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A family affair at its best!
In the months leading up to the birth of their first son, Sara Gilbert and wife Linda Perry could not have thought of a better time to embark on another thrilling adventure together.
“What better time to do it?” Perry, 50, tells PEOPLE about the motivation behind their children’s album, Deer Sounds, out Sept. 18. The pair are releasing a first listen of the song “Wake Up Wake Up Wake Up” exclusively with PEOPLE Friday.
”When Sara got pregnant and we realized we were having a child — now he’s 6 months old — it seemed pretty appropriate.”
The couple, who welcomed son Rhodes Emilio last February, didn’t come up with this idea on the whim.
”I think I expected it because we had always talked about it,” Gilbert, 40, says. ”Even our first date, Linda was talking about it. I said, ‘Oh, I’ve got kids,’ and she said, ’I’ve always wanted to write a children’s album.’ So I always wanted that to happen.”
Gilbert, who has two children from her previous relationship with Allison Adler (Levi, 10, and Sawyer, 8), accepted Perry’s marriage proposal in 2013. The couple tied the knot in March 2014.
Because family is everything to Gilbert and Perry, the duo’s album includes a little bit of everything from everyone.
“These songs just started to show up when he was born and then it just got really exciting because we were all in the house and all a part of it, all throwing in ideas and making artwork,” Gilbert recalls. “It was a very sweet experience.”
Even the couple’s baby boy had a huge role in the making of Deer Sounds.
“[Rhodes] would stand on the piano and make all these sounds,” Gilbert says. “We put it on the album and his little voice. Everybody contributed whatever they could — such a special part of it.”
The album bodes different from most children albums in that it’s more of “family music” and doesn’t cater to just kids or adults.
Gilbert describes it as “the perfect bridge between the two worlds.”
On top of the release of their new album, the duo’s most exciting adventure has been embarking on parenthood together. Still in disbelief that their little boy has just passed the six-month mark, the parents admit that he is coming of age.
“He’s pretty vocal, for sure. I think what we’re finding out about him is that he definitely has a really set personality,” Perry says. “He’s pretty independent. I know he’s my son, but I think he’s really special. There’s not enough words I can say about him. He has a great spirit.”
Deer Sounds
Though Perry is learning as she goes, Gilbert has some motherly advice for new parents.
“Respect your kids,” The Talk co-host says. “They are their own people. I think sometimes we expect kids to be perfect when we’re not perfect. I think it’s all a work in progress.”
She adds,”I think people sometimes get stressed out when they have a newborn and an infant. Try to enjoy it because the time is so fleeting and soon enough they’ll be running around and be more independent. You’re going to miss that time.”
— Christina Dugan
