February II

Perry's biting keeps us on our toes.

I took Karen (and Marva) to lunch to thank her for watching the boys while I volunteered at preschool. Scott wanted broccoli cheddar soup.

He thought it was hilarious that his bowl was bread and couldn't wait to tell Jonah about it.

Perry can stand unassisted, but doesn't like to move his feet forward. He just flops forward into our arms or faceplants. 

We went to brunch one morning to use a gift card from Christmas. We were the only ones there and the boys were shockingly well behaved.

Even Perry enjoyed the yummy food. 

Such a dapper boy.

Scooting along the furniture.

Pushing the stroller. It's the only way he'll walk anywhere and he loves it.

Scott coloring at church. He's very meticulous.

Scott showing Perry his N1 Starfighter Lego in action.

How reading time ends on Sunday afternoons.

Once his brothers are in bed, Perry has full command of the playroom. Just the way he likes it.

Working on his Star Wars Kindergarten workbooks. There are so many characters I don't know, so I have to look them up to figure out why the answers are what they are.

We weren't in the San Jose flooding, but our back patio did get a lot of water run off from the yard that was too hardened by drought to absorb all the rain.

Sweet little helper. He loves putting things in and out of baskets, so laundry is a great chore for him. Until he starts pulling the folded clothes out.

Still a snuggle bug. Especially when he's tired, cold, or sad.

Perry loves my shoes. He can reach John's now, but still only goes for mine. He did discover his belts, though.

Our neighbor gave us free slurpee coupons that were expiring that day. It was a really cold night, but that didn't deter our sugar lovers.

Perry got a cold and was especially fussy one day and only wanted to sleep while being held. I got my library book the day before book club, so I was reading every possible minute. Snuggling a sleeping baby and reading a good book is probably the best way to spend an afternoon.

Bending over to pick something up with his mouth like a puppy.

I let the boys do whatever they wanted that day, so it was nuts, but the important thing is I finished my book in time.

Scott Turns 5

For his birthday, Scott's first choice was Disneyland, but settled for Happy Hollow and chocolate sprinkle donuts. Unfortunately, Happy Hollow flooded and was closed. We had done fun outings all week, so I had nothing special left up my sleeve to celebrate on his birthday. We ended up going for a bike ride to the park and he had fun anyway.

 It was Perry's first bike ride. He loved it.

 Little mushroom head.

Found something tasty at the park.

 Trying to climb up with his brothers.

 The little man of the hour.

His model pose.

 Amanda helped Jonah conquer his fear of heights so he could go on the big slide.

 John had the camera, so I'm in a picture!

 It was nice having the family together to play, not rushed and not crowded.

 There was another mom at the park who, in my opinion, went all out for her son's birthday. Decorations, snacks, treats, etc. I said we were just having treats with family, so she could use our table if she needed it. She said her husband was out of work, so they weren't doing a party and she didn't want to host anything at her house because they had to let the maid go and it's so much work to clean before and after guests.

 Scott was happy to just ride his bike.

 Jonah loved individual attention from Amanda.

 Perry liked the freedom to crawl and explore.

 And, of course, Grandma time.

 Jonah saw Grandpa!

 Once Grandpa arrived, we had our fancy donuts. I was happy I remembered candles and a lighter. By this point the mom behind us had spread to two tables full of goodies. She offered to share with us, which was sweet, but I passed. I thought it was funny that her "not celebrating" was my idea of a big party.

 Scott's favorite gift was from Amanda. Star Wars Lego underwear. Jonah was obviously excited on his behalf.

Aunt Wendy sent him $5 and (after we told him it was money) he was excited because he could buy a Disneyland ticket.

I was still debating if we should just get him Disney on Ice tickets to do something special, but Scott kept insisting he'd rather put the money towards a Disneyland trip. Then my friend gave us tickets that they weren't going to use. It worked perfectly because we still got to go, but saved our Disneyland money.

 Since they have six kids, we had extra seats, so we took Perry. My friend Miranda and my mom could also come.

They wanted more Lightning McQueen, but there's only so much choreography cars can do on ice. Other than that, they loved the show.

 It was the same performance we saw two years ago, but with Frozen at the end instead of Tinkerbell. Much, much, much better. Much. My favorite part was watching the little girls singing and dancing along. My kids sat glued. Jonah was nodding off and Scott was observing.

 Perry got antsy and John took him for a walk, so he fell asleep. Then Jonah crashed when we got to the car. It was a long and fun day celebrating Scott.

On Scott's 5th birthday, his favorite:

food is quiche.

color is teal.

song is Taylor Swift.

church song is Samuel (tells of the baby Jesus).

scripture story is Nephi gets the plates

animal is penguin

hobbies are my Kindergarten workbook, playing light sabers, ride my bike speedy, Legos, building big train tracks, and traveling in planes.

When he grows up he wants to be construction. 

Scott is a smart, silly, and loving kid. He snuggles me every day. He eats more than I do. He likes everything to be equal and fair and is indignant on others' behalf when things aren't. He figures things out and makes observations that show his brain is always thinking. He is a perfectionist and hates making mistakes. I've really relied on him since Perry was born and he's stepped up to his role as "big big brother." We love our Scott Bean.

Perry 11 Months

This little nugget is not so little anymore. His bedhead was like a combover this morning.

 He stayed on the chair for one second and was on his way.

 Exploring the best way down.

 Such a big boy.

 And he was on his way.

 Then out the door before I could catch another picture of him.

We all love "Baby Perry" and aren't ready for his last month of being zero. Perry is sweet and makes us laugh. He says mamama, dadada and nonono. He can shake his head, wave, and high five. He stands on his own for a few seconds at a time, usually without realizing he's doing it. His new favorite food is strawberries, but as long as he can feed himself little bites he seems to like most foods. He's switching to one good morning nap and the afternoon one is either short, late, or he just skips and goes to bed earlier. He still loves baths and his brothers.