the party.

And now, of course I regret it!

So, anywho, thanks mom and Whit for the fun times, and thanks for just letting me sit there through the entire thing!

Taking the Christmas Pictures

It's that time of year again.

Christmas Card picture time, that is.

This year I went against tradition and took the hubby with us.



And guess what? I'm taking him with every year. For reals. Not only did he help arrange the kiddos, found awesome places to take the pics, and smoothed their hair away from their faces (yes, I am talking about Orrin),



But he also made them smile/laugh for the pics (which isn't easy to do when there is snow on the ground and Mom makes you take off your coats for pictures).

I will leave it up to your imagination to figure out what he did to elicit these expressions...



I ended up with a lot of cutesy pics. Unfortunately, there were a lot of oopsies in said pics too.

Like this one. Adi's poor hand placement (trying to keep her hand from freezing, I assume) and Piper's moving foot.



And this one. Once again, Adi's hand (probably should have just let them wear gloves), and Porter deciding to scratch his face just at this moment.



And then I tried to get individual photos of the kiddos. Porter just wouldn't hold still long enough! Or make a decent face...



Luckily, Adi decided to stick her hands in her pockets in this one.



Isn't this one so Piperish?



This pic almost won Card Honors, but I thought the background was a bit distracting. OP disagrees with me and he voted for this one.

But I have total veto power, so I chose another one.



Pshhh, like I'm going to show you right now! You'll see in about a month when you get the card in the mail. Or when I post it on my blog.

I, after all, cannot guarantee 100% that these will get out this year. Seeing as how I'm kind of a ticking time bomb right now, trying to keep this baby in until after Christmas. And trying to move while I'm knocking on 8 months of pregnancy. Yikes!

Hopefully I'll succeed.

After we took pics, we had a quick (and I mean quick) lunch up there in the oh-so-beautiful Milcreek Canyon.




If you look closely at the white sign in the middle, you can read that it says "Closed for the Season". This caused Adi a lot of worry during our hurried meal.



All and all, this ended up being our most fun picture-taking event yet.

Looks like OP is coming with every year!

The Treats

We've had a bit of unusually warm weather for Utah this fall (after it snowed, of course).

And then Saturday (which is when we chose to Trick-or-Treat) came, and it rained. You know the freezing kind of rain?

But that didn't slow the kiddos down one bit, and for the first time I was a little bit glad that I'm on my special bedrest and couldn't take the kiddos out.

Here's little Luke Skywalker:



And the two Monster High chicks:



Here they all are, all bundled up in their coats (that Piper threw a mini-fit over having to wear). Of course, they don't yet have on their hoodies and gloves.



Look! I actually got in a picture... by choice!



Aunt Whit and Nana took Porter out this year (thank you again), which I forgot to get a picture of. *Sigh*

The girlies chose to head out with these ladies and their momma. We really are going to miss these ladies when we move!



We discovered that this current neighborhood is the way-coolest to trick or treat in. Not only did some of the houses give out "parent treats", but the kids got a ton of of the good mini-candy bars. Not to mention the five or six full-size candy bars they each got.

In this picture, I believe Porter had already eaten through about half of his stash. He was on a good sugar rush, running around and yelling and all that fun stuff.



Look at these candy piles! Amazing! Unfortunately for Whit and I, there weren't any of the cheap candy that we prefer to raid. You know: the smarties, the nerds, the laffy taffy, tootsie pops.



I think this candy will last us until Christmas...



What do you think?

Carve 'Em Up

This is what Adi originally wanted carved into her pumpkin.

Not happening.

I had to explain to her how carving works and finally convinced her to go for a more traditional face.


I now have to admit, that had it been up to me, we wouldn't have carved any pumpkins this year. It's not that I'm a Halloween-Grinch or anything, but with OP already working in AZ and with me being large with child, I thought that this year we could sit out this tradition.

Luckily for these kiddos their Aunt Whitney was down and she volunteered to "help" them with the gutting and the carving.



I then felt guilty, so I helped Miss Ad gut and carve hers.

(Of course there isn't an actual picture of me on here. Silly you!)



Pipes was having a bit of difficult time gutting her pumpkin, although she was extremely enthusiastic about it. No, seriously, the child loved doing it.



Friend/Cousin Vanessa stepped in and helped her out (even though she already said how much she hates doing this part).



Porter didn't want his carved. He just wanted to paint it. Unfortunately the only paint we had was the runny-washable kind, so he had to have his carved before he could paint (since it was, after all, raining outside and we were sure the thing wouldn't last 5 minutes out there otherwise).

And so, he watched.

Can you tell how thrilled he was?




And here is Whitney and her condescending smile.

*inside joke, people*

She got stuck carving Piper's heart-filled pumpkin. I knew if I took a knife to it, the pumpkin wouldn't look anything like she wanted.



Piper (partially in costume) painting her lovely pumpkin.



And then the kiddos wouldn't pose with pumpkins.



Grrr...