Nov 172011

the newest Perreault

Welcome

Charles Hinton Perreault

Born 11/17/2011 at 12:51AM

Weight: 8lb 1oz

Length: 21″

 Mother and baby are both doing very well

    May 212011

    a very special book to share

    It’s no secret around here that our little Jay Bird loves a good book.  He will crawl up into almost anyone’s lap, book in hand and sign “please” practically begging you to read to him.  I challenge you to try and say no to his sweet little face; I simply don’t think it’s possible.

    A little more than a month ago I ordered a very special book for Jay to share with all of our friends and family.  Little by little, he crawled into each of their laps and had them read to him.  Why is this book, “Things I Love…” so special you ask? Well, the end of this book marks a very exciting beginning for our family…

    It reads…

    But while I have loved being the number one son,

    I know being a BIG BROTHER will be much more fun!!

    Baby #2 due Thanksgiving 2011!!!!!!

    Jamie , Jay and I are so very excited to share that this Thanksgiving we will have one more thing to be grateful for- a brand new baby, a fourth member of our family!!

    And while we weren’t able to tell everyone in person I did have my camera out when we did and here are some of their reactions.  They weren’t as shocked as the ones we had when we told them about Jay but they were fun to get on camera just the same!

      Feb 102011

      one year old in a flash

      On the 27th of January Jay turned one year old!  It is crazy to think of how much our lives have changed over the past year and to see how much Jay has grown.  We didn’t want to let this momentous occasion pass us by so we celebrated in style with a “One Year Old in a Flash” birthday party.  I was super excited a few months back when I ran across the theme idea here- with all of the pictures that we had taken of Jay this year, it was a perfect theme!  Jamie and I decided quite early on that we were going to have one combined (family and friends) party for Jay; so once I had a theme I just kind of ran with it.  I loved every minute of the planning, baking and prep- it’s just so much fun!  I know, I am a dork!

      Nan (who is wonderful) made the invitations along with a bunch of other digital files that I used to make printables and help decorate the house- thanks Nan!  We had a photobooth set up outside (I’ll try to get some of those pictures up within the week) to entertain people at the party, balloons in every corner of the house (one of Jay’s favorite “toys” right now), an area for people to leave contributions to his time capsule, drinks in the kitchen and a dessert buffet for our guests to enjoy.  It was so much fun and we are so glad that we had so many people here to celebrate with us.  Enjoy a handful of the pictures!

      pre-party lunch

      a few party goers- I didn’t have enough time to get anywhere near everyone documented!

      the birthday boy waiting his turn for the photo booth

      Jay's "cakes"- one vanilla bean cupcake and a fruit pizza topped with kiwi and blueberries

      making a wish

      a family picture

      some of his spectators

      fruit pizza time!

      walkin' like a big boy

      presents- he was spoiled rotten!

      I will post some of the details tomorrow- there was no way I could get all of the pictures into one post!

        Jan 262011

        breaking news

        steps have been taken!!

        We certainly do not have a full on walker by any means but our little Jay Bird has spread his wings and taken his first few steps! I still continue to think that he won’t really and truly walk until he is really sure he can- he is a very deliberate little boy, just like his Daddy, but we are excited none the less AND Daddy was home to see them too!  I don’t have any pictures to show for it.  We instead were simply enjoying the moment with him; but, I do have this super cute video to share instead.  It has a little bit of everything from the last few weeks.  A little laughing, a little playing with Daddy, a little dancing and a little bit of “old man” walker action.  He was so tickled that he could push Aunt Martha’s old stool around the office- check out that proud grin!

        Love, love, love this little boy!

          Sep 272010

          today i am…

          8 Months Old!!

          Last night after dinner I said to Jamie “I can’t believe that Jay is going to be 8 months old tomorrow!” to which he replied “Can you remember what it was like before we had him?”  I said “No” and he agreed.  It is so funny how much he has changed us and how we have grown together as a family in such a short amount of time.  I don’t remember what life was like without my sweet little Jay Bird in it and that’s okay because it just keeps getting better with him here.

          Stats:

          Length: 27 inches (no change from last month)

          Weight: 17lbs 6 oz

          Teeth: 6- four on top that all came at once and two on the bottom, maybe we’ll get a little break now

          Hair: Still red, growing like crazy and starting to curl!  It flips out over his ears just like his Daddy’s

          Things of Note:

          *Jay is now completely mobile and fast!  I can put him down on the ground and less than a minute later he is off and moving, sometimes he’s already in the next room.  He isn’t always a fast crawler.  Sometimes he stops frequently to look at and take in the newest surroundings.

          *He has just started pulling up on things.  Mostly he only goes to his knees before backing off cautiously (he gets his cautiousness from Daddy).  I know it won’t be long before he is pulling up on everything around him.  I have cleared all low things off of the tables in preparation of this.

          *He is quite the little chatter box lately.  He talks and talks to his toys, to the animals or anything around that will listen.  Honestly, he talks the most when he is eating- we’ll have to work on those manners soon.

          *He is also getting to be pretty shy.  Jay has always been pretty quiet around people that he doesn’t know but now he can be talking away and if someone he doesn’t know comes up or near he clams up.  He also hangs on pretty tight to me when we’re around people he doesn’t know or if someone else is holding him he looks for me or Daddy.  He rarely smiles at strangers either; most people say how serious he looks when they see him (when they aren’t telling me how precious he is).  Mostly I think that he is just taking everything in and that’s when he uses his serious face; he comes by this honestly- have you seen his Dad sometimes?

          *Even though he is shy is so very, very curious.  Jay is constantly watching and taking in EVERYTHING around him and taking it all in.  Multiple times throughout the day he is pulling himself up over my shoulder or looking around me to get a better look at something.  We love that he is curious, remind me off this when he is going through the 100 questions phase.

          *He has a little giggle box in him.  Out of the blue he will find something terribly funny and double over in laughter and then he goes and goes for quite a bit.  Both Daddy and I love this new “trick” and continue to do whatever it is that makes him laugh if possible.

          *He is very ticklish- neck, legs, knees, sides- you name it, it will get him squirming.  I think he gets the last two things from me.

          *As for eating and sleeping, both of those are right on track.  He has been sleeping from about 7:30- 8am every night and he is eating like a champ!  He still prefers all orange foods and fruits but he will eat most of what we give him.  He also really likes puffs and being able to feed himself; something that he hasn’t exactly perfected but we are improving by leaps and bounds daily.

          Likes:

          *Animals- he loves animals right now, his especially, but he also loves wild ones that we see when we are outside.  I took him to Park Ave last week and we sat on a blanket under the shade of a tree.  While we were there he LOVED watching the squirrels run around the grass and climb the trees.  He talked to them whenever they got close and climbed over me to get a better view when they scurried away from us.

          *Leashes and Collars- he really loves Piper’s collar and leash.  He likes the noise that her tags make and he will follow you around the whole house if you drag the leash behind you.

          *Toys that he can make noise with-  Jay likes toys that he can make noise with right now (the collar makes sense now, right?).  Don’t misunderstand, not toys that MAKE noise (those actually kind of freak him out), but toys that he can bang on or hit to together to make noise.  Stacking cups, pots and pans etc all are very fun and fall into this category.  Things with wheels and balls, things that roll away from him when he is crawling, are also very intriguing.

          *Bath Time- Bath time is still a huge hit.  Actually if he is in another room when you start the water he will squeal and flap his arms around excitedly and start crawling towards the bathroom.  This is a really cute trick in my opinion.

          *The Park- he really still likes being outside (just like Daddy) and watching people (just like Mommy) so the park has been a huge hit.

          Dislikes:

          *??? There is not much that Jay dislikes right now; overall he is happy as happy can be and I love that!  Although, if I had to pick something he didn’t like I’d have to say teething- but who would?

          All in all, every new stage we get to has been so much fun and both Jamie and I have loved watching him explore and learn.  It’s also so much fun to see his personality emerge more and more each day; and freaky at the same time when you realize he’s just like one of us in one way or another…

          playing keep away with the blocks became a very fun game during this photo shoot- it had both of us squealing and in fits of laughter

          another round of keep away

          yet another round- it really was so much fun!

          a guaranteed way to freak Mommy out- crawl towards the edge of the bed as fast as you can- giggle when you get there and see Mommy running

          proof of teething but also cute toes

          8 Months!! You can clearly see his two bottom teeth in this one.

          action shot

            Sep 192010

            look what I can do!

            I am seriously in trouble now- Jay is crawling!!!!  Forget being able to set him in one place and know that he will stay there, forget thinking that we should baby proof the house- heck, we NEED to now; this kids on the move!!

            For a few weeks now he has been army crawling (putting his arms out in front of him and dragging his behind afterward) around the house to get wherever and whatever he wants.  Jamie and I kept thinking that “real” crawling was right around the corner and we were right.  Over the weekend he decided to give up on the military and go for the full out crawl!  Both Jamie and I were home to witness this milestone making it that much more fun.  It has been so wonderful and amazing to watch this whole learning process- first learning to reach and roll, to sitting and flopping down on his belly, then the army crawl to finally full out crawling.  He still is primarily army crawling as of right now, it gets him where he wants to go much faster since coordination of arms and legs hasn’t quite been mastered yet, but I am sure it won’t be long until this is his preferred method of transportation.  And while I love watching him discover new tricks I am unsure of just what he will try to “discover” now given his new found freedom- all I know is that I am sure he will give me a run for my money!

            Here’s a short clip of the real crawl- I only got a bit of it on video.  Jamie and I were too busy watching him the first few times to think of grabbing a camera and then when I did he didn’t really want to cooperate.  Oh well, enjoy what’s here and know that we are one very proud Mommy and Daddy…

              Aug 192010

              teeth!

              Last Thursday Jay’s first tooth finally popped through the gum and made it’s appearance.  Jamie didn’t believe me that it was actually through the gum until I showed him the mark Jay had accidentally left on my finger and made him feel for himself! Jay has been working on them for a few weeks now, bless his heart.  This means that you can tell they occasionally bother him, although he hasn’t been super fussy, and sleeping in general has been a little less predictable (sometimes he naps wonderfully, sometimes he doesn’t/ sometimes he sleeps through the night, sometimes not so much).  All in all it hasn’t been a horrible experience aside from knowing that he is hurting.  He is working on one more, the bottom front right one, and I hope it will make it’s appearance either before or sometime during this weekend and then maybe the little guy can catch a break for awhile.  Until then, cold teethers and ice cubes are our friends :-)

              He also really likes for us to brush his teeth with the baby tooth brush that I bought.  I am sure that it just feels really good on those gums…

              check out how long those red locks are getting!

              isn't he sweet? so darling and such a good boy!

              I’ll be sure to post a picture as soon as I am able to get one; not sure how soon that will be- he’s pretty guarded about them right now.