Snow day!!!!

Today was our third snow day of the year. Of course there was no "snow"- it snowed fairly heavy, large flakes for all of three minutes and then it was gone. If you haven't been in school for a while, maybe you've forgotten the joy of waking up only to find out you get to go back to bed. Well double that joy and you have teacher happiness for snow days- all of the fun of staying home plus you get paid- does it get any better than working for the government???? It was great to have a mid week day off and to play with William.

Newsflash....he's almost mobile! Yep, that's right, he's soooo close to taking off! A short video (excuse the darkness, our den really isn't that dark, I just can't make good videos in there ) for your viewing pleasure....

I think it's the new food. I made peas for him this weekend. I think I'm going to try and make as much of his food as possible. For a girl who can't cook, I did a pretty good job if I do say so myself. They're so pretty and green and actually quite tasty! Any tips from those of you who've done this before would be appreciated. I'm reading/using Cooking for Baby- honestly because it has pretty pictures, I can't lie :-) We're just going through the book. Our next food is zucchini. We'll try that this weekend.

We went to the doctor last Friday for the big 6mo check-up. Things I learned:

1) Never make an appointment on Friday afternoon at 4:00...we had to wait...for a long time.
2) I really like Dr. Leeper. He's so patient and kind. I feel lucky to really like him since I know

we'll probably see him a lot.
3) William is a trooper. he had all of the shots and didn't even cry. He looked at me like "Oh no" and then we were out the door and maybe he just forgot about it. I did take his paci and he was using that, but I was so proud of him for being such a big boy!
4) WDP is huge. He weighed 19lbs .3oz and was 28in long. No wonder all of his 12mo clothes hardly fit :-) Sweet baby!

this is brand new- sz 6-12mo- please note it's 4in above his ankles....

Dad and Betsy were here and got William a great highchair (Thanks!)...Well, we call it his astronaut seat. He seems to like it. I hate that they left right before he crawled! He loved having so much attention this weekend.

The novelty of somewhere new to sit is amazing!

pre- crawling. I like to think he's imitating a walrus....

Lastly, a snow day for me meant a sew day. Chad had some quality baby William time this afternoon and I made this dress (Lucy) and bubble (Taylor) for Anna and Katie. I'm really into cutting the center out of bubbles or the top off a dress with funky fabric and adding white with a monogram...I have lots of this fabric left over so my guess is baby Lilah and baby Louise will both be getting a Taylor out of this...you haven't seen the last of this fabric yet :-)

I hope your Wednesday was as fabulous as mine!!!!

Happy Half Birthday!!!!

It's official- baby William is 6mo old today! Happy Half Birthday to him! We have an exciting day planned, well not really we're going to the doctor, but my dad and betsy are coming up so hopefully we'll "celebrate" with them. I'm excited for WDP to try some new foods- I think that's what you do at 6mo- I'll find out this afternoon. William's been working hard on a trick for Dr. Leeper. We can't wait to show him :-) he loves to impress and have people clap for him. He's also trying to move from a sit to a crawl- he falls alot, but is on his way...I think. Should he be able to sit up by himself yet? I've quit reading all those books about what they're "supposed" to be doing...oh well, we'll get there when we get there......

He has started turning the pages to books and looks from left to right on a page- it's so sweet. Doesn't he look studious?????

He also really holds his bottles now. I found these great handles for Avent bottles which makes it easier for him to hold them.

Check out the shoes he's rocking..... thanks Sunday we love these :-)

We love you baby William, BW, Will.i.am, little bunny, etc, etc!!!!!

good news and bad news

OK, so first the good news...William loves fabric. I mean LOVES fabric- ahh, my heart cries tears of joy. We went to the fabric store on Monday and you would've thought we were at the state fair- he loved it and was just looking at everyone and everything and touching fabric. It was so sweet. And then to make me even happier I was cutting out a few dresses and Chad was holding William and he began to squirm in that "I need to get that thing right now"- you know how babies do and what did he want??? The fabric... so sweet!

OK, the other good news. We had "snow" Monday- really it was just flurries and they didn't last for long, but William was in heaven. We bundled up and went outside and he was looking around with such amazement it was precious! I hope we get a good snow not only because I want a few days off of school, but also because I want him to play in real snow.

look really close to see flakes :-)

Now for the bad news. I can't cook- I mean I try, but I just can't. I like to bake. it's easy. I tried to cook again last night- I needed some french onion soup. After spending way too much money on ingredients like fresh thyme and dry sherry (which I'll never use again) and cooking 6lbs of onions down over 3 1/2 hours to this caramel-y goodness my pot broke/ exploded/ the bottom fell out- whatever. It was a disaster. It was soo messy, soo hot, so ruined was my yummy soup. I can't decide if I hate that my soup was ruined after such good effort or that my pot was broken- it's the perfect mac and cheese pot or baked rice pot. Ugh. I'm glad Chad cooks dinner or we would starve. And to think I'm considering making WDP's baby food....

January updates

Ok, I've been slack on the post, but the stomach bug made it's way through the Perry trio- yuck. I had it last weekend when Chad was out of town. William was such a trooper- I think he knew I was just barely hanging on because he would play in the excersaucer for about an hour when normally 20-30 minutes is his max. Monday WDP got it and threw up for the first time...twice! Poor little buddy. And finally it made it's way to Chad. We're all better and had a nice four day weekend (MLK Day plus a "it's too cold for school so let's close school" Friday- I love days like that).

We went to another birthday party this weekend- a cookie decorating party- so fun! WDP just looked around mostly, but obviously had a grand time by the one hour nap he took after we left :-)

I was excited because it was the first time we were able to use his new gift enclosures. Rachael made these- aren't they the best?! She just had her baby but seriously if you need any paper-y type things she does such a great job- Callie says she loves paper the way I love fabric. I don't know if anyone else noticed his card, but I just loved wrapping the gift and having that on it!

Lastly, he is really getting into a sippie cup. He's been interested in a cup for a while now and we're trying lots of sippies. I did find out that Avent has attachable handles and sippie tops to convert your bottles into cups- what a great idea! He loves drinking out of the old tupperware cups from the 80s, but spills a little too much for his formula.

I can't believe he'll be 6mo old this week :-) We head to the doctor Friday for shots and all that other check-up stuff. We've been working on a trick to impress Dr. Leeper- I'll try to video it this week- essentially it's "One two three" and he sits up and then "one two three" and he pulls to a stand... it's cute :-)

Lastly, lastly....On Friday I looked at a website called youcanmakethis.com and bought a pattern- here's what it turned out to be. They're supposed to be dresses, I think they may be too short, but would be super cute swimsuit coverups, or make them shorter for a cute top. It said "easy" and it was- 2 in about an hour. Let me know i you want the pattern and I can email it to you. It even has pictures beside the steps to make sure you're sewing correctly- a fun quick project for all you crafty types out there!

Have a great week!!!!

Happy Friday to you!

So here's the video from the other night- please excuse the mess in the background :-) Chad was tossing WDP in the air and he couldn't stop giggling.




This was last night- he LOVES his excersaucer. He loves to bounce and kind of throw himself around- it's pretty funny. Of course we do egg him on a little which helps in the giggle department....This is my new favorite sound- his laugh. It will make you smile even if you're having a rough day.

Here's wishing you a wonderful Friday and an even better weekend!

OOPs, here's our Christmas picture

So after talking to a few people I realized I never posted our Christmas picture...I really meant to, I did. I even bought a flashdrive of the photo specifically so I could post it on Christmas morning from my dad's house but his compuetr said something about "disabling a cookie"- what? Chad's mom's was our second stop on Christmas day and she lives too far in the country to have high speed internet, but far enough in the country to live close to the Rock Branch Christmas parade- which I plan on attending next year, so I guess the lack of Internet is OK- anyway- here it is our 2008 family/ Santa Christmas pic. I think I'm going to print it in black and white in an 8x10 and each year hang up all of the pics...so when he's 15 and his sweet girlfriend comes over...or comes up- I'm hoping for BR to be his girlfriend or maybe Sunday Rose Keith and Nicole's baby... :-) we can all look at his pictures and laugh about them....

Oh and Welcome to the world baby Lilah who was born today- 7lbs 8oz, 20in- Congratulations Rachael! I can't wait to see her birth announcements since you are the coolest invitation maker I know!

Finally, Happy New Year!

The students come back tomorrow, so it is officially the "New Year" for me. It was so nice to be a "stay at home " mom for two weeks - well, one week we were on the road and the second week our babysitter still came, so really I wasn't "full time mom" but either way it was nice to have the tears dried from the car travels and to sit upstairs and work while I could hear him laughing downstairs. The countdown is on- 13 weeks to Spring Break!

I love feeling productive over breaks- so I made a few things to cross off my Christmas lists...the gifts are just a little late :-) crayon holders for nephews and some reversible dresses for Mary Katherine's girls...I haven't sewn girl things in forever- I forgot how much I enjoyed it!

this is gingham, you can't tell from the pic

My friend Melanie gave me the idea for the crayon holdres and they were much more difficult than I anticipated.....

they roll up with velcro (Chad's idea)

My friend Rachael showed me the link to make a daygown out of a vintage t- it's next on my "to-do" list...maybe on MLK Day. On Chad's to-do list was a rockin toy box. I saw this on Land of Nod and couldn't bear the price tag, so Chad has been working away on it. As soon as the rain dries up and he paints it. I'll post a picture. It's pretty much my favorite thing he's made! Check back on the toy box page- I also want him to make something for the nursery that has the vegetable bin looking boxes on the bottom and shelves on the top for books- what do you think?

It was such nice weather over the break, I've decided to take up running seriously again- Chad has been so supportive and it's encouraging to try to get back to the "old me." It's hard to try and find the time to put away the miles, and most of the time I don't want to go out and do it, but it feels so great when I'm finished! With me running, WDP has been spending a lot of time outdoors- walking and running with me, playing in the Bjorn with Chad- we've even put his excersaucer on the deck- a new fav! He is getting quite serious about wanting to crawl- he gets on all four and rocks and then will try to lunge forward and not move his arm. It results in a face plant, but he is determined- I'm not sure if this will be a few weeks or another few months- I've kind of quit reading the "What to expect" books- they were driving me crazy!

Here he is trying to chase after our babysitter's little girl Cecilia- she's so sweet to william and has the cutest grin whenever I see her. We are so lucky to have Mandy (the sitter) and her little girl- she loves on William just like we would and I like that William has a little partner in crime

I have the cutest video of WDP laughing, but blogger isn't letting me load it :-( I will try again later this week.

My New year's Question for you is... What's the best thing you have for your child's age group right now? For example if you have a 12 mo old- what is the best thing you have- toy, piece of clothing, book, etc.... I feel like I am discovering baby things I wish I would've known about sooner and don't want to miss out on cool things for older "kids." My favorite thing would be baby legs by far! We love them and I'm not sure how we lived without them. besides the fact he looks ultra punky-brewster in them, they are so practical- they keep his legs warm, but make it easy to change the diaper- genius I say! Perfect for a girl or boy. We use them at night under the daygowns/ sleep sacks. What's your favorite thing????