I've been a little busy

potty training #3!  Although most of my days are spent running to and from the bathroom, I have to say that I am having so much fun this time.  For some reason, potty training Perry has been so less stressful than the other two were.  I just think that I am a lot more laid back this time and I am letting him lead me.  He is doing great at home but for some reason when I put pants on him to leave the house he thinks that he can then pee in his pants, so we are working on that one.  Today we went through 3 pairs of pants and underwear as I was trying to run a few errands after dropping off Kaden and Emerson at school.  What also makes it so much easier this time is that I have 2 helpers that are always willing to take Perry to the bathroom or go get me ANOTHER pair of underwear.

The sticker chart that Kaden made for Perry on his own and placed on the refrigerator.  He told Perry that if he filled up the entire chart that he would give him ice cream:)

Yesterday Perry wanted both Kaden and Emmy to hold his hands EVERY time he went to the bathroom.  Luckily there is enough room in our bathroom for all of us!

Happy Birthday Perry!

The big 2 year old and his Elmo cake

Getting ready to open presents

Opening presents with his cousin Elise who turned 3 the day before Perry

Cupcake time!  He needed a little help blowing out his candles

Perry had a great birthday weekend and loved all the attention.  Both times that we sang happy birthday to him, he never stopped smiling.  He just kept looking at all of us with his big grin.  His second year of life was so much fun.  He transitioned from being such a fussy baby to a toddler that every Mother would want.  It seems like he went from baby sign language to 5 word sentences (although 1/2 of the time it is hard to figure out what he is saying).  He talks himself through everything he does, whether it is putting on his shoes or playing ball.  He LOVES to play any type of ball and I can see lots of sports in his future.  He loves milk and would drink it all day if I let him (just like his big brother) and will try most foods that you place in front of him.  As a result of that eating, he now weighs more than his 4 year old sister. You can commonly hear Perry telling knock-knock jokes in his crib to his stuffed animals and over and over and over again in the back of the van.  He has already started asking "why" questions constantly which is starting to drive me a little nuts.  The thing that everyone notices about Perry is his constant smile that is on his face.  He is just such a happy kid!  Although I am excited to see him growing older, it is bittersweet because I don't want my baby to grow up.  I am sure that I will feel like this for every one of Perry's birthdays.

My baby is a big boy!

Perry's hair was getting a little mullet-ish, so I reluctantly took him to get his first haircut last night. I was loving his curls in the back but if it wasn't a humid day than it wasn't super curly and was starting to look too long. The experience did not go well from the start. The second that we sat him in the chair he started screaming. He just would not calm down. I tried his pacifier and a lollipop but he just wasn't having it. His "stylist" was fresh out of cosmetology school. She kept saying what is he saying, why is he crying? All I was thinking is "Are you serious?" We strapped him into a chair at a place that he has never been, with a person that he has never seen before coming at him with scissors and then clippers. I asked her to keep it long because he has a crazy double colic in the back and I liked the longer look since it is curly. He haircut ended up a lot shorter than I wanted but it has grown on me. Last night I was so emotional about it. I wasn't sad at his first birthday but last night after he had his first haircut I ended up balling in the kitchen. Kaden and Emmy asked why I was crying and I told them it was because I didn't like Perry's haircut. The truth was I was sad about my baby growing up. He is such a little boy now! It is a reality every time that I look at him. And although I am sad about him growing up, I am also so excited to see all of the changes in our family. Kaden starts kindergarten next week and Emerson starts preschool the same day. Before I know it Perry will be there too. So instead of being sad about it I am trying to cherish the little moments more. Instead of moving about with all of the things that I have to do each day (which are many w/ 3 kids), I am sitting on the floor to play cars when Perry wants me to, I am drawing Kaden a picture to color when he asks, and I am singing that Raffi song for the tenth time when Emmy asks me to sing with her. Because I am not going to remember that I had a perfectly clean house or that all of my laundry was always done. I want to remember playing with my kids and all of the little moments that are so easily forgotten.

My First Boo Boo

Perry got his first BIG boo boo on Thursday. I was downstairs trying to take advantage of only having one kid at home with me while Kaden and Emerson were at vacation bible school and Perry fell on the cement basement floor. It was the biggest goose egg that I have ever seen. It took Perry quite awhile to calm down after his fall, so I started to get a little worried. I ended calling the nurse at his doctor's b/c it was nap time and I was afraid to put him down for a nap. After talking with the nurse for awhile, she thought that it was okay to put him down for a one hour nap. I had to watch him carefully for the next 72 hours, which meant waking him up at night to make sure he was okay. It looks much better now and I am just glad we are not taking pictures anytime soon.

A weekend full of celebrating!

We spent the weekend celebrating Perry's first birthday. On his birthday, we celebrated by going to the zoo and later going out to eat. It was a fun day and we managed to escape the rain while we were at the zoo. Here are a few pics I took of him that morning.

"That's right I'm 1!!!"

Excited about all of his presents

Playing the new guitar

His first taste of cake!

He finally decided to dive right in after hesitating for awhile

We had a family birthday party for Perry and Elise on Sunday. It was a lot of fun celebrating their 1st and 2nd birthdays together.

The cute birthday boy and girl

The Crew

I think that Perry had a great first birthday!! We had a wonderful time celebrating all weekend. And on his birthday, he first tooth finally started poking though! He was busy all day today playing with his new toys. He is also getting much closer to walking. He will stand and balance by himself for quite awhile and he wants to walk holding hands all day long. He really only uses my fingers for balance and walks on his own. So I don't think that walking will be as far off as I originally thought.

Perry's First Year

Today we are celebrating Perry's first birthday. It is bittersweet for me. With Kaden and Emerson, I was happy on their first birthday. I was excited for them to grow up and see what the next year brought. Today I am happy that Perry is one and everyday he shows more and more of his personality but I am sad that my last baby is not a baby anymore! He had a great first year and I enjoyed every moment of it (even the colic stage). He is now a very laid back little man who almost always has a smile on his face.

Happy 1st Birthday Perry! I love you very much!

Perry is 11 months!

Perry got to celebrate turning 11 months at Disney World! There really isn't too much new with Perry. His two bottom teeth are still working on poking through and he is still just scooting around on his tummy and butt. His favorite pass time is playing peekaboo and telling detailed stories while he talks with his hands. He loves to eat and would stay in his highchair all day eating if I let him.

Perry in action telling one of his stories!

Perry is 10 months!

Perry is 10 months old today! It is hard to believe in 2 more months my baby will be one! Not much has changed in this last month. He is doing a lot better standing up and playing. He still hates being on his stomach, which makes it very difficult to learn how to crawl. He is eating a lot more finger foods but still lets me feed him too. He favorite activities are throwing things, especially from his high chair and playing peekaboo. We are still waiting for his first tooth to poke through. He has been a lot fussier lately, so it will probably be any day.

Make sure you click on the video of Perry below. He has so much fun in his jumper. I was finally able to capture it on video. Next month we will be celebrating Perry turning eleven months in Florida!

Perry is 9 months!

Perry turned 9 months old yesterday! You can tell from this picture that he has gained some weight. He had his check-up this afternoon and he weighed 19 pounds and 9 ounces! He weighed only 14 pounds 5 ounces at his sixth month appointment and went from the 3rd percentile to the 30th percentile. He was 28 1/2 inches which is in the 70th percentile and his head was in the 80th percentile. The doctor said that he looks great and that he has 2 bottom teeth that should poke through soon, which would explain the endless drooling.

Perry is still not crawling. He absolutely hates tummy time, which is why I haven't been that good about doing it. I have started to make him do "tummy time" a lot more lately and even though he yells the entire time, he is starting to get his tummy up off the ground and scoots backwards a little. He is pretty good at standing and hanging onto furniture and that seems like all he wants to do lately.

Perry's favorite time of the day is bath time! He could stay in there all day long. He doesn't even need any toys, he just loves splashing in the water.

Perry at 9 months is a pretty happy baby. He talks all of the time! He is making tons of sounds, except for mama (which took a long time for all of my kids to get) and doing about 3 signs. He also waves and claps his hands. He likes just about every food you give him, except for carrots and peas. He is always really enjoying having more finger foods and being able to feed himself. The only difficult thing about Perry's age is he is going through MAJOR separation anxiety. Every time we drop him off at the church nursery, he starts crying uncontrollably. I actually quit my MOPS group because Perry was crying so much in the nursery that they always ended up bringing him back to me. The only person that he will go to without crying is Grandma (thankfully because I need a break every once in awhile).

Perry is 8 months, well almost!

Since Perry turns 8 months on Christmas day I took his pictures today so I wouldn't forget with all of the celebrating. He, of course, was all smiles for the camera again. This kid loves it when I get out my camera. I guess I train my kids well because all three of my kids enjoy their time in front of a camera.

Perry is "SO BIG". He started doing "so big" about a month ago and loves to tell everyone that he is "so big".
Perry is sleeping much better! He sleeps though the night and sometimes even til 9 in the morning. His naps could still use some work but that is okay. He loves his cheerios and fruit puffs and I think that he is starting to put on some weight. He doesn't like any baby toys, he only likes what his brother and sister are playing with, so we have a lot of work to do before he starts crawling and getting into everything.

Ho, Ho, Ho

Yesterday we made a trip to the mall to see Santa while Kaden while was at school. Perry was dressed up like Santa for his visit. Here are a few pics of him before we left.

A perfect picture of Perry with Santa thanks to our photographer Kristen. Perry was all smiles while on his lap. Emmy did not have the same feelings for Santa (she was hiding in the corner in this picture).

Perry is 7 months!

Perry turned 7 months old on Tuesday. I really can't believe that he is 7 months. I was reading in Kaden and Emmy's baby books what they were doing at 7 months and Perry is not quite there yet. Kaden was crawling all over the house and standing up in his crib and Emmy was just starting to crawl. Perry is getting better at sitting but is no where near crawling, which is just fine with me. I am enjoying having him in one spot and knowing that when I leave the room and I come back he will still be there.

The one thing that Perry has done a lot earlier than the other kids is talk. He loves to talk all of the time to whoever will listen to him. He has definitely discovered his voice. A lot of the time it is just yelling so that he can hear himself but he also says hi and today he learned to make a "woof, woof" sound when you ask him what a doggy says!!

Perry is 6 months!

Perry is 6 months old today!! Although he is all smiles for pictures, he still is a bit of a fussy butt! He is lucky that he is so darn cute! He takes naps a little bit better (which makes me very happy) but he is still having trouble sleeping at night. He knows that mommy is pushover this time ( he is my last baby - I can't help it) and just gets up and feeds him instead of letting him cry. This would have never worked for Kaden or Emmy.

Perry is still not rolling over!!! He is sitting up better and will probably be sitting on his own real soon. Side note -Chris is not very happy about these leg warmers that I put Perry in!! I had bought a couple pairs for Emmy and got Perry a pair too for when he is crawling around our wood floors. I think that they are cute!!

Perry tried pumpkin tonight for the first time. He did not like it!! So far, he has liked all of the baby food that I have made for him except for pumpkin and carrots.

Perry can drink out of a cup now! One of Perry's favorite things to do right now is to jump in his doorway jumper, check out the video below!

Perry is 5 months!

Perry was 5 months on Thursday! I can't believe that he is 5 months old already. He is busy trying new foods, so far peaches is his favorite. I have been making all of his baby food, which has sort of become a new hobby of mine. He is going to bed a little earlier at night, which is a big relief for Chris and I but he is still quite the catnapper during the day! He has starting getting a rash on his face, which makes us wonder if he is allergic to milk like Emerson was at his age. I cut out all dairy from to diet to see if it makes a difference for him. Hopefully that will work!

Perry is 4 months!

Perry had his 4 month check up yesterday. The doctor says that he looks great. He weighed 12 pounds 9 ounces and was 24 1/2 inches long. He is a little guy! Perry has definitely been happier lately, although he still makes Chris or I hold him all evening (preferably while standing and bouncing). Perry gives us lots of smiles throughout the day, however I couldn't get him to smile for the camera this month.