I know, I know...

It's been a little crazy-busy around here lately! We are so due for an update! Here's the last 2 months in pictures. Merrick is growing like a weed, we measured him the other day and he is 26'' long. I swear I am constantly just having to find bigger clothes for him on a daily basis. He has really started laughing and playing and he makes the cutest noises when he wakes up every morning.

Merrick and Maddy are really starting to like each other. By 'like each other', I mean Merrick doesn't immediately cry out of fear whenever he sees her coming anymore :) Maddy totally has that "older sister" instinct with him and she loves to pat him and she is learning to be "soft" with him. It is so cute when she tries to pick up his carseat and carry him around! And seriously, could Maddy get any cuter? Her favorite words are "sooommme" and "dat" (for that) and more recently "day do" (for thank you).

I love this picture because we actually caught him smiling! As you will see in all the following pictures, Merrick hates the camera! He gets so upset the more we try and take pictures so when I get one like this, I really get a little over-excited.

This is Merrick's 'before' shot. He had the worst mullet and right on top of it was his little baby bald spot. So we had to buzz it all off so it could start new.

Merrick is finally getting to the point where he is liking toys and loves to play. He is in love with this jumper thing we got him. It plays music and he gets to bounce around so he will keep himself entertained for almost an hour at a time with this thing! Okay...I love it too :)

One night after work, I got to Kristen's house to pick up Merrick only to find that she was trying to change him into a girl. Okay, not really. He had spit up on all his clothes and Kristen had nothing to put him in except Maddy's clothes. I was so funny to see him in all pink! Poor kid, he will hate that I put this picture up someday...

Here we are on Valentine's Day

I am totally determined to get a tan, and I am totally determined to make sure that Merrick gets to love being outside. We usually lay out everyday. Seriously, stop by and you will find us out in the middle of lawn every morning. Laying out in March is why I LOVE ARIZONA!!

I've been giving Merrick some grown up food a little bit lately. I fed him some peach yougurt the other day and he totally loved it.

Of course, we are getting him into volleyball early on. Every time we take him to one of my brother's games he just stays glued to the the game, it is so funny! Nothing will distract him from watching the game.

And here are some of the most recent pictures that I took just this week. He is getting so grown up already, he's nearly 6 months old!

I am really going to be a better blogger. It has just been a little crazy lately. And, after making this post, I realize I need to be a better picture-taker too! As for me, nothing has really changed, except I have jury duty for the next 4 months (no, that is not a typo...4 months), I am going to be helping out at Villa Siena (where Brock and I had our reception a few years ago) and learn how to be a wedding coordinator, and ...

I got bangs...

THE END.

A little shout out to...Ashley Madsen Photography

One of my good friends Ashley Madsen is a great photographer. She did a few pictures of Merrick when he was a newborn and they turned out amazing! She is doing a giveaway on her blog today so go check it out!

We're on vacation...

Me and Merrick decided to get away for a little while. So we picked the most obvious of vacation destinations and booked January flights to Buffalo, NY. It's a lovely 13 degrees here and we just love the feeling of snow between our toes... Okay, I'm just joking, but despite the cold weather, we are having a ton of fun hanging out with Dick & Erica and their girls Ella & Ruby. We'll be here for a little while longer and here's a little bit of what's been going on so far...

Here's me on the plane on our way to Buffalo. "Why is she so happy?" you might ask. Because the following picture displays Merrick's disposition 50% of the trip...

And this is what was going on the other 50% of the time...

I don't know, I might be a little biased, but I think I have the perfect baby :) He was so good the entire 4 1/2 hour flight and just laughed and played with everyone around us on the flight.

'Goodbye' Arizona and 'Hello' Buffalo! This was our first taste of the snowy wonderland that awaited us.

This is what it looked like when we braved the snow and went to church on Sunday morning.

Merrick stayed bundled up. He is such a little trooper, I swear the cold doesn't even phase him most of the time!

After church, my friend Josh drove us up to see some of the church history sites. We stopped by the Hill Cumorah first. It was so cold, we only stayed for about 5 minutes before we sprinted back to the car.

Cohen wasn't too excited about the cold...

Then we drove by the Palmyra Temple and then went to the Sacred Grove.

We didn't stay as long as I would have liked to because it was freezing, but it seemed like such a peaceful place. It's almost like there was a bubble around it that made it seem really peaceful and calm. It was beautiful and hopefully someday (in the summer) I will get to see it again.

And this is what I look like when I am nearly frozen. So cute huh?

He's officially Merrick Ryan Hutchins!

We blessed Merrick this morning at church. It was so special. The blessing my dad gave him was so sweet and, for me at least, was totally pertinent and inspired for everything that has already happened in this little guy's life already. It was so neat to see all these men that are so important to me get up and bless my son. I am so grateful for the gospel and especially for the priesthood and that we can be blessed through it. Lots of family and friends showed up, thanks for your support! And I'm sorry for all the family that couldn't be here, you really were missed! Little Merrick looked adorable in his outfit and he actually stayed awake for most of the pictures that we took! He is such a huge blessing in my life and I love him more than anything. Okay, here's some pictures before I tear up...again...

Grandma & Grandpa Hutchins

Kristen and Cousin Maddy (isn't her hair great brunette?!?!)

My Family: Jason, Colton, Merrick and I, Grandma Carpenter, Ian, Grandpa Carpenter, Mom, Kristen, Maddy and Dad

My Parents

Yesterday morning Merrick got to meet Santa for the first time at the Hutchins' ward Christmas party. Then he met him again later that evening at my ward's Christmas party. Good thing, he's not old enough to understand or he might get a little confused!

I love our ward party every year! The food is always great and it always makes me so excited for Christmastime. We saw tons of people that I haven't seen in forever. I am so lucky that we are back in Lindsay ward again! There are tons of young moms and my sister is in my ward, it doesn't get much better than that!

Merrick's Blessing

Hey Everybody, my dad is going to bless Merrick this Sunday. We're at the building on Lindsay and Houston at 9:00am if anyone is interested in coming. I will definitely post some pictures afterwards, I got him the most adorable outfit :)

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!

Here's what we were up to today...

Cooking... (I know it doesn't look like it, but we took a quick picture break!)

...playing with all the babies...

...taking 5 Generation pictures (seriously, 5 generations!)...

...and hanging out with the fam!