Category: Updates

today I am…

Published on by kristenperreault6 Comments

6 months old!!

One word for that…

I find that the time is flying by kind of like it did when I was pregnant with Charlie… One moment we were announcing that a second little one was on the way and then after blinking I was in the hospital holding my sweet little boy.  These days I frequently find myself looking at him and catching glimpses of his personality and wondering when he got so big.  He truly is the sweetest, happiest little guy around. He has a sense of peace about him that I envy; he sits back and takes it all in with such joy, amazement and smiles- oh boy does he smile…

Stats-  we are headed to the Doctor tomorrow and I will be back to post his stats after we see what they are ;)

Teeth- none as of yet although, he’s working on them and we have he occasional cranky-pants and drool to prove it!

Things of Note-

*Charlie has been sitting up for almost a month now.  Just after turning 5 months old he began tripoding really well and since then he has been sitting pretty well on his own.  Right now he sits for long periods of time on his own and rarely falls; however, when he does he just rolls to his side or tummy and plays that was for a while.

*Mobility is coming- as of right now he rolls to get whatever he wants.  It doesn’t always work in his favor (he has no direction control); however, he is usually content wherever he ends up and with whatever toys ends up closest to him.  He is also starting to scoot a little when he is sitting up.  He has to be on a slick surface to do this but it’s still movement so I count it.

*Foods-  Little boy can eat and has been able to from day one.  We have been trying solid foods for about a month now, we started feeding them to him to hopefully help with his acid reflux (the theory is that heavy food in their tummy helps keep him from spitting up milk).  The food has helped to keep things down- less spit up- but since he rejects prunes (too acidic), peaches or pears, it has also helped to keep things in.  So with one solution we have created another problem and we are working on fixing that right now.  His favorites so far are peas and sweet potatoes and he really won’t eat any of the fruits that I have tried to give him other than pears with blueberries- honestly, if he didn’t look so much like me I would swear he wasn’t my kid because of how much he hates the fruit!

*Thumb Sucker-  sweet boy loves his thumb.  He will take a Paci every once in a while however he only uses it as a teether. But that thumb, oh he has a thing for his thumb… and the way his pointer finger wraps around his little nose when he sucks on it just melts my heart.

*Sleeping has been going well and continues to go well.  He sleeps for the most part from 8 or 8:30 every night until 7 or 7:30 and when he wakes up in the morning he usually plays quietly in the crib.  Frequently I will go and get him and find him playing with his blankets or his ugly doll (adorable stuffed toy given to him by his godfather Michael), pleased as punch to just be there.

*Pretty much everything within Charlie’s reach these days is fair game- be it toy, blanket, duplo (Jay’s), car (Jay’s), bowl of salad, drink, phone… you get the picture.  If he can reach it, it’s his and it will go in his mouth.  The phone is a favorite but I think it might be because we use them so frequently… sad to admit… :(

*He is camera shy.  If there is such a thing in a photographer’s house, this little boy is somewhat camera shy.  He clams up and stops talking, cooing, smiling etc whenever he sees the camera or the phone out.  It makes it a challenge to capture just how smiley this little one is; however, I have gotten pretty good at shooting from the hip so he won’t see them camera.

*His relationship with Jay is growing by the minute and is probably my favorite thing lately.  He adores Jay, watching him, smiling and belly laughing at the things he does.  Jay is just as enamored with Charlie as Charlie is with him.  He is always asking where he is (if he’s not around- usually when he is napping), is immediately concerned if he is crying, talks about him all of the time and shares things with him too.  Having two this close together is tough on even a good day but seeing their relationship grow the way it has been makes it all the worth while.

Likes:

*WATER!!  He loves bath time especially if he gets a few minutes in the tub all to himself to splash around.  He does enjoy the bath with company as well, it’s just that he gets to do a little more kicking when it’s only just him in there.  The few times that we have taken him in the pool he has been all ear to ear smiles!  He loves to splash and spin around!

*He likes to be tickled and when you love on him.  Frequently throughout the day I will get his neck and or his belly and he laughs and laughs.

*He likes when we sing songs and read nursery rhymes.  He will sit through a few toddler books when I am reading to Jay but he prefers the nursery rhymes and rhythmic stories over the others.  Some favorites right now are Hand, Hand Fingers Thumb and a book full of Mother Goose rhymes.

*Watching Piper and Bella.  From as early as I can remember he has enjoyed watching Jay, he’s kind of hard to miss these days, but lately he has really taken a liking to the animals.  He loves playing with Piper’s fur and feet and he watches both Piper and Bella whenever they are around.

*Being outside- Charlie loves to play outside.  We frequently take a blanket outside and sit under the shade to play.  It’s a very nice change to being inside all of the time; however, I am not looking forward to the summer when it is even hotter outside than it is now.

Dislikes:

*Honestly, I am at a loss for what to put here… other than the completely normal dislikes of any other tiny human- being tired, being in one place for more than 30 minutes, not being able to poop- he is pretty much a breeze.  We are lucky and I know it ;)

Here’s a few from our photo shoot… I took a few in front of our chalkboard wall in addition to the blocks and I LOVE them- it was so hard to narrow it down to even this many!

this one makes him look bigger he is, or at least that is my opinion…

and yes he will probably hate me for the next few but I took similar pictures of Jay so he’ll have company ;)

I pretty much adore this one, sweet chunk of love…

2 years old

Published on by kristenperreault1 Comment

I am embarrassed to say that I have had this post written for quite some time, especially since Jay is fast approaching 2.5 years old!  I kept waiting for Jay’s two year old photos to be finished (something that took forever since it kept getting trumped by other things) so I could post some along with the update.  Well, needless to say time has passed and MANY things on this list have changed; however, I didn’t want to forget any of it so here it is a few months (eek) late but better late than never…

Jay turned two a little over a week ago- two, two whole years old and since I haven’t written a proper update on him since this one I figured that I was due.  Especially since there are so many things that he says/ does that I don’t want to forget…

Stats- here are his stats from when we were at the doctor last week.  They measured him on a big boy scale and got his height by asking him to stand up against the wall- such a big boy he is.

Height- 33 inches

Weight- 26lbs

Both of these put him in the 25-50% making him a little smaller than the average two year old.

Things of note-

-He can count to five reliably; however he occasionally will go until 7 or 8.

-He knows his colors with the exception of red and orange which he mixes up from time to time.  He also knows silver and that it is the color of both Mommy and Daddy’s cars.

-He can name almost all of his body parts including (but not limited to) head, eyes, ears, mouth, teeth, arms, hands, fingers, legs, feet, toes, belly button and elbows.

-He knows his right from his left and when you ask will hold either his right leg or foot up as high as it will go.

-He still can’t jump but man o’ man does he sure give it his best effort.  I love to watch him bounce around the house and will probably be pretty sad when he can actually jump.

-When you ask him how old he is he will enthusiastically tell you “2!” and then he holds up both hands showing at least 6 fingers but most often holding up all ten.

-He blesses people when they sneeze.  He even tells himself “Bless you Jay Bird” when he sneezes.

-He thinks that his name is Jay Bird.  When anyone asks him his name that is his response, one that I usually have to repeat and explain to people who don’t know him.  It will be an interesting day when we have to explain that his name is actually James and that we call him Jay and that Jay Bird is in fact just a nickname.

-We are working on learning the alphabet; however, he is having a hard time getting past the fact that his name is Jay but it is spelled – J-A-Y.  I think it would confuse him far less if his name wasn’t also an initial.  He can sing part of his ABC’s but it usually comes out sounding like just a jumble of letters smooshed together in no particular order.

-He can name every single car that he owns… some of them have names from the movie Cars, for some he will tell you their given name- coupe, Porsche, jeepster, and then the rest have an assortment of random names that he has given them .  One of which is “new car”… it’s not new at all but that is what he started calling it form the get go and that is what it has stayed.

-He hooks EVERYTHING.  He has four cars that have tow hooks (three Maters and one “big guck”) and not an hour goes by that some car is not being hooked or towed by one of them.

-He frequently says- “Jay Bird needs” when he is looking for something or wants something.

-He likes to look at the DVD’s and Blu-rays that we have.  Frequently he will sit there for a few minutes (this equals forever in the toddler world) looking at the covers and taking in all of the details on each one.

-He is thrilled when Jamie gets home from work.  As soon as he hears Jamie’s truck in the driveway or the garage door opening he starts squealing “Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!” while doing this circular skipping dance.  It is really one of the sweetest things and really brightens my day, which frequently feel long by that point.

-He has been sleeping in his big boy bed for over a month now.  He can get in and out on his own and has not had any problems with it thus far.  There were a few weeks at first when he realized he could climb out on his own that he would get up and play with his cars quietly in his room after we put him to bed.  He would play for hours without making a peep until we went in and told him he needed to sleep.  He always turned his bug light on so he could see to play.  Thinking that we were smart we put a timer on his light hoping it would stop him from getting up.  It surely did not, he just found another light in his room to turn on and when we unplugged that one he turned his closet light on to use.  Clever little boy he is!

-We are currently working on potty training and not because we pushed but because, you could say, Jay wanted to.  We started by putting him on a little potty every night before his bath (since he always peed as soon as he got into the bath) and it didn’t take long for him to catch on.  Well last week he started taking off his diaper on his own and after having a few accidents on the floor I started putting him on the potty during the day and asking him frequently if he has to go.  Every time he has been put on the potty since then he has gone and gotten a treat (one skittle… his favorite part) for going.  This is as far as our training has gotten but it is major progress in the right direction and we understand that it isn’t going to happen overnight, especially at his age.

-He loves, loves, loves his little brother.  He is frequently asking where baby Charlie is or telling me that he is crying.  He usually offers to share his snack, cars or whatever he has at the moment with him.  When we get in the car he always points to Charlie’s carseat and tells me that that is where Baby Charlie goes.  He can barely stand for him to take naps and I have to watch him like a hawk because otherwise he will sneak  into his room and ‘accidentally’ wake him up when he pulls up on the side of the crib and yells -“good morning baby Charlie!”

-He knows when he isn’t supposed to be doing something or if he has something that he is not supposed to.  If he grabs something that he isn’t supposed to have he always puts it behind his back and walks away from us (so that we can see whatever he is hiding).  And when you ask him what he has he will without fail announce whatever it is that he has with no reservation.

Favorites-

-Foods- he is picky from time to time when eating (most simply put: he is two) but without fail you will always scarf down a bowl of yogurt or a handful of blueberries or a waffle with butter and syrup.  When we ask you how many blueberries you would like your response is always “5!”

-He loves to color and use stickers.  Almost every day he will ask to color and frequently he asks multiple times a day.

-Song- Barbara Ann by the Beach Boys.  This started a few moths ago when he was walking around saying “bob, bob, bob” and in response I started singing Barbara Ann.  He frequently will sing it (and dance along) on his own while he is walking through the house or eating breakfast or anywhere for that matter.  His other top favorites are Frosty the Snowman (which he knows the majority of the words too), the Itsy Bitsy Spider and we are working on I’m a little Tea Pot.  He loves the “washes the spider out” part of Itsy Bitsy and he loves to tip himself out when we sing I’ m a little tea pot.  Just today he was singing Barbara Ann and Frosty while we made our way through the grocery store.

-Toy- by far his talking matchbox Lightening McQueen although Finn McMissle is a very close second ;)

-Books- The Little Red Caboose, One Yellow Lion and Little Blue Truck are probably amongst his top right now although he loves so many that it is really hard to specify a favorite.

today I am…

Published on by kristenperreault2 Comments

Stats- (let’s face it, I really should only put stats on the posts that we go to the doctor for since I can’t seem to get my act together enough to get them at home)

Weight- Honestly, we really need to get our scale fixed because otherwise I have no idea how much this chunk of love weighs… I will try to do that soon I promise.

Height-

Teeth- Still none, although he is working on that

Things of note-

*Sleeping- He has been in his own room for about a month now (maybe more) and generally sleeps through the night.  We did have him on his back for the first little while he was in there and bless his little heart he just couldn’t sleep that way.  I am pretty sure it bothers his acid reflux so now that I have flipped him to his tummy (like he sleeps for his naps) he is doing much better and sleeping more soundly.

*Acid Reflux- We are still battling the acid reflux with Charlie Man.  Unfortunately, within the last week or so it has really been bothering him and he has been spiting up more than usual.  We do have a new medication that we are going to try with him (it is possible that he out grew his last dosage or it doesn’t affect him as well anymore) and we have started giving him a little rice cereal last weekend in hopes of helping the food stay down a bit better.  I found a lot of info after researching alternative treatments that a little bit of solid food in the tummy with help ground the food.

*He is grabbing at everything these days.  Nothing within an arms reach is really safe anymore-it’s all fair game!  Oh and anything he actually does get his little hands on goes straight into his mouth.

*Teeth- While he still doesn’t actually have any his gums are really tough and man is he chewing on things something fierce!  Whether it be paci, hands, toys or other random objects they usually go straight to his mouth.

*Food- we have been giving him a tiny bit of Rice Cereal every day for a little bit now.  And while he is still exclusively breast feed outside of this he is getting one bowl (about a tablespoon) of cereal a day.

*Paci vs. Thumb- he is shall we say ambi-suckstress.  He slightly prefers his thumb to a paci; however, he is pretty content to use a paci if it is there and given to him.  Within the last week or so he will do anything to get the paci into his mouth if he sees it in the crib and to his credit he gets it in a good percentage of the time.

*Talking-  He talks frequently and to many people.  It is really adorable to watch since he is already so animated when he speaks- he laughs and giggles throughout the whole conversation.

Likes:

*Being woken up by the bird.  Frequently Charlie wakes up when I am in the middle of doing something (dishes etc) so in the time it takes for me to come to a stopping point Jay has gone into his room to check on him and crawled into the crib with him.  I know that I should be mad at Jay for doing this and stop it; however, Charlie really loves to be woken up this way.  He smiles, coos and watches his brother the whole time they are in the crib together.

*Jay Bird-  Their relationship is a post all in itself.  But man-o-man do these boys adore each other.  Jay is always checking up on him, wanting to know how Charlie is and helping in whatever way he can with anything Charlie.  Charlie on the other hand watches Jay’s every move, looks up to him already- you can already see the admiration that he has for him and Jay is the one person that he without fail will reward with his full on belly laughs.  The moments between the two of them make all the crazy that is having two very young kiddos so, so worth it.

*His feet- he can’t get enough of them right now and is frequently grabbing on them and chewing on them as well.

*Rolling over- He has been able to roll for the last month however, he has really gotten good at this within the last two weeks or so.  If you put him down, over he flips without fail.  Also, he can flip from his tummy to his back now too- which ticks him off it he does this when he is in the crib and just waking up (again, I think it is an acid reflux thing).

*Being Outside- this is nothing new for any of my guys really- they are all happiest when they are outside.  A week or so ago I put a blanket down in the grass and Charlie loved it- his little toes danced around in the grass and he giggled the whole time (I can’t wait to post the photos I got of him during this- SO cute!)

*Sitting Up- the boy loves it!  Honestly, it is probably his favorite position to be in these days.  Lying down bothers his tummy and he doesn’t get much freedom to move when he is being held.  Sitting however allows him to see most everything that is going on around and to play!  He can sit up on his own for a good bit without assistance however if he has the assistance (a boppy pillow or someone’s legs around him he can go for much longer.

*The exersaucer- It’s almost as good as sitting up AND it has toys attached, enough said :)

*Nursery Rhymes and Songs from Mommy- he’s still a fan and they usually make him smile.  Singing to him is my go-to mood changer if I have a sad/fussy little boy on my hands.

*Books- the amount of time that I have available to read to Charlie is far less than I had with Jay.  However, he is frequently included while we read with Jay and he can make it through 3-4 shortish books or 1 longer one  before getting to antsy.  Lately, he has also really taken notice  (and in my opinion enjoyed) looking at the illustrations that accompany the books we read.  This is a big for us- we LOVE how much Jay Bird likes to read and we hope that Charlie will be the same way too.

Dislikes:

*Loud noises- In particular when his brother yells really loudly and more specifically when he yells really loudly in his face.  It startles him and he starts screaming.  Not fun and not especially easy to explain to the Bird.

2011- a year in photos

Published on by kristenperreault3 Comments

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.

21 months

Published on by kristenperreault1 Comment

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...

baby number #2 update

Published on by kristenperreault2 Comments

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?

brothers…

Published on by kristenperreault2 Comments

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)!!

bragging…

Published on by kristenperreaultLeave a comment

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!

things to remember

Published on by kristenperreault1 Comment
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