Sleeping PERKS.

If I could recreate the famous scene from The Sound of Music where Julie Andrews is running through the rolling green meadows singing...

"THE HILLS ARE ALIVE...WITH THE SOUND OF[Baby Perks  sleeping through the night] MUSIC"...I would.

Why you ask?

Because Henry slept for 10. HOURS. STRAIGHT. LAST. NIGHT.

And when I woke up this morning and realized that my little monkey man was STILL asleep...I quickly switched on our video monitor to see him sweetly sucking his little thumb, dreaming of the good life.   Not once did I have to sleepily stumble into his nursery last night to feed him, or check on him during the wee hours.  And I'm telling you what-when a new Mommy gets 8+ hours of seamless snooze time-she feels like she could run a marathon.

Here's to many many more uninterrupted nights of sleep.

Happy Thursday Y'all.

Santa Perks.

Sitting on Santa's lap is just not. what. it. used. to. be.

Remember the days when you would pay a couple bucks, walk up to Santa, sit down, tell him what was on your Christmas list, have your picture taken with a polaroid camera, and then watch the photographer furiously shake the photo before quickly shoving it into a cheesy Christmas photo sleeve?  Ha.  Not anymore.  Oh no.  We've not entered the digital age folks.  And Santa and his little photographer elves are milking sucker parents for all they're worth.

Let me set the scene for you...

Giddy first-time parents eagerly head to the mall to enjoy watching their sweet little Henry sit on Santa's lap for the very first time.  We are warmly greeted by the following sign...

"Remember-sitting on Santa's lap is always free.  But if you intend to take pictures with your own camera, you MUST buy one of our photo packages.  See our sales assistant for details."

No big deal right?  How expensive can the cheapest photo package really be?  Ha.  Don't kid yourselves.  We came to find out that we'd be investing AT LEAST $19.99 plus tax just to put Hank's sweet little bootie on Santa's lap so we could take pictures.  And you're probably thinking...ok, $19.99 isn't so bad.  Well-it wouldn't be...except for that price, all you walk away with (aside from wonderful memories) is 4 wallet-sized pictures.  Let me repeat that...4 wallets for $19.99.

So for a split second, Daddy Perks and I looked at each other and thought...do we really need to spend over $20 for Henry to sit on Santa's lap when he clearly won't remember this experience since he's a mere 3 months old?

And what do you think we decided?  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...

Judging by the serious look on Henry's face...it appears his list for Santa this year is quite long :)

I was quite impressed with Santa's authenticity.  Real beard and belly.

Henry was rockin' his brown leather loafers for this expensive momentous occasion.

Anyone notice the cheesy 1970's backdrop in these photos?  I laughed because when I look back at my own pictures on Santa's lap for the 80's, I always think the background makes them look so dated.  I can't help but think that Henry will have the same feeling when he looks back on these pictures years from now.

And in case you're wondering...we didn't even go with the cheapest package.  Because of course, once your sweet precious baby's face pops up on the computer screen and they start showing you the potential pictures you can order-you realize you'd pay ridiculous amounts of money just to remember these special moments.

So for $32 we walked away with 1 5x7, 4 wallets, and a USB with 3 images on it.

However...the memories we have of watching our sweet baby boy sit on Santa's lap for the first time...now those, were priceless.

2 Months Old...a few weeks late.

Henry will be 3 months old in 8 days-which means I'm a few weeks late posting the pictures from his 2 month photo shoot.  Life happens right?



Quick Stats at 2 months:

Height: 24 1/2 inches...100th percentile!

Weight: 12 lbs. 4 oz...60th percentile.

Head...20th percentile.

It seems so weird to type those stats, and post these pictures, considering I just put a little boy to bed who looks SO much more grown-up than these pictures show.  But alas, here are a few more shots for your viewing pleasure:

No photo shoot would be complete without a little spit-up.

Looking quite shocked to have reached his 2 month birthday.

He smiles ALL the time these days.

If we could only all look so cute with a double chin?

I know for a fact those little legs weren't hanging off the ottoman at his 1 month shoot.

Love. Those. Cheeks.

A few thoughts...

*Did you notice HOW TALL Buggy is?  He's in the 100th percentile!  We aren't sure where he's getting his height from.  Daddy Perks is slightly above average in height, but neither of us are at the top of the class-so we'll see how long he keeps up these basketball friendly numbers :)  In fact-when we went in for his 2-month well check-up at the doctor's office, Doctor Matt said: "I'm glad I looked at Henry's charts before I walked in here, because I would have thought we were on his 4-month appointment by the looks of him!"  You are one lanky boy.  You grow out of all your clothes length-wise before you ever fill them out.  Daddy Perks jokes that we need to start shopping in the "Big and Tall" section for your wardrobe.

*Around 4 weeks-old you started smiling, and now we can't get you to stop.  You are SUCH a happy baby.  You smile when you wake up in the morning, (Yes-even if it's 5:30 am) and you pretty much smile all day long.

*Around 5 weeks-old you started giggling.  People who don't know you that well might mistake your giggle for a cough.  But it is a full-blown belly laugh-and it's quite possibly the cutest thing ever.  Daddy found out that you're ticklish-just like Mommy.  Your weak spot is your belly, and if I catch him torturing you with the tickles, I always come to your rescue.  (I expect you to return the favor someday.)

*You have a love affair with lights and ceiling fans.  You could stare at them all day long.  We often find you laughing at them-you're helping to remind us to appreciate the simple pleasures in life.

*You love bath time now.  You just lay there calmly as Daddy and I scrub you down.  You also LOVE when we wrap you up in your towels afterwards.

*You are still a great sleeper, although these days you've decided you need to eat once during the middle of the night.  Mommy doesn't mind because you wake up just to eat, and then go right back in your crib and don't cry at all.  You LOVE your crib.  You also love your monkey mobile.  You babble with the monkeys and we wonder what the heck you're saying to them :)

*You are a charmer with the ladies.  When you see pretty girls, you're all smiles.  We know this could prove to be dangerous down the road...

*You survived your first round of shots at the doctor.  You were really brave.  You cried for about 4 seconds, and as soon as I scooped you up, you knew everything would be alright.  Those vaccinations did mess up your sleeping pattern that night though-you woke up at 10:30, 12:30, 2:30, and 5:30 am.  Holy moly-it made me feel very blessed that you're such a good sleeper-how do parents get up that many times a night on a normal basis?

*You still love your pacifier.  And your swing.  And your playmat.  When we put you in bouncy seat now, we have to strap you in because you're a WIGGLE WORM.  Apparently the key to staying long 'n lean is to just never stop moving.  And you don't.  You're pretty much moving your legs all the time.

Ok-that's enough fun facts for now.  After all-in 8 days I'll have to come up with a whole new list of Henry-isms for the 3 month post.

Happy Monday PERKS followers!

Overall Perks.

Who doesn't love a cute little boy rockin' a pair of overalls?

This picture was taken over a month ago, so Henry has grown SO much since then.  I swear I'm going to post his 2-month photoshoot this weekend.  For goodness sake...if I don't post it soon, it will be posted after he turns 3-months old.

A cute little boy can keep a Mama busy.

I'm blaming my lack of posts on his cuteness.  Is that allowed?

Beach Baby Boy.

As you know-last week Henry & I spent the week in Ft. Myers, Florida visiting with my Nana Rose AKA-Henry's Great Nana.  While it was fabulous to spend our days enjoying the sunshine and 80 degree weather, the true pleasure of our visit was to spend time with a woman who I love and adore with all my heart.  My Nana is just. plain. fabulous.  Anyone who knows her, knows just how lovely she is-and she makes 86 years old young look good.  I could go on forever about why I love this lady-brag about her younger days as a model-or how she now spends her days knitting beautiful blankets for a non-profit organization called Queen For A Day.

But my appreciation for her and our relationship took on a whole new meaning as I placed my sweet baby boy in her arms for the first time last week.  There have been a few defining  moments in my short time as a mother-and watching my Nana's reaction to meeting Henry was certainly one of them.  I can only speak for myself when I think about what an amazing feeling it was to welcome my own child into the world-so I can't even begin to imagine what it feels like to help welcome your child's child's child into the world.

It truly is hard for me to put into words the joy I felt in my heart watching Henry and Nana Rose together.  And make no mistake-while Nana was certainly smitten with Henry, she was not the only one who fell in love.  My little Henry sure loved his Great Nana to the moon and back again.  I could not stop laughing at what a charmer Henry was every time my Nana would hold him.  Maybe it was her sweet English accent that sang to him all week long, or the gentle touch with which she rocked him-but I'm telling you what-I heard my little one smile and giggle more in the moments he spent with her than the whole rest of the trip combined.

Here is a shot of four generations...

Henry...Mama Perks...Nana...My Mom.

My Sister, Corey...My Aunt Danie...Monkey Man...Me!

And of course, no trip to Florida would be complete without a walk on the beach at sunset.

Can't beat this view.

And you also can't beat this cuteness...

What can I say?  This boy knows how to pose for a good shot.

True love.

Here's to many many more wonderful Florida memories that we'll make with our (Great) Nana.

Can You Find Our Monkey?!?

This is what some may refer to as... "parents who use their child for their own cheap entertainment."

We did in fact dress Henry in his Halloween costume and pile him and all of his stuffed monkeys onto his glider-just so that we could laugh and take pictures of it. Not to mention the callback to one of Daddy Perks' all-time favorite childhood movies. ET anyone?

It was a big week for our little man.  Be sure to check back for pictures from Henry's first Halloween, the beach, and Henry's 2-month photo shoot.