lots and lots of stuff

so, since i last updated (february) lots has happened. we are not only the proud owners of 2 4 wheelers, but actually 4! kaetlyn even has her own 50 cc polaris predator. the running joke is that she will not potty train to save her life, but she rides her little quad like a champ! here's some video:

she's getting better and better and will be racing before we know it! i started racing in addition to craig, and it is an absolute blast! we purchased an rv (toyhauler) the day i went into labor with cj - LONG STORY - and so far it has been the greatest investment we've made! this summer consisted of camping & riding, camping & riding, riding & camping and spending lots of time with family and good friends... couldn't have been more perfect.

cj is an absolute dream baby! he was born 10 days early, and we were all packed to go camping & racing the next morning. he was a little scrawny dude, but now at 4 1/2 months, he is surpassed many 6-9 month old babies... he's 18 lbs and in the 90th percentile! he is quite the trooper as he has spent the texas summer camping & riding as well... actually not riding so much.

other events (besides camping & riding) since last post:

march - family weekend trip to san antonio for my birthday
april & may - very pregnant - i was promoted to VP of client services in may
may 30 - welcome to the world Robert Craig Perkins Jr - 'CJ'
july - 2 trips to houston for aidan's birthday and rachel's wedding
august - galveston, tx with the mendelson clan
september - craig's 32nd and kaetlyn's 3rd birthday

every spare moment and weekend has been spent outside.... camping and riding!!

i absolutely cannot believe that it is october already!! we've been so busy, and life is grand! we are truly blessed. kaetlyn is a fantastic big sister... she loves cj very much. she continuously cracks us up with the words that come out of her mouth.... just an absolute character. cj is a happy and calming, although chubby, little soul. he's quick with a smile and a giggle or two. i will add many more pics / slide shows to get this blog caught up and make a point of adding more as often as i can.... when not camping & riding of course. perhaps i will challenge myself with an attempt of a daily addition... think i can pull it off?

Time Just Flies - Lots to Update!!!!!!!!!

i'll get it together.........one of these days!! so much to update, but right now i just have to stick a picture of cj on this blog.. poor little guy! born 5/30/09, he is now 4 1/2 months and an absolute joy!! i will write more and get whip this blog back in shape... but first things first.

newness!

so we are now the proud owners of 2 4 wheelers, and some kiddo 4 wheelers as well. kaetlyn enjoys them and especially helping dad work on them. cuteness!! as a result of our new additions, we've spend many weekend days outside this year, which is really nice.

we also celebrated valentines day at sesame street live - elmo's green thumb. kaetlyn enjoyed it. craig.... not so much. i must admit, the story line was a little weak.

i am now 24 weeks pregno... and feeling it. dr appt today revealed that i have accomplished adding 11 lbs to my body in the last 4 weeks. boy am i ever proud! 15 weeks left is really not that long till baby cj will be here... we still have a lot to do.

life is grand. we are having a good time and getting excited that spring is almost here... extended daylight hours and warmth!! YAY.

20 Weeks!!

i've got a plan to get this blog going and keep it that way! please don't give up hope.

so our newest news is that CJ Perkins will be our newest addition on June 1st. Here are some pictures of him.

we are very excited and blessed. life is going very well for us. very busy, but very well. preparations will soon be underway for the little one. watch out world, here he comes!!!

i am happy to report we are a completely smoke free household! we also have a new addition of a 4 wheeler in celebration of this mighty feat. craig's job is going well, and my promotion is keeping me busy.

kaetlyn is an absolute joy! she keeps us laughing with her little attitude and the funny things she says and does. "mommy, you'll make me cry!" is among her favorite things to say these days, as is, "daddy! that's enough!" she is enrolled in dance class on saturday mornings (ballet / tap) and it is a pretty funny sight! her bouncy horse, 'cowboy', princess dress up clothes, arts and crafts - coloring & drawing & scribble doodling, etc, and movies happy feet & spirit are some of her favorite things these days. she also loves her daddy's 4 wheeler.

i have so many pictures from the last 6-9 months that i will share and send an update of where they are all located.... please bear with me. one of these days i will get it together!

7 weeks!

although i have so many other updates that have yet to be added to this blog.... this one could not wait. yesterday i received confirmation from the dr. that i am in fact 7 weeks pregnant! kaetlyn will have a new brother or sister on 1 june 2009. below is the ultrasound pics. the picture above is kaetlyn riding back to austin after a weekend with the perkins by herself! craig and i took a long weekend vacation to playa del carmen, mexico. we had a great time. and since we've been home (an entire week) kaetlyn has been sleeping in HER bed in HER room! times are surely changing at the mendelperk household. ;P

pictures of all missing events and our mexico vacation are forthcoming!

time passes quickly

a ton has happened since i last posted in july... so much to add here, and boy has kaetlyn grown!! i can't add it all right now, but am making a list so that i can come back and add everything sequentially:

trip to houston for aidan's birthday
galveston weekend with the mendelsons
dad visits
trip to rhode island for visit with tiffany
gustav evacuee and megan visit to austin
craig's birthday - happy doo doo daddy
kaetlyn graduated from the 1 year old to the 2 year old class
kaetlyn's birthday - happy doo doo kaetlyn
ACL music festival

And a TON of playtime with friends in between. :) will take some time, but i will get this updated with pics, stories, etc.

stay tuned!

"dum"

so, we read before bedtime. on of the books we're recently started reading is, "Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb" or as kaetlyn calls it "Dum." :) so very cute. if you don't know the book, she calls it this because the monkeys drum on the drum - dum ditty dum ditty dum dum dum....

4th of july was fun. barbara, randy, rachel and alyx came to visit and we went to milburn park to watch the firworks. kaetlyn had a great time! she ran around, i showed her how to roll down the hill we were sitting on, and she adopted a chihuahua from the blanket next to us. the fireworks didn't start until 9:30, so by the time they began, she was exhausted and fell asleep within the first 10 minutes!

today i shot some pics of kaetlyn on the way to school. i am so extremely blessed and lucky! i was feeling grateful of my view in the rear view on the way to work each morning! cute stuff...

padre island

padre was lots of fun!! good friends, good food, good beach, good pool! it was nice to get away, although much to short. too many great pics to narrow down to only a few. :)

pudding is yummy!

summertime!

we have been really busy this month! i have had 3 trips for work: Oregon, Groves, TX, and an overnight Leadership Management seminar in Austin. craig has been busy acclimating to his new job. he is really enjoying it and starting to do very well. in the midst of all of this, we went to LA for my brother's 30th birthday, mom came to visit, and we have had various other outtings and events with friends. on father's day, we went to cori, trey, and remi's house and swam and bbq'ed and had a lovely afternoon. yesterday, we visited with jake dunham (an old friend of craig who moved to indiana). craig's work also had a grand opening and invited family members to visit their new facility. it is a very nice office and all of his co-workers were very friendly and we had an enjoyable time. earlier in the month, one of my employees had a little dinner party, and below are some great shots of kaetlyn. she thoroughly enjoyed herself! she is becoming quite the little person.... she LOVES nemo.... (momo). she is talking very well and it seems like she says new things on an almost daily basis. she also is able to piece some words together! 'where'd it go?' 'let's go!' 'hi chuck' are several examples. we switched her to a new school on june 10th. it is absolutely wonderful! by the 3rd day, she did not cry when i dropped her off. on the 4th day, she was waving bye-bye before i could finish signing her out! on thursday when i picked her up i asked her, 'did you have a fun day?' and she said, 'fun day.' craig was worried about the transition, and it has gone better than we could have hoped! next weekend we are going to port aransas to the beach, so i hope to get some good pics of kaetlyn and remi playing.

here are the pics from belen's empenada party: