chattanooga trip

First-please keep praying for the Hess family. Brooks now has a collapsed lung and is back in CICU. will keep you posted. thank you all for your prayers for them-I know they are felt and much appreciated!

last weekend (am late posting again), we drove up to Chattanooga to visit our good friends Robbie, Emma and their son Jake, who is seven months old. we had a really nice time!

henry trying to help me pack

at the river
it was a hot day!

gary teaching henry how to play cornhole

henry, emma and jake

I told henry to "smile" for the picture ... when you do this, he puts his fingers up to his cheeks like he is making himself "smile." it is hilarious.

fast friends

we went to the Chattanooga Choo Choo. Henry liked it although he wanted to drive the choo choo and didn't really understand why we could only just look at it. Henry was a great traveler; however, as for his behavior the rest of the weekend ... well he was good about half the trip. The other half he was whiny (which is not like him) and proceeded to throw little "fits," which is a new and embarrassing behavior.

sleeping jake

thanks to robbie and emma for a fabulous weekend!

thirsty little bear

the other morning henry woke up and decided little bear was thirsty, he kept holding his cup to little bear's mouth and saying "drink, drink." he continued doing this while I made his breakfast. fortunately, I was able to capture it on video. what I didn't bet on were the hugs and kisses he gives little bear. so sweet! henry loves stuffed animals by the way.

Update on Brooks and Florida Trip Pics

For those of you out there praying for the Hess family, Brooks made it through the heart surgery and is stable. However, the surgery has not immediately repaired the problem. Little Brooks' heart is functioning at only 8%. He has been diagnosed with an extremely rare heart condition - please click on the link to Lauren & Andrew's blog for details about Brooks' condition and for updates. Please, please keep the prayers coming for the Hess family! They have been through so much and have a long road ahead of them.

Finally ... pics from the FL trip. At Cracker Barrel (above). Henry loves fried okra!
First stop was to ocala to visit my sister and her family. we had a really nice visit and enjoyed seeing all the cousins!

Next was to Tampa to pick up the Perlins from the airport. Let me just say that Gary is the most efficient "packer" that I know. We were determined to fit 4 adults, two babies, their car seats, various gear that little ones require, and all of our luggage in my car.

The rooftop carrier (which you can't see in this photo) and the small trailer/platform did the trick! Yea Gary!

We then drove to Siesta Key for the fourth annual Perlin/Vaughan beach trip. Henry FINALLY was able to meet his far away best friend Adam, who is seven months old. After unpacking and a trip to the store we headed down for a walk on the beach before dinner.

Adam

One night we went downtown Siesta Key to walk around and get ice cream. The boys thought it was fun even though Henry has a very non-excited expression in this pic.

Last year at the beach Henry couldn't sit up and wasn't crawling or pulling up or anything mobile. This year was totally different-he thought the best part about the beach was running around and chasing the seagulls! it was funny.

Henry giving a "what's up" shout out.

sunset

Sue and Summer

Adam love his mom ... no question about that! He is an easy going guy and very happy.

best buds already

Henry hasn't chewed or put things in his mouth (like he did when a baby) in a long time. He loved these toy cookies that Adam brought and he couldn't resist eating them ... or chewing on his feet, which he hasn't done in a long time either. Who knows!

It was a wonderful, wonderful trip! Henry did great in the car and while we were there, with the exception of one afternoon. I guess the toddler "meltdowns" have begun, I don't know what else to attribute it to. Here's hoping Gary and I can lead, direct and parent him through these in the best way possible.

Prayers for Lauren & Andrew

Anyone out there reading blogs today, please keep our friends from college, Lauren and Andrew Hess, in your prayers. Their 3 month old baby boy, Brooks, is having emergency heart surgery tomorrow (Wed) morning. This was a total surprise to them and they have been through so very much already. I can't even imagine ... anyway, please think of them over the next several hours and days.

Thank you!

we are here

two weeks since last posting, I know, we should be ashamed. sorry! we have been out of town and I've been under the weather with an annoying cold, but we are all doing well. pictures from Florida to come ...

Trip, thanks so much for the cool Clifford slippers! Henry loves them.
we were changing the sheets on our bed and shelby made herself a palette on the dirty sheets. too cute.

same night (when changing sheets), savannah didn't care that we covered her with our comforter as a joke. I guess she was just glad we came home!

this is for Grandma Jan ... thanks for my Steelers outfit! as you can see, it makes me relax and hope for a good season this fall. hope all is well in PA!

eighteen months

he turned eighteen months today ... seems like a big milestone. here are a few photos from our futile attempts to play photographers ... enjoy!

eighteen month update:

• has mastered walking and is now attempting running. his running in place is really funny.
• still a good eater and has gotten much better about eating things with varied consistency. he would eat pretty much most things, but if the consistency wasn't mushy, he wasn't too crazy about it. not anymore-yea! no more pureeing certain things.
• still a good sleeper ... wakes up between 6:45-7:15am, naps 2-2.5 (occasionally 3) hours in the afternoon, and goes to bed at 7pm. for this we are very grateful and I still stand by the words, babywise (the book) works, it really does! :)
• starting to really understand a lot of what we say - he can follow directions pretty well. you can literally watch him learn something new every single day; so much fun!
• not crazy about the nursery at church or mother's day out. he does okay, but some days are worse than others as far as him just being unsettled. he rarely cries any other time, but it never fails when I pick him up, they will say he cried off and on the whole time. this is hard ... as a parent you never want your child to be sad. I know he will get through this but it is still no fun.
• wants to talk a lot, and he tries to talk a lot too! he can put two words together, like "momma car" or "blue truck." he will often "jabber" riding in his car seat, which is really amusing.
• still doing well with his sign language. he's learned a few new ones: dirty, train, water, and bike.
• he is in the squirmy phase ... if you aren't reading, sitting in a high chair or car seat, he likes to be moving around. lots of energy!
• getting much better at blanket time (telling him to stay on a blanket with several toys and playing by himself, until Momma says he can get off the blanket). 20 minutes is his record so far.
• still loves stuffed animals and pillows.
• his eyes have turned more green and less blue. they are almost identical to my brother's.
• loves to try to eat with a fork and a spoon. he's much better with a fork though!
• loves to be outside
• has started to interact with the dogs a lot more - he brings them their toys and tries to pet and play with them. bricks is afraid of him (go figure, bricks is a 95 pound teddy bear), shelby doesn't really "play," and savannah will sometimes play, sometimes not.
• loves shoes. if there are shoes laying around the house, he will pick them up and bring them to their rightful owner saying "momma shoes" or "da-da shoes."
• henry is curious but not overly so. we have not "baby-proofed" anything in our house (which may or may not be wise) and don't plan on doing so. I guess we figure he needs to learn what cabinets he can and can't get into and if we go to someone else's house, that house may not be baby-proof either. we just keep a close eye on him and try to work with him on what he can and can't touch. so far this has worked pretty well (that doesn't mean there won't be a post down the road where I eat these words!).
• he weighs 26 pounds. not sure how tall he is. he hasn't gained weight in a while-all the walking is burning calories I suppose!
• he still has the sweetest smile ever.
• he still likes to be rocked from time to time and enjoys snuggling.
• who knows what the next 18 months will bring, but these past 18 have been a blessing and a journey. God is good!
  
  
  

chatty henry

touchdown Auburn and War Eagle ...

henry loves oatmeal. you can ask him what he wants to do on a given day and his response will be "oatmeal." or, you can ask him how his day was, boom, "oatmeal" again. oatmeal, or "uht-meel" as he says it, is one of his favorite words to say.

this one is for his buddy Adam P., or "ah-om" as henry says.

we can't wait to see all the perlins next weekend!

celebrations

hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend! we are so fortunate to live in a country where we can celebrate our freedom. the price was and still is high, and truly no words can express our gratitude for those in uniform who sacrifice everything to protect the many freedoms we enjoy. our nation has its current troubles, no doubt, but it is still one undeniably great place to live.

celebrations over the last few days ... congratulations to Katherine and Doug who welcomed Alexander William Bentley at 10am on Friday, July 3rd! Alexander or "Alex" weighed 6lbs 1oz and was 19.5 inches long. We were able to visit them at the hospital and he is one beautiful baby! We are very excited for them. And, Katherine is one TOUGH woman!

henry celebrating a ride on Cole's 4 wheeler he let us borrow.
celebrating with my sister and family at the lake. henry rode on the inter tube with his momma while his daddy slowly pulled us. he didn't like it at first but soon after seemed to enjoy it a little. he looked so funny with a little life jacket on!

swimming in the lake with daddy
gary did some clearing out at the land and henry, the dogs and I met him out there so the dogs could swim and frolic. it was actually a breezy morning and very pleasant temperature wise the day we went (it has been really hot here the last couple of weeks).

no, we don't have a new dog. that is susie (above), the peterson's dog in case you are curious.

sterling and savannah

shelby, the best retriever of them all, sporting her "summer cut"

sweet brother bricks

everyone wants the tennis ball ...

hugs for momma

henry attempting to throw the ball for shelby and reese (the other peterson pup)

Sometimes I catch grief about the amount of pictures I take of our dogs, but they are such an important part of our lives I want to capture memories of them on film as well. It makes me sad when people's pets get pushed to the back burner when the two legged children arrive. Sure, people's schedules take on a totally new meaning and there are some adjustments; but those dogs, cats, etc., that loved them before little Susie or Johnny came along are still there and love them just as much. And, these creatures are only here for seemingly just a little while.

On that note, go give your pet/four legged baby or babies some extra love today! :)

Here is some raw footage of all the dogs in action ... enjoy!