The Perrin Family

2 Month Thayer

2012-01-21T13:09:00.000-08:00

Thayer rolled over at 2 months! Way to go! He is 12 lb. 5 oz. and 20-something inches long....22 or 23 perhaps? This is what happens to your short term memory when you have two kids! He is still amazing....super easy going, all smiles and laughs! I love it!

Staying Busy

2012-01-21T12:36:00.000-08:00

This morning West Point got it's first hint of real winter. It has been snowing all day, and there's a good 6 inches outside!

I have started making my second quilt! Here is a sneak peek!

Goofy Girl

2012-01-21T10:52:00.000-08:00

Adelynne is getting so big, I can't get over it! She is turning into a wonderful girl, and we are so proud of her! She changes her clothes at least 5 times a day, and is always doing something silly. She got into Kris' snowboard boots last night and told me she was skiing!

We have started going to Grace Community Church here in Washingtonville, NY. The number one thing I love about the church is that the first Sunday we went Adelynne was learning about God and Jesus in her Sunday School Class, and even began memorizing her first Bible verse! We say it all the time at home, and it is just wonderful hearing Adelynne say scripture. I love it because she is learning God's truth, and hiding His word in her heart already! So cool!

I can not get this girl to be consistently potty trained. I don't know what her deal is, but she is like dead against it. No matter what. We started potty training at 18 months, and my family and friends were so patient with her accidents. I thought her accidents were due to her being so young. And then she did well. And then we moved, and moved again, and moved again. So I thought her accidents were due to changing environments. And then she did great! And then she did not do great. And now she just turned three, and I do understand accidents are bound to happen....but this is ridiculous....1-3 a day and wetting the bed at night! Come on girl! So I am trying this potty game with her. She gets to move Belle closer to the candy prize every time she goes potty on the potty, goes potty by herself, or stays dry all night. And then every time she has an accident Belle moves back one space. She seems to understand the game well, I am just hoping the motivation is enough for her to start being more consistent!

Adelynne also a few other things we are working on, so I made her a sticker chart. She loves it! It is great for her to see what she can do to earn stickers and also give her a small reward for good behavior! So far this chart is working pretty well!

She's got some clip on earrings and is feeling pretty fancy! We got her three pairs of clip on earrings this week, and somehow we have kept them all! I really thought these things would be lost in a day!

Well, this morning Adelynne heard Kris wake up and got up with him....at 5:00AM! Now Kris doesn't ever wake up at 5AM if he doesn't have to, but he went on a Ski trip today. So Addie crawled into bed with me, and I fell back asleep so quickly! I then woke up at 6AM to feed Thayer only to figure out that Adelynne had been downstairs for an hour opening chocolates....luckily she didn't eat nearly as much as I thought she would! She then promptly went back to sleep...sugar crash!

Just Do It

2012-01-11T06:23:00.000-08:00

So I have recently started meeting with a few women over coffee on Monday mornings to do a small devotion together and talk about life. This past week we discussed the busy-ness of life and how easy it is to be overwhelmed with things of this world on a daily basis: going to the post office, laundry, dishes, keeping up with friends, taking kids places, grocery shopping, etc. The Lord has been teaching me so much lately about needing to simply do the things I know ought to be doing instead of focusing on my to-do list of chores. I grew up being taught that in order to read the Bible I need to have a "quiet time", and that I need to spend 10+ minutes in prayer before I even read any scripture, and then I need to truly focus on scripture and read a lot. Well, the only quiet time I find in my house is when everyone is asleep. So I had this notion that in order to have a time to pray and read my Bible I had to do this early in the morning before everyone wakes up. But I am always so tired that I haven't been getting up until Adelynne is up, so for a long time I simply haven't been reading my Bible because my "time" for it was gone before my day truly even started. Well about two weeks ago the Lord convicted me that doing something is better than nothing, so I decided to just sit in the other room while Adelynne played and took 15 minutes, said a short prayer and read a chapter in Acts. It was wonderful! Two weeks later, I am now in Acts 15, and learning so much. My time to pray doesn't end when I close the Bible now, and I don't have to have some secluded place of quiet time to read the Bible. So as the Lord has been bringing me through this, and my recent discussion of learning to simply "just do it" instead of finding excuses I have begun working out. I am planning on starting P90X next week which I am looking forward to. I have always tried running over the years and I simply came to the conclusion a while ago that I don't like it and am not any good at it, and I can't do it. But this week I have changed my mind. Yesterday morning I asked Kris do the Orange County Chopper 5k in March with me. So last night Kris watched the kids for a little while and I took 15 minutes in 40 degree weather to attempt a run. Well, I did it! 1 mile, and 12 minutes later I am runner! With sore legs this morning I already ventured out and did it again! So I am writing this to encourage you that whatever it is you think you can't do it or don't have time to do, to just DO it! Don't let your to-do list overwhelm you or your idea of how you want something done to prevent you from doing it all. So I leave you with two scripture verses that have encouraged me:

"Do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. For all of these things the nations of the world eagerly seek, but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you" Luke 12:29-31

"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all of your might" Ecclesiastes 9:10

Crazy Coupon Lady

2012-01-11T05:57:00.000-08:00

Lately I have had several friends ask me about my couponing interest so I am dedicating this blog post to how I coupon. I would like to start by saying that learning how to coupon is the hardest part, it took me about 4 weeks of consistently learning the stores coupon policies to understand them well enough to feel confident shopping at the stores. In the beginning I spent a lot of time on several couponing websites and now I don't spend nearly as much time. I buy 4 copies of the Sunday Journal. Most coupons have a limit of 4 per transaction, which is why I buy 4. I do not subscribe to have the newspaper delivered because there are no coupon inserts on holiday weekends. Here is the 2012 coupon insert schedule. There are three major coupon inserts. Procter & Gamble puts one in the first of every month. Weekly there is a coupon insert titled: RedPlum, and one titled Smart Source. Thanks to my friend Teghan for this tip, instead of clipping all of those coupons out and filing them I take a sharpie and just write the date on the front of each coupon insert and then file them in an expandable file. For example: I write 1/11 on the front of all of the coupon inserts and then file them all together. The next thing I do is check the websites for the coupon deals for the upcoming week and make my list. I find www.livingrichwithcoupons.com is the best website for grocery deals out here in NY. I also use www.hiptosave.com on weekly basis. For TX I would look more at www.mylitter.com and for online deals I look at www.thecentsableshoppin.com So I look at the websites and will see something listed like this: Finish Powerball, 20 ct - $3.69 ***this is the product and current retail price at the store

$2.15/1 Powerball, any from the 1/8 SS ***this is a coupon available to use on the product, 1/8 is the date the coupon was distributed, so it was in the Jan 8 newspaper, and SS means it was found in the SmartSource insert. If this said 1/8 RP then it would be found in the RedPlum insert.
$1.54each after coupon ***this should be what you actually pay for the product.

There are a lot of coupons available to print, but I only print the ones that are part of my shopping trip. Most of the sites with printable coupons have a printing limit of 2, so I use both of our laptops to print a total of 4 coupons.

I print out my list, print out any coupons needed, cut any coupons needed, and paperclip them to the stores shopping list I printed, and then I go shopping.

So pictured above is my shopping trip yesterday.

Walmart:

12 Nabisco cookie cups priced at $1 each = $12 - 4 Coupons for $3 off any Nabisco product when you buy 3 items = FREE

4 Packets of BIC bold color pens priced at $0.97 each = $3.88 - 4 Coupons for $1.00 off any BIC product = profit of $0.12

CVS:

The way a lot of small drugstores work is that you pay a little upfront and then get coupons printed at the end of your receipt to use for that store.

1 GE lightbulb priced at $2.99 = $2.99 paid with a print out of $2.00 to spend on next purchase

1 CVS Vitamin D priced at $3.49 = $3.49 paid with a print out of $3.49 to spend on next purchase

1 packet of Peanut Butter M&M's priced at $0.75 = $0.75 paid with a print out of $0.50 to spend on next purchase

So I paid $7.23 plus tax out of pocket and received $5.99 to spend on my next purchase.

My second transaction at CVS: Spend $30 on certain products receive a print out for $10 in store credit.

4 ALL Oxi Clean Laundry Detergent priced at $2 each (retailing $8.29 each) = $8.00 - 4 Coupons for $1 off any All Detergent product = $4.00

5 Rembrandt Whitening Toothpaste priced at $3.99 each = $19.95 - 5 Coupons for $2.00 off = $9.95

1 Finish Gelpacks 20 count priced at $3.50 each = $3.50 - 1 Coupon for $2.15 off Finish product = $1.35

So my total was: $31.45 plus tax giving me the coupon for $10 off my next purchase, but after coupons and my previous credit of $5.99 I paid: $7.34 plus tax

Now most people save the $10 credit and roll into the deals available for the following week, but I had Adelynne with me and she was behaving really well so I went ahead and used it to buy the dancing/singing valentines puppy.

So for all of this I paid approximately $20 for $80 worth of things I know we will use.

So a few more things about couponing:

The websites talk a lot about "Catalinas". Catalinas are simply the coupons that print out at the register after you pay that you can use on a future purchase.

Also, I learned most stores that double coupons will only double up to $0.99 which means if I have a coupon valued at $1.00 or more it will not double, but if I have a coupon priced at $0.75 then it will double and I will get $1.50 off.

So that's basically all I can think of right now. Let me know if you have any questions about couponing, if I don't know the answer I bet I know someone who does! Happy Savings!!

Crazy

2012-01-09T08:54:00.000-08:00

I may now be known as the crazy coupon lady! I bought all of that for $2.79! Woooo hoooo! I never thought it possible, but now I love it. I used to think couponing took too much time, and never offered the products that I "actually" use, but now I know better. Using Cindy's website at www.livingrichwithcoupons.com I am able to get everything together really quickly now. It definitely took me some time to learn what everything meant and how to do it all, but I've got a great system and I love it! It can be frustrating at times, for example: As I made this purchase I bought the wrong size box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but when I exchanged it for the correct size the price difference was.....drum roll please.... $13.96! For the wrong size cereal! Eeeek! Anyway, off of my couponing rant and onto my fanatic husband....

Kris loves Michigan football. I know it, you know it, everyone he meets knows he is a HUGE fan of UM! Well for the Sugar Bowl he decided to prove it from head to toe! Cute, huh? :)

Oh sweet Thayer! Our little guy got all dressed up for the first time and I was smitten! I always believed boy clothes were no where near as cute as girl clothes, but I don't know anymore.....he looks pretty cute to me!

Adelynnes First Dance Class

2012-01-07T17:27:00.000-08:00

For three years I have anxiously been waiting for Adelynne's 3rd birthday to be able to enroll her in dance classes! She loves it! She is doing ballet and tapdance once a week and at her first class she seemed to pick it all up really well. Of course we found her a lovely purple tutu to make it all more fun!

Merry Christmas

2012-01-07T17:19:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone!

For Christmas this year we found a 3 foot horse to throw in with Adelynnes gifts, and it was a hit. After all of the gifts were opened she sat on the horse alllllll day in her "Repunzel" dress. She loves it!

Santa Baby

2011-12-17T08:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we took the kiddos to visit Santa Claus! Adelynne was so not into it...as you can see from the first photo....and then daddy decided to bribe her and told her we would get her ice cream if she smiled, and lo behold....she busted out the biggest smile I've ever seen on her little face! I died laughing that his bribe ACTUALLY worked!

Our litte pumpkin!

2011-12-15T09:55:00.001-08:00

Thayer 1 Month

2011-12-15T06:56:00.000-08:00

I am so strong!

I can't believe Thayer is 1 month old. At one month old he is truly one of the most well behaved, good natured babies in the world! He sleeps wonderfully, has started smiling and cooing, and only cries if he needs a new diaper, needs to burp, or is hungry....what more could a mom hope for?! He is our big boy too....he was born 7lb 6oz. and by his two week check up he weighed.....8lb 14 oz!!!!!! And at the four week check up he weighed..... 9 lb. 14 oz! He is such a blessing! Adelynne is wonderful with him, and loves on him all day. She has handled this time of transition so well....we are so proud of her!

Loving Thayer

2011-12-08T18:31:00.001-08:00

Adelynne's 3rd Minnie Mouse Birthday

2011-12-08T17:58:00.001-08:00

Today we celebrated Adelynne's 3rd birthday with a small Minnie Mouse party. We had some friends over to help us celebrate and it was a blast. Adelynne has been asking for her birthday party for so many months she seemed truly overwhelmed that it was finally here. I think she threw her arms around me saying "Thank you Mama!" at least 5 times today! She was soooo excited!

As I searched for pinatas, all I could find are the new "pull string" pinatas. We really wanted one the kids could whack and break, so I made one! I found this tutorial and copied it, and I loved it! Adelynne was taking the pinata around the house this morning, showing "Minnie Mouse" all of her toys!

Adelynne saw all of her presents and folded her arms over her little heart and, beaming, asked "Mommy....are these for me?!?" What a sweetie!

Adelynne showing off her new minnie mouse purses! Oh lala!

Christmas Time!

2011-12-08T15:17:00.001-08:00

Here is our Christmas Tree! We took Adelynne and Thayer out and cut down our tree. Adelynne was much more interested in playing with the ornaments than with decorating the tree!

Kris has been leaving me lots of notes this week and they are cracking me up! This is my favorite one for sure! We played Phase Ten together this week and he left a note for me at the bottom of the score sheet. I think my favorite thing is that as an almost 30 year old man he drew smiley faces under his exclamation points....cute, babe!

Chunky Monkey

2011-12-02T03:09:00.001-08:00

On Monday this week I took Thayer for 2 week check up. The nurse said he looked like he was 2 MONTHS old! Eek! Turns out Thayer has gained quite a bit of weight...the doctor said it was a record weight gain in his 20 year career. He was 7 lb. 6oz. at birth and he now weighs 8lb. 14oz. and is 21 inches tall...and has already outgrown his newborn outfits. He is a great boy and life couldn't be better for us. We are having so much with two kids in the house, it is awesome!

Heffalumps are taking Over

2011-11-28T11:55:00.001-08:00

Pooh's Heffalump Movie has had quite the impact on our home. I rented this movie at the library for Adelynne, and after renewing 3 times I finally purchased it off of Amazon for $7. This is easily my favorite children's movie and Adelynne's too. There is something so sweet and innocent about this movie it almost moves me to tears when we watch it, which is almost daily. Adelynne loves Lumpy the Heffalump so much that I began searching for a Lumpy stuffed animal....and all they have for sale is one on Amazon for $30! No way! But....as I was walking into Michaels this past week, I found an Elephant with a blanket for $5 and grabbed some purple yarn to make Lumpy's hair and tail. So with my coupon I was able to make Adelynne a Lumpy doll for $6 and got Thayer a new baby blanket too! So all day long Adelynne now pretends to be an elephant, which is really very cute...until we are at the store and she practically spits at people being an elephant. How exactly do you tell strangers that your spitting child really just thinks she an elephant?

Welcome Thayer

2011-11-15T12:20:00.001-08:00

Thayer Stephen Perrin was born on November 13, 2011 at 2:30 pm weighing in at 7 lbs. 6 oz. and 20 inches tall! Our little man made quite the appearance. He decided to make us wait to meet him as he joined us two days after his due date. My water broke at 4:30am and when I finally realized it around 7:00am we went off to the hospital. His heart rate dropped significantly with each contraction, but he bounced back after each one so we avoided a C-section. Without giving too many details, (this has been very humorous to us)....as I was delivering Thayer I got very nauseous and began to throw up...at that exact moment he decided to appear, so essentially I threw up my son. Haha! My brother tells me that I "Thayered Up". It turns out his heart rate had been dropping because the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck twice, but the Lord answered our prayers and brought Thayer safely to us. He weighed exactly the same as Adelynne at 7.6. Praise the Lord for this amazing son he has given us. We are so grateful to be parents to such a sweet boy.

Enjoying the New Mommy meal of steak, veggies, and sparkling cider!

Our West Point baby - Thayer! Go Army!

Heading Home!

Adelynne playing with all of the new Mickey Mouse Clubhouse toys that Thayer got her! She love them!

Yeah, he pretty cool.

Hello Winter, Goodbye Fall

2011-10-30T17:03:00.000-07:00

Well here comes Winter. It's barely the end of October and we had over a foot of snow this weekend! And a lovely power outage to accompany it. I love snow, and it was absolutely beautiful!

Adelynne has been around a lot of snow in her little lifetime, but this was the first time she got to enjoy it as a toddler and her first time sledding!

She got her buddy Blake to come out and play. Blake's dad told him to slide on his belly....so he tried! Adelynne thinks he is crazy :)

She is telling everyone she "went sliding down the hill and was a little bit scared, but I like it!"

Woo Hoo!!!

I have no idea how this started, but a winter tradition for me growing up was to pour grenadine over a bowl of snow and enjoy it as a snack! I loved this growing up, and couldn't wait to "eat the snow" every chance I could! Today Adelynne got her first bowl, and she was super excited. She said it is yummy!

The Man of My Dreams

2011-10-30T13:59:00.000-07:00

Joel and Christy mailed us the greatest bathtime apron gift to wash up Thayer! Kris couldn't wait to try it on!

This year Kris has been very persistent trying to perfect his ribs. So much so that I came into the kitchen at about 8:00 at night to find him shirt-less, with a beer, and grill rub everywhere prepping them for the next day. Now we need a picture of me barefoot in the kitchen and we'll have the perfect life!

Apple Picking & Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-30T13:48:00.000-07:00

We went apple picking and picked our pumpkins at Lawrence Farms this year. It was our first time doing all of this together as a family! God gave us a beautiful day and it was so fun! We brought a picnic and let Adelynne run around, and then picked 25 lbs. of apples! Yum! I made a bunch of applesauce and froze it to enjoy throughout the winter, but it is amazing how much those apples reduce to so little! 25 lbs. sounds like it would make a lot more applesauce than it did!

Found the hairiest little caterpillar ever! Adelynne wouldn't touch him or hold him at all, what a girl!

Our bounty!

Pumpkin Decorating

2011-10-22T22:40:00.000-07:00

Adelynne's pumpkin decorating....she loved this! She got to pick out a pumpkin at the store, and cover it with stickers!

She loooooved trying to get every little sticker off the page!

Super-star!

Super proud of her awesome little pumpkin, she has it on her dresser in her room!

Recipe Binder

2011-10-22T22:34:00.000-07:00

I bought this from Target for under $10!

This idea is completely taken from my sweet, organized friend, Lyndee! This is my Recipe Binder! I can't begin to tell you how much I LOVE this thing, and how close I am to needing a second one!

This is the awesome clip on the inside of the binder where I can put anything: grocery list, recipes for the week, or new recipes that need to be filed away.

Before I get to my recipes the first section is equivalent measure and food substitutions! I also have a page of recipes organized in the front just for Thanksgiving!

So I made some more dividers and these sections are: Appetizers, Soups, Salads, Side Dishes, & Main Dishes.

The next set of dividers is: Desserts, Cookies & Candy, Breads, & This & That.

In each section I have page slipcovers that I have slid all of my recipes into. Now to be super OCD...I have actually typed out all of the recipes so the book flows better....but the great thing is, I can put any size recipe in the pages and it keeps them all organized! Plus I can just take a page out, stick it on the fridge with a magnet, and its protected with the page cover so I can wipe it down after cooking!

This idea: Probably my absolute FAVORITE!

Binders

2011-10-22T22:18:00.000-07:00

This is my new Life Management Binder. I know the idea sounds super dorky, but in reality I have no more random notes and pieces of paper lying everywhere. Or thats the idea at least! I bought a binder, put a big clip on it for my random pages in the front, made some dividers with these sections: Calendars, Contacts, Daily, To Do, Menu, Cleaning, Finances, Gifts, Misc, and Holidays. It took me a while, but I found awesome printables for each section! And in the back of the book I have one slipcover full of a "hard copy" of each printout so I can just copy the page on my printer when I need a new one instead of searching online for the page again!

dividers

I think my favorite thing is having everything in one place...master birthday list, address list, to do list, and calendar. At least those are the highlights for me!

This idea: AWESOME!

dividers

Front page of my binder...right now, I have no goals!

Here is my other new binder to organize my crafty life. This is my Craft Idea Binder. For some reason, I found so many awesome craft/game/activity ideas in magazine, pinterest, and from friends....so now I have them all in one place! I only have three sections to this binder: Indoor/Outdoor/Holidays. This binder is way more full than I would expect it to be! But at least I can try to be more creative with Adelynne now!

This Idea: AWESOME!

Right now, for some insane reason I have become a "couponer". I have tried couponing once before...and I hated it. I even hated the idea about two months ago, maybe it's because I am bored waiting for Thayer to get here...or maybe God is growing me in ways outside of my comfort zone, but I love this! I have a list of websites I check everyday for a few minutes, print coupons out, snag some online deals, and I'm done! But....guess what I need? A coupon binder! So maybe sooner rather later, I will post about my new coupon binder that I have to make!

Pinterest Hair Tutorial Reviews

2011-10-22T20:33:00.002-07:00

As most of us know by now the website "Pinterest" is quite addictive and inspiring to us all in some way. After being prodded by some friends and family members I jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon and found some ideas and things that I loved. Well, I decided to try some of my favorite ideas out in real life....so I will give you my opinion of these popular ideas from Pinterest. Here are two hair style tutorials I tried out.

This "Bang Twist" hair tutorial promised much prettier results, but I still enjoyed a change of hair-do.I did find that at the best bobby pin makes all the difference....or so the woman explained. She suggested a brand "Super" bobby pins that can be found at any beauty supply store. And seeing as I don't have those lying around my house, nor do I frequent beauty supply stores....I will have to try this hair style idea out again in the future.

This hairstyle is inspired by the "wavy hair tutorial". I vote this hairstyle as a failure in my book. It took me over an hour to do....although I have thick hair, and with my naturally straight hair...these small waves fell out only a few short hours later. On to the next one, Pinterest!

Adelynne's Activities

2011-09-25T15:55:00.000-07:00

Kris and I heard silence downstairs this week and instantly knew something wasn't quite right. With a two year old running around the house, silence is never a good sign. We found her with a carton of eggs, which she had helped herself to from the refrigerator. She looked up at me and said "I was hungry". Luckily instead of eating any of the raw eggs she was distracted by her slimy hands after breaking several of them. What a kitchen adventure!

We took our first trip to the library this week! She got to watch Sleeping Beauty for the first time....which is surprisingly scary, and I don't think we will be watching for a second time. But she is quite the little bookworm and is having a great time with her books at home!

We have been doing a lot of crafts these days. I have felt like I have left Adelynne to her own devices and boredom for so many months now with our move and the pregnancy. I finally have the energy and organized house to help her do some crafts every day. She made several cards and a big sign for daddy. Her first project to him. How fun!

Since I have started updating this blog again, I have been taking a lot of photos around the house and Adelynne is LOVING it. I can gaurantee that she will ask at least 3 times a day for me to take a photo of some random thing. For instance, her broom.... She loves the camera!

Adelynne has always loved her dress up clothes, and now she is taking it to the extreme. She will walk around like this all day! Goofball!

My mother used to keep me busy as a child with a paintbrush and a cup of water and I have taken this to heart and passed the project along to Adelynne. She loves it and has a great time painting outside!

Moooooo

2011-09-21T17:18:00.000-07:00

Two days ago Adelynne walked up to me, as I am 32 weeks pregnant, and asked so sweetly "Whatcha got there COW?" I almost died laughing! Tonight as we were painting in her water-paint book, she saw this picture and innocently asked me if the cow was going potty in the bucket! Ahhhh, how to answer a two year old! Mooooo!

Fall!

2011-09-21T17:12:00.000-07:00

Whenever I am asked my favorite 'anything' I usually fail to have a firm answer. I most definitely do not have a favorite season. But this is my first "East Coast Fall" and everyone knows it is supposed to be beautiful here. The trees are just beginning to turn colors, and the temperature has dropped to be consistently in the 50's and 60's now. I usually wait to put out Fall decorations until October, but I am so excited so here we go! The fall decor is out! These are just my two favorite things. I can't wait to take photos of all the trees soon!

Olive Fingers

2011-09-21T17:04:00.000-07:00

When I was little we usually had an olive and pickle plate out for the holidays. I always always loved putting the olives on my fingers and then eating them, because of course...that is where they go! I think it runs in the family!

First Quilt

2011-09-17T14:19:00.000-07:00

I have finished my first quilt! It is for our baby boy, and I love it. It was so fun to learn how to quilt and I definitely have a new hobby....I am already itching to begin a new project...I am thinking an Autumn Quilt.

Hot Tub!

2011-09-11T20:31:00.000-07:00

First of all, can you believe I have posted 3 days in a ROW? I am on a roll!! I just need to leave our camera out! In this picture you can see our awesome fence that Kris worked hard putting in for us this weekend.... we can officially keep your children out of our yard! Just kidding :) I do love the fence though, it is great! Upon the completion of our fence, Kris set up our super-classy Hot Tub! While it isn't the prettiest, it sure is a fun thing to have....we have always enjoyed it, and now Adelynne gets to play in it too! She LOVED it!

31 Weeks Pregnant

2011-09-11T20:25:00.000-07:00

31 weeks pregnant....not long to go!

Adelynne is ready to hug baby brother!

Sweet photo of Adelynne and Daddy!

Our West Point Home Tour

2011-09-09T09:21:00.000-07:00

Welcome to West Point and our humble home! We have had a few friends ask for photos of our house, so here we go! A photo tour of our house!

Our four-plex

Our unit

Go West Point!

Once you are inside you can turn
around and see the latest upgrade
to the house....a safety handle on the
door to keep Adelynne inside!
Sneaky girl!

Our living room

The play area in the living room

View from the dining room into the living area

Our dining room

The kitchen

My scentsy....i love scentsy!

From the living room....on up stairs!

Our master bedroom

Ready for baby!

Getting ready for our little guy!

The paint and border in his room!

Next to his room at the top of the stairs
there was a big closet, which we turned into
a play room!

Just outside the play room in the hallway
is a little reading corner

Adelynne's room

Adelynne's room again

Our office and guest room, come visit!!

Back downstairs, our backyard!

Our backyard, and the neighborhood fire pit!

The view from our backyard of our old house...good riddance steep hill!

Kris' pride and joy...his new jeep!

A Girl After Daddy's Heart

2011-09-09T08:36:00.000-07:00

Kris loves tools and woodworking. I would easily say it is a passion of his. Adelynne has always stepped up to be his sidekick, and LOVES hanging out in the garage with him! They are definite work buddies! I scored a play tool set at a garage sale this past weekend for $10! She is having a blast with it!

Washington D.C. with Uncle Jerad

2011-09-09T08:22:00.000-07:00

YAY! Uncle Jerad!

A couple of weeks ago my brother had a work related conference in Washington D.C. where he had the nerve wrecking honor of being a keynote speaker for 2000 people! We imposed ourselves on his trip and got to see a little more of D.C. and visit with Jerad! It was a great trip and he did a great job speaking!!

Kris and I braved the metrorail and took Adelynne to the Smithsonian Zoo for the day! She loved it and it was a really great day, but oh man...my back was killing me!

This was definitely my last day of walking around all day with this pregnancy! But I got a snow cone at the zoo, which made it better!

Sesame Park

2011-09-09T08:11:00.000-07:00

Lets Go!

Excited for their first ride!

Kris and I have made some wonderful friends since being here at West Point! They have a son a couple months older than Adelynne, and the two of them are the best of friends! We all took the kids out to Sesame Park for a day of water park and roller coaster rides, for free, since we're military! How awesome! We thought we were sneaky going after school started....too bad we didn't know exactly when school started and it was still as busy as ever! The kids had a great time and it was loads of fun!

Back from the first ride....the kiddos aren't sure what to think!

I got to take Adelynne on the carousel! She loved the line
of people watching her, I think she felt like a
Super Star!

Adelynne got to meet Elmo! She loved it and gave him a hug and a high five! We also met Abby Cadabby, Bert, and Ernie, and Grover!

Summer Garden & Baking

2011-09-09T07:13:00.000-07:00

More photos of veggies from our garden. Since this was our first garden, and I didn't quite know what I was doing...I planted our carrots WAY too close together...so they got intertwined. This was our favorite!

We got to go pick raspberries here at West Point, and I made my first pie! Delicious!

New York!

2011-09-08T21:57:00.000-07:00

I admit I may be one of the worst bloggers ever. I never seem to upload photos to my computer, and when I do there are hundreds, and then before blogging I need them organized in proper files in my computer....plus blogging of course gets the last spot on my to-do list. But tonight it is topping the list and everything else is taking the back burner.

On our Way to New York!

Well, we are officially New Yorkers and life is getting settled in nicely here at West Point. We arrived here at West Point a few days before Easter and that already feels like a lifetime ago. West Point is definitely not what I expected or imagined, but it beautiful and I love it. I imagined West Point as a flat college campus on the Hudson River...over the mountains and down in a valley. However, West Point is built directly into the mountainside.... most definitely not a flat valley campus! None the less, it is beautiful and we are blessed to live here. I admit I am nervous at the coming winter, as the most common word I have heard to describe wintertime here is: BRUTAL. Doesn't sound too good....

Visiting Mount Rushmore on our adventure to West Point

Since moving here, we have already moved to a second house. We got settled into a house here when we first arrived, and after a while realized it wasn't as ideal a spot for our family as we thought it would be. Our backyard was simply a big hill, with no flat areas, that sloped directly into the neighborhood fire pit. So we saw some neighbors move out a few doors down, and requested to move since the yard is large and flat. Although we requested to move to gain a bigger house and bigger yard, which is a blessing, a move while being pregnant....is still a move while being pregnant. We went from a 3 bedroom to 4 bedroom and no backyard to a large backyard, and are so grateful! I have finally finished settling us in to this house and out of the other house, which is wonderful! I think I have quite the painting resume. We also did our first garden this summer, and ate a lot of awesome veggies from it!

Our first garden

Zucchini! Yum!

We have travelled to North Carolina, twice to Washington D.C, several trips to N.Y.C., and had a ton of relatives visit us. It has certainly been a hectic summer for us, but really good too! I got to go to New York City for my first time as a date night with Kris! We got a wonderful hotel room with an awesome view of Time Square and walked around, and visited Central Park. We ate a delicious dinner at Chef Ramsey's restaurant at The London and followed it up with my first Broadway Show: Mary Poppins! Who could ask for more?! The next day we ventured pass the Empire State Building out to Ground Zero and Battery Park. I definitely love visiting N.Y.C. but I sure wouldn't want to live there!

Studying hard

Kris is busy going to Columbia for his second masters. While he is not thrilled at the idea of being a student, and he is certainly not a bookworm, he is doing great in his classes. The best thing is the amount of time he is home. I don't know how he manages to write papers and complete exams at the kitchen table with me nagging him and Adelynne running everywhere, but he does! I know I would be at the library to concentrate, but Kris does awesome!

We are attending Post Chapel here at West Point and hosting a weekly Bible study for a small group of friends. Our Bible study is going through Ephesians, which has been wonderful.

Adelynne is definitely growing up from the toddler stage into the child stage of life. She carries real conversations now, and can answer your questions directly and precisely. For a couple weeks in a row we would find her in the bathroom doing her hair after being tucked into bed at night. One night, while holding her hands out to me she asked me if she could hold the moon. What a sweetie! She has decided to name her baby brother "Sally" or "Candies", depending on the day. She is always dancing, singing, and marching around the house in her dress up clothes. She says her ABC's by singing "ABCD..LMNOP"! She loves babies, so I know the Lord is preparing her to be a wonderful Big Sister! In the last week she has entered in the "why" phase and needs to know "why" about everything. She helps herself to the refrigerator as she pleases now, oh dear, help me.

It's a BOY!

I am keeping myself super busy these days. I take Adelynne to a play group here on post called Wee Ones, and just started attending a PWOC Bible study - we are starting Sacred Marriage this next week. All of our rooms are painted and put together now, pending the nursery needing a few final touches. I have loved baking and cooking, God has definitely given me a new found Joy in the kitchen. It makes cooking and baking much more of a hobby now and feels less like work, which makes a huge difference. The pregnancy is going well, our little guy certainly lets his presence be known...his kicks hurt MUCH worse than Adelynne's ever did! I am 31 weeks now, due 11-11-11....I would love to have him on our due date, so we will see. The hardest part has been deciding on a name for him. We have a list of about 5 names, but only 2 we seem to agree on liking, but none we can both jump to committing to....hopefully soon I can announce a name! My sweet friend here at West Point, Leslie, is an expert quilter. She has been kind and patient enough to teach me how to quilt! I have started my first quilt as a baby blanket for our little guy...I found the perfect fabric to match his room perfectly....he gets jungle animals!

Ready to Sew

All of my pieces cut up

Starting to get pieced together!

The Borgs

2010-10-23T22:55:00.000-07:00

Our good friends Joe and Kristin celebrating their little boy, Miles. Coming soon, January 2011.

US!!

GO BLUE!

Found these great candies, yummy!

Just playing with her cool candy lips!

Saying GoodBye One More Time

2010-10-23T22:49:00.000-07:00

Well two weeks together certainly was not enough, but it was a huge blessing for our family. We had a special time together, and are praising God as a we look to the future. As the holidays approach, the deployment winds down. Soon enough we will be reunited in January without having to say Good Bye again so quickly. Thank you Lord for the blessed time we had as a family!

Sending Kris back off to Iraq.

Gig Harbor and the Park

2010-10-23T22:41:00.000-07:00

Thanks to our great friends The Elfers, we were able to take some time out at a great cabin in Gig Harbor and enjoy the water!

Heading to the water!

Little water bug!

So cute!

Playing at the park.

Teaching Adelynne how to climb the ladder

The love of my life :)

Church Family

2010-10-23T22:36:00.000-07:00

Our wonderful church, Edgewood Bible Church, welcomed Kris home with huge open arms and big greeting!

They provided a bunch of cake for the church to celebrate Kris!

The Guys!

The Girls!

Great Wolf Lodge

2010-10-23T22:25:00.003-07:00

From Leavenworth we headed to Great Wolf Lodge, a great hotel and indoor water park. Our little water bug had a blast the whole time!

Sportin her wolf ears!

This is the clock tower story time show. All of the trees and characters are robotic & animated so they come to life and tell a story with songs and everything. It is a crazy place that the kids love!

Loving the water!

Hey Dad!

They had a little trick or treat trail for the kids and a costume party. It was fun to dress up and get some candy. Adelynne loves being a doggy!

Leavenworth

2010-10-23T21:52:00.000-07:00

We were able to take a few days and get away to a beautiful cabin, Riverdance Lodge, in Leavenworth. Leavenworth is surrounded by beautiful mountains and rivers and it is simply breath taking. The weather was stunning while we were there, and we had a wonderful time. I was not feeling well, so we hung around the cabin a little more than we probably would have otherwise. But the cabin was gorgeous, so we can't complain!

Kris bought Adelynne a special doll and stroller set which she won't put down. She loves it!

Milkshake Time! Kris is famous in our household for his delicious Strawberry-Banana Milkshake! So good. Adelynne gets to help make this one!

Loving her special time with daddy!

We took Adelynne to a wonderful pumpkin patch and farm with a petting zoo.

Learning how to feed animals.

Loving it! She was running everywhere looking at all the animals. She had so much fun!

Out of the petting zoo and behind some trees, Kris and I found some great "ponies" to show Adelynne! We kept telling her to feed the horsies, and pet the ponies...and all of the sudden the "pony" kicked its foot and said "EEEEE AHHHH"....ha ha ha....they were donkeys! Poor Adelynne will now grow up confused between a pony and a donkey!

Oopppps...they're donkeys!

Icicle River is a beautiful river that runs through Leavenworth. It certainly suits its name and feels like an icicle! We found a sandy area and played in the water.

I love you, Daddy!

R & R

2010-10-23T20:32:00.000-07:00

After being separated from one another for 9 long months, Adelynne and I were so excited to finally greet Kris at the airport and pick him up for our 2 weeks together this year. Luckily, the airline gave us gate passes and we were able to go right up to the gate Kris landed at. We got all dressed up in our Red, White, and Blue outfits and couldn't wait to see him. Several soldiers got off of the airplane before Kris, but finally he came on through! It was amazing! We looked at each other smiling and I finally threw my arms around him and some tears came. At that moment all of people surrounding us broke out in applause of our reunion. It was such a sweet moment. Once I finally let go of Kris, he looked at Adelynne and said she was so big now. Adelynne stared at him with big eyes taking him in, realizing her daddy was home. We walked away from the gate and Adelynne wouldn't get out of my arms. Kris used the restroom and while he was gone she put her hands up, shrugged her shoulders, looked everywhere and kept asking "Daddy! Where are you?!?" When he came out she let him hold her the whole time and for the next 15 days together she wouldn't let him out of her sight. She truly is our little Daddy's Girl!

Doughnut Time

2010-10-23T20:30:00.000-07:00

Adelynne loves her sweet treats! Most mornings when I pick her up out of her crib, she first begs for milk or for a cookie... silly girl!

Adelynne

2010-10-23T20:25:00.001-07:00

Sleeping sweetly with her teddy bear

Chatterbox! One of her favorite things is chatting away on the cell phone!

Happy girl!

This is the face she makes when she says "cheese"! Love it! Aren't I a great mom for giving her the side pony tail?! Poor girl!

Easter

2010-10-23T20:21:00.000-07:00

Ready to go to church and celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus!

Deployment Ceremony

2010-10-23T20:10:00.000-07:00

Kris deployed to Iraq with 5-5 ADA in January this year. Prior to the deployment we held a deployment ceremony with the Battalion. So proud of all of our soldiers!

Kris with HHB

Merry Christmas!

2010-10-23T20:07:00.000-07:00

Adelynne's first time sitting on Santa's lap...she was not very happy about it!

Family Picture!

Adelynne's 1st Birthday!

2010-10-23T19:57:00.000-07:00

December 24th, 2008 we welcomed our beautiful daughter Adelynne into this world, and one year later we celebrated her 1st Birthday! We did a Christmas theme for her, since she probably won't want that when she is older. We had a blessed celebration with family and friends!

With our move closing in, our house was pretty empty!

Yummy cakes!

I made a chocolate cake for her, which meant layers and layers of frosting!

Birthday girl!

There she is!

Family Update

2009-11-16T15:34:00.000-08:00

Adelynne is walking everywhere now! She took her first steps on Halloween this year and now she is running around everywhere!
We have videos of her, but I will work on getting some pictures to post!

She still doesn't have any teeth :(

We are busy packing our house up and getting some things moved over to Joel and Christy's house. Kris is here until November 28th and then he will be in Oklahoma for training until Dec b 12th....and then we will have a birthday party for Adelynne...and make our wayup to Michigan for Christmas(yay!!!)...and then we will be having a Going Away party for Kris...and in Mid January he will be off to Iraq. So we have a lot going on and we know a lot of people have questions about our time line with his deployment, so hopefully this helps to clear some things up for everyone.

Thanks for being patient while it takes months to update our blog!

We miss you and love you!

Fall Festival and Pumpkin Cookes

2009-11-16T15:22:00.000-08:00

We had a fun fall festival for Kris' unit this October.
Costume contest for all the kids!

Adelynne loves the little toddler bouncer!

Group Picture!

Adelynne was our little pumpkin this year!

Joel and I decorated the delicious pumpkin cookies Christy made!

Yummmmy!!!!

10 Months

2009-11-16T15:15:00.000-08:00

Adelynne turns 10 months!

Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad

2009-11-16T15:05:00.000-08:00

Grandpa Ron came into town in October for a few days and we took our first train ride on the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad! It was cold, noisey, and fun!

Papa Ron and Adelynne

Christy and Joel!

Go Michigan!

2009-11-16T14:37:00.000-08:00

Michigan family pictures!

9 Months

2009-11-16T14:32:00.000-08:00

Go Blue!

Sleepy Girl

2009-11-16T14:27:00.000-08:00

I was trying to keep Adelynne awake while she drank her milk before her naptime, so I put her in her bouncer....it didn't work

Asleep on the floor before church!

Bouncing Away!

Church Campout

2009-11-16T14:09:00.001-08:00

Our church has an annual campout and this year we were glad to join in the fun!

Adelynne snuggled up in her pink bear outfit! It was cold at night, but this kept her nice and toasty!
Playing with her friend Keeley!

Daddy lets her eat whatever she wants....

Kris and Ben pulling a tree over to the campsite for our fire that night. While Kris was out looking for wood he heard this strange buzzing sound...and then he saw a swarm of bees buzzing straight toward him. He came running out of the woods yelling and screaming...when I saw him I actually thought he was reinacting the bee scene from Tommy Boy...but it was real! He got at least 6 stings but toughed it out as always!

Kris and Steve practicing for our Ladder Ball tournament!

Family Picture

Goofy Kris!

Doesn't she just look like shes posing for us?

Having fun!

She loooooves swings!!

8 Months!

2009-11-16T14:06:00.000-08:00

Adelynne's 8 Month photos!

7 Months

2009-11-16T13:53:00.000-08:00

Here are Adelynne's 7 Month Pictures with her cute headband Aunt Alison gave her!

We're Baaaaaaack!

2009-11-16T13:37:00.000-08:00

It has been way too long since we have updated our blog!
Here are some photos of our July trip to Puerto Vallarta!

Kicking our feet up and relaxing while enjoying great food our first day there!
There were beautiful trees with huge twisted branches everywhere downtown, we loved them!
This iguana was just walking around the pool outside with people everywhere!

Enjoying the pool!

Swimming and sunshine wore Adelynne out!

We had an awesome trip, it was a lot of fun!

6 Months Old

2009-07-23T20:12:00.000-07:00

Adelynne is 6 months old! She is 25ish inches, 15 lbs! Woo hoo!

4th of July

2009-07-23T19:59:00.001-07:00

Happy Fourth of July! We had a wonderful day of fun at our church's annual picnic and had some friends over to watch our neighborhood fireworks with! We had a great time! Kris decided to play baseball even though he didn't have good shoes...so he played barefoot! Ouch!

She was amazed at the fireworks!

Texas and Michigan Part 2

2009-07-23T18:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I found our camera! So here is a bunch of pictures of our trips!
Texas Adelynne got to meet Wyatt, Seth, and Reece for the first time!

Adelynne's first time in the pool! Hanging out with Kristin!

Laura....

....and Natalie came from Houston to visit us!

Adelynne wants to hold Eli's hand!

Alison, Brooke and Eli swimming with us!

Hanging out with the Mallory!!

Adelynne driving my dad's truck!

With the boys again!

Adelynne and Grandpa Ron!

We loved eating at Chick fil A!!!!

Bye bye Texas!

Michigan here we come!

Adelynne met Grandpa Steve for the first time yay!

Playing with Lily!

All the Girls! Stacey, Sarra, Jenny, Lily, Ruby, Me, and Adelynne!

Adelynne is playing with Ruby!

Grandpa Steve playing with the kiddos!

Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Van meet Adelynne for the first time!

Hanging out with Grandpa!

Cute ponytail!

2009-07-22T15:40:00.000-07:00

Adelynne's hair has gotten so long it always in her eyes! But her clips always come out....so now we have ponytails!

Crawling then Standing!

2009-07-22T15:34:00.000-07:00

Right after we got home from Texas and Michigan, Adelynne started crawling...and just a few days later she started standing! Now she is pulling herself up on everything! Every time I look at her she is standing up and trying to walk! Uh oh!!!

"I want that xbox!"

"Got it!"
"Here I am! Look what I can do!!!"

"Let me out!!"

Texas and Michigan! Part 1

2009-07-22T15:08:00.000-07:00

We have been on lots of trips the couple of months!
So much has changed for us with Adelynne...she is getting big! We had such an amazing visit with our family and friends. We definitely miss everyone already and we wish we were all closer! Unfortunately I can't find our camera right now, and only have our video camera...so our pictures are limited right now! I will update more from our trips when I come across our camera! Also, all of our pictures just uploaded backwards...so oh well!
Bye bye!

Walking around town by Lake Michigan! She loved being on daddys shoulders! good view from up there!

We got to drive up and stay at Grandma Perrin's cottage on Lake Michigan! Beautiful!!

In Michigan, we got to take Adelynne on her first boat ride! She loved it!

We got to see some of our best friends in Texas! Allie, Brooke and Eli! Sorry guys, no pictures of yall yet :)

Adelynne enjoying some of Seth's birthday cake! Yummy!

Uncle Jerad playing with Adelynne while she pulls the horses hair!

Grandma Kathy came swimming with us too!

We had lots of fun swimming! Yay! Adelynne is a little fishy!

Adelynne playing with Aunt Sharon's dogs...on our trips we discovered Adelynne LOVES animals!

Great Grandma Fern with Adelynne in the adorable hat she gave her! Thanks Grandma!

5 Months Old

2009-07-22T15:00:00.000-07:00

Hmm, this update is quite behind! But here we go....Adelynne is 5 months old!
We had some fun outside trying out some new sunglasses!!

Adelynne has started sitting up!

5 Months old picture!

5 Months old pictures!

She loves to eat! She will eat everything that you give her! She loves it!!!!

Grandpa Clark's Visit

2009-05-05T09:56:00.001-07:00

My dad came into town this last weekend, and we had a great time together!

While he was in town, Uncle Bob and Aunt Sandy dropped by to see everyone! Aunt Sandy got to meet Adelynne for the first time!

Naked Baby!

2009-05-04T11:45:00.000-07:00

We decided to take some naked pictures of Adelynne because she is just so cute!!!!

Hot tubbing fun!

2009-05-04T11:40:00.000-07:00

Kris and I love hot tubs! We have always wanted one. Last Christmas Kris found an inflatable hot tub at Joe's Sporting Goods, but I said we couldn't get it because I couldn't figure out how we would sit in it....I imagined just sitting on the hard cement and not enjoying it. Well, Joe's Sporting Goods is now closing so we went back and got it for 30% off! Turn out, there is a thick pad and we sit right on the floor! And it is so fun!!! We love it, and I think we'll definitely be getting a lot of use out of it! It took over 24 hours to heat up, and the bubbles are huge! It works great! Here we are setting up!

First Foods

2009-05-04T10:58:00.000-07:00

Since Adelynne turned 4 months, I decided she could get an early start on eating real foods! She loves it and seems to learn everything so fast! We started with rice cereal about two weeks ago, and she did alright, and this week she was just opening her mouth perfectly to eat and eating everything we gave her! So yesterday we gave her, her first taste of real food - carrots! Kris chose carrots, and she at it up with no problems at all!

4 months old

2009-05-04T10:46:00.000-07:00

Happy 4 Months Adelynne!
Adelynne just turned 4 months old, and she is doing amazing! She is rolling everywhere! Like, off couches and beds ... I put her down in one spot and she is always several feet away when I return...can't turn my back too long anymore! She is grabbing everything in sight! If you have it, she wants it...so now I am clearing everything at restaurants so she doesn't throw it all at everyone. As all parents know babies especially love hair and earrings, and Adelynne is no different! She is even trying to scoot! She keeps pushing her legs under her body, but to no avail yet.. but man is she trying! At her last doctor's appointment, she was 14 lbs and she is in the 98% for height! She has also upgraded to new pacifiers!

A very long week!

2009-04-19T22:34:00.000-07:00

This past week was a very long week for our family!
On Monday we said goodbye to Kris for the week. His unit traveled to Yakima, WA to do a missile live fire. Their convoy went down the highway right by our house so I agreed to park next to the highway and video tape them if Kris waved to me. He gave me the best wave ever, and unfortunately I waved back and didn't capture it on film.

Kris in an old plane they found in Yakima!The weather has been so beautiful lately I was able to put Adelynne in her stroller sitting up-right for the first time! We went on a wonderful walk and she loved it, she talked the whoolllllle time! My mom came into town this week and we had such an awesome time together! It was great to see her again!

Here is Adelynne after a bath!

Adelynne has been teething for the last couple of weeks and while we are still waiting on her teeth to break through, she is chomping on everything! She gave herself a hickey last week, and this week she discovered her feet!

Adelynne has such cute hats so we did a little fashion show for my mom!

We were driving around quite a bit, so Adelynne fell asleep so sweetly in her carseat!

Well, I had a lot more to say about this week but it has taken me over a hour to just get this up here because blogger has been misbehaving.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-19T21:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Be-lated Easter everyone!

We had a great time as a family celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ! How cool that he is always alive and with us!

We dressed Adelynne up in her sweet Easter dress and of course....her must have Bunny Ears!Here she is folks!

She looks like our little piggy here! Oink Oink!

Sierra, Keely, and Adelynne...hanging out!

Pleated Petal Tank ANTHROPOLIFICATION GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-04-14T21:41:00.000-07:00

Pleated Petal Tank ANTHROPOLIFICATION GIVEAWAY!!!!

Born 2 Impress GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-04-10T09:24:00.000-07:00

Born 2 Impress GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!
These are my favorite hairpieces EVER! I want to buy EVERYTHING!!! Love them love them love them!

3 Month Old Pictures and New Family Photos

2009-03-31T15:59:00.000-07:00

A friend of ours, Keren, has recently taken up photography as a hobby. She was sweet enough to take some family photos and Adelynne's 3 month old pictures for me! I have been so excited and anxiously awaiting to see the pictures!!!!! She has worked so hard on them for us! Here we go!!!! (and can you believe it? She said these aren't even final edits!! She is amazing! Go Keren!)

Keren - Thank you so much! We are so grateful to you!We love these and will cherish them forever!

Ocean

2009-03-31T15:46:00.000-07:00

About a month ago I took Adelynne to go get Stacey from the ferry in north Seattle, and she got to see the ocean for the first time!! I can't wait until we can take her to the beach and play in the waves with her!

More Toys!

2009-03-31T15:39:00.000-07:00

We were recently at our friend's Steve and Keren's house and they let Adelynne use their daughter's bumbo seat! I had never seen one before, and Adelynne just love it! She was so relaxed in it, while we were at their house, I looked over at her and she had fallen asleep in it!!!

So I found one for her on Craigslist, and now she can eat lunch and cook dinner with me! It's a lifesaver! I also decided to get Adelynne an exersaucer! She plays in it all the time, and has a blast! The seat goes in circles and so she is always spinning!

Tummy Time!!

2009-03-31T15:29:00.000-07:00

Adelynne loves being on her belly! She rolled over about 3 weeks ago, at 2 1/2 months old, and that was the only time! She is always laying on her side and belly! But now she seems as though she is done with rolling over and trying to move onto bigger and better things!

She found her toys!

2009-03-08T22:21:00.000-07:00

So last Sunday I was cleaning the house and I hear these clicking noises. I looked at Adelynne on her play mat and she found her toys! She was reaching up and having a lot of fun!

Peanuts and Walks

2009-03-08T22:15:00.000-07:00

I recently bought the peanut shell baby sling and I love it!!! I look for every opportunity to use because I think it is so cute and fun! The first time I used it with Adelynne I got to take her on her first walk outside! But being that we're in Seattle...it started raining about 10 minutes later and we were back indoors!

The Sewing Husband

2009-03-08T22:03:00.000-07:00

So, last Saturday night Kris and I came home from a church event around 10:30pm and Kris decided to sew on our wonderful fun sewing machine! He told me he was going to sew something, and it was a surprise...so 15 minutes later, he takes his material and runs upstairs for a few minutes. Next thing I know, he is downstairs again and his material is stuffed full...he made a pillow! A very cute pillow at that, but...the first question to ask him was to find out where he got the stuffing for it! He told me he got it from our guest room pillow!!! I thought he was joking, but lo and behold...our pillow was torn to shreds in a little pile in our guest room! Oh, Kris, he always keeps me on my toes! I love it! And now Adelynne has a little pillow and blanket her daddy made her!

Two Months Old

2009-02-25T08:28:00.001-08:00

Adelynne was two months old yesterday! We're making it! This last month has been awesome...she is smiling when we smile, and starting to play so much more! She is 10lb 14oz. and 25.5 inches long! She's growing! She got her shots yesterday, and after the initial tears, she was great - not fussy at all!

These are my favorite pictures of her!

Still so little!!

Still looks just like daddy!

Feet!

2009-02-25T08:24:00.001-08:00

I love Adelynne's feet! I think they are sooooo cute!
I also love these socks!

Love Being Parents

2009-02-19T17:19:00.000-08:00

Well, being a mom is awesome! Kris and I are having a great time with Adelynne!! She is starting to smile all the time now! Today I sang "Jesus Loves Me" to her and she decided to sing along! She was talking the whole time! She is so much fun! Some friends at our church were sooo nice to give us their old swing, and Adelynne loves it! She seems to calm down and lull to sleep in it pretty easily. I have been told a lot about BabyWise so I purchased this book off of amazon and am anxiously waiting to read it! I have been experimenting with putting her to sleep in her crib and bassinet...she does ok, but constantly wakes up, so I can't wait to read the book for more advice! It is just so cool watching her personality come out more and more! Here some more photos! Yes...she still looks just like her daddy! Janaye is hot!

We have been trying to get a picture of Adelynne smiling and this is the best we can get so far! I love how this is the outfit I dressed Adelynne in when she came home from the hospital...and now it fits!!

Adelynne in her new swing!

Trying to get a decent family picture!

Kris and I at his work at Fort Lewis. Adelynne got presented with a certificate welcoming her!

Kris and I went to the Valentines Banquet at our church and had a great time! I found the cutest dress with hearts on it for Adelynne to wear...it is size 0-3 month and she still can't fit into the dress!

Oh My Goodness

2009-01-26T07:09:00.001-08:00

Since moving into our rental house here in June this past summer we have noticed the air circulation in our house is a little screwy. And with this winter being a lot more dramatic up here with SNOW it has been even worse for us - especially since we brought Adelynne home! Well....last night I discovered our thermostat has been going to somewhere between 55 - 65 oF every single night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No wonder we all have colds! Holy Macrole! I changed our house to a much more comfortable temperature and now I think we will all actually be much happier living in this home!

Adelynne is 1 Month Old!

2009-01-25T16:45:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Adelynne is already 1 month old! I know that time goes by so quickly, especially now that we have Adelynne! She is already growing up much too fast! This first month with her has been amazing. Last week she weighed 9lb 8oz and has already outrown her newborn clothes. She makes the cutest cooing sounds and has learned to grab hold of things...like my hair. Sadly she has also learned how to sniffle...she has a cold right now :( But she is getting much better. She seems to behave a bit better with Kris for some reason - she seemed to get into the habit of only sleeping on one of us. And usually if I put her down to sleep she wakes up within 5 minutes, but for some reason if Kris has her and puts her down she stays asleep for him! Not fair!! I think she knows I'll pick her right back up! For her one month celebration we gave her her first bottle! And she took it wonderfully! This month has been full of so many new experiences for us. Being first time parents we have all definitely learned a lot of new things in our house...like needing to wake up 2 hours before we need to leave to be somewhere and we're still late! like sleeping with one eye and one ear open to look and listen for our little one! like just because i have dreams that adelynne just ate...doesnt mean it really happened! like trying on pre-pregnancy clothes is bad bad idea for a long long time!!! We are definitely taking a lot of pictures, so everyone can see her!! Here you go!!!

Her one month old pictures:

3 weeks old-ish: She couldn't fit into this outfit at all when we first brought her home!

More pictures

2009-01-17T12:37:00.000-08:00

Our precious baby!

Hmmm.. is Kris sleeping?

She is out cold!

This outfit is just a bit big!

Adelynne won't take a pacifier at all! But daddy will!! Creepy picture huh?

Two Weeks Old

2009-01-17T12:35:00.001-08:00

Bath Time

2009-01-17T12:31:00.000-08:00

We have quickly learned that Adelynne *loves* her bath time!!

Merry Christmas

2008-12-29T17:22:00.000-08:00

God blessed us with Adelynne Grace just in time to celebrate Christmas with us! Unfortunately we were in the hospital for Christmas day, and actually every day is sort of blending together at this point... But here are our Christmas photos!!

Welcome Baby Adelynne!

2008-12-29T17:08:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve at 7:25 pm we were finally able to welcome baby Adelynne Grace Perrin into our family! She weighed 7lbs 6.6 oz. and is 21.25 in long and came out to greet us with a thick head of black hair! We have had a long week since bringing her home, but it has been full of so many blessings for us! She is so well behaved and hardly cries at all! We are so excited about having our baby girl with us, and can't wait to post more pictures for everyone to see!

Happy Halloween

2008-11-16T20:01:00.000-08:00

Kris and I had a special halloween costume for our baby!

Baby Shower

2008-11-16T19:49:00.001-08:00

I had an awesome baby shower a few weeks ago! I was so impressed with everyone's generosity and thoughtfulness. Thank you to everyone for making it so special for me, and to my many friends and family that we haven't been able to celebrate our new baby with, you were very missed! Hopefully one day soon we'll get to celebrate together in person!

Here are a few photos of the festivities!

Kris secretely put a bag of cheez-its on our registry....and happily he got them!
Christy, myself, and my mom who thoughtfully came up to celebrate from Texas!

pictures!

2008-10-04T16:37:00.000-07:00

Family and friends have been asking for photos, so here is our most recent pregnancy pictures!

Kris recently took command here at Fort Lewis. He has been very busy getting settled into his position, but overall seems to love it!

Kris and I at 28 weeks along. We have been very busy getting settled in here and prepared for our baby! We finally have the crib and dressers completely set up in the nursery :) Yay!

We're having a Girl!

2008-08-14T21:20:00.000-07:00

Kris and I went to the doctor for our growth ultrasound this week. We found our baby to be healthy and currently at 1 lb. 1 oz. The technician printed us out 20 pictures! We had a nice dinner together and then opened our envelope to see that we're supposed to be having a baby girl! Yay!!!

We're Here!

2008-07-16T16:40:00.000-07:00

We decided to make this website as an easier way to keep our loved one's updated on our life! With everything getting a lot more busy, we thought it would be better to put our updates and pictures in one spot for you! So check back whenever you want, we'll try to update often and keep you all informed!

We have made it to Seattle! We have been working a lot on making our house a bit nicer, and we're on the final ends of unpacking everything, which will be a relief!
Kris gets another week off of work still! The state has not sent me my license yet, so I'm still not able to make any work arrangements...yay!
We went to my first doctor's appointment up here this past Monday. We learned a lot about how everything will work with the delivery and such, and what we need to be doing for preparation!
My next appointment will be July 31st, and then we are scheduled for our growth ultrasound on August 13th. If the baby cooperates that is the day we will find out if it is a boy or girl! Yay! This pregnancy has been great, fortunately there is not much to report. My belly is starting to pop a bit, we'll post some pictures soon!

We just celebrated our first year of marriage! Can you believe it has been a year already?! We went to the Melting Pot and had a very nice romantic dinner!
Meanwhile, we miss everyone and hope you're all doing good!