Sterling's Blessing

We'll be blessing Sterling this fast Sunday, Aug. 7th at 9:00AM at our new ward building. The address is 10036 E. Brown Rd. Mesa 85207(North East corner of Brown & Crismon). I'm teaching that Sunday, so we'll have a luncheon after church is over at 12:30pm- Gotta gimme a couple minutes to get the food organized ;)- at our home: 632 N. 99th St. Mesa, AZ 85207 . Feel free to join us... just leave me a comment here (or under the "event" page on Facebook) saying how many people you're bringing so I know how much food to prepare.

Last trip of the summer...

We spent the last 5 days in Rocky Point. It was heaven! We did nothing. Absolutely nothing but spend time together on the beach... like I said before, heaven!

Now it's time to get back to reality. Which means back to work for me & back to school for Anthon... (sigh) Goodbye ocean- and freedom- till next year!

PS- blogger was being lame (as usual ) when I tried to upload pictures, so if you wanna see all the photos from our trip check out my album on Facebook by clicking HERE

10 Weeks & other fun things

Sterling will be 10 weeks tomorrow & is just as sweet as ever! We took him for his 2 month check up this past week and his Dr. said he's growing beautifully. He weighed 11.8 lbs & was 23.5 in. long which put his in the 50% for weight & 75% for height. He got the 2 month round of immunizations & was NOT a happy camper. I don't remember Roman having as had of a time with shots,but Sterling was grouchy for almost 3 days after the shots. He had a fever for 2 days and just cried all the time...the kid never cries normally, so I know he was feeling miserable! <--- I took this picture that afternoon & his expression resembles pretty much how his personality was :) Poor baby!I was worried for a minute that he'd never trust us again & he'd have a permanent scowl! But thankfully, he's acting like he feels better now & i actually smiling again! This picture is a more accurate representation of what is personality is normally like ... So sweet!! I love him!

Other fun things we've been up to.... Roman did swimming lessons for a few weeks & LOVED it! I've tried teaching him before & it goes great until I want him to do something he doesn't want to do & then we just hit a wall, so having someone else work with him on those things were very beneficial!Swimming always tuckers him out, & naps are fun for mom :)We went up to Show Low the past 2 weekends & while we were up there I set up the camera with the auto timer & snapped a family picture... turned out pretty cute, no??

Last, but not least, we finally found a car!! It's a 2005 Toyota Sienna... Yes, I'm totally rocking the minivan. Honestly though, I really like it!It's so convenient & has any feature I could ask for, plus more! I'm SO glad that the car shopping phase is over- it really was exhausting/ frustrating/ annoying - & we're in something that will function for our family!

Happenings this week

We'll start out with Father's Day... it was a nice, relaxing day. I made Anthon his favorite breakfast & got all the boys matching ties, as usual. We had a super chill day, with just us & that was really nice. I wanted to go to the cemetery to visit my dad's grave, but by the time we got around to getting up & going it was too late. That's ok though, I still thought about my dad- I don't need to be at his grave to do that :)Onto Mr. Sterling... I took him in for his 1 month check up (even though he's 7 weeks) & he's fit as a fiddle! He's finally starting to get some meat on his bones- he weighed 10lbs 3oz & was 22.5in long. Dr. says he's in the 90th percentile for height & 75th for weight- which is crazy to me cause he still seems so small! His little personality is starting to really shine- he still seems very sceptical about this whole mortality business, & I don't blame him :)
He started smiling & that has been SO fun to see a "lighter" side of him! He's usually so serious... I am seeing more & more resemblances between him & Roman- they're both miniature Anthons!In other exciting news- I started potty training Roman this week. The first couple of days were pretty frustrating, but by Wednesday he was going to the bathroom in the toilet by himself & hadn't had any accidents! Thankfully, the accidents he has had, haven't been too horrible!Hopefully, he'll keep progressing...I got this little chart at the dollar store & he LOVES it! He gets so excited to put stickers on it for each accomplishment he makes- I guess it's fun for him to chart his progress :). We've been telling him for a while that if he learns to use the potty we'd buy him a bicycle (which he has been desperate for since his 2nd birthday), so once he fills up his chart with stickers his daddy will take him to the store to pick out his very own bicycle (hopefully, by then he'll be fully trained)! I love watching Roman go through this stage in his life- he's so sweet & fun and I love watching his self confidence grow!!
These last 2 pictures were taken last night in the tub... my favorite location to shoot him :). These pictures sum up all my favorite features of his- I love that he has my dad's eyes, his little ears like his daddy's, the single freckle on his nose, his luscious lips, & his darling, little, gappy teeth... Man I LOVE this kid Last but not least, we sold me car. My lovely, stylish, comfortable, totally awesome Acadia- it's gone. Seriously though, I'm ok with it :) We got such a good deal when we bought it that we were able to sell it for practically the same price we paid for it 3 years ago. So, now we'll use the "equity" we made & try to find something else that will work for our family that we won't have a payment on- it probably won't be as lovely or stylish (we're leaning more towards a mini van of some sort), but it will be functional & more importantly, it won't have a payment attached to it! With Anthon's school load getting heavier he'll be cutting back on his hours at work & I'm hopefully starting the nursing program in January, so I won't be working at all- it'll be nice not to have the added stress of car payments when our budget decreases! So wish me luck on my hunt for a "new" car!

One of the busiest weeks of the year

This week of June is always busy & a lot of fun... Why? Because we get to celebrate Anthon's birthday, our wedding anniversary, & Father's Day all within one week!

Anthon's birthday was Tues, the 14th. He & Roman came back from Rocky Point that afternoon & so we had my family (since Anthon's family were all still in Mexico) over for pizza, cake, & ice cream
The party was a lot of fun! Roman's been getting into Spiderman lately, so here my brother Peter is helping him be Spiderman by walking on the ceiling :) Another exciting thing we got to do this week was take little Sterling to a urologist. He was born with a condition called hypospadias- basically his little urethra formed in the wrong spot. He has a pretty mild case of it, so he can pee fine and everything now but potty training will be a challenge if it doesn't get fixed. 1 in 300 baby boys are born with some form of the condition, so it's fairly common, surprisingly. We just have to wait for him to get a little bigger before they can do the surgery (they'll do it somewhere around 6 months to a year). It was nice to meet/ talk with the Dr. who will do the surgery- I'm confident he'll take good care of our baby.
BTW, I think Target diapers are the cutest!

Yesterday, we went to the Sea Life Aquarium at Arizona Mills Mall. My sister Gwen, brother Peter, & their kids all met us there & we all had a really good time!

They have all kinds of animals & really cool exhibits! They have touch tanks with star fish, hermit crabs, & other nice animals you can "pet". Then they have tanks with the big, really cool animals.

These crabs were probably my favorite- so gross, but really cool!

Here you can see how big they are in comparison... Like as big as Roman's head! Can you imagine running into one of those in the ocean?! SICK!

A lot of the tanks had these fun interactive window/ bubble things you could go into & it was like you were inside the tank with the fish... very cool for the kids!

Today is mine & Anthon's 6th wedding anniversary!! Where has the time gone??

To celebrate, we're gonna go out to dinner- maybe a movie or some shopping too. I don't know, we haven't planned it all out yet, but I'm just excitd to leave the kids at home & go out on a date with him!! Being married has been the most challenging, rewarding, exciting, frustrating, wonderful decision for me! Anthon is the best partner/ friend I could ask for... actually, he's better than anything I could've asked for! I'm so grateful for the opportunity we had to be seald- Being married 60 years wouldn't be enough for me!!!

Memorial Day...

We decided Saturday evening to head to Show Low for the long weekend, & I'm so glad we did! It was SO nice to be home & out of the heat! Anthon's dad is the branch president of the Cibecue Branch (a little reservation town) & one of the members out there made him the little bed/carrier Sterling's in, so he wanted to get a picture.Monday, Memorial Day, we went to Anthon's great grandparents cabin and family cemetery to plant flowers & have a picnic.
the weather was PERFECT! 70º & no wind!
Roman loved helping his daddy & Grandpa plant the flowers

And playing baseball with his cousins & Uncle Jason!
Sterling enjoyed soaking up some sun

Anthon bought a new toy Saturday before we came up- it's a remote control helicopter.
He spent most of the trip playing with it...
I still love him though :)

Another week's gone by...

Roman's been having some fun this week... playing with cousins, going to the park, and constantly getting into things he shouldn't in his bathroom! Yep, a whole roll of dental floss, tangled around his little hand. Oh, I love this boy, but this little stint (and unrolling a whole roll of toilet paper into the toilet then flushing it) earned him a child lock on his bathroom door nob!
Sterling is starting to look more like Roman to me :)

I decided to bust out the camera today & try to take some fun pictures of him... Here are a few: He weighed 8lbs 8oz this week
I Love this little hat! I thought this shot showed his actual size pretty well... Kinda fun to "add" him to our family wall of pictures, in a way!

What we've been up to these past 2 weeks...

A whole lotta nothin' but enjoying this little man!

Sterling is such a chill, easy going baby. He hardly makes a peep, much less cries, and is just as content as can be. He does look like he's concerned about something a lot of the time, so maybe he's just trying to take it all in.
We have gone on a lot of walks to a playground that's close by. Poor Roman & I are getting sick of being home 24/7, so walks are a nice way to avoid catching cabin fever!

Sleep... a lot! Nap time is oh so glorious! Not only is it my one & only break for the day, but it's the perfect time to capture these candid, heart warming, moments!

Baths- Oh I love the smell of a new baby! Sterling's hair gets greasy very fast, so I look forward to bath days when we get to give him a good scrubbin' and then spend the rest of the day cuddling & sniffing his freshly cleaned head of hair!

That pretty much sums up our activities for the past 2 weeks at our house... & probably many more weeks to come. Just living the day-to-day life, and enjoying watching these two boys grow!

Sterling Anthon Perkins

Our baby is a week old today, so I figured it's about time I posted about his birth. This delivery was SO much easier on me than Roman's was! With the exception on one MISERABLE hour (after they broke my water, before I got the epidural) labor was a cinch. I was induced Thursday, May 5th, @ 10pm and Sterling was born just a short time later- May 6, 2011 @ 1:33pmHe's itty-bitty (compared to what Roman was at birth)! He weighed 7lbs 3oz & was 21 inches long. He's a super chill baby & just darling!

Here we all are meeting each other for the first time... I was a little worried about how Roman would respond to him, but it's all been positive! When Roman 1st came into my hospital room & I showed him Sterling, his face literally LIT UP and he exclaimed, "It's my baby!"
We're not sure who Sterling resembles yet- some people say he looks just like Anthon, some say they can see Roman in him, and some say he just looks like a little old man... maybe we should've named him Benjamin Button :)
One thing's for sure, he got my family's cursed finger toes! Look at the length of those babies! He did have to spend one day in the ICU under the bili lights because he was jaundiced, but that was ok. Remember, we thought he had Trisomy 18 for the first few months I was pregnant & thought he wasn't going to live, so we're thankful any little hiccup he has to go through in this life & that we get to have him as our son!!