Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving this year was spent at my parents house, and it just so happens to work out that my sisters got to spend thanksgiving at my parents too.  We had everyone there which always makes it way more fun.  Kavic wasn't quite lucky enough to get Thanksgiving off work this year, but luckily most of his patients canceled and the rest were able to do morning visits allowing him to spend most of the day with us!

We had a very traditional dinner with turkey, potatoes and pies; but it sure was something I was looking forward to for over a month, I love Thanksgiving dinner... so delicious!

My Papa getting ready to carve the turkey

The table setting, it's nice having a big room to put everyone in

My two boys, I'm so lucky!

Little brother Jason pouring the cider

My sister Heidi and her baby popcorn (McKay)

The boys, I had to sneak take this picture, zack doesn't like having his picture taken

My Parents

The girls Oakley and Dillan

Halloween

Halloween was quite fun for us this year.  Jaxton is now getting old enough to participate in most activities, even though he may not understand the idea of carving pumpkins or trick-or-treating, he loves that he is such a big boy and can do it on his own now.  We carved pumpkins with our friends the Low's this year and Jaxton could not get enough of it.  He loved to play with the innards, but his favorite part was taking the top on and off from his pumkin.  We decided to go trick-or-treating in my sisters neighborhood (since ours is not the ideal spot for said activity due to everyone sitting on their porches smoking).  My niece and nephew are a few years older than Jaxton and can run fairly fast, in order for jaxton to keep up with them while going door to door I had to carry him and run with the kids.  This may seem simple enough but if you add to the equation that I am pregnant and was carrying a 30 pound toddler it was not so simple.  There were times that we skipped about every other door just so I could catch my breath.  Next year he should be able to run right along side with them!

Good thing the Low's don't read this blog, they would probably oppose this picture

The finished product

Doesn't he make the cutest lion ever!

Merrill Family Reunion

Over the summer the Merrill's had their reunion.  My Sister-in-law Toni was in charge this year and she loves Yellowstone almost as much as we do, so naturally this is where they decided to have the party.  We rented two large cabins, Kavic and I stayed in a cabin on the river with 2 of his siblings and their families.  We definitely had the better of the two cabins.  A couple mornings in a row we saw a mamma moose and her baby crossing the river and one time a bull elk.  I didn't get any pictures because they were gone by the time I got my camera.

We had so much fun, we spent a couple days in the park, we had a day to float the river in canoes and rafts, we had a talent show, played games and of course had so much food!

Jaxton though it was so cool to be up so high, he loved the pack!

This is most of the grand-kids, about 10 are missing

Jaxton was really hamming it up in this picture, he is such a cheeser when the camera is out!

We LOVE Yellowstone!

Jaxton's 1st Birthday

My little buddy turned one (5 months ago...don't judge!).  I wanted to post pictures of his party, but mostly his cake.  Yes, I became one of those crazy mom's and made an over-the-top birthday cake, but it was so worth it.  My cousin's Lori and Katie made the cake for Jaxton and they did an amazing job!  Kavic and I are obsessed with Madagascar and can quote either movie from beginning to end.  Of course, if we love the movie then Jaxton loves it as well, and if he doesn't he cannot be claimed as one of ours.  Fortunately I think he loved it.  Still to this day the monkey sound is the one and only animal noise he will make, and everything makes the sound of a monkey, his favorite stuffed animal is a monkey, and he acts like a monkey too.  I think we will continue to claim him!

 The decorations that Kavic put up...He did much better decorating than I would have!

The cake table

This is the amazing cake I was talking about! So cute!

I made a second cake for Jaxton to dig into, I wanted him to get dirty and get chocolate everywhere.  His other cake was all fondant and wouldn't get very messy!

We gave him his cake and he just poked at it for a couple of minutes

 Kavic had to show him what he was supposed to do with it... Eat It!

Even after showing him how to eat his cake, he only wanted to play in it and throw it over the side of his chair...silly boy!  Maybe next year he will dive into his cake.

Present time!  He loved the dump truck he got from his nanny and grumpy-gramps (my parents, don't ask where grumpy-gramps came from, I don't have an answer for you!) 

What Jaxton has been up to

My little (or not so little) man is growing up so much!  At his 12 month check up he was in the 90th percentile for both his height and weight and his noggin was in the 70th.

He started walking about 5 days before he turned one and is now running all over. He jumps and climbs and dances...my boy can dance!  This little man can shake his booty and he has more rhythm than Kavic and I put together (which is impressive)!

He signs a lot of words including, more, milk, cheese, please, cookie, mom, cow, kitty, again and so many more.

He doesn't say a whole lot of words, the couple of words he has down are shoes (which was his first word), ball, mommy, dad and blanket.  He does jabber A LOT, he always has something to say, I can't wait until I know what he is saying.

This little man melts my heart and I can't get enough of him.

Our life as of late (in pictures)

I have a lot of documenting and catching up I need to do... so here it goes

Jaxton hit a lot of milestones at 7months

He learned to crawl, and he is a pro at it!

 He learned to pull himself up on everything (but look at that releve!)

 He has no fears, he started climbing stairs a few weeks after learning to crawl

Also at 7 months he got his first THREE teeth!  Yep he gets teeth three at a time.  We have been so spoiled with this one, we really had no idea he was teething at all.  You can kind of see his two bottom teeth and his top right incisor (or snaggle tooth as I've heard it called)

Then about a month later he got three more teeth all at the same time, his top center teeth and his top left incisor

 In Februaury Kavic had his big 25th birthday.  Look at how talented I am, I hate when the first candles lit are melted down by the time you get to the last, so to fix this problem I was lighting candles with both hands!

 Happy Birthday Kavic!

 Then Jaxton got to experience being sick (with a fever) for the first time.  His head looks huge in this picture, don't get me wrong he does have a huge head, but not as big as this picture makes it look

On my Grandparents farm they have a little hill that we go sledding on, its a perfect size for the kids to go down and a perfect size for the parents to hike back up while holding their kids and dragging the sled behind.

Jaxton was still a little under the weather, but we wanted to try taking him sledding anyway, he was not to happy to be sooo bundled up, he looked like the kid on "A Christmas Story"

He still was not very happy

 We went down the hill together once and he just didn't care, he just wanted to go home

 At one point we did manage to get a smile, but it only last long enough to snap a picture

 In March we headed to my parents house for a Green St. Patty's day Meal

 A few weeks ago Kavic got tested and diagnosed with sleep apnea.  This is a picture at the sleep disorder center in the hospital, he had more than 25 wires hooked up to him that he had to sleep with.   There are more wires hooked up to his legs and the back of his head that can't be seen in this picture.  He now gets to sleep with a CPAP machine to force air in so he gets enough oxygen at night.

 Every week I get to watch my nephew Tenzing.  Last week when he came over he had a sucker, I was busy on the computer and not paying much attention to the kids, when I did turn around Jaxton had stollen Tenzings sucker and was enjoying every lick he could get before I took it away.  Needless to say Tenzing was beside himself that Jaxton would take his sucker.  This week Tenzing made sure to bring over enough suckers for the both of them.  They usually don't get along very well, but this week they are best buds!

Christmas

We had a great and busy christmas.  Started with the Blau family christmas party to Park City to enjoy some R&R, pool time, presents and more R&R.  Then we had the Merrill kids christmas party which includes singing carols on a hay wagon (I cheated and sat in the car, I used Jaxton as my excuse, I hate being cold more than anything).  We had a visit from santa and Jaxton got a christmas sock full of lots of fun toys and treats.  Then of course Christmas day, we had so much fun with Jaxton.  I do have to admit I could never get into the christmas spirit this time, I wasn't a scrooge, but I just couldn't get into it.  I tried so had, but it just never happened.  However, I did enjoy the holidays.

Annual Tree Cutting

 Christmas eve jammies

Santa Spoiled us (by 'us' I mean Jaxton)

He had most of his presents from under the tree opened weeks before christmas,

 he loves wrapping paper

Good thing grandpa was there to help open this tall present

He loved christmas