Num Num

Mercy will be six months old in only a few more days so we decided to try feeding her some solid food, rice cereal mixed with breast milk. I think you'll agree that she likes it.

Wow, she looks like a little chipmunk storing up for winter.

Heritage

(Sara guest blogs)  Today was Mercy's baby dedication.  We stood in front of our church family as a public declaration of our intention to raise Mercy in the knowledge of the Lord and to ask them to support us and keep us accountable.  It was really special, and I breathed a sigh of relief that there was no fussing, spitting up, or nose grabbing.  Mercy was very astute, looking up at Chris holding her, Pastor Dan speaking, me standing beside her, and the congregation staring at her.   We didn't plan this on purpose, but realized that today would have been my grandmother's 92nd birthday.  A special day indeed.

Opera Lungs

Mercy has learned two new vocal tricks.  One is SCREECHING! She likes to squeal somewhere in the range that only dogs can hear and wine glasses break and then laugh about it. Second, when she is a bit calmer she will look up at mommy and sing a quiet little song of love sounds. Can you say dramatic personality?

Swings, Wings, Growings

It seems Mercy has outgrown her daily swing naps.  For a long time we could depend on at least one three hour nap a day in the swing. But alas, with the onset of her pulling herself up to a sitting position, the swing has lost its grip on her and safety has fleeted. It seems like she sleeps a lot more at night though so I guess it's a trade off. She seems to be rapidly outgrowing just about everything lately. We just jumped up to the next size of clothes. The other night I put her to bed and soon after heard her stirring. I went in to check on her and found her holding each side of the crib spread out like an albatross. Fortunately she was able to be wooed back to sleep with her wings tucked back in.

Baby Got Skills

diagram 1a: baby grabbing toes

Mercy has been trying to show off some skills for a while now. We've seen the two-fisted sandwich, the back to belly roll, the raspberry blow and recently the two foot grab (see diagram 1a above). We haven't captured it on film yet but she has also learned the sweet skill of right hand karate chop or as they say in Japan shuto-uchi.

Guess who had Japanese food for lunch today,

Sayonara

After Bath Exercises

Mercy has been working on her arm strength during tummy time after her baths.  She gets really vocal when she is on her tummy. She makes loud sounds that sound like a mix of effort and frustration. I guess that means she is putting all her energy into it. I'm sure she will be crawling soon once she learns to move her arms forward along with her legs.

All Aboard the Daddy Train

Well here's the after I get home from work setup.  Mercy loves being outside and looking at all my junk in the garage as I try to sort through it.  I put her in the carrier in the mornings before work too.  We've managed to put away most everything left in the center of the garage from the move into the shelving units. Thanks for the moral support Mercy! (I don't usually walk around with Mercy wearing a headband and glittery shoes like you'll see below.  That was her mother's idea.)

In addition to this little outfit, I have been shopping for a shotgun. No seriously, I am gonna buy a shotgun and polish it for the next 16 years.

Look at the family resemblance. From birth Mercy has looked a lot like Sara's baby pictures.  She is starting to show a little more "Sandoval" now too.

Coolest shoes ever. Thanks Trish. Mercy can't keep her balance on her own yet but she stands and supports her own weight.  Maybe the shoes will motivate her.