Vacation!

We are all having a fun time on our vacation so far. We are in Washington with my family and it is snowing like crazy. For some reason I decided to run a 5K with my dad and sister on Saturday and that day it was about 5 degrees and we ran in the snow and ice. But I did it! And it was actually kinda fun (when it was over).

Preston also got to go sledding for the first time in my parents back yard.

It's fun to be 1

So in continuation of celebrating Preston's "birth week" we have been doing several fun activities all week long. We took a trip to Chuck-E-Cheese and Preston really liked playing in the toy cars. The real live Chuck-E was there for a birthday party so we got to meet him and Preston wasn't even scared, he even gave him a high 5!

Today was the first good snow of the season so we took advantage and played outside for a bit. Preston seemed to enjoy it, he was all smiles and squealed as he walked and crawled through it, he even tried to taste it.
Then tonight we went to Salt Lake to see the Christmas lights which were beautiful!

Check-up

Preston had his 1 year old doctor visit today and we found out several things. First of all, he has a large head. I suspected this because it seems harder than it should be to get shirts over his head and I had to buy him a hat in the size a 3 year old should be wearing. Secondly, he has lost 1 pound since his last visit. It must be due to having the flu and throwing up and the doc says he's not worried at all since he's still slightly above average. So he is now 23 lbs instead of 24. Thirdly, he is still very tall at 31 inches (that's over 2.5 feet for those of you not very good at math ;) And lastly, who says he doesn't have my eyes?

Happy Birthday Preston!

My baby is 1 today! That is such a weird feeling. I have a hard time saying "my son", probably because it makes me feel old. It just seems like having a baby and having a son are totally different things. Actually, I've never felt like a real mom yet, I just have this cute little baby that I carry around with me. But now he's turning into a little boy so it's just starting to sink in, I'm a little slow I guess!

But today was his birthday so we had a lot of fun. I tried to fit in lots of his favorite things. It's a little hard to tell what someone's favorite things are when they can't talk yet but I did my best. He got some of his favorite foods: bananas, cheerios, yogurt, and I even let him try an Oreo:

For dinner we went out for pizza and Preston decided he was old enough now to use a fork:

I was amazed! He worked so hard at it and actually did it!

He spent lots of time practicing his standing:


And walking:

And since he thinks animals are interesting, we went to a pet store. He was pointing at everything and saying "duck"

Then before bed he got his first bubble bath which he really enjoyed. He was splashing around like crazy and when I put bubbles on his belly or arm he laughed like they tickled.

I love my little boy so much and I'm excited for all the birthdays to come!

Merry Christmas!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Almost there

Although it's not quite Preston's birthday yet, since we were with family over Thanksgiving we had a few early celebrations. The poor little birthday boy came down with the flu so he wasn't quite his usual happy self but still had a fun time I think.

The awesome dinosaur cake:

And a little gingerbread boy cake:

And while we were at Grandma Terri's we tried getting another grandkids picture. They never quite turn out like we want but are still cute anyways!

Oh gloomy day

I have sad, sad news. Our camera broke. I am really bummed. We are going to find out how much it costs to fix and hopefully have it back soon. But since blogs are kind of boring without pictures, there might not be a whole lot on here for a while. So here is what I had on my camera before it broke:
A little trip to the park

I think he was faking being scared.

And Preston's lovely singing voice. Sorry it's aways the same song but it's the only one I have on my phone.

First steps!

Yep, that's right. Preston took his first steps tonight. It was so exciting. I didn't get a video or anything but hopefully soon I'll catch him. I had a feeling it was coming, he is so good at pushing his stroller and anything that will move but is just so nervous about letting go. He was walking back and forth between me and Lars and only did 1 or 2 baby steps at a time before collapsing into our laps but he did it several times so I think we can say it was an official first step, we were so proud!

Tonight we made a little cardboard house for Preston and he had a lot of fun playing around in it. I love that he is easy to please!

He invited in his best buddy Mr.Monkey who you may have seen him cuddling with.

**Update** I caught him!

Ah-ha!

Preston has been talking in this weird jibberish language lately and I had no idea where he got it from. It reminds me of some African clicking language. Tonight I was talking about it with Lars and we solved the mystery. He is saying duck. Only he says "duck-a-luck-a-luck-a-luck" in the back of his throat so it sounds very strange. The list of words he can say is now:
-mom (I would prefer mama but Preston has decided it is just mom.)
-dada
-oh
-hi
-duck

New Tricks

Preston has several new talents he has been working on lately, here are a few of them:

Happy Halloween!

The pumpkin carving. Can you tell whose is whose?

The cutest skunk I've ever seen. And he wasn't even too stinky, I think he only pooped once today, which is a rare occasion around here. (The little heart on his butt says "Lil' Stinker")

Heading out for a walk to show ourselves off while we wait for Lars to finish class.

The whole family!

Gardner Village

Today Preston and I went with our friends Ashley and Rees to this really cool place called Gardner Village where they were having a Halloween witch festival. It was really cool because the place was all decked out with decorations and there were lots of cute little shops.

There were witches all over the place and you can't tell very well but this is a witch in an outhouse reading the paper.

Preston looking cute

It is so fun to see Preston interact with other kids. Rees and Preston are about the same age (2 weeks apart) so they are so cute together.

Afterward we got a yummy lunch at Olive Garden. Thanks Ashley for taking us!

Smartie Pants

Preston seems to be getting so smart lately. Yesterday at the grocery store, I bought his favorite food, which are these yogurt melts:

I put the package in the cart and he reached around and grabbed them. He started chewing on the bag and when he couldn't get to them he got frustrated and started whimpering, then he looked at me and pointed to his mouth. It was so adorable that I coudn't resist and opened the package and gave him some.

He's also obsessed with books lately. I have been reading to him every night and now he finally is enjoying it. When we read I usually point to pictures and tell him what things are. Last night I wasn't doing it so he grabbed my hand and made me point to things.

And since he is so smart now, I gave him his first chore to do (never too early right?) I had him empty the dryer:


While we were at the grocery store we picked up these cute little pumpkins which Preston loves to play with. He just moves them around, then moves them again, I guess he can't find just the right spot for them. They must be heavy for such a little guy, here he is exerting all his strength to rearrange them, and giving his Popeye impression.

Round 2

We tried another round of family pictures tonight and I really like these ones. We found some really pretty spots to take them, mostly up Provo Canyon where it is so gorgeous! We also brought along another sister to keep Preston's attention, which worked out great and kept him happy, except that there is a little tongue poking out in several of the pictures (but that's okay, it's kinda cute.) Here are some of my favorites:

A Mini Disorganizer

Lately I have been spending all my time and energy trying to keep up with a certain little boy who loves to make messes. Of course, making messes has always been fun, but in this last week or so he has kicked it into a new gear. It seems like every second of his day is spent pulling something out of somewhere and throwing it on the floor. He is not satisfied until it is completely empty and then he will move on to the next thing. He seems to have an area in each room which he will go directly to for maximum mess-making. In our room I have some shelves with packing supplies like boxes, envelopes, rolls of tape, bubble wrap, etc., in his room- his bookshelf, in the kitchen- the towel drawer, in the family room- his toy bin or if I leave the box of wipes within reach that is a definite favorite:

Done with the towel drawer and moving on:

Getting caught emptying the bookshelf

So today I was organizing some clothes in Preston's room and he crawled away so I assumed he went to play with Lars in the family room. About 15 minutes later I came out and found Preston in the bathroom. Yep, you guessed it, his favorite area of the bathroom. I should have known because I hadn't heard anything from him and silence = trouble.

Visitor

This weekend we had a quick visit from grandma which was so much fun! My mom was worried Preston wouldn't remember her but he latched right on and wouldn't let her go, he even cried when she left! He sure loves his grandma.
Today we took advantage of the decent temperatures outside (I can't believe it snowed this weekend, ahhh!)

I love this picture. I have no idea what he was doing, maybe sneezing, maybe just being a goof, I don't know.


Preston went down a slide all by himself for the first time. He liked it but was also a little nervous. After the first time, he wanted to do it again but kept turning around to go down on his belly.


Preston is also a big fan of rocks. It must run in the family because his cousin Hayley is a hard core rock-lover and has quite the collection. Once when we were sitting in the grass he crawled all the way over to the edge of the sidewalk, pulled up a weed and grabbed a rock from underneath it. I didn't realize until we had been back inside for about 10 minutes that he was still holding it in his hand. Today he made quite the discovery. Sorry to whichever neighbor kid it was who made this lovely pile.


Preston's new favorite activity is forts. Even when he's grumpy, you can just throw a blanket over your heads and he starts laughing and smiling. It is great. Here is a sneak peek of one of our secret fort meetings.