Dining room face lift

As you will recall from a previous post, we recently inherited some lovely dining room furniture. This weekend's project was to recover the chair cushions. I bought the fabric this week and was ready to get to work once my handy-man was available. I did all the recovering work and Alex did everything that involved a screwdriver or power tool. We make such a good team! I'm very happy with the way they turned out. Here are some pictures of our work.

Before:

After:

 

                                                                                                       

Fathers and Sons

Alex's dad, Paw, stopped by for a visit on Saturday while on his way to south Louisiana. I had to get a picture of the three generations of Burke Boys. We need to get to Lafayette and add Pop to the mix to make it a four-generation picture.

4 month review

Perry,
Month 4 has been a good one! Here's a little bit of what happened this month:
--At 4 1/2 months you weighed 17 lb 4 oz and were 24 3/4 in long. Everyone comments on how strong you seem for your age.
--You started wearing size 3 diapers.
--You have tried rice cereal a few times, but don't seem to care for it. You are still nursing exclusively and have become very distractable.
--You have been laughing and interacting with us a lot. We are convinced that you are the funniest, sweetest, cutest, and most lovable baby in the world :-)
--You are sleeping much better now. Thank you!
--You sat up alone.
--You love playing peak a boo and playing with your feet.
--You learned to roll from your back to your tummy. I haven't seen you do it yet, but lately when I put you down to play on your back, you'll be on your tummy the next time I check on you.
You are constantly surprising us with what you are capable of doing and all that you can understand about the world around you.
We love you!

Daddy long legs

Alex and I were very productive around the house/yard this weekend. On Saturday morning, Alex and my dad moved our "new" dining room furniture to the house. We now have a dining room table that seats eight, buffet table, and china cabinet. After finishing with the furniture, we spent the remainder of the day outside working in the garage and yard. Alex had so much energy and was able to do a ton of physical labor. I was also hard at work, but with more lightweight tasks. I feel as though I'm as strong as my pre-bedrest days, but that's not saying much! Anyways, we felt really good about all we had accomplished and were looking forward to the Sabbath, our day of rest! On Sunday, we went to church and then out to eat with family. When we got home Alex got comfortable and sat down to watch some TV. I think it was only 2 minutes before he fell asleep. 

Who needs a bed when you've got legs like these?

Something new

Children amaze me. They are constantly learning and trying new things. Perry was sitting next to me the other night and when I let go of him he was able to stay upright long enough for someone to grab the camera and take a few shots. I had no idea he could sit up alone, I figured that wouldn't happen for another month or so. I tried it again the next day and he was able to do it, so I know it wasn't just a fluke. Don't let those rolls fool you, this little boy is pure muscle!

He still needs a little practice though.

Annie's surprise party

We hit the road again this past weekend, this time to Alex's mom and step-dad's house in Denton, TX, for a surprise party for Alex's sister, Annie. Annie just finished school and will soon be starting her career as a hair stylist in Dallas. There were family and friends from near and far who came to celebrate her achievement. The party was a huge success, as Annie was completely surprised when she walked in the door. It was a great party and a wonderful weekend! We just hate that it was all over so quickly.

The table was set and we were ready for Annie's arrival

I love the look on her face!

These are two of Perry's cousins, Lizzy and Jace. They both love babies! Look at Lizzy trying to give Perry that bottle...so sweet!

Here we are with Annie and Nate

And here are Cheetah and Papou with all the kids

To sleep, perchance to dream

I'm not about to dissect or discuss what Shakespeare meant when he wrote that...I'm not that intellectual. I'm just here to report that we are finally getting some sleep around here! Perry is doing much better at night and although he doesn't sleep for 10 hours straight, I am thrilled with where we are now. My very wise mother-in-law predicted things would get better around the 4-month mark and I'm so happy that she was right (she usually is about most things). I'm hopeful that Perry will continue to sleep better and better with time. Now, I don't expect for every night from here on out to be perfect (especially with teething right around the corner), but I'm not going to let that keep me from being excited!

Baton Rouge

This past weekend Alex and I took Perry on his first trip to Baton Rouge. A friend of mine, Lainey, got married Saturday night at Nottaway Plantation. It was such a beautiful location and we had a ton of fun! Many of my friends from PA school were there, some I see often and others I don't, so I really enjoyed catching up with them. The only downfall was that because of the circumstances Perry had to come to the wedding with us and I ended up holding him the entire time we were at the reception while he slept. Alex was disappointed we didn't get to dance, but I was feeling so guilty for dragging Perry all over the place that day and really wanted him to get some sleep. Here is a picture of Alex and me before the wedding.

When we go to Baton Rouge there are a handful of people that Alex and I must see and one of those people is my sweet friend Lindsey. She came by to see us Saturday afternoon and we had a really fun visit. She also brought Perry the most adorable wooden puppy pull toy. We spent most of the weekend with our dear friends and gracious hosts Brad and Virginia Jackson. They are expecting their first baby this summer and since it's a little boy we got to talk a lot about baby boys. On Saturday morning, I went with Virginia to register at Babies R Us. It was so fun for me because I wanted to help her out, but also because I never had that experience for myself.

Here is Virginia, Lindsey, and me. I love these girls!

On Sunday, we went to our former church South Baton Rouge Presbyterian. It was so great to see all the friends and families we cherish from our time there and we were surprised and thrilled to see how much the church has grown in members. After worship, we headed to The Chimes for lunch/brunch. How could we go to Baton Rouge and not go to The Chimes? We were so happy that our one-of-a-kind friend, Barrett, could join the four of us. Unfortunately, his wife and kiddos were out of town and unable to meet Perry. Lunch was delicious and the fellowship was even better.

I bet your wandering why Perry isn't wearing anything in the above picture. Well, let me tell you about that. He had been sleeping for a long while so when he woke up I really wanted to change his very saturated diaper. Now that Perry is older he usually doesn't pee when I change him, but on this day, in the ladies bathroom of Chimes, he decided it would be a good time to pee everywhere (2 times in fact) before I got his clean diaper on. It was a disaster to say the least!

Here is a picture of Barrett, Alex, and Brad who are looking quite happy after a couple of rounds of drinks.

Oh Baton Rouge, how we love you so! Thank you for a wonderful weekend and we hope to see you again very soon.