Jordan Teresa Perry celebrates her 1st birthday on Monday, April 13, 2009. To take a pictorial tour of her first year, click to view her photo album here.
We love you, Jordan!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Happy Birthday Jordan!
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Spring emerges!
No bells & whistles this month. I'm having difficulty with my Internet connection so pictures are not uploading very smoothly. It's scheduled to be fixed shortly, but in the mean time I must wait - which I hate to do. I hope to put together a 1st yr album for Jordan prior to her birtday. Watch for the announcement. In the meantime, enjoy March's pictures here March 2009
In this last month before she turns one, Jordan has decided to go vertical. By that, I mean she climbs anything she can hoist her leg up onto. Let’s see – she has climbed onto the couch, Jacob’s toddler bed, the second level of Jacob’s firehouse, and the kids snack table. She tries to get her leg up over the side of the tub and also up onto my bed. Her other most favorite trick right now is to lean into the toilet bowl and swish – as if she is trying to catch a gold fish. She is so quick – she gets right in there elbow deep before I can stop her. Jacob is actually pretty good at reminding me. “Mommy did you put the lid down?” he’ll ask. Her front teeth are all very prominent and she is growing a healthy crop of hair. The little pony tail on top is the only thing that keeps it out of her eyes for the entire day. If I do barrettes or clips, they just slide right out. She is a pretty good sport about it – by that I mean doesn’t pull them out. She is quite the wrestler though so I must be a fast beautician if I want anything in there at all.
It has taken 6 months, but I think Jacob finally decided he isn’t two anymore. It’s like all of a sudden this month he decided he was ready to do many ‘3 yr old type things’. His pottying is A LOT BETTER. Certainly not a 100% but it is not such a fight every time, and he is even going unprompted. This is extremely exciting for all three of us, because it has been ONE LONG & BUMPY journey. He has decided he doesn’t need a sippy cup, he has figured out he doesn’t need to be buckled into his seat at the table, he hasn’t thrown cups/plates/silverware off the table in weeks, and he is even buckling himself into the carseat. He has quite a bit of trouble staying on task for things like putting his clothes on in the morning and making his bed. It’s not that he can’t do it, it’s that he chooses not to until I nearly lose my mind. He is excited about the nicer weather. I told him (one time) that the snow being in our driveway this late in the season was ridiculous. Now every time we go out there he says ‘ this snow is rediculus’. He can’t quite figure out what Spring is all about. I tell him Spring is coming, and he asks me “Is Spring going to talk to us?”. I tell him the birds tell us about Spring, and he kinda just looks away. Today we were out digging in the garden and I was finding worms for him. He was a bit more squeamish with them than he was last year, which surprised me. He has claimed one of my raised beds as his. He has pretty much emptied the dirt out with his snow shovel, and has commenced to playing in it like a giant sand box. So I guess no green peppers this year!
We are back to doing our walks whenever we can. No more power walks for mommy because I have Mr. Pokey man. He drags the tractor or the tricycle all the way and makes lots of stops for exploration and horseplay. He has gotten quite good at zooming down the hills in our road and he loves tethering the dogs to whatever he has for a vehicle. The wagon is out of commission in need of a new support bar (daddy ran into it this winter) and a lost nut on the rear wheel. This is extremely dramatic and we have to check on it at least once a day. We also have to check on the ski-doo. “Mommy, you wanna go look at the escapade?” To which I respond, “Sure, bud. Love to.” All the while, Jordan is our smiling observant. Always watching, always pleasant. Rarely a peep – except when Jacob tips the stroller over into a snow bank and then leaves her there. “Hey mommy – look what I did with Jordan.” He tells me with this funny little smile while I’m out of ear range of her cries. I’m like, “what do you mean did with her?” Never a dull moment, I’m always on the move with that kid!
We had quite a scare with Sienna this past month. Dad noticed a lump in her side when he was here in February. The vet said it was a tumor and it had to be removed and biopsied before we could know more. The great news was we had it removed without incident, and the test for cancer came back negative. She had a bit of a hiccup in her recovery about a week after the surgery, but she seems to be over that – eating normally again, and playing hard with Morgan. We are very thankful, and looking forward to having our healthy, low-maintenance dogs again. I now have Morgan on high priority with a lamb & rice diet, sprinkled with Fish Oil once a day. She is on systemic antibiotics and topical medication in her ears. The dog has chronic ear issues and I’m hoping with the above described combo we can nip it in the bud (again). Stay tuned.
I made my seed order and they should be arriving any day. I ordered bunches of stuff so will be busy. I’m rather pleased with the garlic shoots coming up – I count 80. We have plans to build more raised beds and I’m going to give the Square Foot Gardner methods a try. Quite an upfront investment, but hopefully worthwhile if it works. You’ll note pictures depicting signs of spring. Guess I couldn’t help myself as it is my favorite time of year and never before have I had the ambition to capture it.
Next month will mean a 1st birthday for Jordan, Easter bunny and visits from Grammi & Grampi. We will be going west for Matthew’s bday at the end of the month. You may note I have posted the kids clothing sizes in a permanent location on the blog page. The idea being that if you are preparing to buy them clothing for a gift, you can look at the blog for their current size and not have to guess or check in with me. I will update it seasonally to be sure the information stays relevant.
In this last month before she turns one, Jordan has decided to go vertical. By that, I mean she climbs anything she can hoist her leg up onto. Let’s see – she has climbed onto the couch, Jacob’s toddler bed, the second level of Jacob’s firehouse, and the kids snack table. She tries to get her leg up over the side of the tub and also up onto my bed. Her other most favorite trick right now is to lean into the toilet bowl and swish – as if she is trying to catch a gold fish. She is so quick – she gets right in there elbow deep before I can stop her. Jacob is actually pretty good at reminding me. “Mommy did you put the lid down?” he’ll ask. Her front teeth are all very prominent and she is growing a healthy crop of hair. The little pony tail on top is the only thing that keeps it out of her eyes for the entire day. If I do barrettes or clips, they just slide right out. She is a pretty good sport about it – by that I mean doesn’t pull them out. She is quite the wrestler though so I must be a fast beautician if I want anything in there at all.
It has taken 6 months, but I think Jacob finally decided he isn’t two anymore. It’s like all of a sudden this month he decided he was ready to do many ‘3 yr old type things’. His pottying is A LOT BETTER. Certainly not a 100% but it is not such a fight every time, and he is even going unprompted. This is extremely exciting for all three of us, because it has been ONE LONG & BUMPY journey. He has decided he doesn’t need a sippy cup, he has figured out he doesn’t need to be buckled into his seat at the table, he hasn’t thrown cups/plates/silverware off the table in weeks, and he is even buckling himself into the carseat. He has quite a bit of trouble staying on task for things like putting his clothes on in the morning and making his bed. It’s not that he can’t do it, it’s that he chooses not to until I nearly lose my mind. He is excited about the nicer weather. I told him (one time) that the snow being in our driveway this late in the season was ridiculous. Now every time we go out there he says ‘ this snow is rediculus’. He can’t quite figure out what Spring is all about. I tell him Spring is coming, and he asks me “Is Spring going to talk to us?”. I tell him the birds tell us about Spring, and he kinda just looks away. Today we were out digging in the garden and I was finding worms for him. He was a bit more squeamish with them than he was last year, which surprised me. He has claimed one of my raised beds as his. He has pretty much emptied the dirt out with his snow shovel, and has commenced to playing in it like a giant sand box. So I guess no green peppers this year!
We are back to doing our walks whenever we can. No more power walks for mommy because I have Mr. Pokey man. He drags the tractor or the tricycle all the way and makes lots of stops for exploration and horseplay. He has gotten quite good at zooming down the hills in our road and he loves tethering the dogs to whatever he has for a vehicle. The wagon is out of commission in need of a new support bar (daddy ran into it this winter) and a lost nut on the rear wheel. This is extremely dramatic and we have to check on it at least once a day. We also have to check on the ski-doo. “Mommy, you wanna go look at the escapade?” To which I respond, “Sure, bud. Love to.” All the while, Jordan is our smiling observant. Always watching, always pleasant. Rarely a peep – except when Jacob tips the stroller over into a snow bank and then leaves her there. “Hey mommy – look what I did with Jordan.” He tells me with this funny little smile while I’m out of ear range of her cries. I’m like, “what do you mean did with her?” Never a dull moment, I’m always on the move with that kid!
We had quite a scare with Sienna this past month. Dad noticed a lump in her side when he was here in February. The vet said it was a tumor and it had to be removed and biopsied before we could know more. The great news was we had it removed without incident, and the test for cancer came back negative. She had a bit of a hiccup in her recovery about a week after the surgery, but she seems to be over that – eating normally again, and playing hard with Morgan. We are very thankful, and looking forward to having our healthy, low-maintenance dogs again. I now have Morgan on high priority with a lamb & rice diet, sprinkled with Fish Oil once a day. She is on systemic antibiotics and topical medication in her ears. The dog has chronic ear issues and I’m hoping with the above described combo we can nip it in the bud (again). Stay tuned.
I made my seed order and they should be arriving any day. I ordered bunches of stuff so will be busy. I’m rather pleased with the garlic shoots coming up – I count 80. We have plans to build more raised beds and I’m going to give the Square Foot Gardner methods a try. Quite an upfront investment, but hopefully worthwhile if it works. You’ll note pictures depicting signs of spring. Guess I couldn’t help myself as it is my favorite time of year and never before have I had the ambition to capture it.
Next month will mean a 1st birthday for Jordan, Easter bunny and visits from Grammi & Grampi. We will be going west for Matthew’s bday at the end of the month. You may note I have posted the kids clothing sizes in a permanent location on the blog page. The idea being that if you are preparing to buy them clothing for a gift, you can look at the blog for their current size and not have to guess or check in with me. I will update it seasonally to be sure the information stays relevant.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
February News
Please note - there are two picture albums this month:
February 2009 follows the standard format and features miscellaneous pictures of the kids and our activities in February.
Mudroom Project - February 2009 is dedicated to showing a blow by blow of our project this past month. Some folks will be more interested in this one than others, and I certainly understand if you don't want to view all 150+ pictures in this album. We are very proud of the product of our work and wanted to show it to those interested.
To enjoy a walk through of the new mudroom, click
For me, February is the most dreaded month of the year. Typically the coldest, it seems winter will never end. Valentines day rarely provides any relief from the doldrums of the day to day grind during this month. For many years, I 'got through' February by looking forward to the time Stephen & I would spend snowmobiling on the weekends.
This year, February seemed somewhat unusual. Yes, we still had the cold and snow. However, the days seem to be getter longer and the sun feels slightly warmer in the afternoon. These are refreshing signs that the winter, while certainly not over, are waining.
A departure from the norm was the pace in which things seemed to happen this February. My meetings, the passing of Stephen's grandmother, and dad's 8 day stay with us - now seem like a blur.
Dad stayed with us for over a week to ‘hammer out’ the mudroom. Literally, he worked around the clock – sleeping for just 1 or 2 hours at a time, most of the week. He set a pace that I could not keep up with, and Stephen struggled as well. At one point Stephen said to me when referring to Dad, “He’s like the energizer bunny, he just keeps going.” Having done hours & hours of work before he even arrived, the truck came loaded with custom made trim and cabinetry. Before it could go up, we had to finish electrical, heating, studding, drive wall, carpet & paint. It was an amazing accomplishment given the fact that Dad was working with half a crew (or none at all at times). My biggest contributions was running to the store, running after the kids and running the stove. It was a lot of hard work and one tough week, but the product of the work will be enjoyed for a lifetime – literally. The mudroom will suit the needs of our growing family for as long as it needs a mudroom. When the kids are gone, I’ll use the cubbies for canning jars or something! Anyway, it’s beautiful. A great improvement to the house overall and will be enjoyed by everyone (especially me) for years to come. We owe it all to Dad (and mom for putting up with no dad for 8 days). Thank you!
Jordan has been pushing teeth this month (6 in all now)– so we’ve been subject to islands of fussiness. The good thing is she seems to respond well to Tylenol, so I keep giving it to her. She is eating from a plate on her own, and she pretty much chows with the rest of us. I found she loves canned pineapple which is a welcomed addition to her limited choice of fruits.
Jake enjoyed playing ‘catch-up’ with Victoria & Edward while they were here. He loved having Pappa here, especially the time saved for wrestling. Pappa showed all kinds of new tricks and convinced him that ‘seyister’ is Spanish for sister. Whatever!
I made a couple of other posts earlier this month, so I guess that's it for now. I am planning to start seeds in the basement to get a kick start to a good garden this year. Haven't ordered yet from the seed catalogues, so how am I doin? Time to get it in gear because Spring is on it's way!
February 2009 follows the standard format and features miscellaneous pictures of the kids and our activities in February.
Mudroom Project - February 2009 is dedicated to showing a blow by blow of our project this past month. Some folks will be more interested in this one than others, and I certainly understand if you don't want to view all 150+ pictures in this album. We are very proud of the product of our work and wanted to show it to those interested.
To enjoy a walk through of the new mudroom, click
For me, February is the most dreaded month of the year. Typically the coldest, it seems winter will never end. Valentines day rarely provides any relief from the doldrums of the day to day grind during this month. For many years, I 'got through' February by looking forward to the time Stephen & I would spend snowmobiling on the weekends.
This year, February seemed somewhat unusual. Yes, we still had the cold and snow. However, the days seem to be getter longer and the sun feels slightly warmer in the afternoon. These are refreshing signs that the winter, while certainly not over, are waining.
A departure from the norm was the pace in which things seemed to happen this February. My meetings, the passing of Stephen's grandmother, and dad's 8 day stay with us - now seem like a blur.
Dad stayed with us for over a week to ‘hammer out’ the mudroom. Literally, he worked around the clock – sleeping for just 1 or 2 hours at a time, most of the week. He set a pace that I could not keep up with, and Stephen struggled as well. At one point Stephen said to me when referring to Dad, “He’s like the energizer bunny, he just keeps going.” Having done hours & hours of work before he even arrived, the truck came loaded with custom made trim and cabinetry. Before it could go up, we had to finish electrical, heating, studding, drive wall, carpet & paint. It was an amazing accomplishment given the fact that Dad was working with half a crew (or none at all at times). My biggest contributions was running to the store, running after the kids and running the stove. It was a lot of hard work and one tough week, but the product of the work will be enjoyed for a lifetime – literally. The mudroom will suit the needs of our growing family for as long as it needs a mudroom. When the kids are gone, I’ll use the cubbies for canning jars or something! Anyway, it’s beautiful. A great improvement to the house overall and will be enjoyed by everyone (especially me) for years to come. We owe it all to Dad (and mom for putting up with no dad for 8 days). Thank you!
Jordan has been pushing teeth this month (6 in all now)– so we’ve been subject to islands of fussiness. The good thing is she seems to respond well to Tylenol, so I keep giving it to her. She is eating from a plate on her own, and she pretty much chows with the rest of us. I found she loves canned pineapple which is a welcomed addition to her limited choice of fruits.
Jake enjoyed playing ‘catch-up’ with Victoria & Edward while they were here. He loved having Pappa here, especially the time saved for wrestling. Pappa showed all kinds of new tricks and convinced him that ‘seyister’ is Spanish for sister. Whatever!
I made a couple of other posts earlier this month, so I guess that's it for now. I am planning to start seeds in the basement to get a kick start to a good garden this year. Haven't ordered yet from the seed catalogues, so how am I doin? Time to get it in gear because Spring is on it's way!
Monday, February 23, 2009
A message from Laura: This is worth visiting...
I thought you'd like to know about this...
Here's the link: http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/fullstory.php?storyid=12983
Friday, February 6, 2009
9 month visit a breeze
Jordan had her 9 month inspection today. She weighs 20 lbs 12 oz, and is 28 1/4" long. Her growth has slowed way down. She ranks at the 75 percentile, sliding from 100 percentile last time we saw the doctor. Dr. Dewar didn't bat an eye. He said "you'll probably remember from before, babies slow down in growth rates at different times". I said "No, I don't remember, because Jacob has never slowed down so I thought that was the standard." He chuckled one of his chuckles and said "oh yeah, I forgot." I talked to him about her nursing, or lack of - and again said keep doing what you are doing, she is well nurished. Stephen's take was - well it's kind nice not having an oversized kid to contend with, and I tend to agree with him. Anyway, the most notable thing about our appointment is that Dr. Dewar is leaving the practice!!! This is very sad news for me, because I have been extremely happy with his care and will miss him dearly. He is like the old fashioned family doctor that doesn't seem to exist anymore. Plus it means change for us - and I don't want the headache. One plus is that we will see him again before he leaves (for Jordan's 12 month apt), and it sounds like we can stay with Dr. Bero, my doctor. Which is ok, I guess, just not my first choice! Poo, huu - pout!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
In Loving Memory
We are saddened to learn of the passing of Stephen's maternal grandmother, Marion Mayhew today, February 5, 2009. Her health had been declining for several months following a stroke early in 2008. She would have been 93 this coming May. I have many found memories of Gram. She welcomed me into the family as if I was one of her grandchildren. She had great stories about when she was raising a family on the farm. Her beutiful hand work will be missed. I am so grateful for the sweater set she made for Jordan just before the stroke left her unable to continue. I will miss her phone calls and her beautiful spirit.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Greetings from the frozen tundra...
Check the January 2009 album. To help minimize download time, I’ve removed the albums from previous months. You can always visit them by following the Perry Web Albums link found in the side bar of this blog.
January has nearly come and gone, and it looks about the same outside as it did in early December. We are under many layers of snow and ice, not having a significant thaw since the snow started in November. Stephen has logged more than 40 hours on the tractor from plowing the driveway this season alone. He is finally throwing in the towel, and buying a full size plow for the Tahoe. It is being put on as I write this - just in time for a 2-day snow storm that has kept the kids and I housebound (once again). I feel like this has been one of the coldest winters in a long time. This month brought SEVERAL days in a row that the thermometer didn't get above zero! Poor Jake, he puts his nose to the window and begs to 'go out'. When I tell him we can't, he starts climbing the walls (literally) - driving the rest of us insane with him.
January has brought one unexpected delight. I have discovered Facebook. Mike Perry introduced it to me, and I signed on not really thinking it would be useful to me, but thought it might be handy to keep in touch with the young adults in our family who are graduating and moving on with their lives. Well - an unexpected benefit has been a reconnection with dozens of other people who are on Facebook, namely many of my classmates from high school. It has been wonderful to take a peek at the lives of folks I haven't spoken to in nearly (can you believe it?) 17 years!! So good to hear from Doreen, Elaine, and Sheri and Danielle! OMG! We are all mothers now - which I find an absolute hoot! I am really excited about keeping in touch and hopeful they all are too. For anyone not on Facebook, I highly recommend it. You would be absolutely amazed at who is on there!
Jordan, now in the final quarter of her 1st year (tearful whimper), is growing like a weed. She is getting increasingly sure footed. She makes her way hand over hand from one end of the couch, around the coffee table and to Jake's toy work bench on the other side of the room. She amuses herself for extremely long periods of time, going from one toy to another all the way around the room. She has started to pick up Jake's bad habit of clinging to my leg every time I sit down to the computer. Hope she drops that quicker than he did! Also, suddenly I’ve noticed she is becoming a better sleeper. She is going down at naps and bedtime with no trouble at all – so nice! She is still getting up multiple times during the night, but that even seems to be less troublesome than before. She is nearly done nursing (again, tearful whimper). Not sure if it’s me or her – but neither one of us seem to have much time for it anymore. Jake nursed until he was 12 months – so this is a little early. But I guess that’s the way it goes. She waves enthusiastically to new comers, and she tells us ‘soooooo bigggg’ with her hands over her head. She also started this head shaking thing, which I’m not sure what it means (if anything), but she thinks she is cool when she does it and we give her a reaction so she keeps doing it. She listens when Jake talks to her, and she tries her darndest to keep up. She climbs on him, grabs at him and wants to wrestle with him! Gives me a heart attack because let’s face it – we know how Jacob is! So far, only minor bumps and she keeps going back for more, so go figure. You’ll see in the pics – he loves to push her, and she loves to get pushed.
Jacob’s hair is getting long, and so are his legs. I feel like his paints are too short, and yet the waists fit fine. He is suddenly showing a little more interest in things like play dough, shaving crème, painting, coloring, and writing. Maybe because of the long winter days, or maybe he is getting old enough, but that is a fun development. He knows all the letters of the alphabet solid, and he is on his way to naming the first letter of words by sound. He will be reading long before kindergarten, I’m sure of it. Still not potty trained, and I was ready to divorce him last week after music class. The kid is absolutely unbelievable. Like we always say – when he is good, he is sooooooooooo good. When he’s not, run away! He has mastered the computer games I have for him, and the one Alice gave to him for xmas. He listens to his CD’s without end, and knows which songs are on which CDs by the picture or the color on the CD label. He tells us which ones he wants to listen too. When he wakes up in the middle of the night, sometimes he demands a different CD in order for him to go back to sleep. He tells us “the duck one” or “the bird one”. Ridiculous! He loves to help cook, and he actually helps me set the table for dinner. Today, he made his AND my bed as a surprise, while I was in the shower. Like I said, when he is good he is sooooooo good!
A stomach bug made its way through our house like a freight train. We all had it, so hopefully its behind us now. Stephen is back on days since the beginning of the year. He hates it, but taking it one day at a time. A nice bonus will be the extra in his pay check which is always appreciated. Next month, Dad is planning to be here to finish the mud room! We all can’t wait. Of course, we’ll send pictures. Take care and have a happy valentines!
January has nearly come and gone, and it looks about the same outside as it did in early December. We are under many layers of snow and ice, not having a significant thaw since the snow started in November. Stephen has logged more than 40 hours on the tractor from plowing the driveway this season alone. He is finally throwing in the towel, and buying a full size plow for the Tahoe. It is being put on as I write this - just in time for a 2-day snow storm that has kept the kids and I housebound (once again). I feel like this has been one of the coldest winters in a long time. This month brought SEVERAL days in a row that the thermometer didn't get above zero! Poor Jake, he puts his nose to the window and begs to 'go out'. When I tell him we can't, he starts climbing the walls (literally) - driving the rest of us insane with him.
January has brought one unexpected delight. I have discovered Facebook. Mike Perry introduced it to me, and I signed on not really thinking it would be useful to me, but thought it might be handy to keep in touch with the young adults in our family who are graduating and moving on with their lives. Well - an unexpected benefit has been a reconnection with dozens of other people who are on Facebook, namely many of my classmates from high school. It has been wonderful to take a peek at the lives of folks I haven't spoken to in nearly (can you believe it?) 17 years!! So good to hear from Doreen, Elaine, and Sheri and Danielle! OMG! We are all mothers now - which I find an absolute hoot! I am really excited about keeping in touch and hopeful they all are too. For anyone not on Facebook, I highly recommend it. You would be absolutely amazed at who is on there!
Jordan, now in the final quarter of her 1st year (tearful whimper), is growing like a weed. She is getting increasingly sure footed. She makes her way hand over hand from one end of the couch, around the coffee table and to Jake's toy work bench on the other side of the room. She amuses herself for extremely long periods of time, going from one toy to another all the way around the room. She has started to pick up Jake's bad habit of clinging to my leg every time I sit down to the computer. Hope she drops that quicker than he did! Also, suddenly I’ve noticed she is becoming a better sleeper. She is going down at naps and bedtime with no trouble at all – so nice! She is still getting up multiple times during the night, but that even seems to be less troublesome than before. She is nearly done nursing (again, tearful whimper). Not sure if it’s me or her – but neither one of us seem to have much time for it anymore. Jake nursed until he was 12 months – so this is a little early. But I guess that’s the way it goes. She waves enthusiastically to new comers, and she tells us ‘soooooo bigggg’ with her hands over her head. She also started this head shaking thing, which I’m not sure what it means (if anything), but she thinks she is cool when she does it and we give her a reaction so she keeps doing it. She listens when Jake talks to her, and she tries her darndest to keep up. She climbs on him, grabs at him and wants to wrestle with him! Gives me a heart attack because let’s face it – we know how Jacob is! So far, only minor bumps and she keeps going back for more, so go figure. You’ll see in the pics – he loves to push her, and she loves to get pushed.
Jacob’s hair is getting long, and so are his legs. I feel like his paints are too short, and yet the waists fit fine. He is suddenly showing a little more interest in things like play dough, shaving crème, painting, coloring, and writing. Maybe because of the long winter days, or maybe he is getting old enough, but that is a fun development. He knows all the letters of the alphabet solid, and he is on his way to naming the first letter of words by sound. He will be reading long before kindergarten, I’m sure of it. Still not potty trained, and I was ready to divorce him last week after music class. The kid is absolutely unbelievable. Like we always say – when he is good, he is sooooooooooo good. When he’s not, run away! He has mastered the computer games I have for him, and the one Alice gave to him for xmas. He listens to his CD’s without end, and knows which songs are on which CDs by the picture or the color on the CD label. He tells us which ones he wants to listen too. When he wakes up in the middle of the night, sometimes he demands a different CD in order for him to go back to sleep. He tells us “the duck one” or “the bird one”. Ridiculous! He loves to help cook, and he actually helps me set the table for dinner. Today, he made his AND my bed as a surprise, while I was in the shower. Like I said, when he is good he is sooooooo good!
A stomach bug made its way through our house like a freight train. We all had it, so hopefully its behind us now. Stephen is back on days since the beginning of the year. He hates it, but taking it one day at a time. A nice bonus will be the extra in his pay check which is always appreciated. Next month, Dad is planning to be here to finish the mud room! We all can’t wait. Of course, we’ll send pictures. Take care and have a happy valentines!
Monday, January 12, 2009
This is what we do for fun these days...
Everyone has a blast as we make our way down the road. It's not fancy, but it works. Well, I guess that sled is pretty fancy. We just have to get the dogs some 'official' gear, and we'll be flying!
Friday, January 2, 2009
New Year's eve
I thought you’d enjoy this one Alice. We dressed the kids up and took them out on New Year’s eve to Deer Valley Trails. We had a nice dinner and lots of fun trying to keep Jacob contained. In an attempt to coax him into his best behavior, I told him he could have the Jello from Grandma Alice for desert when we got home (he and I made it earlier in the day). From the moment I told him that, he didn’t eat another thing at the restaurant. He didn’t even touch his entre of turkey and mashed potatoes. Once we got home, he ate 3 bowls of Jello. Jordan out ate him at the restaurant! That dickens! Cheers, hope you have a good one.
Monday, December 29, 2008
New Year's Greetings
December 2008 Album
Greetings Everyone! I may be jumping the gun a bit, but I'm anxious to get the December album out to everyone. We've had a fantastic month of preparing for the holidays and documented much of it on camera and on this blog. Before I procrastinate into obsolences - I want to send word and move on.
Christmas with the kids was a blast. They both enjoyed all the hub-bub. Jacob finally got the hang of opening presents by the time we finished on Christmas morning. We packed the kids and headed to WNY the day after Christmas. It was good to see everyone. The weather interfered with our visiting plans, but we made it back to home without any trouble.
We are ready to honker down for the rest of the winter. Looking forward to cross country ski'ing and sled rides. I'm excited for the new year - although I don't really have any major resolutions or major life changing action items on the list. We have plans to make headway on projects on the house, i.e. mudroom, a bedroom in the basement and some work to the front. Stephen will be busy with wood in the spring and he is determined to get a deer in the Fall. We are going to try to pick vacation weeks that will enable us to do more of those types of things. We are also hoping to grow more in the gardens. We need to deal with the Deer problem - which will require resources both time and money.
I took Jordan to the Doc's today - and learned she has fifth's desease. It is viral, similar to Roseola or Chicken Pox. It should disappear by the end of the week. The rash first showed up on Friday at Aunt Cathy's, so she wasn't contageous to her cousins (just in case you were wondering Molly).
I'm attempting to make brief posts throughout the month so to capture more, so be sure to scan down the page. Also, there is a new comic strip at the bottom - so enjoy.
We wish you all a Happy New Year. Enjoy and be safe!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Merry Christmas
Look what we did to pass the time on Christmas Eve! Waiting for Santa to come is one of the hardest things to do. Jake has been dying to build a snowman since about Halloween. Finally, the conditions were just right to bust out the snowman making kit Aunt Chassy bought for us 3 years ago! Cheers!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
mission accomplished
Just had to share these. We took the kids for a walk in the woods today to find our xmas tree. They both thought it was hilarious when they would tip over. It was warm and pleasant outside, quite a change from yesterday. When Jordan wasn’t tipping over or laughing, she was sleeping. Jake tried the snow shoes, but it was much easier to let mom pull him. We now have a beautiful tree drip drying in the garage. Thank you Annie & Rich (Stephen fell in love with your woods)!
Friday, December 12, 2008
The Mom Song
A friend sent this to me. For all the moms (dads too!), it is worthing viewing. The Mom Song
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Happy Birthday Gram Roth!
Here is the slide show I promised. Hope you all enjoy! Gram - if you want to share this with friends & family, simply copy & paste the link into an email and send it.
Friday, November 28, 2008
November 2008
November 2008 Online Photo Album
Here's one from the archives! Stephen uncovered when he was looking through the stacks in the basement. Can you name the place?? Because he can't. We know it was February 1978 - it says so on the back of the photo. For those who haven't guessed - the picture depicts a very young Perry clan - Bill, Alice, Mike, Cathy & little Steeeeeeeeeve somewhere in the woods. Well - if anyone wishes to shed light on the story behind this one - who took it, any particular reason why it is on an angle, location, and what was so funny - we'd love to hear it.
November has been a month of big achievements for Miss Jordan. It seems she went right from sitting without support, to crawling, to pulling herself up on anything she can reach - coffee table, crib rail, you name it. She is very determined to keep up with brother and with mom when I move from one end of the house to the other. She does get upset when she can't quite keep up yet, but she tries. When she doesn't have the desire to be on the move, she sits upright and waves her arms in the air like she is conducting an orchestra. She has a lot of fun with that. She is also making progress on solids. It seems it was yesterday she wouldn't eat anything unless it was purreed smooth (oh yeah, it was yesterday!). Now she feeds her self diced pears, diced sweet potatoes, puffs and greed beans.
We celebrated several birthday's this month - Bill Knapp turned 70, Steve turned 39, Grace Green turned 1, Teresa turned 80, Barbara turned 54 , and Michael turned 4! Also, Happy Anniversary to Mom & Dad. Wow - we are really collecting a lot of special occasions in November!
I have just one on my calendar for next month (besides Christ's birthday). Barb Stiles turns 51 on December 13th. Happy Birthday Barb!
Thanksgiving was a blast. We started eating turkey on Nov 22 and as of the date of this post - we are still eating turkey. All was very good and a great reminder of how blessed we really are. We had a great time seeing everyone in WNY. The three boys just wanted to wrestle non-stop. It's a good thing their combined weight is still managable. I can't wait until they sound like a hurd of elephants thundering through the house! We tried every trick in the book to get a decent picture of the 4 of them. Have you ever tried to heard cats? Well, I dare you to try hearding a 7 mo old, 2 yr old, 3 yr old and 4 yr old pack of kids. No dice!
Anyway, Santa is checking his list and checking it twice. Jacob is already asking me if Santa is coming tomorrow? We will be preparing for the festivities over the next several weeks. I am not sending mailed Christmas cards - so consider this your christmas greeting. The cost of postage is outrageous if you ask me. My hope is that this message finds you happy & healthy, and mentally prepared to enjoy the upcoming season. Everyone is dealing with tough economic challenges, and we should all remind ourselves how fortunate we really are. Take care and enjoy those closest to you!
Saturday, November 1, 2008
October Review
October 2008 Online Photo Album
I'm left with wondering where October went. We were busy battening down the hatches in preparation for the long freeze of winter. Stephen secured a load of hay for my gardens, and I was able to pick the last of my tomatoes. The deer took care of the Fall lettuce crop for me, so planting garlic was all I had left to do. Jake & I put 84 cloves in our prime garden location - with hopes of producing our best crop to date so we should be set for next year.
Jordan made great strides this past month - she is sitting strong, as well as up on all fours. She makes a rocking motion which looks like she is training for track at the Olympics. She sings, jabbers and is very adept at feeding herself. I've even broken with tradition and begun giving her toast (with butter even!). She gobbles it up like nobody's business! We are braced for the coming weeks when her curiosity and mobility will give her the ability & ambition to get into everything. A family game of Chutes & ladders is already becoming a challenge with keeping her at bay. She is still very pleasant during the day, and enjoys playing on the floor with her toys. Nights are not always so pleasant. She likes to cuddle with mom, and lets everyone know when she isn't getting what she wants. The three of us are very busy all day long - with baths, play time, nap time, eating time, learning time and more play time. We are going to music class and sometimes to the library. As the weather continues to get cooler, I see our travels becoming fewer and our time at home more.
Jake had his 3 yr check up at the doctor's - he is 44 lbs 6 oz, and 41 1/2" tall. He is as healthy as an ox, and as active as a monkey. He never stops moving or talking. I've even begun telling him that he needs to be quite because my ears are tired. He has also discovered singing. He has always loved music, but now he sings by himself. He even memorized one of the songs from his video, and sings it throughout the house. He is into trains, fire trucks, big rigs and of course tractors. He can spot an Envoy (like Grandma Alice's), and Tundra (like Grandpa Page's) or a Tahoo - a mile away. He spots them as we are driving through parking lots. He'll say, "did you see that Tahoo mommy?" I'll look and sure enough there is a white Tahoo. Same with Envoys and Tundras. How does he do that???
He absolutely loves his tractor - peddling it on the road and zooming down the hill. He makes me push him up the hill, then he zooms ahead of us down the hill. I can hear him giggling as he goes.
Mother nature let us know what is in store for the months to come. Caught us all a little off gaurd. We were actually stuck in downtown Parishville for an hour, because we couldn't make it up the hill with all the snow that had fallen since we left the house 2 hours before. Crazy! We are over it now and likely going to order a brand new plow for the Tahoo because of it. Wait 'till Jake gets a load of that! Hope you enjoy the pics. Love to you all.
Next month means Turkey and cooler weather. Don't over do it with all the holiday preparations. Let us remind each other to be thankful for all we have. To quote Papa Page "Chow for now!"
I'm left with wondering where October went. We were busy battening down the hatches in preparation for the long freeze of winter. Stephen secured a load of hay for my gardens, and I was able to pick the last of my tomatoes. The deer took care of the Fall lettuce crop for me, so planting garlic was all I had left to do. Jake & I put 84 cloves in our prime garden location - with hopes of producing our best crop to date so we should be set for next year.
Jordan made great strides this past month - she is sitting strong, as well as up on all fours. She makes a rocking motion which looks like she is training for track at the Olympics. She sings, jabbers and is very adept at feeding herself. I've even broken with tradition and begun giving her toast (with butter even!). She gobbles it up like nobody's business! We are braced for the coming weeks when her curiosity and mobility will give her the ability & ambition to get into everything. A family game of Chutes & ladders is already becoming a challenge with keeping her at bay. She is still very pleasant during the day, and enjoys playing on the floor with her toys. Nights are not always so pleasant. She likes to cuddle with mom, and lets everyone know when she isn't getting what she wants. The three of us are very busy all day long - with baths, play time, nap time, eating time, learning time and more play time. We are going to music class and sometimes to the library. As the weather continues to get cooler, I see our travels becoming fewer and our time at home more.
Jake had his 3 yr check up at the doctor's - he is 44 lbs 6 oz, and 41 1/2" tall. He is as healthy as an ox, and as active as a monkey. He never stops moving or talking. I've even begun telling him that he needs to be quite because my ears are tired. He has also discovered singing. He has always loved music, but now he sings by himself. He even memorized one of the songs from his video, and sings it throughout the house. He is into trains, fire trucks, big rigs and of course tractors. He can spot an Envoy (like Grandma Alice's), and Tundra (like Grandpa Page's) or a Tahoo - a mile away. He spots them as we are driving through parking lots. He'll say, "did you see that Tahoo mommy?" I'll look and sure enough there is a white Tahoo. Same with Envoys and Tundras. How does he do that???
He absolutely loves his tractor - peddling it on the road and zooming down the hill. He makes me push him up the hill, then he zooms ahead of us down the hill. I can hear him giggling as he goes.
Mother nature let us know what is in store for the months to come. Caught us all a little off gaurd. We were actually stuck in downtown Parishville for an hour, because we couldn't make it up the hill with all the snow that had fallen since we left the house 2 hours before. Crazy! We are over it now and likely going to order a brand new plow for the Tahoo because of it. Wait 'till Jake gets a load of that! Hope you enjoy the pics. Love to you all.
Next month means Turkey and cooler weather. Don't over do it with all the holiday preparations. Let us remind each other to be thankful for all we have. To quote Papa Page "Chow for now!"
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Happy Birthday Aunt Cathy
Dear Aunt Cathy -
We hope you have a very special day. This is an ecard - 'Perry-style'. Do you like it? Check Yes or No. Daddy thought of it, I colored it and mommy posted it. Can we talk on the phone soon? We miss you and love you!
Love, Jacob (plus Jordan, Mommy & Daddy, too!)
Friday, October 3, 2008
See? Already another post!
Oh yeah - check out the cool slideshow feature I just figured out how to post to the blog. Also, hope you like the new look - I got sick of the old one, so I did a little redecorating. Enjoy!
Try it again...
I'm back. After a ridiculously long hiatus from this blog, I am returning to it with a renewed vigor and enthusiasm. It's like I mentioned in my opening posts, I have great intentions - it's the follow through where I lack. So many times, I think 'oh, I want to make a note of this on my blog' and then the moment passes and the thought escapes me, and the opportunity never happens. Well, maybe it'll happen again. Maybe another 13 months will pass before I make another post - but I hope not. If that happens, then it is what it is. If I can feel rewarded by my efforts, then maybe execution will actually take place.
To help with the reward part, I'm going to try taking an approach similar to the one my mother-in-law has been taking since Gram M went in the nursing home back in the spring. She writes a lengthy email about once a week (a little more or less) giving everyone updates on Gram and other activities at home. It is very informative and I feel effective at keeping everyone on the same page, so to speak, of the latest news. She's even started to mention birthdays and special events - which I think helps remind everybody of these times. Also, her distribution list includes her new family members which allows them to stay involved as well. Very smart, Alice - thank you.
So, I'll try to take an news update approach with this post and sees where it goes...
Last month, Jacob turned 3. He was pumped. He was singing happy birthday to himself for weeks prior, and we made a birthday chain to count the days down. He sneaked a peak at his birthday gift as daddy was putting it together in the basement days before his birthday. Somehow daddy convinced him he was dreaming, and was able to brush it off. He never mentioned it again - so it made us feel like we surprised him with a pedal tractor with a bucket on top. The birthday was a big hit, and we had a blast at home and then again a few days later in Lockport. We enjoyed 4 days on the farm with Grammie and Grandpa. Jake loves feeding the animals with Papa. I think he loves everything about G&G's. The rest of us had a nice time, and we made the best chicken chowder ever! It was a team effort with Julie's Mike and Steve doing a lot of the bull work. It was awesome and we were glad to bring a bunch of it home to eat for lunches.
September zoomed by. Jordan began her journey with 'people' food in September. I started her out slowly, with just a bit of avacado and bannana. She quickly graduated to sweet potato and butternet squash. I gave up on the idea of making my own cereal - for $1.88 you can buy a huge box and it mixes up a lot nicer than the homemade stuff. The rest is make as we go - I enjoy it, and she like it too. Soon we'll be onto more veggies and the rest of the fruits.
I could go on, but I'm not going to. I want to point out that September's web album is now posted on Picaso. You can get to it by clicking
or you'll find a new section on the right hand column with a heading Perry Web Links. That link will stay there and you can always get to our web albums now through this blog. So bookmark this blog and you'll always be able to get there.
I won't be sending an email invite to the Picaso web album, because lots of people thought it was spam last time and didn't open. Also, when you view it as a slideshow you can adjust the length of time between slides. Look at the tool bar at the bottom of the screen when you start the slideshow and increase the time if is going too fast for your liking.
To help with the reward part, I'm going to try taking an approach similar to the one my mother-in-law has been taking since Gram M went in the nursing home back in the spring. She writes a lengthy email about once a week (a little more or less) giving everyone updates on Gram and other activities at home. It is very informative and I feel effective at keeping everyone on the same page, so to speak, of the latest news. She's even started to mention birthdays and special events - which I think helps remind everybody of these times. Also, her distribution list includes her new family members which allows them to stay involved as well. Very smart, Alice - thank you.
So, I'll try to take an news update approach with this post and sees where it goes...
Last month, Jacob turned 3. He was pumped. He was singing happy birthday to himself for weeks prior, and we made a birthday chain to count the days down. He sneaked a peak at his birthday gift as daddy was putting it together in the basement days before his birthday. Somehow daddy convinced him he was dreaming, and was able to brush it off. He never mentioned it again - so it made us feel like we surprised him with a pedal tractor with a bucket on top. The birthday was a big hit, and we had a blast at home and then again a few days later in Lockport. We enjoyed 4 days on the farm with Grammie and Grandpa. Jake loves feeding the animals with Papa. I think he loves everything about G&G's. The rest of us had a nice time, and we made the best chicken chowder ever! It was a team effort with Julie's Mike and Steve doing a lot of the bull work. It was awesome and we were glad to bring a bunch of it home to eat for lunches.
September zoomed by. Jordan began her journey with 'people' food in September. I started her out slowly, with just a bit of avacado and bannana. She quickly graduated to sweet potato and butternet squash. I gave up on the idea of making my own cereal - for $1.88 you can buy a huge box and it mixes up a lot nicer than the homemade stuff. The rest is make as we go - I enjoy it, and she like it too. Soon we'll be onto more veggies and the rest of the fruits.
I could go on, but I'm not going to. I want to point out that September's web album is now posted on Picaso. You can get to it by clicking
 |
| September 2008 |
I won't be sending an email invite to the Picaso web album, because lots of people thought it was spam last time and didn't open. Also, when you view it as a slideshow you can adjust the length of time between slides. Look at the tool bar at the bottom of the screen when you start the slideshow and increase the time if is going too fast for your liking.
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