10 Months

Can you believe that OFZ is 10 months old? I, for one, cannot. His first year has flown by so fast. He is still doing well. We battled our first real sickness this past week. Nothing like a double ear infection to make things interesting. He's been on antibiotics since Wednesday and seems to be feeling better. Even on his worst day he is still a happy baby.

What he's up to:

• Eats baby food like it's fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, biscuits, mac and cheese, sweet tea and a slice of pecan pie. Get my drift? He LOVES his food! I have yet to find a baby food he won't eat. He'll even eat Mangos.
• He's movin' and shakin' around Casa de Perry. He will pull up on anything and move around. He's getting gutsy and trying to go from the couch to the coffee table and vice versa. He wants so badly to stand alone, but he's not quite there yet.
• He sleeps like a champ (even when he's sick).
• He loves his big brother a lot. He giggles and smiles at him all the time.
• He loves to go jogging with me still. It relaxes him.
• Bath time has turned into a treat. He no longer needs the baby tub. He splishes and splashes and "swims" on his tummy.
• He's growing out of his 6 month outfits
• Waves "bye bye" backwards and is starting to figure out how to wave "hi"
• Sounds like he says "hey" when you start talking to him
• I am bias on this one, but is pretty stinkin' cute

I love being OFZ's mommy! It's a pleasure and a joy.

Baby Dedication

On Mother's Day our church had a Baby Dedication. In case you are wondering what a baby dedication is... basically we as parents stand before the church and dedicate our child to the Lord and promise to raise them in a Godly home. We dedicated Andrew on Mother's Day 2005 and wanted to dedicate Zachary on his first Mother's Day. Our pastor speaks on the meaning of the child's name and gives each child their own Bible verse. After each child receives his/her certificate the pastor prays for us, our children and our homes.

Zachary Ryan - God has remembered the king
His Bible verse: Joshua 1: 5-6
"I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous,"

I am so thankful to be blessed with two wonderful children and I want nothing more than for them to love Jesus with all of their hearts.

So Much

to catch you all up on. I need to post on Zachary's Baby Dedication, what we've been up to, what we've got coming up and all of that fun stuff.

Happy Tuesday!

Yep, bet your Tuesday just got better. How could it not? This cute face smiling at you should make you skip and click your heels.

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day (one day late)!

Most of you who know me, know that I love my mom as much as Peter loved the Lord. I love her so much that I could squeeze her to pieces. She is one of a kind, a saint for sure. There aren't enough presents I could buy to show her my love. There aren't enough words to express my gratitude. She is my role model. If I could be half the mom she is my boys would be in the money. I love that she loves my boys as much as she loves me and my brother. She is good stuff, friends. Good stuff! When I think over my childhood there isn't one memory I have of her that's not happy. She was the rock our family needed. She was our family. She is our family. She's amazing, kind, loving, generous, cute as a button and the list goes on. Everyone needs a Nonnie in their lives.

Today and every day, Nonnie, I love you and thank you a million, trillion times over for being a wonderful mom and loving me and my family like you do.

Convo with OFZ

This is the happy face I met on Saturday morning. If every morning could be like this I wouldn't have one problem crawling out of bed. Enjoy the cuteness that is my adorable son.

Don't crank your volume up or you'll get a good dose of a crazy mama talking to her son.

You'll also notice his eyes are following something. He's watching our crazy dog, Maggie walk around the room. He is mesmerized by her. I can't get rid of her simply because it's the one thing that makes him laugh all the time. Lucky for Maggie.

My What Big...

thighs you have!!! Do you know how great it feels to say my itty, bitty 2 lbs 3 oz baby boy has thighs? I don't mean just thighs, but actual rolls on his thighs. The kind you can love on and love on and LOVE ON! Oh, do I love chubby thighs (preferably on babies and not my actual thighs).

We had our 9 month appointment this week. Dr. Steele was yet again impressed with how well OFZ is doing. Stellar reviews the whole time. For a preemie he really has exceeded a lot of expectations. Thank you Jesus (I wish you could hear me singing that. Tune compliments of a co-worker)!

Girth: 15 lbs 8 oz (1 lbs 8 oz gained in 1.5 months) - so close to being on the growth chart
Length: 25.5 inches (3 whole inches gained) - like his girth, it's almost there. Close, but no cigar.
Head: Have no idea, but BIG. This is the only part of his exam that is now on the growth chart. This clearly means he is an intelligent baby, right? That's what I think.

What he's up to? If you'll allow me to brag a bit...

He crawls, but it's a modified, I don't have time to go full on hands and knees, army crawl. He gets from one end of the room in warp speed. His knees are going to be like shoe leather.

He pulls up on everything. It's nothing to walk in his room and see him pulled up on the railing. He's also figured out he can cut his teeth on his crib. Drats!

He will try to move while standing, but that's not recommended.

He loves to bounce. He wants nothing more than for you to hold him and let him bounce.

He's mastered sitting up. Sometimes he's not so graceful getting back to his tummy, but he's pretty quick at getting from his tummy to his bottom. Bath time is a breeze now that he's sturdy.

He loves to hold his bottle and prefers to. Fine by me!

He eats oatmeal and rice cereal and loves it. He's tried all veggies and fruits. He loves sweet potatoes, carrots and green beans. He will eat peas, but isn't a big fan. He LOVES bananas, pears, and applesauce. He'll eat peaches, but they don't do much for him. We get to move to stage 2 foods soon.

He hasn't said any words yet. He makes noises, but no definitive ma ma's or da da's. We'll get there. He loves to make all kinds of noises.

He has been sleeping through the night consistently for at least a month now. No more occasional wake up calls. He's down by 8:30 and up around 7:30ish. I love to watch him sleep. He loves to cuddle on his tummy, arms drawn underneath him, butt poked up in the air and his ankles crossed. It is as cute as it sounds.

He loves the jogging stroller! YIPPEE! I have resumed a pretty normal running routine now. I cannot tell you how happy I am to be back to my "modified" old self. I'm hope to shed those last few lbs. OFZ would ride in the jogging stroller for hours if I could push him in it. Maybe one day he'll join me in my next half marathon. I'm on the hunt for one if any of you are planning on running soon. I missed doing one in the month of April. I ran one in Jan, Feb and March.

It's hard to believe OFZ is 9 months old. His first year has flown by. Thankfully it has been a year of great surprises!

Ok, I've got to put the 4 year old to bed. Challenge # 6,456,109 of the day. Wish me luck!

Happy Anniversary

8 years ago today I married my "bestest" friend. I truly look forward to growing old with him. Each day with him gets better and better than the day before.

Thank you Robbie for loving me, loving our boys, loving God like you do and providing for our family. You are a fantastic husband and a kickin' father! I could not ask for a better partner to enjoy life with.

I love you!