Hello strangers!
Ok, maybe I am the stranger.  I couldn’t believe how long it has been since I have sent out an update.  So in the words of Inigo Montoya: “Let me ‘splain. [pause] No, there is too much. Let me sum up.”  So here is the short summary: We had a great Easter, Katie & Carlo got married (so exciting!!), we went camping for Memorial Day weekend (super fun), we left 4 days later for a trip to Indiana, we got to see Mabel (Nich & Mel’s daughter) for the first time (also exciting!!), we found out we were pregnant, we had several birthdays in there & another wedding celebration, we enjoyed swimming this summer (Jeremiah is a fish!), we had Kid’s Games (Sports/VBS week), Jeremiah started (& ended) a great soccer season, we had a great 10 year anniversary get away to Vegas (Katie & Carlo came to watch Jeremiah). Jeremiah got to watch his first movie in a theatre, we went to Sea World (a couple times), as well as the Zoo & Safari Park, oh & of course meeting up with friends at the park, we put our house on the market, Jeremiah is almost done with his first session of preschool, all of San Diego County lost power for the evening/night, our church moved to a new location, we found out we are having a boy, we had GREAT ladies come help me pack the house, we moved, I helped throw a baby shower, we had an early 5th birthday party for all the kids who were in my child preparedness class (for Jeremiah) (Note: the last 3 things were all in the same weekend!!!), we are still trying to sell our condo, made it to the pumpkin patch, had the Halloween party & presentation at Jeremiah’s preschool (it is a big deal!), we dicovered trick or treating is a BIG deal in our neighborhood (ran out if candy in less than an hour & a half), Jeremiah has gotten & passed on a few colds – thanks to preschool germs, we have most of the house out of boxes & even decorations up on the walls, we had people over to the new house for homemade ice cream & today we made homemade marshmallows to give to Jeremiah’s teachers & the neighbors (hopefully we will meet some finally).

Ok, so I am sure I cannot just leave everything at that. I will elaborate on just a few things.

We are having a baby:  I am due February 27th, but according to the mid-pregnancy ultrasounds the baby is big.  So it could be more toward the middle of February.  Andy is still hoping for Leap Year.  We are having a boy & have NO clue what the name will be.  Jeremiah is super excited.  He actually told us the day before it was going to be a boy.  However, he wanted a girl.  We are excited, but there are so many other things going on first I feel planning for the baby is on hold.  He however has made himself quite known in the last few weeks.  He already packs a good punch & I can daily watch my stomach move.  In the last week he has decided to camp right below my ribs, so it makes breathing & sitting for that matter a real joy!

Soccer:  Jeremiah LOVED playing soccer for the first time.  He had a great coach!  It was hilarious to watch the 4 & 5 year old run around the field.  By game 4 he had figured it out enough to score his first goal.  Which meant a trip to Cold Stone for strawberry ice cream with gummy bears.  He was SO excited.  He had 10 game & ended up scoring 7 goals (3 in the last game!).  During the last game, when he scored his first goal he just looked at us & yelled across the field – “strawberry ice cream with gummy bears”.  The 2nd & 3rd he just yelled how much money Grandpa owed him. 🙂

Preschool:  I think Jeremiah loves preschool even more than soccer.  He is having so much fun.  His class has A LOT of boys, but the teachers are great with them.  He has probably 6-7 boys he talks about often & one girl (who plays all the boy stuff).  He has learned so much.  He goes around spelling things for us, so we can tell him what they say.  He picks up on everything so fast!!  He knows the schedule of what they do daily as well as weekly.  Other than playing “Transformers” at recess & playing in the classroom, his favorites are Science & “Question of the Day”  which are both done on Fridays.  So today was a sad day for him, not having preschool.  I wondered how he would transition from home to preschool.  About a week before it started, I tried to prep him about what would happen.  So when he got there the first day, he started playing right away.  I went over & said we were going to leave & without even looking at me he says “That’s fine.”  The little booger!!  I made him give me a hug & made sure he knew who his teachers were & that was that.  He wants to go everyday (He goes Mon, Wed & Fri).  He actually cried the day after the first day because he couldn’t go to school.  He has started to write his name (some capitals, some lower case), work on his sounds, “read” a book each week (he points to the words & everything, even though he has it memorized), recognize numbers & make patterns.  It is a great program.  They do a kindergarten assessment every session, so it will be neat to see how he progresses.  He has 3 more classes & then we are taking a break until the new year.

We moved:  We have been wanting a bigger place for a while – aka a backyard!  So when we found out we were pregnant, we started looking at our options.  We applied for a short sale, had a full cash offer within 2 weeks & all looked well, then the bank didn’t approve it.  So we decided we would rent our condo & look for a house to rent.  We found a great one in the Shadowridge area of Vista, which is where we lived after we were married.  It definitely needed fixing up, but was a great price & would be ready when we could be.  So we went for it.  In the process the bank called us & told us how we might make the short sale work after all.  So we moved out of the condo on Oct 15th (we moved boxes & got the house ready the week before) & our friend Eddie moved into the condo the same day.  God’s hand was all over this move!!!  The original cash offer is still interested in the condo.  So we just reapplied for the short sale & hopefully it will go through this time.  We love the new house & the neighborhood so far.  There is a small playground & pool across the street & we have enough room for Jeremiah to run laps downstairs & for him to run around outside on GRASS!!  It has been amazing.

So those are the major life changes going on in our lives.  Check out the blog for the latest pictures: andymerrill.com/babyblog  Jeremiah is growing like a weed!  And unfortunately growing out of naps, but I still get some down time in the afternoons.  Now that things have settled down a little bit I hope to keep up with updates better.

Hope all is well with you!!  And not nearly as crazy as it is here! (Pictures will be included in the next update)

🙂
Nichole