The Perry Twin Adventure

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Finally a Blog Update

Wow! They still have this blog here for us to use? I would have thought for sure they would have recycled the space what with all of the recent "green" intiatives. Well for those of you who are waiting for a blog entry and I know you are out there cause I hear you breathing - wait that's me, here is that latest news.

The boys are doing great, they are continuing to develop and have mastered fun things like playing with each other, riding on little cars throughout the house, bubble popping, going up the stairs, going down the stairs, television remote, pulling cords out of the wall or appliances, opening doors into cabinets and closed off areas, turning on/off light switches, and showing us how poorly designed silverware drawers can be - yes we are having a lot of fun. As of August 4, they are 18 months. Mason is walking well and Devin figures walking is alright but crawling will get you there faster especially if the guy next to you wobbles when he walks. They chatter a lot but no real words yet. They definitely understand what we are saying but choose to just talk to each other.

On July 4th,2008 we brought into our family our new daughter, Kaelyn Grace Perry (7lbs 3oz). She is absolutely beautiful and we feel so blessed. I was quickly reminded how far we had come with the twins the first night Kaelyn was at home - that's a loud cry - I don't know when she got the time to practice but a couple times I wasn't sure if it was time for a feeding or time to seek cover from a pending Tornado. Mason is a little jealous but the twins are frankly to busy to sit and watch a baby sleep - now if she was on TV and surrounded by Muppets, they would be all in.

As for us, well we are basically tending to the needs of the children as they arise. Jeanne continued to do a lot with the boys almost up to the day Kaelyn arrived but now we need to look at the schedule and the traveling arrangements and rethink the agenda. Did I just say "we"? Trust me Jeanne is not going to let them sit at home she will soon figure out something. Gas is expensive but you already knew that. I traded in my 4Runner for a minivan just before the big SUV bubble burst. The twins are too big to fly free now so flying out to see family or friends seems like it might involve a loan approval process for now.

On a serious note, we cannot say thank you enough to those who have provided gifts and love to our daughter. We saw this with the twins as well and frankly each time I am humbled and overwhelmed at the genorosity. A special thank you to the families in the Mom's group Jeanne belongs to as they brought over delicious meals for our family to enjoy - this helped so much just to have food on the table and allowing us to focus on our new family. Also Jeanne's Mom, Doreen Pepe, has added so much structure and stability to our home as she has helped to take care of the twins during Jeanne's bed rest and hospital lay over during the birth.

In closing, I am just a normal, self serving, one idea at a time, who's playing the Suns, why can't we get a jet ski and what's on TV tonight kind of guy and I have learned from those who have celebrated my children's birth and development how special all babies are and how blessed we are. For those of you about to ROCk... your Baby... we salute you!!! Until next time (don't ask), I am signing off to see if I can control the chaos. Gene and Jeanne

Welcome to the world Kaelyn 7/4/08

Kaelyn at home working out

Mason avoiding working out (18 mos)

Devin checking himself in the mirror... while working out (18 mos)

Cutie for sure!

Happiness is a good swaddle

Mother and Daughter

Rocky on baby patrol

Waiting for the burp ...

Beautiful

Three generations of Perrys

Nana and Kaelyn

I'm all legs

Devin in the pool

Cowboy Up!

Pardners for life

Devin at 15 mos

Mason at 15 mos

Family Picture 2008

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

This blog really reveals my weakness for being organized. Despite all our good intentions, no reasonable schedule seems to allow us to update this on a regular basis. I am sorry if you come in and see no updates but I am thankful that you do try as the well wishes and love continue to be an integral part of our family's life.

So what's new? Well the boys turned 1 year old, we celebrated it twice- once at the park so family and friends could join us and then again at home on the actual birth date. At the park, Mason joyously destroyed his birthday cake while Devin remained reserved. At the home celebration just the opposite took place. They are crawling all over the place and our house has become a locked compound consisting of gates, latches, and secret passwords to go from one room to another. The dogs are often caught somewhere in between. They are standing and cruising along the furniture and love to go riding in their little red push cars. They feed themselves finger foods and eat anything we give them (tortilla chips were not a good choice-My BAD!). I am still waiting a little longer before I give them the hot sauce but you know it's coming! They are not talking to us unless the crying is a conversation we just aren't communicating effectively in but they are babbling.

Our family is doing great and Jeanne is giving the kids all the love, nurturing and guidance they need. She does a lot from taking them to the doctor, to the parks, to general shopping. So with all of that taking place you might say what more could we ask for? Well ... in the first week of July we should be adding a little girl to the Perry family.

In the mean time, take a look at some more pictures. I was planning on adding some video and that may still get worked in but in the short term for your patience this has been a brief update.

May God Bless you and keep you,

Jeanne, Gene, Devin, Mason, and Little Miss Perry.

Mason and Devin about to enjoy birthday cake

Mason celebrates!

Devin keeps his cool.

Mason on a mission!

Birthday at home on Feb 4, Mason Devin

Devin remembering how Mason eats Bithday cake

Devin eating Birthday Cake the way Mason taught him

Birthday gifts, Devin and Mason

Playing in PJ's, Mason and Devin

At the park, Devin and Mason

Out of Gas, Mason and Devin

Bathtime is Funtime, Mason and Devin

Friday, January 04, 2008

Hello Again. We haven't forgotten. We will have the last three holidays, multiple family and friends visit as well as news in general coming up. I am currently investigating the option of putting some video on here as well. Here are a few pictures from Christmas morning 2007. More to come, keep checking back.

Mason and Devin

Devin and Mason

Devin

Mason

Friday, December 14, 2007

An Entry is way over due and for those few of you who still holdout hope of returning to find out something more than dated news, we ask forgiveness of the lack of postings - we will have something soon.

In short, the boys are doing really good and are on the verge of talking. Mason now has the ability to pull himself up and Devin is close behind. They crawl everywhere and are not always in the same places.

We hear they grow up really fast and we are trying to appreciate these little moments. We will have a posting coming soon and will update everyone on everything. Until then, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!! Gene, Jeanne, Devin, and Mason

Saturday, September 29, 2007

A Labor Day Holiday in Indiana

The Traveling.
This was trial-by-fire as neither Jeanne or I knew what to expect. We did a great job packing two diaper bags- mine looks like a back pack in case you are wondering. We moved a double stroller, 2 babies, 2 diaper bags (did I mention mine looking like a back pack?), 2 car seats and 2 car seat bases from gate to gate. The car seat bases tended to be bulky and hard to handle especially with the other items in tow. The twins had a few fits of crying both coming and going and all I can say is I am sorry to the guy in seat 23C, I am sure those ear drums will heal back okay. At one point the Flight Attendant offered help, successfully, to a screaming Mason when the Memphis to Phoenix flight started to descend.

The Trip.
We made it to Evansville and everything went great in sharing the twins with the extended family. Aunt Mary, Uncle Kerry and Cousin Andi provided great care as they opened their home and let us destroy their sleep filled nights, filled their spacious floors with toy clutter and counter tops with endless baby bottle paraphernalia. Aunt Mary was often the savior for the crying baby and did a great job in letting us get a few extra hours of sleep here and there by skillfully soothing a wailing child. The boys got a lot of interaction and love and even gifts from Aunt Mary, Grandma, and Aunt Joanne. We enjoyed our visit immensely and Jeanne and I were pleasantly pleased with pulling off the adventure with minimal complications.

The Aftermath
Indiana is in the central time zone, the schedule Jeanne has been trying so hard to reinforce in Phoenix was completely shot in Indiana. While the boys quickly adapted to Indiana time, re-embracing the Arizona clock was more of a challenge as the first night back found Mason and Devin up at 5 am. We expected that so we were mentally prepared but our brains are usually the last thing to be involved when you are half awake trying to get your kids back asleep.

What's Next
We are thinking about going to Texas for Thanksgiving. We know a few shortcuts now and the kids may be crawling by then but I think with a gate checked stroller and an oversized diaper bag (one that looks like a back pack, that is) we are ready to try again.

VIEW PICS BELOW!