1st Day of Gymnastics

Okay, so we gave soccer a shot. For the past 7 weeks we've had a soccer game every Saturday morning, plus practices every Monday. We're down to only ONE MORE game so we had a decision to make. Do we sign up for the next 8 weeks or do we try a new activity? We have definitely seen improvement over the last 7 weeks, I will admit that. However, when your child would rather stand on the sidelines cheering on his friends than actually playing the sport, it's a pretty good indication that he's just not that into it. So, today we went to gymnastics for a free trial class. Nathan really seemed to enjoy it and the coach said he listened really well and did everything she told him to do. So tonight at dinner I asked him if he wanted to play more soccer or take gymnastics instead. He tried to say, "gymnastics" but after several attempts he resorted to something along the lines of, "that place where we sit on those things with those things on our heads and then we swing one, two, three times then we JUMP into that pit with those big (foam) blocks then we...". The description continued for several minutes to the point that we've decided it is time to leave the world of soccer and venture into gymnastics. I have to say, I'm glad. I mean, I'm glad we tried soccer, and we met some really nice people there, but it was SO frustrating. Nathan just wasn't interested in getting into a huddle of 7 or 8 kicking, pushing kids to try to get the ball. Sometimes he wasn't interested in kicking the ball even if it came right to him! Like I said, he did show improvement over the course of the season, I just think it's not his thing. Besides, Saturday games really tie us down. Since our house and most of the people we know are somewhere other than Texas we need our weekends free to travel. Gymnastics classes are offered all day almost every day. And they offer parents night out once a month!

And for Joseph...
Now that his first tooth has made it all the way through, his second is trying to come in! He's drooling like crazy but so far hasn't been as fussy as he was with the first one.

Nonni, (my Mom) has been visiting this week. It's been SO NICE to have her here! We were so used to seeing her every couple of weeks when we lived in Tulsa and now we miss her like crazy! The boys have REALLY enjoyed having their Nonni here!

We plan to go to Tulsa on Saturday after Nathan's 8:00 AM soccer game. (Did I mention I'm glad this is the last one??) We'll be there through the weekend and would love to see our Tulsa friends!

My precious baby boy has his first tooth!! Wow, how time flies! Pick any 5 months of my pregnancy and they didn't go NEARLY as quickly as the 5 months since Joseph's birth have gone! I can't believe it's already time for teething. As exciting as it is, the poor little guy has had a rough time of it though. He cried a lot yesterday and nothing we did seemed to help much. He hasn't slept much either, therefore neither have the rest of us. He was up until midnight last night, awake at 2:30, and again at 6:30. Usually he's in bed around 8:30 & sleeps until 5:30 or so! Normally I work on Wednesdays and take him to the office with me. However, I decided I should stay home with him today since a crying baby at the office means nobody is very productive. He's still working hard to learn how to roll over. He's almost got it- just can't get that arm out of the way. As round as he is, once he starts he may just keep on rolling!

Nathan is wonderful. We've almost made it through his first year of preschool with no trips to the ER and no illnesses, so I figure we're doing great! (I'm knocking on wood) He was watching one of the PBS learning shows yesterday when he came running into my room. He was SO EXCITED! He said, "Mommy, I know how to spell "book". B-O-O-K!" I got excited with him because that's the first time he's spelled anything! In fact, I've worked with him like crazy just to remember that "Nathan" starts with "N"! When he was about 2 1/2 I taught him his shapes and colors. He picked those up so easily I thought, "Oh, this is a breeze! He's going to be easy to teach!" Plus, he's always LOVED books. Little did I know that he just wasn't going to be as interested in his numbers and letters. He's enjoyed learning to count and the alphabet song, but the recognition part- couldn't care less- until now. It's like a little light bulb has recently gone on. Now he's talking about learning to read! It's so much fun when he learns new stuff, (well, most of the time :)!

Still no offers on our house in Broken Arrow. We're trying to figure out whether we should sell it cheap, try to rent it out, or look for a new job back in the Tulsa area. It seems it's a bad time for any of the above. Hopefully something will work out soon. We haven't lived in our own home since last June!

My Dad had neck surgery last Tuesday so we went to see him and my Mom over the weekend. Don't worry, Dad's fine. They went through the front of his neck to fix something at the back of his neck and he came through it with nothing he described as pain. I told him there's something not quite human about that, but for any of you who know my dad, that won't surprise you much. He's just weird like that, and I mean that in a good way. :)

So while we were home Joseph turned 5 months old. He also reached for his Nonnie, (my mom) for the 1st time! It was so exciting and totally made Mom's day! He's reached out a little for his toys or paci before, but this time I was sitting down holding him in my lap and when Mom reached for him he stretched out his little arms as high up as he could get them. It was SO sweet!

Nathan's big event of the weekend was singing at Tamaha's version of Pickin' N Grinnin'. Now for those of you who don't know Tamaha, it's a tiny (about 6 blocks) community about 15 minutes North of Stigler, (which is not that much bigger but would be considered "metropolitan" compared to Tamaha). There is no store, gas pump, or post office. It is literally made up of the people living on a half dozen streets or so, plus the farmers and ranchers in the area. THERE WERE 40 PEOPLE at this singing thing! That many people don't live in Tamaha! On Saturday nights they gather at the Senior Citizen's building with their guitars, fiddles, or whatever they play and sing old country/bluegrass/gospel stuff. Nathan, being the shy little guy he is, got right up in the middle of the band, got the microphone, and sang "You Are My Sunshine" while the "band" played for him! When the song was over and everybody had clapped he said, "We've got another song for ya comin' right up" as if he was the lead musician. Well, apparently he did because he went right into "Old MacDonald"! It was hysterical- until he started making up words that didn't make any sense. Then it got embarassing and I had to go tell him to take his bow and hand the mic over.

We drove back to Texas on Monday afternoon so we had time to stop by Mom's office and show off the kids. Since Cameron and I grew up with the ladies Mom works with it was fun to see them again. They apparently enjoyed the kids because Mom said they were still talking about them today.

That's all for now. Have a great night!

Our Family...

Our sweet baby Joseph Marton Perot. He was born September 22, 2008 weighing a whopping 9 lbs 1 oz. He's now just over 4 1/2 months old and is trying to roll over, very talkative, and smiles and laughs when he's talked to - unless he's hungry of course. He REALLY likes his groceries! He ate cereal for the first time last night and LOVED it! He was so relaxed and happy after he got his tummy full!

Our big 4 year old, Nathaniel Holton Perot. Nathan goes to preschool 3 days a week and is really doing well. His teachers say he loves to help them. He also just started playing soccer. At his very first game last week he scored a goal! This week he wasn't much into it, but hopefully as he practices more and starts to learn more about what to do he'll enjoy it more. He also likes video games, Star Wars, SpiderMan, and, just like his daddy and his Poppa, guns. Of course, his are still the toy version, but it all makes Mommy quite nervous.

Paul and I met in college in Monroe, Louisiana during the spring 1996 semester. We dated for most of the next 6 years and finially got engaged in February 2002. We were married 8 months later on October 5. We have been blessed with a wonderful marriage and two amazing boys.

Paul graduated with his Bachelor's in Business Administration in December of 1997 and went to work for Northwest Airlink, based in Memphis, Tennessee. I graduated with a Bachelor's in Psychology in August of 1998 and moved to Tulsa. Thank goodness Paul worked for an airline and could fly for free as long as there was an open seat on the plane! After working for a couple of years I decided to move to Stillwater and work on a Master's degree from OSU. My brother was working on his Bachelor's degree at the time, so we lived together in Stillwater. In May of 2003 I earned my Master's in Family Relations and Child Development, and then went to work for the Health Department in the SoonerStart program. I was there for 3 years until deciding to stay home with Nathan. Once Paul moved to Tulsa he went to work for BMI, Systems. He was there until February of 2008 when he got a job with Hilti, Inc. That brought us to the Dallas/Fort Worth area, where we are now.

A lot has happened in the last 6 years! We'd love to catch up with friends from years gone by to hear what everyone else has been up to. Drop us a line anytime!

Wow, it's been a really long time. Since the last time I posted, we've moved to Texas, sort of, Nathan started preschool, and we had sweet baby Joseph. Since we haven't sold our house in Broken Arrow, my wonderful Aunt Nelda opened her home to us. She has a beautiful, spacious house in Keller, TX, just north of Fort Worth and has been kind enough to let us call it home since last June. Paul is about to have his one year anniversary with Hilti and is in talks with them to help us move back to the Tulsa area since we still have a house there. Nathan turned 4 in December. He goes to preschool 3 days a week and has just started soccer. Joseph Marton (named after my Pappa Mart Horton) Perot was born on September 22 weighing 9 lbs 1 oz. He was a lot bigger than we expected him to be! He is a sweet, although very hungry little guy! It seems he just can't get enough to eat! He's 4 months old and is starting to outgrow his 3-6 month clothes- many of which he got for Christmas a month and a half ago! Although he isn't yet rolling over, he's sure trying hard! He also wants to sit up. He usually looks like he's trying to do pilates! I work part time for my aunt. She owns an asbestos remediation company and I help her out with bookkeeping and anything else she needs. It's wonderful working for someone who loves my kids! I always take Joseph with me and even take Nathan, too, when he's not in school. Nelda was kind enough to get a small TV/DVD player for the office and it's all set up for him in our "kitchen" area. He has a box of toys, plays V-Smile, or watches cartoons while I work. Most days it works out beautifully! Although we would like to move back into our home in Broken Arrow, it has been wonderful to have so much time with Aunt Nelda!