3 years of Loveliness

We hit 3 years of marriage and we are so happy :)  

One reason I'm happy to married to Mr. Steve Merrill is his thoughtfulness.  I swear he stays up at night coming up with a brilliant plan of how to make me happy the next day because each and every day he makes me feel good.  My life is better with him in it! He is such a good person to everyone and I love that. 

That picture up there is after our date on our anniversary (sometimes I'm bad at taking pics during...so after will just have to do.)  We had a great coupon to a fun restaurant, I guess you could even say a romantic restaurant overlooking the Potomac and Georgetown.  We had a good time together :)

TWO!

This little man

is TWO years old!

I can't believe he's been in my life for only 2 years, yet at the same time, I can't believe my baby is 2.  It's crazy.  He is such a fun boy! 

Some favorites nowadays are:

"FAST" a game of running around the kitchen and into the living room and back to the kitchen for probably miles at a time.  He LOVES it!

Cars, trains, planes, anything transportation

"maminals" and the zoo

His Daddy is his favorite thing in the ENTIRE WORLD

Jumping on everything and off of everything, which is beginning to worry me a bit...

Candy (thanks to the 31st of Oct!)

Word World, a favorite on hulu

Dad's nook which has the "elephant book"

Coloring

Hallie and Annie (his cousins across the street)

He really is growing up :)  He has a fun sense of humor and is always full of energy.  He is usually good to his sister and it's obvious that he adores her.  I love this stage where we are beginning to communicate so much more!  I love hearing him talk to us and actually reason with us sometimes :) We love him so much.

 So we have an annual pass to Mt. Vernon that expires this month.  They had a fun family fall days the weekend before Nate's birthday, so that's what we did to celebrate his birthday.  It was pretty fun.  They had wagon rides with horses, games, 

this huge tree,

Hay bail maze,

horses,

and more :)  My favorite was the apple roasting.  We roasted an apple slice on a stick and then dipped it in honey and it was GOOD. 

Nate was spoiled on his birthday.  I felt like it was Christmas!

Fireman boots and umbrella from Gma/Gpa Merrill

Cars!

His first birthday package from his Uncle Christian who just left for Peru to be a missionary.

Yes...Christian got my 2 year old a lacrosse stick!  

Train set from Gma/Gpa Burrup

Truck from his cousins

The cake was amazing. Chocolate cake with bananas instead of eggs.  I saw it on the internet and it actually worked and made the cake AMAZING!  Plus cool whip and oreos on top...it was dang good.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our Nate.  We love him!

Primary Singing Lady

Well friends, I am excited to announce that I have been given a new job in the church.  I have been called to be the Primary Music Leader.  I know it's funny imagining me up there pretending to know what I'm doing, so go ahead, I will allow you to chuckle for a minute. 

I just have to say that I am really excited for it.  At first I was a bit overwhelmed at even knowing how to prepare for it.  I've never had a primary calling.  Guys, I haven't been to primary since I was 12 years old.  I am now 27 years old.  So...I was terrified.  Yesterday was my first day and it was okay.  It wasn't awesome (it actually was kind of a disaster) but it's not the end of the world!  And I was thinking about the quote:

"What e'er thou art, act well thy part"

K, I love that quote.  And my new interpretation of it for this time of my life is:  

"What e're thy calling, rock it" 

So, I'm going to do my very best and I'm going to rock my singing lady calling :) 

I welcome any ideas and prayers from you people!

My two favorite little people

Nate and Aubrey are a lot of fun.  They crack me up.  I'll update you on their new things and then I'll post probably close to 1,000 pictures :)

Nate:

• He'll be TWO in 9 days!
• This kid is quite the chatterbox!  Some of my favorite phrases are "One more!"  He says it about 5 times while shaking his finger at me.  
• He's got some major hops.  He can jump higher than me I think
• He loves the park and wants to go several times a day
• He's obsessed with breakfast
• He's been really into Word World lately.  It's a silly show, but he likes it
• He's starting to recognize some letters, shapes, and colors
• He still loves animals and their sounds

Aubrey:

• 6 months old
• She's crawling!
• She's pulling herself up to stand next to furniture, at the wall, in her crib.  She's more determined than any child I've ever met.
• She is still smiley smiley and giggles at everything
• She loves balls.  I foresee a soccer player!
• She loves eating her pureed food :)
• She somehow always finds my phone and gets this look of victory on her face every time
• ADORES her big brother!

Now for a picture overload :)  Some of these are from a while back.

Nate LOVES his daddy.

This was an accident...but it made me laugh out loud

I'm betting she can beat him up

My FAVORITE PICTURE EVER!!!!!

With her buddy, Bennet

My little helper.  He loves her.

I'm so sad this is blurry because this is the classic Aubrey face.

She loves licking this window...?

DON'T EAT PETE!

Love living close to these two cousins!

Nate loves the new balcony

This happens when naps are neglected

Don't judge me for having them on the counter.... 

We put seeds out there to attract birds and this is what we got.

There you have it....a little snippet of The Merrill Way of Life :)