Finally got hops...

Dominican Republic Mission Trip

This is a short video from my recent trip to the Dominican Republic. We ran Basketball and Baseball camps for kids as well as did some children's ministry while we were down there...Enjoy, Josh.

Donovan's walking...well, almost. :)

It's been a long time since we posted anything., and we apologize for that; it seems we have been keeping up with most everyone on facebook these days. Anyway, I thought I would update anyone that loves us enough to be checking our blog. :)

Donovan is doing great except for a fever he is currently fighting. We are truly blessed with a great boy and have been soaking him up every chance we get. Dono is now pushing stuff around and should be walking before his first birthday...YES, he turns one in October. We can't believe it's been a year! We are in talks of having a first birthday party for Donovan and will keep everyone posted.

Hope you enjoy the video...and if we haven't seen you lately, we sure hope to see you soon.
In Love, the Merrill's

Donovan is crawling!

Donovan started crawling on June 11, just before his 8 month birthday. He was scooting all over the place for weeks, doing the "Army crawl" by pulling himself close to things and "inch-worming." Then, the day we left for Cabo San Lucas, we were getting ready to go to the airport and I called to Josh, "Honey! You're son fully CRAWLED just now!" It's so awesome because, as a working mom, I have prayed that God would allow me to see all of Donovan's "firsts." He has been so faithful to me and this request. It's so neat that I got to see my baby's first crawl on my day off!

Our little guy has been doing so much this past month: He can pull himself up to a stand or onto his knees; he can pop up to a sitting position from his belly; he's "talking" so much--just jabbering and talking to us or to his toys. He hasn't said his first word yet, but we have a feeling it's going to be "hi." He's so social, such a "ham." If someone enters the room, he starts smiling a immediately and cooing to try to get their attention. And he will not stop until he gets some eye contact and a smile. Mission accomplished. :) I swear he cat calls at the ladies. We've got a flirt on our hands, people! But his favorite thing--besides getting his toes licked by our dog Ernie--is when Daddy holds his feet and balances him in his hands. He locks his knees, stands straight up, opens his mouth and smiles real big or laughs. He loves it!

Donovan is such a sweet boy, such a blessing and a joy. He's been sleeping about 12 hours through the night for the past few months. It's fabulous. His smile alone brightens our lives and melts our hearts.

Hola from Cabo...

Dono in a big pool for the first time
local nude beach....not really, but donovan thought so

Donovan and his PapaNorm

Playing in the pool

Angie and I are currently in Cabo with my parents for a little vacation in Cabo. Donovan got to expeience his first flight on the way down here and did great on the plane. We are enjoying a nice relaxing time by the pool and are enjoying time swimming with Donovan and the grandparents. Enjoy the pics, we hope to post more later.

Skater dude...

Although my skateboarding skills are very suspect, I do still love to get out on my board and cruise around. It makes me feel like a kid again. Of course anyone that sees 6'9" man coming down the street on a skateboard knows there is only an internal child on board. Anyway, above is Donovan getting a little lesson on Daddy's new Sector 9...

Our little GQ model

Here are a few photos from Donovan's first photo shoot we did on Cinco de Mayo. He woke up cranky that morning, which is really unusual for him, AND he had his six months vaccinations that day. (Yes, we accidentally scheduled both on the same day.) But surprisingly and thankfully, he must have been saving up all his happiness for the photos that evening, because he did great!! Hope you enjoy. :)

Is this what we have to look forward to???

This story is really funny...right up until the last line. Enjoy! :)

A 3-year-old tells all from his mother's restroom stall.
By Shannon Popkin

My little guy, Cade, is quite a talker. He loves to communicate and does it quite well. He talks to people constantly, whether we are in the library, the grocery store or at a drive-thru window. People often comment on how clearly he speaks for a just-turned-3-year-old. And you never have to ask him to turn up the volume. It's always fully cranked. There have been several embarrassing times that I've wished the meaning of his words would have been masked by a not-so-audible voice, but never have I wished this more than last week at Costco.

Halfway, through our shopping trip, nature called, so I took Cade with me into the restroom. If you'd been one of the ladies in the restroom that evening, this is what you would have heard coming from the second to the last stall:

''Mommy, are you gonna go potty? Oh! Why are you putting toiwet paper on the potty, Mommy? Oh! You gonna sit down on da toiwet paper now? Mommy, what are you doing? Mommy, are you gonna go stinkies on the potty?''

At this point I started mentally counting how many women had been in the bathroom when I walked in. Several stalls were full ... 4? 5? Maybe we could wait until they all left before I had to make my debut out of this stall and reveal my identity.

Cade continued: ''Mommy, you ARE going stinkies aren't you? Oh, dats a good girl, Mommy! Are you gonna get some candy for going stinkies on the potty? Let me see doze stinkies, Mommy! Oh...Mommy! I'm trying to see In dere. Oh! I see dem. Dat is a very good girl, Mommy. You are gonna get some candy!''

I heard a few faint chuckles coming from the stalls on either side of me. Where is a screaming new born when you need her? Good grief. This was really getting embarrassing. I was definitely waiting a long time before exiting. Trying to divert him, I said, ''Why don't you look in Mommy's purse and see if you can find some candy... We'll both have some!''

''No, I'm trying to see doze more stinkies....Oh! Mommy!''

He started to gag at this point.

''Uh - oh, Mommy. I fink I'm gonna frow up. Mommy, doze stinkies are making me frow up!! Dat is so gross!!''

As the gags became louder, so did the chuckles outside my stall.. I quickly flushed the toilet in hopes of changing the
subject. I began to reason with myself: OK. There are four other toilets. If I count four flushes, I can be reasonably assured that those who overheard this embarrassing monologue will be long gone.

''Mommy! Would you get off the potty, now? I want you to be done going stinkies! Get up! Get up!''

He grunted as he tried to pull me off. Now I could hear full-blown laughter. I bent down to count the feet outside my door. ''Oh, are you wooking under dere, Mommy? You wooking under da door? What were you wooking at? Mommy? You wooking at the wady's feet?''

More laughter. I stood inside the locked door and tried to assess the situation.
''Mommy, it's time to wash our hands, now. We have to go out now, Mommy.'' He started pounding on the door. ''Mommy, don't you want to wash your hands? I want to go out!!''

I saw that my wait 'em out' plan was unraveling. I sheepishly opened the door, and found standing outside my stall, twenty to thirty ladies crowded around the stall, all smiling and starting to applaud.

My first thought was complete embarrassment, then I thought, where's the fine print on the 'motherhood contract' where I signed away every bit of my dignity and privacy? But as my little boy gave me a big, cheeky grin while he rubbed bubbly soap between his chubby little hands, I thought, I'd sign it all away again, just to be known as Mommy to this little fellow.

(Shannon Popkin is a freelance writer and mother of three She lives with her family in Grand Rapids , Michigan , where she no longer uses public restrooms)

Catching Up

The Grove

Peek-a-Boo

Our Happy Little Guy

When Books Attack

Angie and I both celebrated birthdays during the month of April. It's official we're old...well not Angie, just me. For Angie's Birthday we spent the afternoon down at the Grove in Hollywood where we shopped and ate. We had a great time and Donovan is becoming more and more fun to take out as he's so aware of everything.

Things with the Merrill's are going well and we are keeping as busy as ever. I am preparing for our big fundraising Golf Tournament happening in May and a Missions Trip we're planning for the Dominican in August. Angie is busy keeping Donovan and me fed, clothed and in line. Donovan and I are excited for Angie's first Mother's Day...Stay tuned for some pics of that.

More FIRST'S for Dono...

Donovan's first Easter
Dono is sitting up on his own now
Mommy & Baby looking good

Donovan eating rice cereal for the first time

Dono's first trip to Sea World

First touch of a Dolphin

Angie Dancing with her new friend

The Many Looks of Donovan Briggs

Such a big boy in his overalls!

All ready for my trip to Cabo San Lucas in June!

I love to roll over onto my tummy....

Mommy's handsome guys.

Here I am with my favorite stuffed animal, Blue...

I am so happy...even though my hair is thinning, haha!

Daddy helped me stand up in my crib.

I love to chew on everything, especially my Busy Bee.

It's been a while since we've blogged last, and that's probably because our little guy is keeping us busy! Donovan rolled over for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and he's creeping and crawling like a little inchworm all over the place. We're amazed to put him to bed on his back in the middle of the crib, only to find him at the top of the mattress, perpendicular to the way we laid him down...and on his stomach to boot!

On March 8, we gave Donovan his first haircut. His hair was thinning so much in the front like an old man (sorry Grandpa), a little thicker on the sides, and a big ol' bald spot in the back because he's on his back so much. It had to be done. Now he has a whole new look, and he seems to be okay with it, judging by the way he loves to smile at himself in the mirror.

Our little boy is shoving anything and everything into his mouth now (we think he might be teething); he's gripping and holding things very well. He loves to stand when you hold him up and he enjoys his Johnny Jump-Up and the Exersaucer.

He continues to do well at Infant Care, and has not caught anymore colds, praise God! Thanks for your prayers. He has enjoyed visits from Grammyo, SuSu, and Grandpa, and just went up to San Luis Obispo last weekend to visit his new cousin Jayda! (More pictures to come.)

Donovan is growing so fast. We are just trying to take him all in and enjoy every day with ur precious boy. I look at him...either sleeping, or playing by himself, or snuggling into my shoulder, or smiling and flirting with me as I change his diaper, and say "Thank you God," many times a day. What a gift.

God bless,

Angie

Another First...

This week was a big week for the Merrill's. Angie left her boys at home for the first time as she went off to a conference for two days in Arizona. We did okay without her, but its just not the same... We missed mommy very much.

Of course wouldn't you know that Donovan decided to roll over (sort of) for the first time while Angie was gone. But I missed it as well. I heard Dono make a noise on the monitor in the middle of the night. I went to his room to find out what the noise was all about and I found that Donovan had flipped over onto his stomach. The amazing part is he was able to accomplish this all while being swaddled! It gives a new spin to the phrase, "Look, Mom, no hands!" I have a feeling we are going to have one active little boy. We can't wait.

Introducing...

Jada Ball

Our new niece Jada Ball was born this morning to my (Josh's) sister Stacy and her husband Evan who live in San Luis Obispo. Everyone is doing great and we are so excited to meet this new little princess. Congrats Stacy and Evan; we cant wait to meet her! In staying with the theme of Merrill's having big babies (my sister was nearly 1o lbs. and I was almost 11 lbs.), Jada wieghed in at: 9 lbs. 10 oz.

Donovan is 4 months old

Donovan turned four months old on Friday, the day before Valentine's Day. It's so hard to believe our little baby has been in the world for four whole months already! He is so amazing and makes us laugh and say "He is so cute" and "I love him so much" about a dozen times a day.

He makes lots of happy sounds when he's playing and looking up at his toys and mobiles, and his new thing is high-pitched squeeling. He's caregiver says she thinks he is particularly vocal for a baby his age. Josh says he's going to be a talker like mommy, and then daddy really won't be able to get a word in edgewise!

Donovan is grasping for things like crazy, and then shoves them right into his mouth, haha! They say babies explore their world with their mouths, and that makes germaphobe mommies a little nervous. Although he can scoot himself nearly 360 degrees on his back when he's playing like a little breakdancer, he's not rolling over just yet. Donovan loves to watch basketball and ESPN Sports Center on TV with daddy, or snuggle up with mommy and watch Baby Einstein DVDs. He has a remarkable attention span.

Needless to say, we are very proud of our little man and cherish every day with him. Thanks for reading about what we've been up to!

Worth watching...

Donovan's First Cold

Dono is in the middle of fighting off his first cold, and as parents it is difficult to watch your little boy cry when there is not much you can do to help. Believe me, we have tried it all...and he is being real trooper considering. We are blessed he has gone this long without any previous sickness, but we ask for your prays as Donovan works through his first little sickness. Thanks.

Mommy is back to work

After 12 blissful weeks at home with my baby boy, I started back at work last week. I had an emotional couple of weeks leading up to my return, just thinking about someone else taking care of Donovan and not getting to be with him 24/7, but it was good to be back in many ways. I feel really blessed to be able to do my job serving the Lord at Shepherd of the Hills Church, and Donovan is literally down the hall from me at our sister organization, Little Shepherd's Learning Center. I get to feed him on my lunch breaks and can always run down there if ever he needed me. Daddy goes to visit him often and brings him in half-day two or three days a week.

I know it is an arrangement that many moms would covet, so I am very grateful to God for His goodness and His many, many blessings to our family.

Donovan is growing so big. He's a little over 14 lbs., and I can't believe he'll be three months old tomorrow! The other day, I walked into the nursery and I was looking around for him, not realizing he was the big baby in his caregiver's arms who was standing right in front of me! I mean, I saw them both as I walked into the room, but he looked so big in her arms I thought he was a different baby, haha!

He is "talking" a lot (making "goo goo" and cooing sounds), laughing, smiling a ton--all of which just totally melt my heart--sucking his hand (I think he's going to be a thumb sucker like his momma), and grasping and batting at objects (hopefully he'll have his daddy's hand-eye coordination and athleticism and not his mommy's). He is incredibly alert and loves looking at himself in the mirror (uh-oh...but who could blame him with a handsome little mug like that?), smiling at himself and then getting shy and burying his face in mommy's shoulder.

Part of me just wants him to stay my little baby forever; the other part of me can't wait to see what he'll do next! Stay tuned...

P.S. A little "happy birthday" shout out to my darling niece Naomi who turns seven today! Such a big girl. We love you, Wootie!

Donovans first bath

A short video of Donovan taking his first bath with his daddy.
Don't worry dad is decent; or is he??? lol

Donovan's first Christmas

Grandpa Victor loving on Dono

Uncle Evan catching a snuggle

Dad's two sons :)

Su-Su teaching Dono about presents

Angie and her sister Adeena

Papa helping put Dono down for a nap

Our Hurley Boy (surf's up)

Ernie babysitting

Dono happy with his Grandma Yolanda

Aunt Yoli and Dono

Now that's a Christmas gift. (I wish)

We got to spend five wonderful days visiting family and friends in San Diego over Christmas and got to show off our new pride and joy, Donovan. Angie and I are very blessed by all of you and thank you for your continued prayers and support. We miss you all and Donovan says "hi!"...See you soon.