Eli's a month old!

On September 19th, Eli turned one month old! It is crazy how fast it goes...

Future Razorback...

Funny how people automatically assume that because Caleb and I were Razorbacks, one of our kids will be also... I like that idea but am not counting on it... fun to think about though!

Hello, Sam and Blue... first bath, too!

We finally let Sam and Blue meet their new family member, and surprisingly, they did great. They love to just sniff him... it's like they don't quite know why he looks the way he does. He's a human, yet he's their size. Weird. They like them a lot and always go to his swing to look for hime when they come inside.

We also gave him his first bath today. He LOVED it! I don't think I have ever seen him this calm except when he is sleeping or eathing! It's probably because I took baths every night when I was carrying him... :)

Pawpaw is here!

Dad finally got to Arkansas and just LOVES Eli... thanks for reminding me to do this, Aunt Jill... :)

Eli's home!

ELI'S FIRST DAY OUT OF THE NURSERY AND HOSPITAL

After a few days of oxygen and IV fluids, Eli is now home with us! On Thursday night, Caleb and I walked down to the nursery to say goodnight to the little guy and noticed that his oxygen tube was not up his nose. That was crazy because his nurse that day told us that she had to turn up his oxygen because he was struggling breathing that day and then we walk down there that night and he's completely off the oxygen. The doctors told us it was going to be another 2-4 days before he would come off the oxygen that day also. The next morning we woke up and they had taken him completely off EVERYTHING. It sort of freaked us out because we had no idea where he was when we went to say good morning to us the next morning! The nurse then came up and told us he would get to spend the day in our room and maybe go home that evening. We were so thankful and excited to finally get to hold and love on him when we wanted to! We didn't get to go home that evening, but we did get to come home this morning and it has been great to have him here. Here are some pictures of what he looks like now... much better!

He's here!!!!

ELIJAH STONE PERRY

8 lbs. 15 oz.

20.5 inches long

Well, Elijah Stone Perry entered the world at 5:50 pm on Tuesday, August 19th. He was 8 lbs. 15 oz. and was 20.5 inches long. He looks just like his dad... barrel chested and has his nose and toes! His feet are HUGE!

We do have a prayer request. When they took Eli to get him cleaned up they noticed that he was not breathing very well. Turns out the little guy had a hard time coming out and in the process he sucked in some amniotic fluid. He right now has a breathing tube and is taking in 23% oxygen. He can't handle the 21% oxygen that we breath in the regular air. It is causing him to work really hard to breath, breathing about 70-80 breaths per minute instead of the 40 breaths per minute that is regularly healthy. He is making such great progress and we know he will be just fine. He is in great hands. We are praying that he will be healed so much sooner than later and that he will be home in the next couple days! Please pray for his healing.

He is SOOOOO sweet and loves to snuggle already! Here are some pictures...

Caleb is so proud of his DAD shirt!

No, this isn't how it happened. He's just REALLY excited!

Mom and Brooke offering some much needed love and support before he's born!

Caleb's family too!

Hooray! He's here...and he's big!

Came out a little pale... but still cute!

All tubed up! Doing well though!

They are taking very good care of him, but he sometimes isn't happy. Crying is good because it helps get the fluid off his lungs.

Definitely sooner than later!!!

Breaking news: Eli's coming TOMORROW! I went in today and my blood pressure was high and didn't come down like they wanted it to, plus I was almost at 4 cm, so the doctor decided it was time to have him. How I am not in labor is beyond both me and and the doctor! Please pray for us and we will put pictures up tomorrow when he gets here!

Maybe sooner than later?

Who the heck really knows when this kid is really going to come, but the report is that he might come sooner than later... yesterday at the doctor I had made some good progess... Dilated 2.5 cm and 80% effaced. The doctor said he would be surprised if I was still pregnant in the next ten days, but who knows? So that's the latest... I hope it's sooner rather than later! :)

Three weeks and counting... no change

So we went to the doctor on Monday and the result was the exact same as last week. One centimeter and about 40%. Actually, this doctor told me I was only about 25% and I know you can't go backwards, so someone over or underestimated. Oh well. I still have three weeks to go and I know a lot of people who made it to their due dates and hadn't done anything. Hopefull there will be more progress next week! We just want him to come, but not until he is ready. It would be very convenient if he could come a week early... Just a thought, God. You know, since I have really good thoughts... :)

Eli's coming in just four weeks... here's the info!

Well, I had my first weekly check up today and Eli is getting ready to make his entrance! His head is down and I am dialated 1 cm and 40% effaced. I know that is sort of weird info to post on a blog, but just trying to keep the family updated! No info on how big he might be, though. Please pray for a small baby. Seriously. "You don't have because you don't ask..." comes to mind, so we are praying that he would start off small. We are also praying for a smooth and short labor and delivery. We believe that God could also allow him to be a good sleeper, so we are asking that too! Please pray for this with us! Each day we pray the same thing for Eli: that he would be big, strong, fast, athletic, and fun, joyful, happy, sleep throught the night and feed well, easy delivery, smart, bilingual (even though neither of us know any other language. What? God can do it!), saved at a young age but at the right time, protected from sexual sin and anger, that his wife would love Jesus, that God would give us wisdom on how to raise him; that he would be violent in his spirit to love God, full of the Holy Spirit, bring many people to Christ, he would have the faith to see Jesus heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons, and cleans the leapers. Hmm... can your hear his father's influence on the last part of the prayer? :) Please pray this with us... We have heard so many stories lately of people praying specific things for their children and then watch as the Lord molds them into the things their parents prayed when their kids weren't even in the world yet.

This is such an exciting time for us. It is weird thinking that at any time, there will be another little Perry in our house. Weird doesn't even explain it. Thank you to everyone who has given us some really great advice and insights on the whole baby process and raising kids. So much to learn! Ahhhhhhhh!

New Pictures added to slide show!

I just added pictures from month 7 and two showers to the slideshow. Take a look!

Beach trip 2008

We got to go to Gulf Shores, Alabama for vacation this year. Each time we go, we get family beach pictures taken and they are always a lot of fun!

All of a sudden, I have vienna sausages instead of toes

It has happened... Caleb and I went to a friend's house for dinner tonight and as soon as I got out of the car I noticed my legs and feet were sort of hurting. When I looked down I noticed that I no longer have toes. They now look like the little vienna sausages I loved to eat as a kid, now cannot even imagine looking at them in the canned meat aisle at the grocery store. Yeah, I know this is supposed to happen, but when you look down expecting to see regular looking toes and you see something that looks like a sausage that is made with the left over meats from all sorts of animals, it's a little shocking. Any "amen"s out there?

I finally understood today what every other woman who has had a late summer baby meant by, "Oh, I am so sorry! You will be so hot!" I thought to myself that maybe it really wouldn't be that bad... WRONG. I don't think I have ever sweated so bad in my life. Really, who would have thought that you could really feel like you were sitting right in an oven like that!

It's funny sometimes to think about the way God does things. Really, I thought my plan was so much better on the timing of this pregnancy. Get pregnant in the summer, have the baby in early spring, take the rest of the year off from teaching and have the entire summer to spend at home before I went back to school. I thought that plan was perfect. What teacher wouldn't? Well, this has been exactly opposite. Got pregnant in the winter, have the baby in the late summer, start school (hopefully) and then take only a few weeks off. Tell me, which one sounds better to you? Not saying that being pregnant during the summer is a terrible thing... I am talking more about when I try to make plans for my life and the Lord in his wisdom does otherwise. Oh, how my vision is so limited and cloudy compared to His. Once this pregnancy happened, it didn't matter to me about MY timing anymore. If all I have to complain about it being hot, then I feel pretty blessed. What's a few weeks out of my life to be hot. A few weeks, that's all. But while I am at it, man, I am burning up! :)

New Photography Blog

One of the things I really love doing is taking pictures. I am just starting to learn things with photography so I just do it for fun, but it is something I would like to do full-time one day. I decided the best way to get some more practice was to create a blog of just the pictures I have taken and maybe get some brave people to let me take their picture! So, if you are looking for some pictures to be taken, I'm your girl! Hey, what have you got to lose? If you don't like them we just take them again until you do! Couldn't ask for a better deal! :) Hope you will check it out! bperryphotography.blogspot.com