Boo!

Here's Jed's scary Halloween face! Sorry, Jed, couldn't resist the pumpkin hat and Halloween outfit.

New Kicks

Jed got his first pair of Converse shoes, which are really socks, and they are the cutest little things! Thanks Erik and Tiffany! Eli wanted in the pictures, too. He looks so big! Speaking of big...Jed is already 3 weeks old and seems like he's changing and growing daily. Time is already flying!

Happenings

We went on our first family outing today! An exciting trip to the grocery store! We're taking it slow. Jed did great. He actually slept through the whole thing except maybe the last two minutes before we got home. Eli loved having him ride in the back next to him.






















Jed grunts a lot when he's sleeping, waking up, or nursing, which is pretty much all he does right now. I guess I'd rather have grunting than crying. Here's noisy Jed sleeping in the sling:


Yesterday I caught Eli reading his favorite truck book to Jed and naming and explaining all the different trucks to him. So cute!

More cute pics:

Brotherly Love

Well one week in and Eli still loves Jed! He's always asking to hold him, where he is, kissing his head, or bringing him stuff. Hopefully this will continue!

Eli picked out a present for Jed's birthday. He chose a puppy dog that was similar to one of his favorite puppy dogs. He said that Jed's puppy was his puppy's little brother, which he came up with on his own...so cute! Eli's puppy is on the left and Jed's is on the right.

Just a sweet sleeping picture:

More Jed pictures

Sunbathing to prevent jaundice...ahh..he loves it!

Jed's Here!

I'm sure most of you reading this already heard the news that our baby Jed arrived on Monday 9/22. Things have been pretty eventful since then, so I haven't had much time to post. So, I'm just going to post the email that John sent out for now with some pictures. Hope that's okay!
We're all doing well and adjusting to being a family of four. Eli's especially doing a great job of being a big brother. He's always asking where Jed is or patting him or giving him toys. It's great. Okay, Here's the email John sent out...

Jed Michael was born at 6:42pm on September 22nd (the autumnal equinox!). 9 lbs 12 oz, 22 inches long, 14.5" head size, 1590 SAT score, 4.2 forty-yard sprint, 450 lb bench press, and he rebuilt a diesel engine in 3 hours.

We had a great birth experience at home with a midwife (actually 3....1 midwife, 2 apprentices). Highlights included a trip to Lowe's to pick up a new toilet with Darby and her sister while Darby was in labor (she went to walk around and keep things going). Installing said toilet (3 times...long story short....broken toilets suck when you've got a time crunch. Check 'em at the store...), the sewing of sock monsters, blowing up a kiddie pool in our living room and Eli fishing in it, hard workin' labor, and 30 minutes of pushing. Can't say enough how glad we were to have Jed here at home.

Eli met Jed last night. He seemed excited, but that was probably because his cousins and a couple grandparents were around. He stayed with his grandmother at Darby's cousin's house last night.

Darby is amazing...strong as an ox that one....she's recovering wonderfully.

Me (dad)...I still have diabetes...and I probably talk too much...but other than that...I'm pretty excited. It's fun to know we brought Eli a future best friend, and we look forward to discovering Jed's personality!

The Perkins

D Day

Well here we are at the big due date and no baby Jed yet. I've been trying not to get my hopes up that he would come early or on time, but it's been hard not to, especially when I keep hearing that second babies come early many times. I guess I should have known since Eli was 5 days late. So, for now we just be patient and wait. The "due date" really is just a guestimate anyway. The reality is that he's coming out no matter what and it will be soon! I am beginning to feel like I'm going to be pregnant forever though!
Here's my due date picture:

Artist

I was impressed when Eli showed me this picture he drew on the Magna Doodle. Can you guess what it is? It's a trash truck, of coarse! I can see the truck and the wheels, too! I wish I had it on paper, but at least I got to take a picture.

Belly Shots

I'm 39 weeks and counting! My official due date is next Saturday, the 20th. Now, it's just a waiting game. I'm in no real hurry to have this baby for now because I know what's coming and I'd like to enjoy these last days of a little bit more freedom and being a family of three. We are excited to add another baby to the family and be a family of four, don't get me wrong, we'll just enjoy our time for now. I'm not miserably uncomfortable right now either. That might change soon, though! I thought I'd post a couple pictures of my big belly. I actually think my belly looks smaller in these pictures than it really is. My midwife is predicting a big baby...no surprise there! If he comes tomorrow during Hurricane Ike, we might have to reconsider the name! Ike Perkins...hmmm...

Backyard Fun!

A couple weeks ago, we invested in a playset for our backyard. It's the real deal with a fort, ladder, rock climing ladder, swings, and a slide. We're hoping this will provide hours of playtime and entertainment for the boys for years to come. We got a good deal on it from Craig's list. Eli's enjoyed it so far but still trying to master getting on the swings without help. He calls the playset his "house". Thanks to Dada for putting in the hours to put it together!

Playin' Around

Eli's into doing "cool tricks" for us lately. We hear, "watch this cool trick!" many times a day. The tricks usually involve falling on the floor or kicking his leg up. Here's one that IS pretty cool (it's the first time he actually got the spoon to stay on his nose):


Eli's imagination has taken off lately as well. He likes to talk to his animals or toys and play with them, take care of them, watch a show with them, and especially take them places in the car. He usually calls them his "guys". Here's a picture of "Puppy" and "Buddy the Backhoe", two of his favorites.


And here's a picture of Eli just being silly wearing a couple of my headbands:

Eli the Storyteller

Lately, Eli has been wanting us to tell him stories at bedtime instead of singing songs. The other morning, he decided he was going to tell us the stories.

Here's Eli's version of The Three Little Pigs:


And here's another story, which I think is a combo of Goldilocks and the Three Bears and The Three Pigs

Just Pictures

How do you like the new look?

Here are some recent pictures for your enjoyment...

Grape face

Eli's new floaty swim suit...think he likes it?









The black eye I got from a projectile toy thrown by Eli on accident.

Recent Prego Pics

What a difference one week makes! Maybe it's just the camera angle or what I was wearing, but according to these pictues it looks like I grew a lot in one week!
33 weeks pregnant

34 weeks pregnant

Witty Boy

Eli came up with this himself! Fork lifts are very intriguing in Eli's world right now.

New Additions to the Family

Okay, so this might change your mind about what we should name this blog. We have more chickens! John and Eli went and picked out two chicks and one adult chicken. Some of our neighbors have told us that they'd like to buy some eggs from us, so John decided to get more chickens so we could do that. He's really been wanting to get more for awhile, and this was a good excuse to do it.


Eli and John named the new hen Cacciatore. Eli's been calling her Ketchup for short. We don't know exactly what kind of chicken she is, but she's pretty with white and black feathers. The other four chickens are taking awhile to warm up to her, but it will come once they figure out the pecking order.

The chicks are staying in their box in the garage until they get a little older. It's hot enough that they don't even need a heat lamp. They will be exotic-looking chickens with longer necks. Supposedly they are both hens, but we're a little suspicious because the brown one is pretty feisty and aggressive. Hopefully we're not surprised when we find out we have a rooster! Eli loves holding them and petting them and checking on them. It'll be fun to watch them grow.
Oh, and Boone's adjusting well to the new additions, too. He better get used to it!

New Names

Changes are ahead...a lot of changes! First, we need to change up this blog since Eli will be sharing his blog with his little brother, along with just about everything else! So, what do we call the blog now? Maybe we should vote on it. Any ideas? John likes The Perkins Family Urban Farm and Brewery, I'm thinking maybe just Eli and Jed, or maybe The Perkins Clan. Here's a poll to vote on the name just for the fun of it:

poll by twiigs.com

Also, we think we have a name for the new baby on the way. Eli's name of Mee-maow is nice, but I think we're going to go with........Jed Michael. Michael is my dad's name, and we just like Jed. I also realized that it's our initials: John, Eli, Darby. NO, it's not like Jed Clampett! We are reinventing the name Jed to a more hip, urban farmer! Our boy is no hillbilly!

So, most likely the next time you check the blog, it will have a different name and a different look.