Life As We Know It

Aleigha and Aubrey about to go play in the snow

enjoying a day in the snow

snow bunnies making snow angels

our beautiful baby

Aleigha recently started dance classes..and she loves it! We can't wait for her recital in May!

Her dance class is a mix of jazz, ballet, and tumbling

Aleigha does great with Kenli...she loves to hold her

for all of you who think Aleigha looks like Chris...well this picture proves that there is a little bit of me in her....many ppl have mistaken this pic for me....she certainly has my profile at least

they are both sooo in love with her...they are great little helpers to me too...now if they would just let me sleep :)

1st time in the swing...loves it...except when Brenton climbs in with her...not so fond of it then

Such a good big brother...he was so proud that he was able to hold her all by himself in HIS chair

such a good big brother that he will find any way to check on her
(he climbed onto the couch and into the pack-n-play changing table...i'm not sure if there is any where in the house that I can leave her for even a minute w/out him finding a way to her)

she's soo small...not even sure if this is safe
by the way, the car seat cover you see here was made by love from Katie and Wade
they did an absolutely amazing job...THANK YOU!

our silly adorable little boy, Brenton

precious angel

waiting to be discharged...running on about 8 hrs of sleep in the 72 hours prior to this pic

even though mommy had very little sleep...she got plenty :)

Kenli might just be as big as Aubrey ;)

brotherly love

3: 3 and under

so in love

Grandma and Kenli

can't stop admiring her

Big Brother Brenton

Big Sister Aleigha

Baby Sister Kenli

Daddy with his baby girl

precious feet

love at first sight

smiles already?

our beautiful baby girl, Kenli

me and Chris walking the halls of the hospital (I have monitors on my stomach...so I look a little bigger than I really was)....false labor

when I went into false labor...trying to walk, squat, and lunge Kenli out of me

All the Thornburgh children at Pat's wedding...we know Jeremy was with us there

Katie, Chris, and Wade para-sailing...I unfortunately was not able to go b/c of being pregnant...too hard to hide my pregnant belly in a bathing suite.

so in love...enjoying a night out while my parents watched the kids

Brenton and Mommy enjoying a nice swim

Mommy and Aleigha enjoying a nice walk on the beach

Let the baby races begin....diaper derby...needless to say, Brenton had no ambition to even join in...he sat here the whole time and didn't budge. (L-R: Brenton, Jaxon, Aubrey, and Ollie...all cousins born in an 8 wk prd)

Aleigha and Lexi...these two little girls had a blast together in Florida. This was about the time they got into Aunt Sue's "Mary Kay" make-up...and locked themselves in a bedroom...silly girls.

our little ball player

Brenton burried his cousin Aric in the sand..he thought he'd be nice enough to let him breath and see all the fun he was missing

family pic in Pensacola, Fl

Well, once again it has been quite some time since I have posted. A LOT has happened in the last few months. I'm not even going to say "I'll try to keep it brief"...because we all know what that means....lol. Now I will be spending a lot more time at home, so I hope that I will be able to post more often.

On November 17th, 2010 our dream finally became a reality. We finally closed on the house that we were so desperately trying to buy. It is a small 3 bedroom house. Even though it is little, it is great for us right now. I absolutely love it. We are now home owners and it feels great. We had lots of help moving from family and friends. The first night in, I finally felt home. It felt like I was where I belonged, that I had lived there for years...it just felt right.

On Nov. 19th, Molly gave birth to her little boy (my adorable nephew), Titan Dean. He is now 2 1/2 months old. He is absolutely adorable and his personality is beginning to show. He is a welcome addition to our family :).

Thanksgiving, like usually, was an enjoyable day spent with family and eating lots of delicious food.

A week before Christmas, we surprised my parents with our annual "sibling gift." Each year all the sibling throw in money to buy a big gift for my parents. This year, we were able to get them a new couch and love seat, an ottoman, and even a new set of dishes (they needed something to open on Christmas morning..lol). They were very surprised and love the couches very much. They were very appreciative, and the couches look incredible in their house! Thank you everyone!! I will post pictures for those siblings who haven't seen them yet. Also that night, we did our annual Christmas caroling. Aleigha was the most excited, but we all had a blast doing it.

We spent the evening of Christmas Eve at my parents doing our annual Christmas traditions. We had a birthday cake for Jesus. Every year since I was a child, we have acted out the story of Christmas from the Bible. A few years, when we were short on characters, we just read the story. This year, our characters (who I might mention, did an INCREDIBLE job) consisted of Mary, mother of Jesus, played by Aleigha Perry; Joseph, played by Brenton Perry; and Jesus, played by Titan Boyce. It was an amazing performance. To end the evening, we each got to open one gift.

As for the night of Christmas Eve, Chris, the kids, and I came home. It was the first Christmas that I have spent some where other than my parents house. But it was nice to spend Christmas in our new home. Aleigha is 3 now, and we figured that magic of Christmas needs to be in our own home. The kids got lots of presents and were so excited that Santa came to our house. Later we went to my parents and then onto Chris' mom's house. The next day we spent with Chris' dad. We had a great time at everyone's house. We love being able to spend so much time with family.

New Year's Eve, like every year, falls on our wedding anniversary (lol). My parents watched the kids while we went to the movies and out to eat. We watched Little Fockers (the 3rd movie of Meet the Parents) and ate at Oliverio's. It was a nice, much needed date away from the kids. We then spent the rest of the evening at my parent's house. We watched the ball drop, and ate cheese, steak, and chocolate fondue...a tradition that my mom has been doing since a child.

On Jan. 5th, we received the sad news that Chris' grandmother had passed away. She was a great lady. She will most certainly be missed. I was very sad that Kenli did not get a chance to meet her while here on Earth, but we all know, they have met :). Chris flew out on the 8th for a few days for her funeral. I couldn't go because I was too far along in my pregnancy to fly.

Jan. 7th, I finished my last term as a long-term substitute. For the whole 1st semester of the school year (minus the last week), I taught 7th grade English. I had a great time teaching and really enjoyed myself. I loved the people that I worked with and look forward to working with them again. I made a lot of good friends. The students were great, and I really enjoy teaching. When I first started thinking about teaching and substituting, I thought that middle school was the last place I would want to teach, but honestly, it was great.

On Jan. 24th, I was scheduled to be induced to give birth to our 3rd child...Kenli Marie Perry. I wrote the following on the day she was born. Since I consider this my journal, I decided I wanted to post it here:

Jan. 24, 2011:
Well...the day has finally come. I was suppose to be induced on Friday Jan. 21st...when the doctor called to officially schedule the induction, the hospital said no b/c there were no open beds. They decided to schedule for Monday (Jan 24) morning. I was instructed to come into the hospital at 11 pm Sunday (Jan 23) night. Plans were to give me "cervadil" to thin my cervix at midnight, followed by petocin at around 6 or 7 am. However, in the wee hours of Saturday morning (Jan. 22), I was pretty sure I was in labor. We made the trip in -2 temperature. I was having regular, strong contractions, and everything was pointing that it was the real deal. After about 1 1/2 hours or so, they asked me to walk to see if we could just get it moving a little faster. My contractions got a lot stronger...and then I laid back down. My contractions came to a complete STOP. I was soo frustrated. They had me walk some more...the contractions came back, but has soon as I laid down again, they stopped again. I was sent home.

Now to put us at 10 pm on Sunday (Jan 23) night, Chris and I headed back to Camden Clark. At 12:30 AM they gave me the cervadil. The contractions started immediately, and I was getting uncomfortable rather quickly. At 2:30, knowing the anesthesiologist was still in bed and wouldn't be in for awhile, I asked for some pain medication. It started working almost immediately, and for about 15 mins, I was pain free. Those 15 mins. came to a sudden stop though. I was getting contractions about every 45 seconds. By 3:30 I called for the epidural. The anesthesiologist came at 4. At this point I was dialated to 5 cm. Unfortunately, the epidural did not take. However, the anesthesiologist stuck around and was able to reinsert another one. Between the two epidurals (20 mins), I increased to 6 cms. Then my water broke all on it's own. The anes. was working as quickly as he could to get the second one in. Before he was finished, I was telling the nurses that I was pretty sure I needed to push. They checked me again, this time I was at a 9, and the baby was starting to crown (only about 15 mins. had passed since I was a 6). The doctor was called, and the nurses ran around like crazy to get everything together. I tried as hard as I could to not "push." The doctor walked in at 4:42 am. Literally, after 1/2 a push, she was out, on my chest, and in the baby "wamer" before 4:45. I was amazed at how quickly everything went. The second epidural kicked in about 10-15 mins. before the nurses allowed me to push. So needless to say, I pretty much did a natural child birth 90%+ of the time.

Kenli Marie Perry was born at about 4:43 am, weighing 6 lbs. 8 oz and 18.5 inches long. She is absolutely beautiful.

She is a precious little addition to our family. The kids are absolutely IN LOVE with her. They are doing well adjusting to the change. They are both great little helpers in getting my diapers, wipes, burp cloths, bibs, you name it. Aleigha is obsessed with changing her clothes, so poor little girl wears about 3 or 4 outfits a day...and doesn't need to (not yet anyways)! Some battles are just not worth fighting...so Aleigha picks out an outfit, and then together we change her. Luckily, since Kenli doesn't need quite that many outfits in a day, I put the clean ones back in her drawer b/c I don't have all the time in the world to do laundry. As for Kenli's disposition, it is great. She is not much of a crier, just when she's hungry, or in a dirty diaper. She is nursing well, and sleeping just as great. She is def. a joy to have!

Things are going great in our life. I couldn't ask for anything better. I love my home, my husband, and my children! I have great family and friends. LIFE IS GOOD. We have a lot to thank God for!

Enjoy the pictures.

Summer Fun

Well well, It's been quite a while once again since I have posted anything on my blog. We have been super busy but have been having lots of fun :). Unfortunately, I don't have too many pictures to post because our memory card failed us and all our pictures from Brenton's 1st birthday to the middle of August were all erased...I know very very depressing :( However, Katie has been here taking lots of pictures with her camera, so not all is lost.

Here are some of the the fun things we have been up to:

In May, Chris and I went to King's Island with his dad and his wife. We had a really fun time.

Just a couple of days later, we found out that we are expecting Baby #3. (I can't remember the exact date we found out, I will have to go back and figure it out). On August 26th, we found out that our newest addition will be a little girl. We are all very excited.

June 2nd-Brenton turned 1! We had a small family get together to celebrate such an awesome boy!

June 12th- I turned 25!!! A whole 1/4 century old...crazy! We celebrated my birthday by having a joint 1st birthday party for Brenton and Aubrey (who's bday is June 17th). We had a large turn out of family and friends. We had a bbq and lots of water games. We then celebrated my birthday by going on a double date with my sister Katie and Wade to Olive Garden. There they had a magician who put on a personal show for us at out table. It was a great birthday :)


July 2-12: We went to visit our friends near Baltimore for a few days. We were able to celebrate my friends birthday along with the 4th of July with them. They have two little girls right near Aleigha's age, so she was in heaven. We had a great visit with them.

After we left their house, we continued on our way to NJ. There we were able to spend time with my Uncle Bob, my brother Tom, his wife Rox, and their two little girls Jadyn and Kaya. We were also able to visit with lots of friends of mine. Again, it was another awesome trip. Aleigha had a blast while playing with so many friends and cousins...esp. her age.

In July, we went to Florida. We went with Chris' mom Leta, and her husband, Richie. We visited his grandma and uncles and their families. We also visited other family. While we were there, we went to the zoo, to a water park, and the beach. We did lots of swimming, and just had a lot of fun.

A couple of weeks later, in August, we went to Florida again. This time to Pensacola Beach. My brother Pat got married. My whole family was there for it. It was great to have everyone there. We were missing a few in-laws and grandchildren, which was very sad and they were greatly missed. It was the first time though that all the siblings were together. Hopefully it won't be too long before we're all together again for a happy occasion. Some of the family, including us, went in together to rent a beach house, just across the street from the beach. We also had our annual family reunion at the beach. It was a great time. There were lots of games and activities and a delicious bbq. Also while there, we went go cart riding, mini golfing, and Chris went para-sailing (I couldn't go b/c of being pregnant). Chris loved it though. He highly recommends it. We will go again sometime when I can go. Overall, we had a great time. It was a lot of fun. I love spending soo much time with family.

On our first trip to Florida, I received a phone call and was offered a substitution position for the first 6 weeks of school. Which then turned into a whole semester. So since August 23rd, I have been working as a 7th grade English/Writing teacher. I like it a lot, but I will be glad when I can be home every day again with Aleigha and Brenton and Baby #3 as well. I miss them greatly when I'm at work.

I will be working until about Jan. 13/14th. My due date is Jan. 28th...so just 2 weeks after I am done. They induced me a week early with both Aleigha and Brenton. I won't be surprised if they induce me again...but regardless, I have 1-2 weeks after I'm done working to get my life in somewhat of an order before it all changes again.

Now fall has arrived. Fall is my favorite time of year. The weather has been great and outside looks beautiful with all the leaves different colors and falling. Despite me working and being really busy, we are trying to enjoy as much of this fall season possible. In the last several weeks, we have gone to football games, the park, and lots of other things.

October 6, 2010, we celebrated Aleigha's 3rd birthday. Chris, Aleigha, and Brenton picked me up at work, and we headed to Parkersburg. We went to Toys 'R Us and Aleigha got to pick out her birthday present...a bike. And she didn't let us forget she needed her "holmo"(it sounds like homo when she says it) too so she could be safe. After we got her bike, helmet, and license plate we went back towards home and stopped at the Pizza House where we met Grandma and Pop, Grandma Leta, Molly, Katie, Wade, Aubrey, and Wade's brother Wyatt (who was passing through the area). We enjoyed some pizza together and then had cupcakes. The servers sang Happy Birthday to her...she freaked and ran under an unused table. It was quite a site. It was a great evening to celebrate a great little girl. She is such a blessing to us. She is such a joy to have in our family. We thank God everyday for her, Brenton, and baby to-be.

Last week, 10/9/10, Chris and Katie surprised Wade and I, and we went to the Blennerhasset Island by candlelight. We had to take the ferry to get to the island. When we first got there, we had a typical meal that was eaten during the 1800s. We then had our palms read, sat around the bonfire at the servants' party, and toured the mansion. In the mansion, they were hosting a typical "party" that would have been held during the 1800s. It was a very neat experience and I'm so glad we did it.

October 10th was Katie's birthday. It was her SUPER SONIC birthday, 10/10/10. It is very rare to get a birthday like that. We celebrated here at our house by having lots of family and friends over for a bbq, some corn hole, and a bonfire. Again, it was lots of fun.

Yesterday Oct. 17th, we held a bigger birthday party for Aleigha. All of her family members that live close by were able to come, plus a couple of friends. It was a Halloween costume party. Aleigha insisted that everyone had to wear a costume if they wanted to come....and just about everyone did. Everyone looked great too. I had a lot of fun activities planned, but of course, with the choas of everything, not much of it got done. But the kids had fun playing, and the adults enjoyed the food. Aleigha got lots of neat presents, including a life size doll...it's 4 feet tall!! That's taller than her. Katie and I had also made an awesome "Graveyard Dirt Cake"....it looked and tasted great. I was very happy with our accomplishment.

Now, it brings us today. After the party last night, I got pretty sick...a bug as well as little sleep and over working myself this weekend plus being pregnant...made my immune system pretty weak so it hit me pretty bad. So, I decided to take the day off to recuperate. Aleigha was hit this morning...but nothing like me. She is just a little nauseous and tired. So me and the kids are still in our pjs and we are watching movie after movie and just spending some time together. I'm enjoying my day with nothing to do but spend time with my kids. I think I might even get a nap in today.

Well, that has been the last 6 months of our lives in a nutshell...a very big one. Like I said earlier, something happened to our camera that caused us to loose over 3 months of pictures. And since Katie has lived here, she has been doing a great job at taking pictures. So hopefully soon, I will be able to post several pictures from her camera.

Hope you are all enjoying this wonderful time of year!

Nursery Story

Aleigha absolutely loves going to the nursery at church. She is sometimes the only one in there and when there are other children, it is her cousins Abbie and Maddie. It is taught by grandma and sometimes grandpa is the one who teaches. So needless to say, she gets a lot of attention. We all know that children are like sponges and it is best to teach them when their minds can absorb so much. Yet, I still think we often under estimate the ability a child has to learn. It is a great feeling though when your child demonstrates or explains or even lifes what they have learned. I know Aleigha is learning constantly..but here is a special story I wanted to share with everyone of what she learned in Nursery:

Right after class was over, she ran into the room I was in, held up the children's hymnal. I can't remember the name of the song...but the picture was of Jesus holding and kissing 4 children (2 boys and 2 girls-one brunette, one blonde). She tells me as she points to each person, "This is Jesus, this is Daddy, this is Brenton, this is Mommy, and this is Leigha" She proceeds with, "When Jesus comes, I am going to give him a BIG HUG and a BIG KISS. I will also give him a bandaid and kiss his booboos."
Me: "Oh, where is Jesus' booboos."
Aleigha: She runs to the nursery and returns with a picture "Right here, and here, and here, and here."-as she points to each hand and foot.
Me: "Aww, poor Jesus, what happened to him?"
Aleigha: "Bad mans hurt him."
Me: "What men hurt him?
Aleigha: "This man, and this one, and this one, etc." She continues to point to each person in the picture.

Aleigha will randomly bring up Jesus and tell us how much she loves him and how she will give him a hug and kiss when she sees him. It is inspiring to me to see the love she has for our Savior and to see that she understand that He loves her. Children truly have a Christ like love and we should all follow their suit.

More Holidays

I feel like I'm a little behind on my postings. I started writing this blog entry on Feb. 13. Needless to say, some of this goes way back. I didn't even put all the Christmas pictures on yet. Some of the stuff is outdated. However, I've put too much into it to just start over. I'm going to try to update and add to it...so if it seems a little choppy...you know why.

Let's start with Christmas...lol. We had a wonderful Christmas. We were very fortunate that I had started my substitute job at the beginning of December, and was able to work several days before Christmas break. We used that money to buy Christmas presents. The kids got lots of toys and gifts. Aleigha was soo excited with everything. She was even awake when Santa came. He gave her a couple of gifts and told her she needed to go to bed, and then he would come back and leave the rest. She diligently obeyed. Brenton also loved unwrapping the toys and playing with them...especially the wrapping paper. Next year though, Santa is going to be making some cut backs. I think they are young enough they will never know any different.

New Year's Eve: As most everyone knows, Dec. 31 is our anniversary. We always debate whether or not we should do something with family/friends or if we should do something alone. In the previous years, we have gone out to eat just the 2 of us, and then we would spend the night with family/friends. This year we decided we needed a treat. One the 31st, we went and stayed in Elkins, WV. We went out to eat at a little bar and grill. We watched live music and brought in the New Year by playing pool. Just after the stike of mid-night. We stayed the night at the Holiday Inn Express. The next morning, we went to Timberline Ski Resort for a fun day of skiing. This was the first time (and only time at this point) I left Brenton alone overnight. Well, obviously not alone. He was def. in good hands with my mom and several of my sisters.

During this holiday season, we had the opportunity to spend lots of time with family and friends. We were very fortunate that so many of my family members came in during the holidays. We always enjoy spending time with everyone. We definitly missed those who couldn't make it in though.

Valentine's Day: This is holiday that so many people celebrate, so it's not the easiest to find a babysitter for more than a couple of hours. We decided to stay home and Chris made me a wonderful steak dinner. We let the kids eat and play in the living room while we had a dinner alone in the dinning room...we almost made it through the whole dinner alone. We decided not to do presents this year since we are trying to save to buy a new house. Of course though, we had a little candy and I bought each of the kids a book about love. It was a very nice evening at home with our little family.

Chris' Bday: Chris' birthday falls one week after Valentine's day. We went out to eat a couple of times with family to celebrate his birthday. We also hung out with some friends of ours the night before his bday. Then on his real birthday, we spent the day celebrateing his little cousins Sequoiah's 3rd bday.

Jeremy's Birthday: Every year, my family gets together on or near Jeremy's birthday. We get balloons and then write letters to Jeremy. After reading the letters, we attach them to the balloons, and all together, let them fly off to heaven. It's a wonderful tradition. I love the fact that we still celebrate my brother and the life he lived. He will never be forgotten. Because of this tradition, I feel that even Aleigha is getting to know her Uncle Jeremy that left this Earth before she entered it.

Easter: We had a wonderful Easter. We stayed the night before at my parents house. Aleigha had a fun time dying the eggs that the Easter Bunny was going to hide. Even Brenton gave it a nack...after breaking a couple...we decided that maybe finding them would be more his thing. The next morning we awoke to see the wonderful treats the Easter Bunny left for us all. We each got a basket full of candy and Aleigha and Brenton each got an Easter book. Then the kids started with an egg hunt in the living room and found several plastic eggs with more candy! Then we made our way outside and found all the eggs for our breakfast. Brenton was much better at the finding and playing with the eggs than the dying of them. Aleigha however, found more than 50 eggs all by herself!! We then enjoyed a delicious breakfast. After we watched converence and then ate an awesome Easter lunch, we went to Crystal Lake for another Easter Egg Hunt. Aleigha and Brenton got a special treat...they were able to see the Easter Bunny!!! They were both scared at first. Aleigha finally gave him a hug...but would never sit on his lap or let him hold her. Brenton turned away from letting him hold him at first, but finally gave in. After the bunny left, Aleigha said, "I'm ready to sit on the Easter Bunny's lap now." Unfortunatly it was a little late. All-in-all, we had a wonderful Easter.

Work: In the middle of Feb. I started working a long term substitute position. I taught 6th grade reading and English, and an 8th grade literature class for about 5 or 6 weeks. I enjoyed my time working there. I really enjoyed the people I worked with; however, I was def. ready for a break to be with Aleigha and Brenton again. I hated leaving them every morning. Now that I am done that position, I am still working 2-4 days a week. It is rough leaving the kids in the morning...especially if they wake up before I leave (which seems to be happening a lot more lately). The opportunity to work so much has come at a great time though with trying to save money for our 1st home.

Home: As I already mentioned, we have been trying to save money to buy a new home. This has been a nightmare in itself. We have looked at 30+ houses in 4 different areas. We have toyed around with numerous ideas. We had to deal with real estate agents, private owners, banks, construction works, and a number of other people or organizations. After much thought and prayer, we have decided we want to build on my parents land sooner than later. My parents bought the land they did with the idea that they would deed off several acres to each child, in hopes that we would each build on the land. At first we were going to buy a log cabin kit, similar to Julie and Scott. After researching all the ins and outs of this idea, we decided we weren't quite ready for that. That route is going to cost a little more than we are wanting to spend right now. Also, there is a lot of work Chris would have to do himself, that would be too hard when he works full time and we don't live that close to the property. Who knows how long it would take to be move in ready. So our final (hopefully) decision: buy a nice little trailer, put in next to where we want to build our house, save money, and then build in 3-5 years. Going this route, makes it that we will have already paid for all the utilities to be put in this spot (road, septic, well, electric, etc.). Many of the major costs will already be paid for. Our payments will be less than what we pay now, so we will be able to save a good bit. We will be able to walk out the front door and start working (instead of driving almost an hour each day to work on building). We will have the option to sell the trailer when we are completely done with the house, or we can keep it as a guest house (and it won't hurt our pockets). And best of all, we are close to family...we will be in walking distance of more than one babysitter, and yet still live in the country (lol) :). It is a great place for the kids and Thor. In fact, Chris wants to possibly start a small dog breeding business to be able to make and save even more money...and this spot is ideal for that. So there you have it. Of course, if you ask any of our family that live close by, we change our minds more than we do our underwear. However, I'm hoping this one will stick :). Of course, we'll keep everyone updated once everything is set in stone.

Our latest update on a new home: We've decided to stay put for about another year to save some money. This way Chris will have had his job for 2 years and we will not have to get PMI insurance. This way we only have to put 10% down rather than 20%. Also, it makes it so that we will qualify for a higher loan. We do still want to live out on the land. Whether we live in a trailer first or go straight for a house...we'll see.

Aleigha: Oh my, I don't even know what to say about this girl. She is her own little person, that is for sure. She has so much charcter all of her own. I seriously feel like I am talking to my best friend when I talk with her rather than a 2 year old. She seems well beyond her years. Of course, she has her 2 year old melt downs quite often. She is in a stage were she doesn't get a nap every day (esp. if I'm at work)...so when this happens, beware, the melt downs are sure to come. Other than her melt downs, Aleigha is a very happy, pleasant child. She is so full of life. She doesn't know a stranger (which scares me sometimes). She says some of the most off the wall, yet amazing things sometiems. One of the biggest things in her life right now are drama plays. She went and saw her cousins, Aric and Sarah, in the play The Fiddler on the Roof. She loved it so much, we took her a second night to see it. Before that play, they performed a smaller play...Rikki Tikki Tavi, she loved that one just as much. It's been almost 2 months since the play, and she still talks about it. Chris, being the great dad that he is, put the whole sound track of the the play on her MP3 player and his IPod...so she can listen to it any where she goes. Also, we have a couple of copies of the actual play they were in...and she watches it several times a week. She has so much of the songs and even some of the scenes memorized. She has performed her versions for just about everyone we have met....including all those private owner house sellers I was talking about, and cashiers at the grocery store, and our servers at resturants. We have been saying since she was just a couple of months old that Aleigha would be a performer one day...I still hold on to that believe.

Aleigha received a burn on her bottom a couple of weeks ago. We were at my parents house and she had just eaten breakfast. She spilt a little milk on her clothes, so she took them off. She moved into the living room and was standing in front of the fireplace. It was not on, but had been just 15 mins before, so it was still hot. Brenton saw his sister and decided she would make a good climing post. Brenton weighs almost as much as Aleigha, so his weight knocked Aleigha backwards into the fireplace. She received 1st and 2nd degree burns on her bottom. It was about a 5-6 inch circle on her bottom. We had to take her to the Emergency Room, and 2 additional check-up visits. We had to clean it twice a day. Other than the initial burn, she handled everything very well, except the cleanings. It broke our hearts to see the pain she was in when we had to clean it. All-in-all though, she is a trooper and a very tough cookie.

Brenton: This little guy is growing too quickly. Of course, he is still average or maybe even a little below average size..but he is so much bigger than Aleigha was at this age. He is on the 25th percentile for his height and 50% for his weight. So he is going to be like his dad, a little short and a little stalky. He is about 10 1/2 months right now. He doesn't have any teeth...but I'm not complaining. However, I think they are bothering him...you can see that it's much whiter under his gums and it seems to be a little swollen. I know it's just a matter of days before one pops up (of course, I've been saying that for over a month now). He has been crawling for a couple of months now. He pulls himself up onto anything or anyone. He has taken steps along our entertainment center. He has stood up on his own with absolutely no support for about 3-4 seconds. He is trying to stand up from a crawl position...yet he hasn't quite mastered it (although it is very cute to see his little butt stick up in the air). He signs: more and milk and love. One day I went to get him out of bed, and the sun was shinning right on him. He was talking away in his crib. When he saw me, he got a big grin on his face and signed "I love you." My heart melted. He has only signed it a couple of times since, but it is a memory that will never be forgotten. He gives hugs...and very sloppy open kisses. He has also mastered the art of clapping. He is going through separation anxiety though. I think working doesn't help. As soon as I get home from work, he cries until I pick him up. He won't let me put him down...not even to feed him or change his diaper. Anytime I try, he puts a death grip around my neck, straightens out his legs, turns his body into mine, and cries...it's heart breaking. That is the worse thing about working. Other than these moments, Brenton is one of the happiest babies I know. He is just content about life and all it has to offer. I think this is Chris' laid back perspective of things coming out in him.

Now Brenton is 11 1/2 months. I thought I would delete everything else, but since I haven't written it any where else, I decided I would keep it. Brenton's first 2 teeth came in on April 23rd.

He is crusing along everything now. He took 1 complete step (each foot) on May 13th. He has not attempted any more steps though. He had said "gamma (grandma)" and his favorite word to say is "GO"...he says this every time Thor enters the room or gets too close to him. He even points his finger at him while saying this. It cracks me up...I suppose he has seen me do this one too many times.

Life happens so quickly. I am glad I can spend it with my best friend Chris, and my two wonderful children Aleigha and Brenton. My family means the world to me. I am blessed to have such wonderful family and friends.

Need I say....life has been busy. Hopefully this blog wasn't too long and you were able to finish it...lol. I hope you enjoy the few pictures. I promise, in the next couple of weeks life should slow down...school ends, so I won't be working. And maybe, I will have time to post more recent pictures. I figured if I don't get this sent now, it might be another month...plus this is long enough as it it.

Aleigha trying out her new rocking horse that Santa left under the tree

After Santa's delivery

Rockin' out on the keyboard that Santa brought....thank you Aubrey for the beautiful singing

We spent Christmas Eve with Chris' family...we had a great time and we got some awesome gifts from Gramma and Papa Richie...Brenton posing in front of the tree

Holiday Fun!

Our little princess-she got 6 pairs of dress up shoes, 2 tiaras, a magic wand, and a princess dress from Grandma and Papa Richie (among lots of other fun things)

Our Christmas Superhero!!

getting ready to go out and play in the snow

the view of our house from the road after the first big snow storm of the season (we got about 15 inches) and b/c of this snow, we had a white Christmas

the road in front of our house

Daddy and Aleigha trying to build a snow man, but the snow was too fluffy

our little snow bunny

the hedges in front of our house were folded in half

the snow came to Thor's chest (and if you have seen Thor lately, you know he is not a little dog)

Brenton and Santa

Aleigha telling Santa what she wanted for Christmas.

Aubrey and Brenton on Santa's lap...Brenton was very much into Santa's attire

Christmas shopping

Brenton thinks this must be the most comfortable lap he's ever sat on.

hmm...I wonder what was going on in his mind when this picture was taken

she's not the easiest person to take pictures with anymore

Daddy and Mr. B

The Perry family on Thanksgiving

Aleigha and Brenton on Santa's lap. They got to sit on Santa's lap about 6 times this year. Brenton even did the "beard" test, and confirmed that this is the true Santa. Aleigha did a great job every time telling Santa what she wanted for Christmas...there was no way Santa didn't get the message that she wanted toys, books, and a baby doll...and Santa stayed true to her wishes.

1. "Merry Christmas Everyone!"

We hope you all enjoyed the holiday's as much as we did. We had lots of fun spending time with family this Christmas season. I have always loved Christmas and this time of year. I have always felt the magic and love that Christmas has to offer. However, when you have children of your own, there is a whole new magic. Looking in the face of a toddler, when they see Santa, Christmas lights, gifts, etc is such a wonderful experience. It's another joy of being a parent. Here are a few pictures of the start of our holiday fun. I have lots more on another camera, so there will be more to come.