Happy 11 months Preston

Happy 11 months to my monkey man Preston!

Weighing in just shy of 23 lbs and barely squeezing into 12 month clothes.  Good thing he's got a big birthday right around the corner!

Preston's latest tricks:

"Yells" at Piper. 

Fascinated with bathtub plug. Loves to pull it out & put it back in.

Peek-a-boo

Waving Hi & Bye

Saying "Bye!" 

Standing unsupported and thinking really hard about walking

Crawling up the stairs 

Billygoating aka trying to climb on anything and everything

Nurse, sit up & then climb off the chair. Cry to come back up just to show me who's boss. 

If he isn't scaling the walls, he will use anything he can as a walker.  Case in point below.  The diaper genie makes a great walker. 

Future Billygoat. 

Ear Tube Surgery 

Just 2 weeks ago, Preston had ear tube surgery. It was a culmination of 4-5 months of ear aches, high fevers & many sleepless nights. We are optimistic that he will get some instant relief but also some long lasting benefits. He did great before & during the surgery. That first day afterwards was a little rough but he did start standing unsupported the day after surgery. 

Confession:

It's bittersweet when your baby...your last baby...has only 1 more month to go until he is 1 year old. Any day now, he will be walking and quickly transition out of being a baby. It was a different experience when Eloise was turning one because I knew I would get to experience all the baby stuff again with the next one. Mr. Preston is our finale, if you will. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled to hanging up the ole breast pump but I'll miss the magical powers that nursing gives you to instantly calm your baby or lull them to sleep. However, it's fun to ponder what I will do with all the time I'll get back when I'm not nursing, pumping & cleaning pump parts. Oh yeah, I know what I will do - chase my 2 kids!  Preston is such a mama's boy right now and as much as it can drive me crazy, I love it. He reaches up for me all the time, crawls with great speed toward me and snuggles me and puts his chubby starfish-like hand on my face. Thanks to Facebook, I've been reminded of how chubby Eloise was as a baby. I love how "juicy" Preston is and I'll miss those baby rolls as they start to disappear. Oh Prestie, I want you to walk and talk but also stay my sweet baby for a little longer. I'm going to snuggle you a little longer the next few weeks because I know that once you are walking, those baby days start to disappear even faster.  

8+ Months

Better late than never! Preston had his first golden birthday on January 8th when he turned 8 months. Lucky for him, he shared this "birthday" with Grandma Karen. 

What is Preston up to? 

Crawling

Pulling up

Cruising 

Learning to feed himself 

Trying out the sippy cup & drinking from a straw 

Teething, teething & more teething  

Many parents at daycare, including me, consider this a rite of passage when you baby starts pulling up & standing at the doorway. 

Feeding himself Puffs & Mum-mums. 

Did I mention that he's teething? Bubbas has cut 8 teeth since the beginning of December. Literally, all 4 on top have cut through at the same time in addition to the bottom 4. I've actually caught him try to chew on the brick fireplace! 

A sweet note from his teacher Ms. Tee...

No matter how many toys we put in front of him, he always makes his way to Eloise & her ponies. 

As of last week, Preston is no longer the baby on Brad's side of the family. Aunt AJ & Uncle Brian welcomed baby Brooke on January 14th. 

Preston is a lucky boy to be surrounded by all these girls! 

Everyday Preston seems to get more hair. It's coming in light brown & blonde right now. It's so weird to picture him with hair as opposed to his big beautiful bald head.  

School Christmas Fun

There are countless benefits to having Eloise & Preston at the daycare we have onsite at my work.  One of the things that I love the most is all the special activities and events that the Center does for the kids.  The Director and Teachers arrange for Santa to come every year.  He arrives in style on a fire truck thanks to a local Fire Department and leads a parade through the hospital with the kids in tow back to the Center where they all get a chance to see him and get a special gift.  Eloise has been afraid of Santa the past 2 years but this year, she was so excited to see him.  Preston was a happy camper as always. 

Santa arrives on his "sleigh."  Click HERE for the link to the video

Preston was up first to meet Santa.  If he could talk, he probably say that he would like a King size bed of his own so that he could sleep with mommy every night and have her all to himself.

This is a Christmas miracle if I've seen one!  Eloise was terrified in years past so this made my day!

She was so excited to see her name on her gift.  She said, "Look Mommy! Santa wrote my name!"

Eloise along with her classmates & teachers

Everyone sat in a circle and opened their gifts together.  While everyone was ripping open their presents, Eloise delicately opened her present.

She was thrilled to get this new pony that she has been asking for - Sunset Shimmer.  She said, "Mommy! Santa was listening!"

The school wrapped up the week with a Christmas performance

Baby Face Friday: 28 Weeks

What's my new favorite thing?  Sitting!

Here's a sneak peek of one of the photos from our Christmas photo shoot I did last weekend...

Every year at daycare, the kids make different art projects with their teachers and submit them to Square1Art where the parents can order different products with their artwork on it.  Check out Eloise's "self portrait" & Preston's butterflies. 

Preston is ready for Thanksgiving next week!  As much as he would love to chew on a turkey leg, he will have to settle for some pureed sweet potatoes and apples. 

Baby Face Friday: 25 weeks

Preston is inching toward 18lbs and is on the move.  Whether he is rolling or doing a modified army crawl/scoot, he gets to where he wants to go.  For example, I was trying to take a picture of his monster on the back of his pants but he kept spinning around to look at me. Stinker!

Last weekend, Auntie Lo stayed over to keep us company while Daddy was away hunting.  Preston loves his Auntie Lo as much as Eloise does.

Preston is perfecting his sitting skills day by day. 

Preston may not know what Halloween is all about but he was digging his little pumpkin from the Pumpkin Patch. 

Stay tuned for another blog post with all the Halloween Fun!

Baby Face Friday: 24 Weeks

For having his 1st ear infection and round of antibiotics, this little man is still a happy guy! I also think he looks like a little frat boy today with his jeans & tshirt. 

Preston is now eating solids three times a day. Cereal and fruit in the morning, cereal & milk for lunch, and vegetable at night. So far Preston has tried sweet potatoes, bananas and peas. Just like his big sister, he loved them all! Avocado, squash, peaches & pears are on the horizon.  I've given him a sippy cup a few times as well and he had more fun playing with it than drinking from it.  I think he was surprised when the cold water actually reached his lips. 

Yum! Toes!