Going on 33 weeks and back from Hawaii!

Well... the time definitely flies when you are having fun... haha! I will say that my doctor (Sarah Azad) had "warned" me that when Jackson got to be about 9 months, Bryan and I might start second-guessing our decision to have a second baby so soon. I WON'T say that we are second-guessing anything - because we are so excited and thrilled to have little Charley coming soon - but we are definitely beginning to see how much work having the little man really is.... he's so active and curious and fun and exploring everything! He's at the stage where he just wants to constantly be on the go - he does not want to sit - yet he is not yet fully crawling or walking. He has his army crawl and his roll down to a t, and somehow is capable of moving from point A to point B in the blink of an eye. Can't turn your back on the little one for more than a second! He is having so much fun, and has been such a great, loving baby.

We took our first family vacation together to Kaanapali, Maui, and it was a blast. Jackson spent most of his time floating in the pools at our condo, and on nice long beach walks with his mom and dad. Turns out Jacksy is a pretty great traveller, and does pretty well on an airplane (he must remember flying to London at 8 weeks for his auntie's graduation!).

I had my 32 week check-up for Charley yesterday, and all is well. We are all registered and ready to go for round 2 at El Camino Hospital. Dr. Azad informed me that labor this time will likely be pretty fast, not only because it is my second pregnancy, but because my pregnancies have been so close together - my uterus is still in "go" mode - SO that's exciting! I asked her if she thought little Charley would be early, and she said it's hard to tell just yet, but that we can "negotiate" that as we get closer! Of course I have been dissecting that comment in my mind since she said it..... !!! Haha!

My weight gain is on track - in fact I have gained the same amount of weight that I did with the first pregnancy - except I gained all of it up front last time, and just started packing it on this time. Looks like I will probably be in the 30-35 range again this time, which I am OK with.... I just can't wait to meet my Charley girl, and give my body a well-deserved break! Being pregnant for practically two years in a row has not been the easiest task, but I think I have managed pretty well!

In a nutshell.... Bryan, Jackson, Charley, and I are all healthy and doing well! We are getting excited for the warmer weather and summer to get here, and of course for little Charley babe to arrive as well. My mom and sister are throwing a baby shower for Charley in a couple weeks.... and I think once we get through that, things will be moving a lot more quickly! She will be here before we know it!!

XOXO,

Mel

What's in a name.....

Well - we are quickly approaching February, which means we are getting VERY close to June.... which means the new baby girl will be here in just FOUR SHORT MONTHS! I still can't believe it when I say it out loud. Bryan and I are still adjusting to life with baby Jackson. He is a wonderful, amazingly cute, precocious, sweet, loving little angel.... 99% of the time. He has been going through the teething phase lately, and while he has handled it ever so graciously most of the time, last night was a new experience for us. We saw a side of Jackson that we had never seen before.... it was head-spinning, exorcist-like craziness. The kid must have been in so much pain - screaming, crying, laughing, biting, throwing himself around.... ! All I can say is poor baby - and damn I'm tired today. BUT we made it through last night, and I'm sure we will have many more of those to come. Aside from the teething, Jackson is doing so well, and is such a bright and happy little man. Since we have been so busy with him, my pregnancy has been flying by right before my eyes. 

This week marks 23 weeks.... headed into 24. I have been feeling great and healthy, and have had practically no sickness.... just some exhaustion. Work, school, and Jackson have all kept me pretty busy and preoccupied, which actually is great. It was agonizing sitting around and counting down the days to wait for little Jacksy to get here!

Now that we are at about 6 months, and have had some time to think, we have decided on a name. I have always loved this name and known I wanted to use it for one of my babies, but had been a little unsure on the spelling. I had originally thought of spelling it Charleigh - but then thought maybe it would be too complicated for a little girl to spell, and then people would always butcher it when pronouncing it and spelling it. And then what if people call her Sir on the phone because they automatically assume Charley is a man?! Well.... CharlEY makes it a little more feminine than CharlIE, but is not as complicated as CharLEIGH. Thus we have.......

CHARLEY ROSE MERK

a beautiful name for a beautiful little girl angel.... and we can't wait to meet her! So there it is! Charley!!! <3

Jackson is 6 months!

Yesterday was Jackson's half birthday.... he is officially 6 months. It is crazy how fast the time has flown by. Since he has been so into eating everything that comes into his sight, I made him his own special Strawberry cupcake for the occasion. I was expecting him to dig right in, but he seemed pretty apprehensive.... like "Am I really supposed to be eating all this sugar, Mom?" It was too sweet.

Today also marks my 15th week of pregnancy! I guess since this is the second time around, I haven't been tracking it so closely and paying as much attention... because we are busy with Jackson, school, work, life, etc! BUT - the holidays are coming up, and the first week of January we get to find out whether we are having another boy or a girl, and then I think things will really start to speed up. I am feeling good and healthy and just excited to have a nice long holiday break! Jackson and Bryan are too. Next Tuesday we will be heading up to Tahoe through the New Year.... it couldn't get here sooner!

Jackson at 1 day old...... talk about time flyin' by so fast.....! 

Jacksie-pie gettin' into the holiday spirit for the Festival of Lights Parade in Los Altos =) 

December 7th - we took Jacks to get his first X-mas ornament at the mall

When I said Jackson has become quite the eater... I wasn't kidding. He literally will grab food out of my mouth now. My mom created a monster with the Ritz crackers....! They dissolve so fast, and when they do, Jackson starts screaming until he has a new one to replace his eaten cracker! Sometimes giving him a new one doesn't help though because he's so upset about the one he just finished.... haha!

And here's the little sweet heart with his special 6 month cupcake. <3 XO

San Jose Rock & Roll Marathon

I finished my first half marathon this morning! 13.1 miles in 2 hours and 11 minutes.... I completed it in 10 minute miles, which was exactly my goal. There were a TON of people - at the beginning of the race when I was waiting in my corral, I was starting to feel like a cow being herded.... I didn't know how it was going to be physically possible to run among that many people! But, after the 1st few minutes it thinned out, and I was able to find my own path. Running among that many people definitely gives you a feeling of adrenaline that you don't get when running on your own.... I was in the zone! It was so worth it when I got to look over and see my family, and Bryan holding Jackson with a huge smile on his face over the side of the gate, right before crossing the finish line! Then of course we went out to a huge yummy breakfast at Hobee's afterwards! Here's to running a half marathon less than 4 months after giving birth to Jackson! Woohoo! I'll give myself a virtual pat on the back for that one =) 

It's Halloween.....

So naturally I will be dressing Jackson up as much as humanly possible. This is what I've got so far.......

My handsome devil - we ransacked Baby Gap for all of their adorable beanies.... they are just too cute to resist, and Jackson looks great in all of them of course.

The spooky spidey boy with his Tata......

3 months 4 weeks

Jackson is quickly approaching his 4 MONTH birthday.... holy crap! These last few months feel like they have just flown by, and Jackson is changing and developing more and more each day.

Latest and greatest in the world of Jackson:

• He is laughing.... yes laughing! He giggles and lets out screams of excitement when we are bouncing around or laugh with him.... best feeling ever!
• He is reaching out and swatting/grabbing his toys. It is fun to watch him stare very intently and then slowly start moving his tiny little hands in the direction of whatever it is he has his eye on.
• HAIR GRABBING! and earring, lips, and nose grabbing too..... gotta watch out for the lil' bugger because he literally grabs on with a death grip to anything he can get his hands on!
• He sits up in his little chair and bouncy seat by himself - we don't need to prop him up with pillows anymore. His back and neck strength are developing really well. 
• When laying on his tummy, he really props himself up good on his elbows and takes a good look around.... I have a feeling he isn't going to be wasting much time learning how to crawl! He has become so active!

Jackson is also quite the party-goer. So far, he has been to 3 weddings, one of which was in Pismo Beach, 3 baby showers, and his great grandma Lilian's one year memorial (September 29th - a very special day for our family). Let's also not forget that at around 10 weeks of life Jackson made his first international trip over to the UK to see his Aunt Nicole graduate! He has adjusted quite well to his happy life as a Mendez-Merk! 

 At Brea and Todd's wedding 9-29-2012

 Helping Dad out in the garage.... #257!

 Our family in London - August 2012

 Jackson flying on Mimi's lap to London - August 2012

 Jacksy with Tata & Uncle Ry in front of the London Eye on the Thames 

 Grammy's cake 9/29/2012

Practicing Tummy Time 9/28/12

Hanging out in my diaper at Brea & Todd's wedding because it was so hot! 9/29/12

4 weeks, 6 days old!

Hey everyone!!

I realize not everyone is on Facebook, where I do the majority of my updates on Jackson, so I thought I would try and keep the blog current, and maybe post a few daily or weekly pictures for everyone. 

Jackson is doing GREAT. I seriously do not know how it is possible for him to keep getting cuter by the day, but he sure does..... it's CRAZY! The last time we weighed him was at his 3 week appointment, and he clocked in at 8 pounds 5 ounces. I am thinking about taking the little chunk down to the DayOne Center today for a weigh in.... I'm thinking he's 9+ by now. The little guy is thriving.... his little neck is so strong and he's doing such a good job holding it up all on his own. He is grabbing onto fingers, and follows our voices and faces with his eyes. We are also making sure to get him on his tummy for some tummy time at least once a day, so he can strengthen his back muscles. He is now sleeping all by himself in his big boy crib in his own room, which is giving us about 2-3 hours of sleep at a time -which is GREAT. Bryan and I are both starting to feel more normal again and like we are a bit more rested. 

Little Jackson has spent most of the first four weeks of his life in Tahoe up in the mountains in the fresh air. He loves our "Serenity" cabin.... maybe that is why he is such a happy and peaceful baby!! =) He has gone on all sorts of outings so far in his short few weeks - to the communication hill stairs, hiking, walking down LakeShore Blvd in Tahoe, to dinners at the Country Club, to sushi, and strolling downtown Los Gatos, to name a few!! <3