Saturday, January 29, 2011

Friday Full of Boys

Friday morning I had a few friends over for coffee, coffee cake, and play time for the kids. The mommies were able to enjoy wonderful conversation and the kids had a ton of fun playing and running around. I think that means it was a success. Maybe next time some little girls will be able to join us....
Perry, Hilton, Henry and Ben











Saturday, January 22, 2011

15 months


I got an email from baby center that said "your 15 month old" and it hit me...oh my gosh, Perry is 15 months old!
Here are some of the new things going on in Perry's world:
He is taking steps, up to 10 to 20 at a time! He hasn't been in a big hurry to walk. I was starting to think he might follow in his Daddy's footsteps, literally, and not walk until 18 months, however it looks like he is going to beat that. A new physical development is that he is finally getting teeth! He now has 2 on the bottom and two on the top. I see 2 more breaking through on top and can tell he's working on the bottom ones. He is talking more and has several new words: up, arf-arf, bye bye, and ball. He absolutely loves playing the upright piano, and some of his compositions are actually quite beautiful! We are working on getting down to one nap per day. He is learning more about obedience and the consequences of disobedience. I know this will pay off, but it sure does require a lot of persistence and effort. Along those lines, he has started to yell when he wants our attention...another thing we are working on correcting. Sadly, Perry got his first boo-boo this month. It's healing nicely though. He has started doing hand motions to certain songs: "itsy-bitsy spider" and "head, shoulders, knees and toes". He will clap and cheer when he does something he's proud of (like stacking blocks, singing songs) and expects for others to cheer along. It's soooo cute! I think he really enjoys the praise we give him. Here are some pictures of our adorable 15 MONTH OLD...
"Hey Mom...hold on."
"I need to make a call."
"Hiiiiiiiii! Oh I'm just hanging out in my rocking chair."


 He can't wait to knock it down! 
 Going for it...
Crash!!!!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Scars are cool...Right?

Perry got his first boo boo yesterday. Unfortunately, I don't exactly know what happened because I was in the kitchen working on dinner. When I heard his cries, I ran to find him sitting by the fireplace with his hand over his left eye. I was almost scared to pull his hand away, but when I did, I saw the injury was on his eyelid. It was red and swollen and there was a laceration. I was so sad because I could tell he was in a significant amount of pain. I immediately took him to get lovie/paci and amazingly he calmed down! Praise the Lord for that lovie...it brings him so much comfort. I cleaned his skin as best as I could without making him more upset and called my mom to come over in case I needed to take him to the doctor. After talking to one of my PA friends, I decided to stay home. It's interesting how something so minor (minor, in the scheme of injuries) can seem so scary when it's your child. As far as what happened, I think Perry was doing his infamous head-banging move and inadvertently hit the fireplace. I really don't like knowing he is in pain, so I hope he never ever hurts himself again! A mother can hope, right? As far as the scar goes, I'm sure he will have one, but I'm thankful he is a boy and will probably think it's cool.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Little P-Man

Some people like to call Perry "Little P-Man". I couldn't help but call him this today since he was decked out in his "P" vest. He is the cutest boy I've ever laid eyes on!


 Here come a few steps!

Alex's dad, step mom, brother Evan, and his wife, Sarah, passed through Shreveport today on their way to Lafayette. We met them at Herby K's for a quick lunch. It was a great mid-day perk. 
Happy Saturday!

Monday, January 10, 2011

Guatemala

My dad took us on an awesome trip right after Christmas. We went down to Guatemala to go sail fishing. Dad had taken this trip before and knew it would be a neat experience for us. It was definitely a memorable time!
On December 27th, Alex and I hopped a plane to Guatemala and met Dad, Sheila and Helen in Guatemala City. After a lunch with friends in the city, we loaded up for our 2 hour drive to the coast. Our driver was pleasant, but more importantly, navigated us safely through the city with all of its CRAZY drivers! We arrived at our house and were immediately greeted with freshly made cheese and shrimp stuffed fried jalapeƱos and margaritas. It was a great welcome! We sat around and visited with our hosts, Captain Brad and his wife, Cindy. We couldn't get enough of the perfect weather. It was a nice change from the freezing temperatures we left that morning. The first evening was a chance to settle in and relax. We enjoyed a delicious meal outside under our thatched roof pavilion and all headed to bed shortly after. Alex and I had been up since 3:30 that morning, so we were ready for a good snooze.
Alex and me after arriving
The first day on the boat brought a couple surprises. The water was a lot rougher than normal, which didn't seem to be a problem until we slowed down to cast the lines. I started feeling ill, but didn't want to think about it in hopes it would go away. Well, next thing I know, Alex is leaning over the side of the boat because he was sick. I only lasted another minute before I succumbed to the sickness. Unfortunately, this continued for the two of us until they brought us to shore a few hours later. There was some big fishing going on though, so we made our best effort to participate.
This is Dad and Helen fighting a blue marlin! It was the first bite we got that day, and made for an exciting start. It was so amazing to see this big, beautiful fish jumping right in front of us!

blue marlin
Captain Brad estimated the fish to be around 275-300 lbs. After an hour-long fight, Brad cut the line.
The next bite was for Alex and this one turned out to be a sailfish. He did a great job with the fish, but resumed his previous work of "feeding the fish" as soon as he was finished.  


Good job, Alex!
Hanging out before dinner
Thanks to Cindy, we went out armed with a scoplomine patch on the second day. It definitely did its job of preventing motion sickness. Let me just say for the record, I would have never thought I would be the type to get sea sick. I've grown up on boats and don't have a fear of water. There was just something about that boat rocking in the rough water that got to me. If you ever go deep sea fishing, get a patch! 
Pretty volcanoes in the distance. You can see one of them smoking.
enjoying fresh pineapple
yay! I got one!
We also caught some Dorado (aka bullnose dolphin/mahi mahi) and ate this fresh fish that night. 


Sheila's sailfish was pretty big!
Next person up was Helen. Her sail fish was feisty and jumped a lot.


Here we are with the crew of Decisive. Center row, L to R: Captain Brad, Kennedy, and Johnny
Family pic
While we were having appetizers on our final evening, the Mariachi surprised us! It was such a fun and authentic Guatemalan experience.

The delicious ceviche appetizer made from fresh fish
This is Cindy. She was an exceptional host and such a sweet woman. Despite her trying to hide it, we found out that she was Miss Guatemala in 2000.
more Mariachi
Dinner on our last night
The trip was so fun that I honestly never even missed Perry. He was being well cared for by Alex's mom and step dad. This was our first time away from him for longer than a night and it went perfectly well!  

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Christmas 2010

 We had a great Christmas this year. We enjoyed several Christmas parties, time with  family and friends, and lots of family activities. All of these things just add to the joy we feel from celebrating Jesus' birth. I'm so thankful that Christmas is more than the emptiness of advertisements, spending money, and materialism. Our Savior was born and He was born for sinners like you and me! Now that's something to celebrate!
Opening presents at our house on Christmas morning
My sweet friend, Lindsey, sent this book to Perry
Christmas at Mae Mae's house
Now he is one step closer to actually being a puppy! (Those are the mittens hanging off the side) 
Fun stocking stuffers
Alex actually won $30 off one of his Lottery tickets!


Getting ready for another nap. This is when we hopped in the car and drove to Denton.
We celebrated with Alex's family on the 26th. I'm sorry to say that I didn't take any pictures though. It was a wonderful time!

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Christmas Eve

The day started like any other, but after Perry's morning nap, we headed out for The Broyles' Feliz Navidad party. I really like their annual Christmas Eve get together. The party was a lot of fun and we enjoyed spending time with friends and acquaintances.
Later in the day, Dad, Shelia, Shelby, and Josh came over to exchange gifts and hang out. This year was special for Perry in that it was the first time he was able to enjoy unwrapping and playing with his gifts. Dad and Sheila got him something he instantly fell in love with, his own personalized lounge chair.
 Just to clarify, Perry is not wearing a dress. His Momma was being lazy and didn't button his outfit all the way.




We went to church that evening for the Lessons and Carols service.
Then we were off to bed!