Long Time, No Write

This was taken May 19th, which I believe is the last day I posted on my blog. Life. So crazy.










This was taken May 20th at Willow Park. This hat no longer fits Per's good-sized melon.














The two of us together, same day.











Just before I went to get my hair cut off on June 2nd. You can see in the picture that Per is mourning the loss of his favorite thing to pull already.












And finally... ah, prunes!! Yum, yum.

Marseilles Dress SHABBY APPLE GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Marseilles Dress SHABBY APPLE GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

I saw this on a friend's blog and thought -- why not?

The Per Report

I can't think of many things that are sadder than a sick baby. We are all sick right now -- Per is getting over his first double ear infection, which also included an eye infection in both eyes, and a cold on top of that; Zak and I have subsequently gotten the cold that Per had. I got it first. I like to think that's because I am Per's favorite parent to throw up all over. I think the proof is substantial -- he threw up four times last week, and I was holding him every time. Zak did get an honorary spit-up from Per, though, lest he feel left out.

The good news is that Per is on the upswing. He has taken all his antibiotics and no longer wakes up with horribly crusty eyes and nose. Now said areas of his face are just slightly crusty. Zak and I are hoping that we are on the upswing, too.

Most everything else remains the same for the time being... but we hope that our job situation will be changing Very Soon. We'll know more in a week or two, I think.

Aside from Per's recent illness, he also had his 9 month check-up recently and he is doing great! He is still in a high percentile for his head size, poor child. He's got a whopping 18 3/4 cm head -- good thing it's full of brains. He weighed in at 19 pounds 7 ounces, which is down in the 42nd percentile. This is most likely due to his insanely fast crawling. His height is 29 inches, which is in the mid-range of the percentile chart. He has started clapping his hands when he thinks he's been particularly clever, and he does this most often when he gets all the rings on the rock-a-stack (in any order at all). He also gives the best open-mouthed kisses on the cheek, which sometimes includes a little nip with his teeth, and sometimes not. You just have to ask for kisses and he'll usually oblige with one, then pull back smiling hugely. He has a new "crinkle face" which is exactly what it sounds like. He scrunches up his face as he smiles at you. Soooo cute.

It is really fun to watch him grow and learn new things!

Spring Cleaning

Okay, so it's not really spring cleaning, but giving my blog a little bit of a fresh face is the closest I can get to spring cleaning while I'm at work. Hope you like the new look!

I was going to write a brief update on us... but then I realized that there's not really anything to update! Zak and I are still both working at the same jobs, doing the same things, and Per is growing like crazy and learning fast and making us laugh every day. He is our favorite part of life and we're glad to have him.

I'm sure this summer will bring lots of outside adventures to blog about. We are so excited for warmer weather! We did have a trip to a farm in Preston on Sunday, where Per saw kittens, cats, lots and lots of dogs, pigs, cows, chickens, ponies, a horse, and a bunny. He pet the bunny (sort of), and one of the dogs (a dachshund). He wasn't really into the whole petting zoo scene, but that was probably more due to the fact that it was really cold and he was really tired (three hours of church--no matter what part of the day it occurs in--wreaks havoc on baby's naptime schedule). I think that if conditions were a little more ideal (read: not 37 degrees), he would've loved seeing all the animals. He was really interested in looking at them... just not so excited about actually touching any of them. It was fun, though. We are hoping that the warm weather that is just around the corner will show up and stay a while!

North and South

I really like the BBC mini-series North & South. Who wouldn't, with Richard Armitage as John Thornton?

I just finished the book by Elizabeth Gaskell last week and loved it more than the mini-series! I highly recommend the book to anyone who enjoys the mini-series, or anything by Jane Austen, or the Eyre sisters. It's a great read!

Diaper Box Exploration

Daddy thought it would be fun to see how Per liked this empty diaper box.

Ummm, not so sure he likes it...

Yeah, he definitely is not a fan of being in the box.

But sitting up in the box is okay. He didn't mind sitting up in it, he just didn't want to lay down in it. He couldn't see anything laying down.

Per is standing and balancing with very little help from us and is getting better and better! Here he's leaning against Daddy's knee while he explores the box from the outside, which he liked a lot more than being on the inside.

Bathtime Fun

Bathtime again.

Looking at the other side of the sink.

Does this shot remind anyone else of a wide-mouth Mason jar? Per fits the most huge things in his mouth. We think that's a Lewis trait, since his uncle Burke also has this amazing talent.

Per's first bubble bath.

The toy being mauled here is Blue Duck. He is a member of the pantheon of Per's other creatively-named toys: Pink Pig, Yellow Duck, Ferdinand the Frog, Berry the Fairy Frog, and Blue Elephant.

New Car Seat

Clutching Berry for security in the new car seat. It's much bigger (and hence, more comfy) than the old car seat.

Exploring the chest straps.

Checking out his hand.

Never mind, Berry. I like this new car seat, so I don't need to clutch you for security anymore.

The new car seat is a definite improvement! Per sure seems to like it.

Old Car Seat

Berry the Fairy Frog is keeping Per company in the old car seat.

This is what Per thinks of the old car seat.

Are we done yet? This is booooring...

Demolition Man

Per isn't a destructive child. He does like to gnaw on his plugs, though.

We're glad that the plugs are more of a toy to him than a naptime or nighttime necessity. They are sort of a teething tool for him lately.

Zak builds towers for Per to knock down as part of Per's preparation to become a member of the He-Man Woman Haters Club.

Per tries to nicely pick up the block or toy that's on the top of the tower.

It just doesn't work that well when you are only 8 months old and not terribly coordinated yet.

Our Smiley Boy

Per has a lot to smile about. He's got six teeth, almost seven, and gets to eat, sleep, and play all day long. That's the life! He's also starting to scoot forward, but the object he is scooting toward has to be highly interesting or highly off-limits to merit that kind of action. Sometimes he starts forward, then stops and thinks better of it, and sits back instead of scooting. He's great at scooting backwards and turning himself around. Per is really getting fast, too, though I'm sure as time goes by he'll be even faster at crawling and moving around. He got a new car seat last week because his old one was far too small for a baby of his size -- there are before and after pictures comparing the two car seats coming soon. He is still such a happy baby and we feel so lucky to have him!

More Pics

Discovering his diaper.... we are hoping he does not start taking it off!

Beautiful blue eyes.

Getting So Big

This is Per's bucket for his blocks. It is one of his favorite toys right now.

He's starting to look so grown up!

And he looooves books -- mostly for eating right now, but we think he'll love to read them someday.

Happy St. Patrick's Day (belated)

W-I-L-D -- Wildcats!

Just so you know, this was not my idea. A week or two ago this conversation (or something pretty close) took place:


Zak: "Hey, why don't we have a High School Musical marathon?"
Me: "Wha?"
Zak: "Yeah, don't you think that would be kind of fun? Neither of us have ever seen any of the High School Musical movies."
Me: "Wha?"

Pause

Me: "Okay. I'll put those in our queue in Netflix and we'll watch 'em when they come."


Time goes by and all three High School Musical movies arrive at our house. We watch them, at times looking away from the screen and staring at each other, feeling utter embarrassment that we are actually watching these movies. Other times, we found ourselves singing along to the music. In the end, we decided that we really liked all of them, but in this order: 3, 1, 2.


At the end of the third movie, this is the conversation that took place:



Me: "Let's watch the first scene again. I think that's my most favorite HSM (yep, using the acronym now... I think I'm allowed after viewing all three movies) song EVER."
Zak: "I must be experiencing some kind of man-love or something, because my two favorite songs are Troy's solos." (He was referring to Now or Never and Scream from HSM3.)
Me: "Wha?"





Troy Bolton -- the object of Zak's man love -- but not really, thank goodness.

The Results

My box is the winner!! But only by one -- Zak did a great job on his box, too. And really, he gets big points for creativity, whereas mine is far more conventional (read: boring). I like both boxes.

Thanks for voting to those who participated... I'm excited to go home after work and put my nephew's valentine in my box.

I will get some new pictures of Per up soon. He now has 5 teeth and is getting closer to scooting/crawling with each moment that passes... Time goes way too fast.

Valentines Box Contest

Some of you may remember the Valentines Box Contest from a few weeks ago. Sadly, we only had four votes and it was a tie right down the middle. To save James' lovely valentine from being chopped right down the middle*, I am sending out a plea for just one tie-breaker vote on the Valentine's box post. You can post the comment on that blog or on this one, either way. Just vote!

*Zak has suggested that one of us should just acquiesce and take the Valentine. I told him no way, Jose. So please vote!

Biter Biscuits

I haven't ever seen a cuter face than this... Unless maybe it's this one....

Wait a minute. This one has GOT to be the cutest face I've ever seen!

Per loves his biter biscuits. He is such a sweet little guy!

One of My Other Favorite Things!

This is my beautiful new sewing machine: Here are some things that I have made with my beautiful new sewing machine:

This is our bedroom curtain (sorry the pictures aren't very good, I am such an amateur). The patches on the curtain are leftover scraps from the quilt we have on our bed so they match. Isn't that special?
I made this curtain for one of the kitchen windows out of a pillowcase from the DI. That's right, it cost $2. (I want my two dollars! -- name that movie) What a thrifty girl I am!

This is a close-up of the living room curtain. I really like the funky paisley pattern.

I had trauma trying to get this one done (made out of sheets from the DI, also, if you can believe that), but luckily everything worked out and it turned out to be the best of the curtains I made! There are a few other things I have been working on but don't have pictures of -- bibs for Per, diaper-and-wipes holders, curtains for Per's room. Sewing has become my new favorite thing to do. I am sticking to pretty basic straight-line stitching for now, but am planning to make some fabric beach balls for Per as well as some headbands for myself. It's fun being kind of crafty!

Valentines Box Contest

This is the prize: (Thank you, James, for the very sweet valentine, and for providing the prize for our little contest! The translation is: "From James to Per and Aunt Sarah and Uncle Zak")

Box A

Box B

Here's the contest: Zak and I made Valentine's boxes as a Valentine's Day activity because it's something he really loved doing as a kid and something I have never done (at least that I can recall). Leave your vote for the best Valentine's box in the comments on this post. The contest goes through March 14th (at Zak's request) and whoever has the most votes at the end of the contest gets to put our awesome valentine from our nephew James in their box. Please join in the fun and vote!