Eli is a Preschool Graduate!

Eli graduated from Faith Preschool on Wednesday! They had a little graduation ceremony where they walked across the stage, got their diplomas, a metal, and a hug from their teachers. The kids also sang some songs for us. So cute!

Eli had a great year there learning all sorts of things to prepare for kindergarten, learning some Spanish, making art, singing music, and making friends. Mrs. Bass was his teacher, who he loved. I hope Jed and our third will have her in the future. Eli also made some friends...friends that are boys, which he didn't have many of before this year. I got a picture of Eli and his best buddies, Jack and James. I think they'll continue to be friends for while. I can't believe Eli is done with pre-k and off to kindergarten next year! Thankfully, Jed will be going to Faith next year, so we're not done there yet!

Baby Shark!

Before the sonogram, Eli informed us that we were going to find out if we were going to have a baby boy, a baby girl, or a baby shark! Good one Eli! Soooo, I'm sure you've heard but the sono revealed that we are not having a baby shark, but a baby boy!

Honestly, this was a shock to me and I think, for John, too. I was sure it was a girl. Eli was excited that he guessed right...he really wanted another brother. Jed still says he's having a little sister, but I think he's getting it. He's just excited to be a big brother. Mammy got to go with us to the sono, which was special. She's been there for all three! She was happy of course!

As we were watching our baby boy on the screen, he seemed to be pretty laid back. He had his hand behind his head as he lounged back with his feet propped up on "the wall". At one point he seemed to look right at the screen and smile. We have a picture of it! And he was not shy about revealing his boy parts! We spotted "the turtle" before the sonographer said anything.

Everything looks good and healthy with his organs, limbs, fingers, and size, so we're thankful for that. There was one little concern that they saw, which were some fluid-filled cysts on his brain. The doctor and my midwife don't seem to be concerned about them and said they are fairly common and should go away by 28 weeks. So, we are scheduled for a follow-up sonogram in August to make sure they haven't grown and have hopefully gone away. Since everything else looks okay, he should be fine. There's just that little concern in the back of my mind now though.

It has taken me awhile to get used to the fact that we'll have three boys. I've felt shocked, in denial, excited, sad, disappointed, guilty for feeling disappointed, nervous, and almost content with this fact just in the past few days since we found out. I'm glad there's five more months for it to sink in! I know I will love this little baby boy in my tummy even more when he is in my arms.

Look out world, here comes another Perkins boy!

The boys keep asking to see "the turtle"...it's circled in the picture. I think it's hard to miss!




In the last picture it looks to me like he's looking at us, smiling!

Baby #3...boy or girl?

I am 18 weeks now, which means sonogram time! We have our appointment this Monday 5/23 at 4:00. The sonogram's main purpose is to make sure everything looks good with the baby, it's the biophysical exam. So, we pray everything is looking good and developing as it should. But, I'm most excited about finding out if we're having a boy or girl! I kinda think girl, but I thought Eli and Jed were girls, too, and obviously I was wrong. So, we'll see this time. A girl would change everything in a fun and exciting way and a boy would be very convenient...got the clothes, toys, etc, and we know what to expect from a boy. Of course just the fact that we are having a baby is amazing, so we are happy either way. I definitely like knowing, and I think it will be good for the boys to know if they are having a brother or sister, too. We're excited to find out! I created a poll to see what your predictions are. What is your guess?

poll by twiigs.com

New additions to the Perkins Family Urban Farm

We got three new chickens from our friends, Heidi and Noah, a few days ago. It was a good deal because Heidi and Noah raised them from chicks (they got about 20 chicks at one time to be raised as broilers) and gave them to us when they were bigger and ready to be outside and with our other three chickens. The chick phase is not fun...really messy, loud, and smelly...in my opinion. Now, I think our new chickens are more like adolescents or young adults. I think they are called pullets b/c they are female and too young to lay eggs. You learned something new today, didn't you?

We got the new chickens because our other three are getting old and not producing many eggs these days. The pullets are still leery of going far from the coop, so it was hard to get a good picture of all three of them. They are going to be good looking chickens! I'm not sure what kind we got. Heidi, can you help me out here?

Also, we have yet to name them. We're thinking of going with our chicken food theme. The older three ladies are named Noodle, Pot Pie, and Cacciatore. Past names have been Dumplin, Marsala, and Nugget. Some names I thought of are: Taco, Buffalo, Vindaloo, Cordon Bleu, Nacho, Curry...so many possibilities!

Jed's stories

I took a couple videos of Jed "reading" me his Maisy books. He is retelling the story, but you may have a hard time figuring out what he's saying. In the first video he starts saying made-up words toward the end. It's a long book! I wanted to get some videos of him talking and reading books at this age because I like looking back at the videos when they're older.

15 weeks pregnant

I am feeling much better these days now that I'm in the second trimester. There is no more nausea, I have more energy, and a big appetite! Sometimes, I even forget I'm pregnant until I look in the mirror. There is definitely a bump there now! I better start getting things done and preparing for the baby's arrival now while I feel good, but the problem is that the fact that we're having another baby hasn't really set in yet. It doesn't seem real at all. I think that once I see that little body on the sonogram and find out if it's a boy or girl and once I feel it moving around a lot, then maybe it'll become more of a reality. We will find out boy/girl probably the last week of May.

Here's a picture of me at 14 weeks. I was attempting to set the camera up with the timer and take a pic of myself and this is what I got. I wanted to take a better one, but before I could do that, I knocked the camera off of the mantle onto the tile and jammed the lens. The camera is a gonner. It was going to cost more to repair it than the camera was worth, so we had to buy a new one...boo. It should be on it's way in the mail now. So this picture of my bump will do for now. More to come!

Easter 2011

We had a low key Easter this year. It was nice. The boys got some confetti eggs from our neighbors Chad and Hannah, which they had fun smashing. We went to church Sunday evening and celebrated as well. The boys had an Easter egg hunt there. No Easter baskets for our family. I just don't get the concept of baskets full of candy and other cheap toys they don't need, or maybe I'm just lazy or cheap. No Easter baskets means that they didn't have real baskets for the egg hunt at church. So, we just made our own out of paper bags. Is that lame? Either way, the boys are fine with it and perfectly happy with candy and eggs from an Easter egg hunt and some cascarones. Oh, and I forgot to dye eggs with the boys this year...oops. They didn't miss it either though. I did manage to remember to get a family photo after church. They turned out pretty good!

Sports

We've been going from Eli's tball to John's soccer games lately. It's been great weather for game watching though! John had his last game of the season a couple weeks ago. He's been loving it, so I'm sure there will be more soccer playing in the future. Eli is still enjoying tball and getting the concept of the game more, as are his teammates. John looks like a real soccer player, doesn't he? Woohoo! And you can see Eli at bat in the last picture...yep, he's a lefty.