32 Weeks and counting...

Daddy Perks caught this shot of me as we left the house tonight to grab a bite to eat...



It's hard to believe we're a mere 8 weeks away from welcoming our little one into the world.  Lots has been going on in the Perks household these days as we prepare for the arrival of Henry.  Speaking of that little monkey...he is quite pleased with the fact that he recently located his mommy's ribs and BOY DOES HE LOVE to kick them.  I've read that I've reached the point in my pregnancy where Henry will start to settle into the position he'll need to be in for labor.  This means his feeet should be up by my ribs and his head should be down by the place where Henry will make his grand entrance into the world.

As Henry grows, Daddy Perks continues to humor himself by stating belly analogies such as... "Henry's upgraded from studio apartment to a 3 bedroom home lately."  It's true-with each passing day my belly seems to grow outward just a little bit more, BUT I'm pleased to announce that my belly button is still a 100% INNY!  Every morning I wake up and hesitantly cascade my hand over Henry's home to see if there's been a status change in the belly button department.  For whatever reason, I'm somewhat fearful of the day that I give my belly a rub and discover a mini bump on my big bump.  I'll certainly keep you posted if there are any new developments.

Other than that...not too much to share.  We seem to be making lots of lists these days.  Even our lists have lists.  There seems to be an endless amount of things to do so that we are as prepared as possible for the big day.  Speaking of preparation...we are enrolled to take our childbirth class this coming Monday.  This will consist of 4 fun-filled hours of everything we ever wanted to know about the anatomy and physiology of birth, medical options, and procedures for childbirth with an emphasis on labor and birth with an epidural.

So I'm SURE we'll have stories to share after this exciting adventure...stay tuned for Mommy & Daddy Perks' reactions to "how a baby comes out."

Happy Birthday Daddy Perks!

Dear Henry,

Your daddy turned 28 this weekend. When we woke up on Saturday morning you were kicking like crazy and I'm pretty sure you were singing your very own in-utero version of  "Happy Birthday." Daddy spent his actual birthday golfing with Uncle Kevin.  Then a bunch of our friends and family headed to Huntington Park for a Clippers game.  THEN, to top it all off...Daddy got to watch the Penguins win the Stanley Cup in game 7.

It was pretty much your Dad's idea of a perfect day.



Here's a picture of Daddy & I giving you a little squeeze.  We took lots of pictures all weekend to help you remember the adventures you have while you are still in my belly.

Love you to the moon and back a million times,

Mommy.

Henry's 2nd Shower...

This past weekend Henry and I had the pleasure of celebrating his impending arrival with some wonderful women-a group of women who will undoubtedly be spoiling my little monkey for many years to come.  I thought I'd share a few pictures from the lovely event...

Nana Shubs, Mama Perks, Mimi Pat

My mom(s) were the lovely hostesses for this event.  They did a fabulous job (as they always do when hosting a soiree for any occasion.)  Here are a few details...

The Yummy Eats.

The DELICIOUS Cake.

A Few of Henry's Gifts...

Here are a couple shots of me opening all of Henry's goodies...

It was so great to spend time with so many women that I look up to...some even travelling from out-of-state.  Here's one last shot of my cousin Meredith & I...and the ADORABLE stuffed monkey that will definitely have a special spot in Henry's nursery.

Thank you SO much to each of you who were a part of this special day.  I am so blessed to have each of you in my life and can't wait for you to meet my little one.

Stages of a Nursery...

We've gone from this...



...to this...



Not too shabby.

Birthdays + Showers=Happy Perks!

So. Much. To. Say.

So. Little. Time.

Bottome line...this is a HUGE weekend for Daddy, Mama & Henry Perks.

Yesterday I turned the big 2-6.  Shhhhhh.  I'm trying not to make a big deal of the fact that I've officially entered into a new quarter century of my life.  Anyways...a quick run-down of the day:

I spent the day and night celebrating with friends and family.  Daddy Perks took me to lunch.  We ate on the patio at BW3's where I indulged in some delicious boneless wings and a tasty lemonade...enjoying the spectacular weather and my lovely hubby.  We then sauntered over to Coldstone Cremery AKA "God's proof that he loves the world" and I indulged in my favorite ice cream combo: Cake Batter with Strawberries.  I was entirely too full to even eat ice cream after the wings but I believe on your birthday one should overindulge for 24 hours straight.

After work we met some of my nearest and dearest at my favorite local mexican hot spot for some delicious chips and salsa and cheezy goodness.  I spent the night enjoying the fact that birthdays are just a great excuse to make all the people I  love come together to eat my favorite food.

And while the gathering itself was a fabulous enough, my dear friends and family also spoiled me with presents.  I was lucky enough to acquire a few gift certificates so I can march my pregnant hiney over to the spa to have a few pregnancy massages AND finally tend to my very-much-neglected-non-pedicured toes.  Anyone who knows me knows what a sucker I am for massages and pedicures so these gifts were almost enough to make me shed hormonal- imbalance pregnancy tears.  Spa-visiting Mama Perks=pure bliss.

Here's a shot of Henry on his way out to celebrate his Mommy's birthday...

(Baby Perks informed me via baby kicking morse code that he's sick of sharing the spotlight with his Mama in photos...)

As if the birthday celebration last night wasn't enough...today the fun continues!  Henry & I will spend the day being showered with gifts at a baby shower being hosted for us by mine and Daddy Perks' moms...or as we've come to refer to them in the past few months...Nana Shubs & Mimi Pat.  We decided that when you reach "grandmother status" one should be able to decide what their grandchild should call them and these are the names which our moms have come up with.  Now whether or not Henry takes to actually referring to his grandmas this way...only time will tell.

Anyways...I'll make sure to take LOTS of pictures of today's festivities and report back ASAP.

PS...Little Henry's rooms is coming along splendidly.  The crib AND dresser/changing table are put together and his room is waiting to be filled with all kinds of goodies from today's shower.  In fact, the gifts have already started rolling in!  The UPS man must have made a mental note that somebody's having a baby at our house because he stopped here 3 times this week to deliver packages from Babies 'R Us!  Perhaps I should leave a plate of warm cookies for him in anticipation of his impending visits?

A Few PERKS I Miss...

Uninterrupted sleep.  Long gone are the days of 7-8 hours of continuous sleep.  My nights are now regularly interrupted by back pains, bathroom breaks, and baby kicks.  

A fully functioning brain.  Truth.  This one could in large part be linked to my lack of uninterrupted sleep. However...even in the first trimester when I was sleeping like a rock I still suffered from a bad case of the "mommy mind" or "pregnancy brain" as many women fondly refer to it.  Due to this, I am liable to forget to perform simple tasks such as returning phone calls, taking showers, remembering birthdays, attending significant events (aka I almost forgot about my brother's graduation this past weekend), keeping dates straight, etc.  I CAN however always remember to do the following...sit for hours feeling my sweet baby boy kick around in my tummy, regularly drive through McDonald's and order a quarter pounder with cheese value meal (large sized of course...the extra fries are for Henry), spend endless amounts of time thinking about nursery decor, have regular nightmares about breastfeeding (the most recent one was that I accidentally breastfed Daddy Perks instead of Henry), and fall more in love with my wonderful husband (after I move on from the thought of accidentally breastfeeding him.)

Skinny Jeans & Mall Browsing.  Those of you who have called me while I'm perusing the mall know what I'm talking about.  Each time I now step into a retail setting, I immediately start to sense anxiety about all the fun clothes my body is no longer equipped to wear.  Don't get me wrong-I'm still having one steamy affair with elastic waistbands.  However, as summer rolls around and girls begin to trot around in short shorts and skimpy tank tops, I spend my days dreaming of which tent-like frock will make me look the least "whale-like."  I'm in a constant battle to find patterns and materials that draw attention away from my mid-section (believe me...Henry/my belly are getting plenty of attention all on their own.) As my belly grows outward, my hatred for florescent lighting and Target dressing rooms grows upward. 

Ability To Stand Up From a Couch, Chair, or Bed Without Using Hands.  Not exactly sure when this simple task snuck out of my bag of tricks.  I do know that I'm super glad when Daddy Perks is around and I have to stand up because he's always there to lend a helping hand to aid in his pathetic and pregnant better half trying to shift from a sitting/laying position to fully upright.  Laugh now people.  Ladies-someday this will be you.  And gentleman-someday this will be your wife.  Getting out of bed is the most pathetic.  I'm now beginning to master a roll/twist/swing the legs manuver which could probably be turned into an extremely lucrative instructional video for first-time mommys.