Merrill Milestones

 Well, the time between blog posts is becoming ridiculous I suppose. I dunno, does anyone really read it anyway? So I have decided to do another quick update and say I'm caught up. This summer was packed to the max with fun. Lil and Meg took swimming lessons. They loved it and still talk about their teachers- Lisa and Becca. Both sides of my family had reunions and it was great to see everyone I love! We also camped a lot with our family. Bear Lake twice, Palisades/ Jackson, Hisce, Lava, and Preston.

 There has also been a lot of growing up around here. A couple weeks ago, Megan decided she wanted to pee on the potty... so she did.... and that was that. I made an executive decision to paint the mimis with Thum (a thumb sucking elixir you paint on skin or pacifiers). She took one suck and cried. And then threw them away. And that was that. Megan started to acknowledge the fact that she'll be having a baby sister as well. I was very nervous because she would actually change the subject if babies or little sisters were brought up. She would completely ignore everything you were asking/telling her. I am happy to say that she is quite content and looking forward to the new baby and likes to kiss my tummy and make sure that no one smushes it. This fall, as school started, I thought it might be wise to put Meg into something just for her. So she now attends Ballet and Tap at a local dance studio. She looks forward to her dance class every week. :)

Lilly has had a few milestones of her own. As I mentioned before, she learned how to swim- which was huge for her self confidence. Lilly has also started kindergarten this fall. She seems to like it so far. With district budget cuts, she only goes 2 days a week and every other Monday. I have taken it upon myself to supplement at home and can I just tell you, she is so freakin smart! It has actually been fun tutoring her. She is reading sight words galore and even small books. Lilly is also taking Ballet and Tap this school year. The first day as I watched her through the mommy window, I thought she would come out after the hour and tell me she didn't want to come back. She has never tapped and didn't know any of the ballet terminology etc. She really appeared to be struggling but never gave up. In the car on the way home she told me how much she LOVED learning new things and SHE was proud of HERSELF for not giving up. Since then she has really caught on and her teacher has brought her to the front of the class a few times to show everyone the right way to do something. On her days off from school, she and Megan play all day together! Lilly loves having someone to boss and Meg likes the attention so it works out for everyone (including me).

I am now in my 30th week of being with child. I am hoping to have the baby on December 10th. We have a few names picked out and the nursery is totally not done but if the measure of excitement for a baby counted for anything, Lilly's and Megan's excitement might indicate that we are ready to be a party of five.