Moses "Ponce de Leon" Perin

In the past month Moses has become incredibly mobile. He went from dragging himself slowly across the floor to crawling normal, pulling up, cruising, and climbing in no time. Ella was not much of an explorer and we never had to baby proof much. Moses is a lot more curious than Ella was and he's a whole lot more aggresive about. Every day, every room, every pivot, is an adventure. If you're planning a visit hide your belongings. If you're expecting us for a visit please also hide your belongings. Check out some of the recent adventures of our little explorer.

Moses found the beer in the fridge. Good work, little guy.

Moses found the DVR and tried to record his favorite shows. He hasn't figured out how to open the Xbox yet but I'm sure he will soon.

Yup, that's Moses at the top of the steps after a long, slow trip up. Yup, I put up a baby gate today.

Here's Moses trying to get into the AC duct. He did not succeed.

Although Ella is an incredibly loving big sister and really does like to play with Moses even sometimes she needs a break. But now it is so much harder to get a break when he can chase you. This reminds of Dewey from when Ella first learned to walk. See that here.

Mixed Results

Moses is eating really well these days and enjoys just about everything we've given him. Recently he is really into being in charge of his meal time so we're introducing as many finger foods as he can take so that he can feed himself. He's working on it...to mixed results.

Keep Trying

I've been talking to Moses for a while about his approach. He didn't listen when I suggested he start in the sink, or even just a puddle. He wasn't interested in the YMCA pool. We've been reading books about the original Moses and he just figured he'd jump right in and give it a shot.


Moses spent most of his week at the beach trying to part the Pacific Ocean.

Newport Beach 2008

Another year at Newport Beach. See below for evidence of a really great time. A solid week of sun, water, sand, food, and good people is a very good thing. Thanks again, Family!

Ella's ocean bravery reached an all-time high this year. Here she is running around in the surf.

Ella and Moses were so excited to see Uncle B!

And Grammie.
And we got to stay up after dark.

Ella and Poppie had a good time drinking wine and eating lollipops.

And Ella got to spend a lot of time with her Cousin Morgan.

See ya next year at the beach...

Lost...

...and found

Who's on First

At bedtime the other night...

Z: Mommy and Mo are coming home manana.
E: What does that mean?
Z: Tomorrow in Spanish.
E: What Spanish is it?
Z: Tomorrow.
E: Is it in French?
Z: No. Spanish. Manana is Spanish for tomorrow.
E: What Spanish is it?
Z: I don't know what you mean by that question.
E: I mean by that question what Spanish is manana. French?
Pause
E: I think manana is a funny word.

Hmmmm.

Overheard

E: I love you, Daddy. I love our whole family! I love our whole family almost as much as I love Moses.
Z: But Moses is part of the family.
E: I know. But I love him more. And I also love Dewey.

Pause

E: When is Dewey going to die?
Z: I don't know. Not soon. He's not that old.
E: OK. Why don't men wear bras?

Sweet Dreams...

Peas

Mo's current list of newly discovered solid foods includes: rice cereal, oatmeal, banana, avocado, sweet potato, mango, and...peas.

This is his first dislike. Does that face tell the story or what? We'll keep trying little guy. You get six tastes of peas before we give up for now and come back to it.

A New Perspective

Moses is happily sitting up now. He still occasionally topples over unexpectedly but basically enjoys this new view as he wishes. Mostly he looks less nervous than in this picture.

Now everyone in our family can sit up. I can too, I'm just not in this family sitting up portrait because I was taking the picture. Really, I can.

None and a Half

Moses turned six months old today. Just about an hour ago. Ella's been having a hard time understanding how old he is on this half birthday. If she's 3 and a half he must be something and a half. But he's not. So we've decided to just call him none and a half to make it all easily.
So, happy none-and-a-half birthday little guy!
Rather than write an ode to 6 month old Moses I'm going to go with the old saying that a picture speaks a thousand words. Here's two. This is our guy. All smiles, sweetness, and fun.


You're the greatest little guy we know. Thanks for bring so much love and pure joy into our family.

And don't forget, only 6 months to do your Christmas shopping!

three and a half

Ella had a half birthday last week. Our big girl is three and a half and boy is she three and a half. Really she's kind of like a minature grown-up who just still has some trouble with her Rs.

The things that are new and different and fascinating about Ella these day are:
1. She gets more and more brilliant every day. She soaks up and remembers everything she learns at preschool and hears as she goes about her daily business. She knows more about bugs and plants and dinosaurs than anyone I know--and I know a lot about dinosaurs. She is starting to recognize her letters, identify their sounds, and even has memorized a few words. The other day she read "Mo" off of a law office window. She also continues to figure out life's puzzles at every turn.
2. Related to her memory, she is intensely persistent and unforgiving if you forget something or aren't willing to wait for her to complete a task. Last week before bed she really wanted to draw. It was bed time so she couldn't. She was mad. But she didn't forget. The next morning Ella didn't come visit us like usual when she woke up and around 7:15 we went to check to see if she was still asleep and feeling OK. She was fine. She was drawing...in her pajamas...and had been awake for an hour. She did the same thing for the next 3 mornings. She didn't forget.
In the airport this weekend she pulled her own suitcase and carried her own backpack from gate to gate. It was slow but it was so exciting for her and she was so proud. Nobody even batted an eye when she took a break to sit down on her suitcase in the middle of the airport.
3. She loves, loves, loves her little brother. Close your eyes. Imagine you could walk into a room and make someone smile and laugh and kick his legs every time you walked into the room. Imagine it just made that someone's day. And you knew you had that power and you loved to do it. That's the Ella and Mo relationship right now. She is the only one of us who can turn any Moses frown upside down at any minute. She would do just about anything to make Moses smile and laugh. And she does. She puts on quite a show sometimes. It works. He must just wonder how he got so lucky to have this fun person to hang out with all the time. Or he just wonders what in the world is she doing and what she's really all about.

Ella Bear...You're the coolest. We can't believe you're now sliding towards 4 but we're loving every minute of it. Thanks for being such an exceptional girl.

Highlights from our trip to Springfield, IL

Moses' first plane ride

Meeting Great-Grandma Harris for the first time

Playing with Great-Granddad and making his day!

Swimming with Grammie

Lounging poolside with Poppie and working on his tan

Playing hard with Uncle B

Tea partying with Auntie Dana
Thank you everyone for a wonderful visit! We miss you.

Happy Father's Day

Ella the Photographer

Ella has recently been giving photography a shot. She takes it very seriously and has a pretty decent amount of patience for the task. Here are some highlights from her portfolio.

Above: You might call this a classic staged still life. Ella calls this a picture of her friends playing on the blue chair.

Below: Isn't amazing how a 3 year old can make "mistake" shot and make it look like a set of butt cheeks. I don't think those are really butt cheeks. I guess it could be though.
Above: We'll never know if this was supposed to be a picture of Dewey or Moses. Instead we have a close up of Dewey's head and some little feet at a distance. Excellent!

Below: This is probably the best picture ever taken of Moses. Look at that adorable face with that wonderful smile! And look at how our little photographer kind of ruined it with greasy finger prints on the lense. Oh well.

Sorry

It has been too long since we last shared a glimpse into the lives of Ella and Moses and Dewey. It has been over 100 degrees for 5 straight days here in North Carolina. We've been working really hard. Moses and Ella know how to keep you busy. That's not an excuse. I've also been lazy.

Tonight I'm not unlazy enough to write a whole lot today. I'll start by catching up on pictures. More detail on our now 5 month old and his big sister soon. First, a month in pictures:Shirtless reading on a hot, hot day. Moses has really been into books recently...eating books!

Big eyes and a big hat on a sunny day.

Big smile!

Silly Siblings.

Fo' Mo' Months

Moses' 4 month Birthday came and went and we missed an update. The little guy has made a lot of progress since month three. He's rolling--check back soon for video. He's eating solid food--see below for pictures. He's weighing in at 12 pounds, 12 ounces at the 10th percentile. He's a little guy with big energy and a whole lot of personality.
He's just so nice and happy, but that's not really progress, just the status quo. He still lights up most when he sees Ella or even hears her name but he's also remembering more and more people and showing real excitement when he sees them. This little guy is just so great! Really, really great!
My first cereal.
My first cereal exhaustion.

A Big Day in North Carolina

This morning we started our political day with 2 early votes for our guy MoBama. Ella made two passes through the polling site and by the time we were done she could even tell you who should get your vote for State Labor Commissioner. She got two stickers. We all got our say in this wild election. And then the day picked up...

Bill Clinton was going to be at our polling place at 3:30! So I sprinted home from work, gathered up the kids, and joined our neighbors and the students at the North Carolina School for Science and Math and we waited for a shot to meet our last elected President. It was a pretty wild scene as the Obama Guerrilla Support Team showed up with their extra signs and megaphones and managed to drown out the Hillary supporters. It felt a little aggressive but it as impressive.
We ended up on the wrong side of the street and thought we weren't going to get a shot at a hand shake. Then we found ourselves on the other side of Clinton's car as he was headed out to leave. Then he spied Ella across the way, looked right at us, walked right past his car and came to shake both of our hands. It was pretty cool.
Here's a picture of Bill Clinton shaking our hand--we think.

Thanks for coming to our neighborhood, Bill. Come on over for coffee sometime. Just ignore the Obama sign out front.

Deep Thoughts by Ella

I was in Las Vegas for a weeklong conference, so Ella, Moses and Kelly were holding down the fort. They definitely made it just fine (and ate out a lot…). Below is the transcript of a note that Kelly sent me mid-week.

Overheard at Ella’s bedtime last night:
E: I miss Daddy.
K: Me too. Let’s think about the things we love about Daddy!
E: I love Daddy because he makes silly faces.
K: I love Daddy because he gives really good hugs.
E: I love Daddy because he plays football with me.
K: I love Daddy because he works hard every day to help lots of children have good teachers and good schools.
E: I love Daddy as much as I love the world.
(long, thoughtful pause)
E: And because he has a hairy tummy.

While we have your attention, check out the really great picture of Ella and Caleb on their blog.

Our Happy Boy

*ignore the finger. he doesn't know any better yet...he doesn't mean anything by it. He loves ALL of you!

Beauty Shop

Ella took Zaida and I to her "Beauty Shop" this morning. She's clearly proud of her work.