Baby Face Friday: 15 Weeks

As evidenced by the photo above, Preston has discovered how delicious his hands are.  It's rare these days to not find him sucking on his fingers and trying to stick his hands as far into his mouth as he can.

Preston has become an avid reader in the last week.  And by reading, I mean chewing on his fabric books.

After a few straight weeks of having to hold/bounce Preston on my lap during dinner time, I decided that he is over sitting in his bouncy seat during meals.  Even though sitting together leads to great selfies, I knew he needed a change.  I got back out the high chair and reclined it slightly but he is still eye level with all of us at the kitchen table.  He loves it!

His neck and back are getting stronger every day which is helping with distaste for Tummy time.

Grandma Karen (aka Grandma Carrots) was able to sneak a visit with Preston during the week. 

Just like his big sister, Preston has LOTS to say.

Baby Face Friday: 14 Weeks

Preston officially started daycare on Monday.  He had a great first day!  As busy as I am at work, I still managed to hustle down there to see him and feed him his "lunch."  I got a great report from his teacher and it put a smile on my face when I saw that she wrote in his journal that he is a "happy & patient baby." I haven't been able to make down the rest of the week but I know he is in good hands.

I can't tell you how great it is to have both kids at the same place.  Since Preston is in the same infant room that Eloise was in, she feels very comfortable with the teachers and popping in for visits.  She promises me every morning that she is going to "check on him" while I'm at work. 

California Love

Eloise & Preston got to spend a lot of time with their Aunt Patti & Uncle Dan from San Diego over the past month or so.  They had so much fun and can't wait to do it again.  It takes a lot to make it into Eloise's little world and we can say with confidence that you two have made it.  You know you are official when you are on the list of people that she asks about at bed time.  We love you!

Thanks for...

Water Skiing around the pool

Playtime with Ponies

Splashing in the pool

Guacamole

Visits to the Nail Salon

Sing-a-longs

Hugs & Kisses

A special song for Uncle Dan & Aunt Patti

Love, 

Eloise & Preston

Baby Face Friday: 3 months

Preston Bradley is 3 months old!  3 months is that magical age where all of the sudden you no longer have a newborn as your baby is now considered an infant.  Preston is such a sweet boy that I know he will win over everyone at daycare when he starts on Monday.  He currently weighs 14lbs and is growing like a weed.  God help me when he is a teenager!  He is wearing 3-6mo and 6mo clothes.  Many of the 3-6mo clothes are on their way out as the days go by.  Preston was very busy this month and had many firsts.  He went on vacation, took a boat ride, went swimming, got Baptized & met his California family.  The best part is that he did everything with a sweet, gummy smile!

Preston Loves...

Being held to stand up.  He's got strong legs and he likes to use them

Sitting upright and looking around

Watching Eloise

Wubbanub Monkey pacifier

Being swaddled at night and nap time...these days are limited

Taking Baths and kicking his feet

Being whistled to

Looking at himself in the mirror

Preston Doesn't Like...

Tummy time

Long car rides

Mommy going back to work

Photo Highlights from Month 3

Preston & Great Aunt Patti

Preston & Great Grandma Fitz

That's a wrap! 12 weeks & the end of Maternity Leave.

Whoever invented the phrase "time flies" must have been a mother to a newborn because it couldn't be more true. I feel like I just came home from the hospital with my sweet baby boy and here I am taking his 12 week photo and getting ready to go back to work. 

He's gotten so busy this week. He is so interested in his surroundings. 

He's discovered his hands and is mastering the art of the death grip every chance he gets. 

Preston loves to hang out by Grandpa & Grandma's pool and watch everyone swim. I can only imagine the fun that he will have next summer. 

I don't even know how it started but I often call Preston, Bubbas. Eloise has picked up on it and does it as well. It's so fitting for his personality. Oh, the many faces of my Bubbas. 

A look back on my Maternity Leave

To think that this moment occurred just 12 weeks ago blows my mind.  This maternity leave was different from the one I had with Eloise but in many ways just the same.  As to be expected, I was more calm and confident with Preston because I knew what to expect.  I had more realistic expectations for myself and my new baby.  During the rough recovery or difficult mommy moments, I could easily remind myself that it won't always be this hard and they won't always be this little so I better enjoy it either way.  In some ways, I felt like I was armed with all the right baby gear that I had used and found helpful with Eloise after trial & error.  As with Eloise, I would pump in the wee hours of the morning and 2 more times in the morning to help build up my stash but also for comfort. Feeling like a milk maid is a good problem to have - no complaints!   We enjoyed tons of homemade goodies from my sister as she knew how much it helped to have food ready when you've got your hands full. She truly shows her love for us with her cooking.  Again, I loved using my snap'n'go stroller for running errands and dropping off Eloise at school.  Oh yeah, there's the biggest difference - I have a toddler this time around!  Having to juggle a toddler & a newborn was definitely a challenge.  What made it manageable every day?  Brad.  

After being limited in what I could do the first 2 weeks post-delivery, he took on the task of getting Eloise to & from school.  We decided early on in my pregnancy that we were going to continue to bring Eloise to school even though we knew it would be hard some days. The alternative was less than desirable - a jealous toddler watching TV or playing on the iPad all day...with no nap. I think that keeping Eloise in her routine helped keep her jealousy in check  and kept her on track with the progress she had making at school. Not spending all her time with Preston has kept the love going between them. She's still excited to see him when she gets home. Brad has gone above & beyond to make her feel special during this time. There was rarely a time that he drove her to school or picked up and they didn't get "coffee" or pick up a new My Little Pony toy.  He actually planted an entire garden while I was pregnant so that they would have something to do when I was taking care of Preston. They even had a few Saturday afternoon movie dates too so that I could enjoy some peace & quiet with the baby. The best part of all of this was seeing Eloise strengthen her relationship with her Daddy. 

So here we are.  My maternity leave has come to an end.  It's bittersweet.  I'm back to the 24/7 balancing act of being a working mom come Monday morning at 4:45am when that alarm goes off.  It's been a blast Bubbas yet I promise that there is more fun ahead for us.