January We visited Lou Gardens, played outside at the park a lot and celebrated our sweet little Jay Bird’s 1st Birthday. 
Februrary We decorated a bunch of cookies, reorganized the kitchen and we harvested a large crop of carets and beets from the garden. 
March Jay really started walking on his own, we picked a ton of Strawberries and made Jam, hosted the crawfish boil and found out we were expecting our second kiddo! 
April We frequented the zoo, picked and ate a ton of strawberries, we played outside with the water table frequently, hunted for Easter Eggs, finger painted for the first time and got to tell our family that we were expecting again. 
May Jay started coloring a lot, we played outside in the hose frequently, we celebrated Mother’s Day by playing outside in the kiddie pool, picked and ate peaches off of our tree in the backyard, Jay started swim lessons and he had his first haircut. 
June We played outside in the rain, I hosted a bridal shower for Nicole and we spent a week at the Beach with Jamie’s family. 
July We went to cow appreciation day at Chick-fil-a, we visited Mom and Ed at their condo in south Florida, we celebrated our 5th Anniversary, Jay discovered cars, we celebrated my 29 birthday and announced that we were having another little boy! 
August We took our first trip to the splash pad, Jay’s obsession with cars grew, he began using utensils on his own and Jay completed his Infant Survival Swimming Course. 
September We flew to Canada to celebrate my Grandma’s 85th birthday, Jamie and I survived a very long plane ride with a toddler who wouldn’t nap, we made considerable progress with putting together Jay’s big boy room and Dolce got really sick and had to have major surgery. 
October Jamie celebrated his 31st birthday, we took a rode trip to North Carolina to celebrate Jamie’s sisters wedding, we carved pumpkins, Jay took his first pony ride, went trick-or-treating and Jay decorated cookies for the first time. 
November We finished up a few projects around the house in preparation for our second little one to arrive and we welcomed Charlie into our family 10 days earlier than we had expected!! 
December We adjusted to being a family of four, Jay slept in a big boy bed for the first time, we decorated our house for Christmas (which included a tree with only lights on it), and celebrated the holidays with lots of family and friends. 
Welcome Charles Hinton Perreault Born 11/17/2011 at 12:51AM Weight: 8lb 1oz Length: 21″ Mother and baby are both doing very well 
See that face? The one that melts my heart and pushes every button that I have all at once? Well he turned 21 months old today- I know, it’s crazy isn’t it? He is the main reason that I have been such a horrible blogger lately, that and the little one growing in my tummy, the two of them plum wear me out these days!! We have been busy lately, yes it’s true, we’v been traveling, celebrating with family, preparing to add to our family, I’ve been working (I had 5 shoots this month- yay for the work but boo for the extra work) and trying to get client images up but nothing has kept me as busy as my boys. So give me a minute and I will fill you in a bit… Jay Bird is non-stop these days… I saw a sign the other day on pintrest that said “a Mother of boys works from Son up until Son down”; it’s true I tell you- so true…
*He runs everywhere- literally runs, as fast as his little legs will take him, all the while saying “race”, “fast” and sometimes “super fast”…
*He repeats virtually everything that comes out of our mouths- this is funny and not funny all at the same time. He also talks non-stop- about everything and nothing all at once.
*He has opinions, strong opinions, about the most random and unexpected things. A few days ago he had a complete and utter meltdown because I tried to put the truck bib on him for breakfast and NOT the fish bib like he wanted.
*He will eat everything on his highchair tray like he is starving and hasn’t been fed in days but only if it’s his idea and if it happens to be placed there in the correct order (did I mention that the order changes daily?); however, if it isn’t in the correct order it’s full on meltdown time. Some of his favorites right now include peanut butter (which he basically licks straight off of the bread and calls “butter”), waffles (he can eat 3/4 of a Belgian waffle or two eggos on his own), yogurt and black olives.
*He is funny and he knows it… he will ham it up for people if he knows that he is being watched and he will laugh this awesome laugh at things he thinks are funny. He also loves to watch himself in videos and smiles at himself the whole way through.
*He loves to dance and will start shimmying whenever he hears music. He does have some serious white-boy moves but I love them!
*He loves to be read to and has an attention span for stories that is astonishing to both Jamie and me. He will sit through lengthy story after story every night before bed and frequently throughout the day parroting his favorite parts and pointing out things he loves to see on the pages. He also makes requests for certain favorite books and will search the house until it is found.
*He knows most of his colors… with the exception of a few he can name colors when asked with very little need for correction.
*He loves to play, mostly with duplo and cars. I am pretty sure that the first word out of his mouth when he gets up in the morning is cars and aside from the kisses and request for juice at bed time it is the last word that he utters. He knows all the names of this cars (some are die casts from the Disney movie Cars and have actual names) others are the names that he has given them but either way we play with them ALL DAY LONG! They zoom around my feet while I make dinner, they “crash” and flip off of the coffee table and they race man do they race. We talk about cars non-stop when we are in the car- he can spot a “jeepie” (a jeep) from a mile away. By the way a jeepie has to be a wrangler and a rag top is preferred. So basically, I am exhausted most days when Jamie gets home because I spend every moment chasing this little one and as you can see he keeps me pretty darn busy. However, he is precious beyond words. He gives the best big hugs around, will freely give out kisses and tells me “love you”. It is melt your heart worthy, I promise. So even though I am tired and my days are not my own, I know that it won’t be long before I have another one to split my time with so I am trying to cherish every moment that I have with him and ignore all of the things that can wait. Everything else is pretty good, we don’t have many things to complain about and the things we do have just don’t seem worth it. Hope you all can say the same :) Here’s a few other photos to help fill you in on our happenings… 
 playing outside- also something that he loves right now. He always seems to get filthy regardless of the amount of time we are out  helping to blow out the candles on Jamie's birthday muffins 
 eating yogurt all by himself- it's a messier process but he is getting better by the day 
Last weekend, Jamie, Jay and I went to a stable that was hosting a fall festival. They had all kinds of entertainment including pumpkin painting, face painting, music, pumpkins to take photos with and pony rides. Jay rode a pony, enjoyed watching the people and children that were around and carted pumpkins around most of the time that we were there. We didn’t actually pick our pumpkins here (they didn’t have many big ones) but we all enjoyed ourselves.  Watching the ponies during our pumpkin patch adventure  he wasn't so sure about the big horses in the stable- he liked them but he wanted to keep his distance  pumpkin relocation project 
 the best "posed" photo we could get of Jay and the pumpkins- he started tossing them shortly after this  Mommy and Jay- please excuse the dirty face... we were outside so he was dirty  Jay's first pony ride- you can't really tell from the photos (since he is pretty serious in all of them) but he really enjoyed his ride 
 our second pumpkin patch adventure- the place where we got our pumpkins to carve  gourds! also good tossing size... I haven’t mentioned much about my growing bump in a while so I figured that I should give a little update… Last Saturday we hit the 30 week mark; which means that I have about 10 weeks left until we get to meet this little guy. Yes, you read correctly we have almost hit the single digits- which is SO hard to believe in my opinion. I know that I have said this before but this pregnancy is really flying by! I had a doctors appointment yesterday and our doctor said that everything is looking great- that his heartbeat was strong and that he was about 3 pounds. At this point, I will see the doctor every two weeks which will continue through the beginning of October when I start going every week. As for how I am feeling, I can’t really complain at all. I am pretty blessed with great pregnancies (knock on wood) so other than the usual third tri-mester stuff things are great! I have been taking naps every once in awhile in the afternoon while Jay sleeps; because I have been more tired than usual. I am also be a little short of breath while holding Jay (when I do, I have both boys squishing my lungs/diaphragm which isn’t really fun). This cuts into our dancing time which is a shame but we have been dancing on our own too (I have a cute video of Jay that I need to share soon). My sciatic nerve bothers me from time to time and I have a few contractions here and there but mostly I get an ache or a pain when I try to do something I shouldn’t (move or pick up something heavy) or when I move to fast. Honestly, even with the watermelon sized belly I forget occasionally that I am pregnant… I am pretty much in full on nesting mode at this point; however, this doesn’t differ a whole lot from my normal personality so… I am not sure that it should really be called nesting. Most of our “baby preparations” are going into Jay’s big boy room since we are keeping the nursery the same for this little guy and plan on moving Jay to a new room. Once I get everything settled in there for him I plan on washing and pulling out all of our tiny little clothes, I am sure that they will all look huge compared to the stuff I put on Jay, and getting that settled in the nursery. My project list is long (what else is new) but there are only a few things that I really, really want to finish before he gets here- like his baby blanket. I will keep you posted on how that goes :) I guess that is about it for now. I will try to be better about the updates and I promise to be really good about photo updates when he actually arrives. I CAN’T wait to get some photos of him and some photos of him and Jay, they are going to be such sweet brothers!! And because every post is better with a picture- here is one of the three of us from our Canada trip (yes, I am still working on those photos- I have just been a little busy lately). I know that we aren’t in focus (don’t blame the stand in photographer my camera is not easy to use- especially when you are trying to get a toddler to look) but it is the best photo that I have of the growing bump and the scenery around us is great, don’t you think? 
Come November I will be out numbered 3 to 1; I will be surrounded by boys and loving every minute of it!! Last Wednesday, Jamie and I ventured into the OB’s office curious to see what November would bring. We left knowing that our house would be filled with more blue, more cars and a new baby brother!! Yes indeedy- we are having another BOY!! We shared the news with our families on Thursday with a pink or blue party- having everyone come either dressed in pink or blue depending on their predictions. The girl group far out numbered the boy group but regardless of their predictions no one left disappointed- a happy (he bounced all over my tummy during the ultrasound and continues to do so) and healthy little boy will be added to the family. How blessed are we?  the pink group- Grandpa and Uncle Mark both have pink tags on their shirts ;)  the blue group- and yes both Jamie and I really thought that it was going to be a boy, Jay was blue by default (the kid doesn't own any pink)  My adorable sisters-in-law (and future brother-in-law) were so cute and sent their photos in ahead of time so they could be included too! You can see people holding their "puppets" in the above group photos :)  It's a boy dessert to follow the pizza- homemade ice cream sandwiches with Blue Sprinkles And because I think this little one is already pretty adorable- here HE is (sorry for the poor quality iPhone photo)!! 
Okay, I don’t know if this is exceptional or not BUT he’s my kid so it’s my job to brag. Jay can identify/name (not sure what it’s called at this age) any turtle (totule) and star (stah) that he sees without being prompted. He also knows the sounds that kitties and puppies make and makes them when he sees photos of them without being prompted. We are working on other shapes and animals sounds but it still amazes me at how much he already knows! Love this kiddo! I mean these aren’t all his tricks, that’s for sure, but identifying shapes and he’s not even a year and a half old! I think that’s pretty impressive! Here’s a few photos of our genius-in-the-making from our park trip this morning. I let him climb the steps and slide down the medium slide on his own today- he couldn’t have been more thrilled with himself! 
 such little feet leave such big impressions on our hearts... Dear Jay Bird, I think that you are changing before my eyes little boy. You turned 17 months just last week, when did that happen? You are growing up and while I want to stop you and keep you just the way you are I can’t wait to see what you have yet to discover and learn. This is just a random list of little things that I am sure to forget as time passes if I don’t take a minute and write them down right now… * Lately, you clap every time we pull into the driveway and when I turn to look at you, you smile this unbelievable smile. We don’t leave the house daily or for even long periods of time but whenever we do you are always happy to return home. * Every time you hear the timer on the oven go off you run around the house yelling “beep, beep Momma- beep, beep”. Then you make sure I follow you to the oven so I will turn the oven light on and you can see what is inside baking. It’s like having a baking alert system and I NEVER miss the timer going off. * You squeal and yell “Daddy! Daddy!” the moment you see his truck in the driveway, hear him pulling in or when he walks through the door after work. You are so excited to see him and for him to come home that you usually only stop yelling and squealing when he says hello to you. It is so sweet to watch and I fall a little more in love with both of you every time I get to witness it. * You love chase right now. You delight in running from me (usually when I am frustrated and trying to take something away from you that you shouldn’t have) and you always, always succumb to fits of laughter when you are caught. Oh yeah, and crawling under the dinning room table is loads of fun too; especially since Mommy and Daddy “can’t” catch you there! *Ice is your new favorite word and activity with Piper. Every morning when we get up you march to the fridge, pull on the freezer and ask for “ice” frantically signing please over and over again until I open it up and let you dig out however many pieces you desire. You always share your ice with Piper, smashing it on the ground or waiting until she bites it in half to share your bounty. *Speaking of words you are full of them right now. I will admit that some (ok- most) of them are words that only Daddy and I can understand but they are words- oh my, they are words! You can say, Momma or Mommy- whichever you choose at the moment, Dada or Daddy, Kitty, Piper (Pippu), color (as in I want to color), ice, popsicle (pop), pop corn, please, cheese, cracker (crakr), water (waddr), blueberry (blue), bye-bye, waffle (wavle), beep- beep, cookie, juice, Holly (Ha-yee), Me and therefore Mimi, Pepere (Pepar) movie (momie), book, ball, baby (bebe), paci (pa-i), shoes, hat, eyes, car(although everything with wheels- car, van or truck is a car) and so many more. Honestly, you mimic almost everything that comes out of my mouth! * You love to color these days!! We have set up a little coloring desk in the living room and you will sit there for the longest time (well the longest time in your world) and color ’til your heart’s content. * When you smile the sides of your face curl up but your cheeks or so round that they get in the way and it makes them look like little balls on your face. I know that this is random but I don’t want the picture of this in my head to fade. * You want to do most things on your own, all by yourself and without any help, and you really like to get your own way. This includes feeding yourself. You have mastered getting a fork to your mouth all on your own and you can poke your own watermelon and scoop your open yogurt. These are true feats of mastery little boy! * You have recently discovered your belly button and from time to time will pull up your shirt and check to see if it’s still there. It’s so funny to watch you dig around there to find it when we ask you where it is. * You can tell us where your hair, ears, eyes, mouth, fingers and toes are. You also can point out your parents’ hair, mouth, eyes and ears are too. Although you do sometimes think that you need to poke us in the eye or pull our mouths open to see what is inside. * You have been teething for nothing short of 1.5 months. They are really bothering you and honestly if they don’t pop through soon I may take measures into my own hands. You are not a pleasant kiddo when you are teething, sorry but this is a fact! * You usually stand on the trunk in the living room watching me make super every night. You sometimes play with your cars on the counter, other times you just watch and point to various foods. If you are lucky you get to “taste” what is on the menu and if I am lucky you will rest your head on your hands and give me the best smile there is. I love watching you grow, I love watching you explore, I love watching you tip over with excitement when you learn something new. But most of all I love you sweet boy… Love, Mama | |
