11 MONTHS OLD

Well, the little guy is 11 months old. Crazy how fast time flies. Isaac has a tooth that has just popped through the surface and is walking more and more. Just yesterday he started trying to walk everywhere. He says Uh Oh, Momma and Dada and is starting to say up, but not to be up just randomly. He signs too, so far just more and all done. He is dancing more and more now - as soon as he hears some music, his head goes and then the rest of his body. Since we have been out of our condo, it seems like he has had so many milestones. I know it is just a coincidence, but such a learning experience that our family is our home, not a structure or any of the 'stuff' in it! I am so very thankful for all the wonderful family we have around us! I just ordered Isaac's 1st birthday invites, so mark your calendars, April 3rd! Here is his 11 month picture. I was only able to catch one good one since I was by myself, but 1 is better than none.

He was on the move!

Of course, brother had to be in on the action! Asher is imitating everything that Isaac does now, sometimes it is so cute!

A TOOTH, A TOOTH!!!

Wow the excitement at breakfast was almost overwhelming...a tooth broke through, FINALLY!!! Besides Isaac struggling from the cold his brother and daddy shared with him, he has been teething too. Poor guy! Yesterday he was just miserable, but this morning at breakfast I felt inside and sure enough, a rough little bottom tooth finally broke the surface. I imagine the matching bottom one will pop up soon, at least they typically come in twos, but we all know this little Perea is anything but typical. We took some extra pictures too.

This is Isaac's, 'Here Momma, share.' face.
We brought the trampoline that our friends handed down to us and as soon as it was on the floor in the hotel, Isaac was on it. I think learning to climb the stairs Miguel and Holly's house gave him the confidence he needed and he climbed right on it, held on to the handle and was jumping away. Later that same day, he climbed up on the bell cart we used to bring the laundry upstairs.

"HOME" truly is where your heart is...funny how many milestones we have had as a family and in strange places, not our physical home. Being in such a small place with so little 'stuff' to distract, I have had more time to focus on life, my life and walk and am so thankful for the lessons I am learning.

UPDATE....Long Over Due

So many of you mentioned that we missed Isaac's 10 month posting...yes you are absolutely correct. Life has been, well, a little crazy. You say, yes, you have 2 small children, duh! No, really crazy, we have been displaced from our home since Jan. 30th. Some of you know that with the crazy rains we had at the end of Dec. our home leaked again. It seems that it has been leaking for some time, so the damage is pretty extensive and there is mold. So in the process of packing up the necessities we totally spaced on taking Isaac's picture. We did however, remember to go back and pick up Enzo for any potential pictures to come.


So on Jan. 30th we were extremely blessed to stay in a fully furnished, ENORMOUS home in Murrieta for the first 2 weeks. It was wonderfully fabulous! While in the big house, Isaac did start walking! He took his first 2 steps to Auntie Donna on Feb. 2nd and then 2 more to me the next day. He also learned to crawl up stairs in the house too! Asher was able to play outside in the backyard almost everyday after breakfast, lunch and dinner. Making memories in that house was so special, you walk in the door and the feeling is so homey and blessed.

We have since moved into a hotel in Temecula on the 12th and 13th of February and will be here until sometime in March, looks like the middle of March. We do have two suites at the hotel, so we have a little wiggle room. Asher gets in a little running from one end of one suite to the end of the other. He runs down the hall too when we come and go. His most favorite part is the alligator...I mean elevator. He gets the two mixed up from time to time. The cafe staff just love the boys and are so helpful. Taking the boys down to breakfast every morning has been a little challenging, but hey, less dishes for me! We are adjusting pretty well. Isaac is walking and walking more and more every day. It is so fun to see him be so excited about his accomplishment. Still NOOOOOO TEETH, but hey maybe by the time he turns 1! I plan to post an 11 month picture with Enzo, so if anything major happens, I will be sure to include an update.

Here are some pictures we have taken while on our extended vacation...

A fun outing to the park with Auntie Donna before moving day.

LOVE THE HAIR!!!

The day before the next moving day, we were blessed by Grams to go to the Wild Animal Park. My boys first time and we had so much fun. One of my favorite exhibits is the Roars, I mean Lions. They just seem so up close. Asher did much roaring of his own!

Isaac just hanging out enjoying all the sights to see and lots of people watching.

Erik and Asher walking through a giant hollow tree trunk.

What a cheese...look at the boy next to Asher...it's like he is thinking what is up with that cheesey kid. Asher liked being able to go up and touch the animals.

A great picture of Grams, Erik and Asher.

So far the only picture I have taken while at the hotel...this little birdie came to visit today while the boys were playing with toys in their room. Asher had so much fun talking to him and after I snapped these pics, he had to get his camera and take pics too, but he kept telling the birdie to, "CHEESE! BIRDIE!"

The bird was just sitting there in the rain. It really was a pretty bird too, I don't think I have ever seen this species of bird.

More too come...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASHER!

Wow, 2 years have gone by since our special Asher blessed us by coming into this world. We are so very grateful for the wonderful times and even the challenging times he has brought to our lives. We love his bright, contagious smile and spirit. His love for song, singing and music is such a joy! We have a couple of special days ahead of us to celebrate him and will post pics later.

We measured him this morning and he is 36 inches tall! Can't believe it!

AN EARLY HAPPY BIRTHDAY

So, Asher has been singing the 'Happy Day Jesus' song since before Christmas. We sing Happy Birthday to Jesus on Christmas day and so Asher practiced for weeks. Anyway, the tune has changed recently...Happy Day Ashooo. On Sunday, since he started singing 'Happy Day Jesus', we explained to Asher that we would be singing Happy Birthday to Asher on Friday (and Saturday too). Sunday night Granny sent home the Happy Birthday sign, so that has been out since Monday. It has turned into a birthday week apparently. Every time Asher gets into his seat for a meal or to sit at the table, he sings, Happy Day Ashooo. Some of you may not know, Asher refers to himself as Ashooo which I totally love, it is so cute to me!

Well last night we had an unexpected birthday delivery. Grandpa Des and Grandma Jan are leaving today for Colorado to see their real grandkids, son and daughter-in-law and won't be able to make it to his little party, so Grandma Jan stopped by with a little prize for Asher for his birthday. What a wonderful surprise and blessing. As she was opening the door Asher even announce, Jan, Grandma Jan before she even came in the door. Here a couple of pics I was able to grab.

This wheels book is awesome, all kinds of neat things with wheels, so fun.

see the little hand...Isaac is saying, let me have that!

Grandma Jan is a great reader, so animated. What a great book, a lion, monkey, parrot and elephant that make their noise when you press on them.
Thank you Grandpa Des and Grandma Jan for loving our boys and us! We love and appreciate you very much!

9 MONTHS OLD

Nine months already, wow, it's going by pretty quick. Isaac is doing very well, he crawls everywhere and has picked up quite a bit of speed trying to catch his brother, stands up all the time and is walking along the couch and other objects. Though he does get pretty frustrated when he can't run after his brother sometimes. He has developed quite a loud opinion, especially when his brother takes a toy from him or makes him mad. He still has NOOOOOO teeth to speak of and can't really tell if any will be breaking through this year. However, that doesn't stop him from eating big people food. Like most babies, he loves french fries, but also loves his peas, sweet potatoes, toast and rolls, carrots and cheese.

Yesterday I took him to the doctor for his 9 month check up. My suspicions were correct, Isaac is longer and lighter than Asher was at 9 months. Isaac is 30 1/2 inches long, an inch longer than Asher and only weights 23.6 ounces, almost 2 lbs lighter than Asher. Funny just how different they are in both personality and body. I think they look very similar though in the 9 month pictures we took yesterday morning. Here are a few...

Asher at 9 months old

POST THANKSGIVING

So for a couple years now I have not made a turkey and am always so sad not to have turkey sandwiches later that weekend. So, this year I made a point to go grocery shopping when we returned from the desert (a huge accomplishment in itself, I might add) and bought a turkey and all the trimmings. We wanted to get together with the Mattfield family while they were home on furlow, so a turkey dinner I made for all. I am so very sad that these were the only pictures I got that night. It was a wonderful time hearing about what the Lord is doing and the plans they have for the future. Uncle Larry and Auntie Donna joined us too.

This is their sweet Annabelle, she is 6 months old and enjoyed jumping in Isaac's jumper. At one point Isaac was right next to her and they were talking to one another. Too cute!
2 of their 3 boys enjoying the toys

David grabbed a great shot just before Asher went up to bed. We realized we didn't have any pics of Uncle Larry with the boys.

I wish I was better about getting more pictures. Hopefully I will do better next time. We hope to see them again before they go back to Mexico in January.

RIP Squeaker

Today is a very sad day in our home. Squeaker, the worlds best cat, past away. He hasn't been well and this past weekend we had to move him out to the garage due to incontinence. He hadn't been eating in days, but was still drinking water. This morning I put a diaper out in the garage and he meowed 2 times, but I couldn't find him. This evening when David got home, he found him and Squeaker had passed away sometime today. He really was the best cat - he talked to you, strongly encouraged you to pet him and had the loudest purr I think I have ever heard. Even Uncle Larry couldn't resist him and he doesn't like cats and is allergic to them. He was also so good around the kids. They could pull on him and he wouldn't make a noise or move. It was a great 16+ years Squeaker and you will be missed greatly!

8 MONTHS OLD

Monday Isaac turned 8 months old. We grabbed a couple shots last night. All of Isaac's jammies were dirty, so I had to put a 2T sleeper on him. I think it made him look bigger than he really is around the middle. He fits in the 18 month sleepers great. As you have probably already read, he is getting around great and pulling himself up on everything. He still has no teeth to speak of at all. He and his brother are having lots of fun playing together.
I just saw that the boys are in the same outfit. Too funny, I had no idea last night when I pulled out the bigger jammies for Isaac.

Asher at 8 months old

Notice the orange nose has arrived...I remember people commented on Asher's too, I guess they eat a lot of orange veggies!
Fresh out of the bath...he had to have a cheese too since brother was getting to cheese!

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful, family full Thanksgiving. We enjoyed visiting with the Mascari and Perea families in the early afternoon and then headed to Papa's and Granny's for a fabulous dinner. We didn't get too many pics, sorry.

Here is our Thankful Tree we made the beginning of November. We used pictures of the people in our life that we are thankful for since Asher can't read, but he knows the pictures.

Asher playing with his cousins...

Asher loves playing with the big boys and even got in on tackling them too



The traditional Turkey leg for the baby

Isaac enjoyed gumming a lot, he had some sweet potatoes too.
Asher and Papa relaxing in Papa's recliner watching some tv after a long day.
We have so much to be thankful for this year and years past too. We are surrounded by wonderful family and friends. We have a warm, comfy home and food in our fridge, daddy has a great job and I get to stay at home and so much more! Hope your Thanksgiving was great too, you were in our thoughts and prayers!