A couple of weekends ago, we went to the mountains for Merritt's first vacation--and it snowed! Merritt wore some onesies that said, "Let it Snow," so that must have been it. Needless to say, we stayed inside and admired the view from there. Here is Merritt and his mom in front of the picture window in the cabana where we stayed in Villa la Angostura: Merritt enjoyed the five hour car ride, kicking back in his comfy seat.

Surprised Merritt!

The grainy photo below may represent Merritt's first captured grin; it's dated August 6. He looks a little sheepish or unsure of what's going on.

Some of his cutest poses happen while he's on the changing table:

On August 20, we celebrated Aunt Reagan's birthday by going to the art museum in Neuquen (Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes Neuquen MNBA) and looked at some interesting paintings by Ricardo Laham. Perfect for Merritt because babies supposedly like to look at high contrast shapes and images. However, take a look at what Merritt did during our cruise through the museum:

Sleeping in his Sleepy Wrap! The painting above is called Relaciones V (1979).

These last few photos are at five weeks old, playing on his hippopotamus gym mat. Tummy time! Excellent!

Finally, a real grin!

Back at home, spring comes very early to Neuquen, as evidenced by the plum blossoms on the trees in front of our house. Also pretty are my box flowers, which flourished in wintertime, and Chiana wearing Merritt's diapers!

Merritt has finally outgrown some of his clothes. We are sad to see "I Love Hugs" go into storage. He wears it one last time for Aunt Reagan: