Jack – 8 months!

Time just needs to slow down!! Our little Bear is 8 months old!!

He has been changing so much everyday! At the start of the month he was just crawling a few crawls and then dropping. Or doing his little monkey crawl!!

Now he is crawling all over the place!! It’s really been quite nice because he doesn’t want me to carry him all day, everyday now! He’s so heavy my back and arms have been killing me. He can chase after big brother and take his toys. 😆

Jack is able to stand by himself dor for a few seconds!!

He loves standing.

He can also pull himself up on things! Actually, this morning when we went in to get him from his crib, he was standing!!

He has 2 teeth he’s had for a couple weeks now, cutting those 2 bottom teeth have been rough. He’s regressed on sleeping a bit because of it. For awhile he was waking up at 1am and 4am to eat. Thankfully he’s back to just waking up around 4:30 to eat. It’s a little hard to get him back to bed after that, but we do, and he will sleep until anywhere from 5:30-6:30. I do think he has more teeth about ready to come through. Fussy, drooling, chewing on his fingers constantly… I forgot how much work teething was.. for mom and baby!!

He eats some solid foods. He really isn’t a huge fan of them yet. He loves hummus and cottage cheese!! We are trying to broaden his palate. He’s had spinach, fish, and so much more!! We always give him bits of what we are eating. I think that’s what helped with Preston when he was young. Now that kid will eat anything!!! We obviously don’t give him anything sugary, no need to become an addict alreasy! Lol. He has had puffs, but isn’t a huge fan. He’s not a huge fan of any baby food, really!! 🤷🏻‍♀️

He had his first night over with his Grandma Eileen this past weekend. I think he was a little hard on her. Haha! He woke up a few times at night and was up bright and early in the morning. Im just glad we did it, it’s hard leaving them the first time!! Especially since he’s been EBF. However, my hubby gives him a bottle of breastmilk (8oz!) every night before bed. I really didn’t want Jack to rely on me to go to bed, like Preston used to. It made it so hard on me whenever I needed to be away for a bit. Preston never took a bottle either. 😱 So I’m just sooo happy our little Jack Bear can survive without his mama for a few hours, and even over night, if needed!!!

jack usually goes up to bed at 6:30 and then will be up for the day about 5:30-6:30ish. Waking one time to eat. Which is great for a teething baby, I think!! Naptime is a different story. Jack will take two 30 min naps a day. That’s it!! And it’s sooo hard to get him to take a nap, too. It’s exhausting. Big brother still takes a 2-3 hour nap each day. I’m hoping he will sleep longer once I cut him down to one nap, but right now, he needs its morning nap, otherwise he gets so tired! For awhile with his afternoon nap, once he’d wake, I would go grab him and rock him so he would sleep longer (since it was during Prestons nap and I wanted to relax a bit longer). I’ve stopped doing that though, I’m not sure if that’s why Jack would wake up after exactly 30 minutes of sleep, knowing I’d come rock him then. Honestly, I’ll miss it, but I can’t get him used to napping while I rock him. I won’t be able to do that soon enough, so I don’t want to instill poor sleeping habits!! It’s a work in progress, we are both tired and exhausted during the day, but I’m hoping one day something will give! Until then, I’ll enjoy my MAYBE 20 minutes of alone/down time each day.

I think that’s about it for our little Bear!

He is a joy, and so sweet.

He’s going through a tiny rough patch with teething and napping, but otherwise developing awesome!!

Oh yeah, he also says mama and dada!

And he waves!!!!! He’s just changing so much! 🙂

One last family picture to end it 🙂

…until next time!! xoxo ❤

 

 

Jack – 7 months!

Our little Jack Bear is 7 months old!!

He’s got such a happy soul. He answers to the names Jack, Bear, Bear Claw, and Quaffy. 😂 (Because of his cute hair quaff. 😜)

he isn’t crawling yet, he can scoot backwards and roll all around. He gets up on his hands and knees and rocks, but won’t go forward!

Hes got one tooth through the bottom gums! He may be teething more because he has started waking up around 4am every morning. I will go in and feed him and he’ll go back down until anywhere from 5:30-7 am!

He still enjoys his 2 powers naps each day. Usually 30-45 minutes each unless I hold him. Haha. The good news is even with lack of sleep, he’s still our happy, happy boy!!! Since the day he was born we’ve always joked that he’s such an awesome baby, he gives us baby fever!! It may not be a joke tho… haha

He eats food usually once per day, but he is starting to enjoy it more. He usually wants to eat what we eat, so we usually will give him some to munch on! He loves hummus and yogurt!! Sweet corn and string cheese are also favorites.

He’s slowed down on his weight gain! He is 22.9 pounds and thick as ever. He’s wearing size 6 diapers at night. 🙂

That’s about it for our little sweetie!!

…until next time! Xoxo ❤️

Preston – 3 years!

Happy birthday, Punky!! I can’t believe my little boy punk is 3 already!!!💙 You are, oh so sweet and charming. First thing in the morning you always say ‘I love you so much!!’ and give me a big hug. You tell me how cute jack is and that I’m beautiful. You look at me and say ‘you’re so beautiful, mommy!’ 💃🏻Even though you spend like 95% of your waking time with me, you always like to tell me ‘how daddy does it’ or ‘what daddy says’! Haha. You are such a good big brother to Jack. You love to give him kisses and you started calling him ‘little chipper’.🤣 You have become so independent lately! (100% potty trained! Yeah!) But you still love your snuggles with mom and dad!! You are a little more demanding these days and enjoy acting out during the day when I’m busy with Jack. But I’m hoping that just means you will make a good CEO someday! 😝You can play by yourself, you have a great imagination, and love running away from monsters that are chasing you! 🤢so cheers with our chocolate milk to my smart and silly 3 year old! 😘💕

(I had to throw that last pic in here! You said Jack was cold and needed to cover him up!🤣)

I am just so proud of the little boy you have become! I’ve never felt like you went through the terrible 1’s or 2’s! There was a little rough patch shortly after Jack was born. That only lasted a few weeks and now you’re better than ever. Every day your Daddy and I talk about how fun and sweet you are!

The other day when I was cooking dinner you looked at me and said: “Mommy, I want to go buy you pink tulips!” That is just like you. So sweet and thoughtful. Every time we go to Aldi you pick out flowers for me by the check out. ❤ you will make an awesome husband some day!!

You got a watch for your birthday (not a digital one either) and you are so cute with it!! When I ask you what time it is you’ll say “It’s 7 and 3, mom” (meaning 7:15)

Everyday you’re at school your teachers tell me how amazing you are! Yesterday when I asked you who you played with at school you said, “Jack and Evan. I love Jack and Evan. They are my best friends!” (not brother Jack; to clarify)

When we were at the gym (in our new town) for the first time, when I went to pick you and Jack back up from the nursery, the lady in there told me how attentive you are to your baby brother. She said she rarely sees that with older sibling. But you were on the ball with his Binky (pinky as you call it), if he was crying, etc!

you are an amazing eater! You will eat anything!!! The other day you were downing sardines and decaf green tea. I think it’s because Daddy has had you on a broad palette since the beginning (think: beef liver, pickled herring, fresh kale picked from the garden…)

Okay, Okay, I’m done rambling! I just love you sooo much! xoxo

…until next time!! xoxo

38 weeks with Pip2

We have been SO busy around here lately, but I thought I’d do a quick post, it may be the last one I get to do before baby arrives!

 Today I am 38 weeks and 6 days pregnant! :O

As per usual, I’m feeling huge and uncomfortable, but I’m finally feeling better! I ended up catching a pretty nasty head cold the day we closed on our house. It was accompanied with a nasty cough that hurt SOOO bad every time I coughed. Let’s just say the last week has been a whirlwind. Packing, Closing, Moving, Unpacking, Organizing, all while sick and very pregnant. Not exactly something I would recommend!!

Our house is coming together. Thankfully, all the moving boxes are empty and waiting in our garage to be picked up. I actually feel like I’m 80% ready for this baby to arrive. I just need to finish my hospital bag, Preston’s bag, and a few last minute things in the nursery. I really wish our formal dining room and sitting room had furniture, but I have a feeling that’s going to have to wait. I just haven’t had the time to do any furniture shopping.

Preston and I have visited a few ‘schools’ for him to attend. I thought it would be really nice for him to have something to do a couple mornings a week once the new baby arrives. I really want him to have that social interaction with other kids, structure, and discipline! He has a trial day tomorrow from 8-1pm. I’m really looking forward to seeing how he does, and having 5 hours to myself! But who am I kidding? Those hours will be filled with last minute baby prep, finishing up the Christmas shopping, making a run to the grocery store, etc! I’m sure it’ll fly by, but I know it’ll help not having a toddler in tow.

(our most recent trip to target for organizational purposes. lol 🙂 It guess nesting and moving create an angry organizational monster!)

My birthday is on Friday, so I’m looking forward to spending the weekend with family and enjoying the last week(end) as a family of 3. Hoping baby will stay put until Monday the 19th. 🙂 But who am I kidding, as long as he’s healthy, I’ll be happy!

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

…until next time! xoxo ❤

home is where ever i’m with you.

We are finally all moved into our new house! We closed last Wednesday and we had family here all weekend helping us unpack and get settled. There is still a lot to be done, but I do feel like we’ve made a lot of progress–which makes me rest easy knowing we could have a newborn join us any time now!

One of the first things we did was unpack the kitchen, so we could get back to using dishes and cooking meals! I’m loving all the cabinet space–I’ve never had empty cupboards and drawers before! I just need to get a few barstools to fit our counter height island.

While the girls organized the kitchen the boys hung blinds in all the bedrooms and bathrooms, installed our mailbox, and hung the hardware in our bathrooms! You know, all the crazy things you need to do when you first move into a new house.

The living room is all ready to host Christmas! We are having Christmas at our house this year since we will either have a newborn or I could still be very pregnant at that time (hopefully not!) so I wanted to make sure there would be a place for us to hang out and tree to put our gifts under!!

Next on the task list was our Master bedroom, so we would have a place to sleep, get ready, and have accessible clothes for hubby since he has to go to work everyday! Our master closet is still a work in progress and so is our bathroom. I need to get some drawer and closet organizers before I unload the rest of the boxes! That’s on my list for tomorrow though! Our bed is looking pretty sweet. We recently updated to a king sized bed. It is heaven. Seriously! I finally feel like this 37 week prego body finally has enough room to be comfortable in my nest of pillows.

My Dad helped me add new hardware to our side tables and we got some glass cut to add to the top of them as well. I wanted to get them chalk painted this weekend while my Mom was here but my #anniesloan chalk paint was all gone. 😦 That’ll have to be a project for another day.

We also got a start on Preston’s Dino room this weekend. It still isn’t perfect but we got everything taken out of the boxes and quite a bit of it organized. It’s hard to stay on task when I have a tornado going behind me and making messes with toys as I work! My mom painted Preston’s dresser white this weekend. I wanted it to be white to match the rest of the furniture I had already painted before I was even pregnant. The other furniture is blue and his bed is white. I’ll have to share pics another day. I do have a picture of the cute dresser though!! I just need to finish his room and get some things hung on the walls. I really wanted Preston’s room to get done so it would make the transition easier. The first 4 days here he wouldn’t nap (I’m hoping it was from all the excitement though). He did nap the last 2 days, thank goodness! When my parents left yesterday Preston asked if they would take him back to his old house to sleep. 😦 He hasn’t asked for his old house since then though, thankfully.

I was able to organize the boys’ bathroom today. I put Preston in the bathtub so he was having fun playing while I organized the towels, cleaned the baby tub, and scrubbed the toilet. It was a win win for both of us!!

We were able to enjoy the first snowfall of the year in our new house!

Preston wanted to play outside in it all last night and all day today. He was having so much fun building a snowman, shoveling, playing with his dump truck, and making trenches with his backhoe!

Next on my list is to get the nursery ready for Pip2 and to organize the mudroom/laundry room. But after the week we’ve had, I’m ready to curl up in a ball and not move for a LONG time. It’s too bad that’s not how life works. lol

our boy Bentley has the right idea though! 😉

i think that’s all for now! I really need to get an updated 37 week belly pic. Hopefully soon enough 🙂

…until next time! xoxo ❤

34 weeks!

Hard to believe I’m already 34 weeks!!! This pregnancy has been flying by! There is no baby bump picture this week because selfies in the bathroom mirror are not near as fun! oh, and the fact I can’t seem to put a bra on. Like ever.

This pregnancy has been a little rough on me!! Not only was I sick until like 27 weeks (and I still get sick on occasion at 34 weeks) but we are in the middle of a move and relocating. All I want is a huge glass of wine! Seriously, the days are long, the nights are short, nap times are shorter, and my wine glass is empty. {only 6 more weeks until I can kick back with a glass of my favorite ALDI wine!!}

My hubby has already started his job so Preston and I have been staying at our house while he lives a Bach lifestyle without us. Let’s just say the day to day is exhausting!! Chasing after a 2.5 year old, organizing for our move that’s happening in #2weeks 😳, cooking, cleaning, walking the dog… you get the picture! Daylight savings time sure didn’t help… my only saving grace is that Preston is in bed by 7pm now! #Hallelujah

I do know hubby feels bad he can’t help out more. He’s working so hard for our family and we appreciate it so much!! He is such a huge help when we do get to see him. He cooks me meals, does nap time and bed time routine with Preston, and cleans… it’s glorious!

However, something always seems to go wrong when hubby is away: faulty smoke detector that likes to go off at 5am, a spider infestation in my car, bentley’s 🐶 Collar breaking as I’m trying to tie him up at my parents house before making the 5 hr drive to see hubs with Preston.

#firstworldproblems

I am thankful I have a house with smoke detectors, a car to drive, and parents who will watch our pup. ❤

As much as I’m going to miss our gorgeous beloved home, I am excited to get settled into our new house. I can’t wait to get it all decorated and cozy feeling just in time for the holidays! {It brings me back to when I was pregnant with Preston and we moved when I was about 27 weeks pregnant! When we closed on our house Nov 15, 2013, the first thing I did was put up my Christmas decorations!! This time will be fairly similar, except I will be 36 weeks pregnant and we close on Nov 30, 2016! I can promise that the first thing I do will be to put up my Christmas decorations again!! I am sensing a theme here….lets just say next time I get knocked up we aren’t relocating to a new state like the last 2 times. lol!!}

I’m trying to enjoy the time with just Preston and I before Pip2 to arrives. I’ve also been working on some ‘busy bins’ for after the new baby arrives and Preston needs some new and fun things to keep occupied!

I’ve been doing a bit of nesting lately, too! I’ve gone through and sorted and organized all the baby clothes, gotten baby items together, and got the infant carseat out and ready to use–just in case Pip decides to arrive a bit early!! I don’t want this stuff lost in the move and have no clue where it’s at!! I even got my hospital bag started, just with a few things for now, but that’s another thing I want to have ready and organized before the movers come and pack us up and ship us out! haha.

Next time I’ll try to have a baby bump picture to include! Even though I’m feeling huge and uncomfortable…I really don’t remember feeling like this with Preston… second pregnancy probs maybe! Hopefully I can do one more post before we move and the crazy begins!!

Okay, edited to add a selfie bump pic! 34w5d

…until next time! xoxo ❤

 

 

 

3rd trimester…bliss?!

happy third trimester to me! Normally I would be all about this third trimester business, but honestly, it’s just showing me how fast the time is flying by! Seriously!

I need this baby to keep cooking as long as possible! There is so much to do and get done before Pip2 makes his presence.

We are moving within the next month or two for my hubbys job. So our house is on the market, it’s been crazy around here trying keep a clean house, staying away for showings, watching the neighbor boy, hubby traveling every week. 😳 I’m overwhelmed just thinking about it!

Normally, I love fall and am counting down the days until Christmas! Not this year. Before Christmas rolls around we need to sell our house, but a new one, move, unpack, and have a baby. 😳 Along with all the other stuff that comes along with moving to another state.

I have been feeling pretty good the last few weeks! I’ve been making it to the gym to workout, yay!! I went to my favorite step aerobics class the other day, and it felt so nice! Other than being exhausted, things are going great. I am so grateful for this pregnancy and can’t wait to meet Pip2 for the first time!!! However, in the meantime, i could use a long nap and a day at the spa…but that might have to wait! Haha

hubby got me a massage last week and it was so nice to shut out the world and get a rub down from a professional. I loved it so much I scheduled another one in a few weeks!! I figured It would be well deserved by then, considering my hubby will be getting ready to start his new job by then, whether we are there with him or not. 😝

Not much longer now! We do have a house hunting trip scheduled for next week, so say a prayer our house will sell fast enough! 🙏

…until next time! Xoxo ❤️

The single parent life.

To say the last few months have been busy would be an understatement. It has been so crazy around here!! Chad has been traveling to Nebraska for work every week–so during the week it’s just been Preston and me. Every weekend seems packed full as well!

I’ve been watching our cute little neighbor boy 3 days a week. It’s definitely been great for Preston. He loves Joey so much and they have so much fun playing together. I love watching them interact. They do such a great job sharing and taking turns. I’m hoping this will prepare Preston for being a big brother, too!

(^^ready for a bike ride, mom!!)

Little Preston is such a ham! He reminds me of when I was young. Looks and silly-ness!

I think Chads traveling has been wearing on me. Not because Preston is a handful, he’s absolutely not! He’s actually SO very good for me 95% of the time. My sweet boy. But it’s all the other things that come up while your husband is away.

For example: a few nights (mornings?) ago at 5am the smoke detector in our bedroom went off and continued to go off every 30 minutes. At first I thought it was from the humidifier in our room (i was also battling a horrible head cold), I drug a barstool in from the kitchen and I had to balance this 25 week prego  body on a high barstool to get the button pushed for temporary silence. (The bad thing about high 14′ ceilings). The alarms were going off and it eventually woke Preston up, (of course, chad was gone), I was so frustrated, tired, and sick (and pregnant) so I started crying and Preston crawled on my lap and gave me a huge hug and said ‘it’s okay, mama’. He’s just too sweet!! I finally got the ladder hauled inside from the garage (a huge heavy metal/steel? one) to change the batteries (Chad had to talk me through putting the latter up while i sobbed uncontrollably over the phone) but as soon as I unhooked the smoke detector and the alarm went off Preston goes ‘yay!! You did it Mommy!!’. He’s my little cheerleader for sure. Later, Chad was talking to Preston about it on the phone, Chad asked Preston about it and he said ‘it woke me up in my crib and scared me. I cried in my crib. Mommy was sad and crying. Had to change batteries’. Gosh he is just so cute. I seriously can’t get over how sweet and cute my little boy is!! The funny thing is that they went off again this morning! OMG (chad’s gone) it really was my humidifier (just getting over my week long sickness). At least this time I knew exactly what needed to be done. (the darn ladder below)

We’re trying to get our house ready to put on the market as well. So I’ve been over working myself trying to scrub our walls, trim, and floors. I’ve organized the inside of all of our closets and under the sinks. Lets just say by about 3pm I can no longer move! It’s been killing my back for sure! I’ve been making many trips to the Salvation Army and lifting things I probably shouldn’t be lifting. My mind won’t stop running about everything that needs to happen before December when Pip2 will be here. I’m just praying we can sell our house and won’t be living out of a hotel with a toddler and a newborn. 😮

Come buy our house!!

Preston has been his cute little self lately. He is so into learning it’s crazy! I’ve read a few things about teaching children (for example, teaching them to identify letters rather than just memorizing the alphabet and teaching kids to actually count during that time, rather than memorizing to count to 10.) Well, Preston has known to identify the letters in the alphabet since he was a little over 18 months. Lately, I’ve really noticed that he’s knows how to count, too! Which is great, because I’ve felt like a slacker Mom lately. The other day we were driving by wal-mart and they are doing construction outside to build a new bigger one. Preston said, “Mommy, I saw 3 diggers, 2 bulldozers, and 1 semi at the construction site’. After that he told me 1 digger was red, 1 was orange, and 1 was yellow. Once we got home he told me we got to go over 3 railroad tracks, too! (which was true, we went over 3 sets of tracks on our drive to and from our CSA–took a different route on the ride home).

Last night I let Preston stay up until 8:30 (past his bedtime) because he was so focused on reviewing his letters of the alphabet! He kept going through all of them telling me what they were. This morning Preston woke up and wanted to learn about money. So I got out some quarters, pennies, dimes, and nickels. He knows what a penny is and a dime. Still working on quarters (or quarts, as preston would say) and nickels.

I had my Glucose test at my prenatal appointment last week. I passed, YAY! Pip2’s heart rate was 140’s. Can’t wait to meet this little guy, but glad to keep him in and cooking for the next 3 months!

24 weeks

25 weeks

Tomorrow the hubby and I will celebrate our 4th anniversary. We are hoping to hit up an apple orchard/pumpkin patch and then have a babysitter arranged for a date night! Time has flown by, but I can honestly say, this has been the best time of my life! Four years in and I still feel like this marriage thing is…don’t hate me…but it’s easy. Chad and I get along, we agree on things 98% of the time, we share parenting styles and views on spending vs. saving, we have our own likes and interests, yet enjoy hanging out together and as a family. It’s been a crazy fun adventure and I can’t wait to see what the next year will bring!

Today Preston and I did some painting (handprint/footprint art) to make a card and picture for Chad and the little stinker spilled the beans to him on the phone today. “i made a lion with my feetprint. Card for daddy” “mommy painted my hand. Made a fish”

Every night before bed, I sing to Preston. His favorite is the Itsy Bitsy Spider. But I LOVE hearing him sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (or Tinkle Tinkle Yee-ole Star). Preston is so cute that he can’t say his L’s very well.

Yesterday my uncle John passed away. It was very unexpected. He was always such a joy to be around! My favorite memories of him are from the houseboat we used to rent every summer growing up! His funeral will be next week in my hometown. Hug your loved ones a little tighter tonight!! ❤

Enough of my rambling. Time to fold laundry! Hubby will be home tonight, thankfully! I hope everyone has a great weekend.

…until next time!! xoxo ❤

Summer 2016

It’s finally nap time after a busy weekend. I’m laying in bed getting kicks and punches to the tummy from our sweet little Pip2 (aka bun in the oven). I think I’m *finally* starting to feel better at 20 weeks. Don’t get me wrong, I still throw up about once per day, but I don’t feel as sluggish and nauseous. My hubby actually said this the other day, ‘I can tell you’re feeling better because our house isn’t a mess anymore.’ LOL. I was like ‘WHAT??’. I mean, I knew it was messy, I was barely keeping up with the day to day of taking care of Preston and Bentley without wanting to lay on the couch the entire day (which i never actually did). But I do LOVE a clean and organized house! As does my hubby, we are both clean freaks! So he must have known how horrible I felt since I wasn’t cooking, or cleaning, or enjoying my daily walks around the neighborhood with my boys. I have noticed that as long as I eat a few squares of a Cadbury Milk Chocolate Bar at night, I’m able to keep my prenatal down, and I don’t have ‘evening sickness’ like I used to. (poor me having to eat chocolate before bed every night. 😉 ) Here are a few belly pictures of my progress!

18 Weeks:

Here is a picture of me at 19 weeks pregnant (last week). I had to cut my face off because, yuck.

I’m 20 weeks now! Pic at 20 weeks 5 days:

Anyway, back to the reason for the post!

We are making the most of our last summer as a family of 3. Our weeks have been so busy, i mean really, every single day we have something going on! It’s been quite nice! It makes the weekdays fly by for sure! My hubby travels quite a bit for work so as long as we stay busy, Preston doesn’t seem to miss Daddy as much.

Although, I have to admit, I do love being at home and enjoying the simplicity in the day to day when we’re not so ‘on the go’.

Preston just finished his last day of swimming lessons! We had them outside this year and it was so perfect!! Preston is such a strong kicker and loves pushing off the wall on his back. He’s got his doggy paddle down, just not without my support and help holding him at the waist. He still hasn’t put his head underwater–he’s too scared! But he does know how to put just his nose and mouth under and to blow bubbles out. So at least there’s that! We aren’t pool rats by any means, so i think just a little more time in the water and he’ll want to submerge his whole head eventually. He’s only 2 though, so I’m not worried! 😛

each kid got a little certificate for participation. 🙂

Finally got a pic of both of us from his swimming lessons!

Chad was in the Twin Cities for work a couple weeks ago, so Preston and I drove up on a Thursday to meet up with him after work.

This is how I single parent it.

He has every other Friday off work–so we got a hotel and decided to hit up the Mall of America and IKEA.

We stopped at Lego Land, the Sea Life Aquarium, we went to the Rainforest Cafe, and then headed to Nickelodeon World. Preston was so good!! We got there right at 10am and stayed until 3pm. He usually naps at 1pm-but did so well for us!!

At the Rainforest Cafe (he was too distracted to even look at the camera once)..but that’s why we went! We knew he would love the animals and the storms!

A few rides:

We were able to meet up with some friends for dinner that evening at Osaka Japanese Steakhouse. We got some sushi and let me tell you, it was the best sushi roll i had ever had!! OMG. It was called the BMW – spicy tuna, fish eggs, avocado, some sort of sauce! My mouth is watering just thinking about it. The seaweed salad was on point as well.

The next day we met up with some other friends for ice cream and a park play date! It was the end to a perfect weekend!

Preston has been in heaven with all the construction work going on around our house. Every day we walk down to see what they’re doing. The workers are always so kind and usually come over to talk with us and it’s so sweet.

We read him ‘Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site’ every day before nap time and bedtime (along with others-but this is his fave). They say goodnight to all the construction equipment and Preston loves it!! He’s started tucking in his construction equipment before bed too. It’s adorable.

^^ the big cement mixer was his potty training gift! We aren’t big toy buyers–so this was huge for him!! (toys-clutter that he usually plays with for like 5 minutes. lol)

for example, one day we went to toddler time at the pool and i forgot Preston’s water toys. BUT being the good Mom that i am, i gave him my barf cup from the car to play with! LOL! He had so much fun playing with that cup at the pool! seriously, best water toy ever!!! (yes, i cleaned it!!!)

The neighbor kids have been coming over to play with Preston everyday. It is so nice because they will play with him outside and I can stay inside and get some stuff done around the house! He loves playing with the big kids and they are always teaching him new things, too! It takes a village! 😛

I randomly potty trained Preston one week. I’ve been wanting to do it, especially during the summer and before Pip2 arrives in December–but i just hadn’t found the constant time at home to do it. Well one evening we were playing outside and I just threw undies on Preston. He played and played and I eventually asked him if he needed to go potty, he said yes, and went over and peed on a tree. lol! No accident at all for the whole evening. The next day when he woke up I went straight to undies, he didn’t have an accident all morning, we went and ran errands and he went potty at TJ Maxx (I had his potty along in the stroller to whip out when needed). It wasn’t until we were at the play place until he did have a little accident. That was the only accident that day though!! The next day (day 3) we went to the gym and he was in the nursery and maybe started to go and realized he had undies on and didn’t continue, his undies were a tad damp when I went to get him after an hour and a half at the gym! Not bad, i’d say!! especially being in that new place with diff adults and a foreign potty. He’s pretty much been potty trained since –that was about 3 weeks ago. He’s had his accidents on occasion, but not that often at all! I still do a diaper at night and a pull-up during nap time, i mean, he’s not even 2.5 yet! I’ve got the main part down, once he’s dry while he’s sleeps maybe ill think about doing undies, but until then, i enjoy uninterrupted nap time! Plus he still sleeps in his crib, so not sure how that would work besides yelling for me that he has to pee. We’ll see! Maybe once he’s in a big boy bed!

practicing to be a big brother!!! He named his baby “joe”.

That’s about us in a nutshell!

Our little boy is so good. He’s really, really good. He’s polite and kind. He’s sweet and so fun to be around! Lack of sleep is the only time we deal with cranky Punky–it’s very rare! I’ve loved our time at home together. It’s something I will NEVER forget or regret.

Makes me nervous for Pip2. Am I in for a rude awakening?? I feel like I got lucky with Preston in the ‘all-around-good-boy-department’. We shall see…

Now, I need to try and take a quick power nap before Preston wakes from his nap! 🙂

…until next time! ❤  xoxo

16 weeks with Pip2!

I’m back!! 

it seems like i’ve been gone for far too long. I keep saying to myself, ‘i’ll do a post during nap time’ and then when nap time rolls around, i’m like, ‘sleep sounds nice’. So there ya have it. I’ve been napping on the job and enjoying every minute of it!

I’m 16 weeks pregnant with Pip2. It’s been a long 16 weeks with being sick, tired, and dehydrated. I mean seriously, I even carry a puke bucket in my car with me these days. Since it’s summer, and a hot one at that, i’m always hot and thirsty. If i drink too much water i get sick, but if i feel dehydrated i get sick. Every time i see a pool or a body of water, i just want to jump in!! Preston has been happy that i’ve been getting in the pool with him all the time. At the gym, i stare at the pool and just want to dive in!! I’m going to go get myself a swim cap so i can start lap swimming again. I think pip2 will enjoy it. I have been able to continue to work out with this babe! Yay!

I can’t tell you the number of times i’ve thrown up my prenatal vitamins. 😦 I even tried switching brands and it didn’t help. So lets just pray this baby is happy and healthy tucked away in my tummy.

okay, enough of the gross talk.

 I have been having strong cravings with this pregnancy, too! Like, ‘I NEED IT NOW’ cravings!! My last craving was a steak, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich with sautéed onions and spinach. I had to make a stop at the grocery store to make them for dinner!! This weekend i wanted a Kim Chi reuben with real corned beef and Kim Chi Kraut. But the Kim Chi bus hasn’t been at the farmers market once this year. 😦 I’m not even sure if i was spelling that right…but it’s amazing!!

Hubby and i did get around to making like 20 freezer meals over the 4th of July weekend! That’ll help out so much since i haven’t been able to cook much in the last few months. Loaded with good veggies for baby Pip2.

I’m really trying to enjoy as much of this summer with Preston as i can. This will be the last one of just us two!! The start of next summer we will have a 6 month old!

My little boy Preston is just a cute as ever. I know every Mom probably says this, so i guess it’s my right as a Mom to brag about my son. If i didn’t, who would?? lol

He is oh so smart and loves to learn!! He’s known how to identify the letters in the alphabet since he was 18 months old. He is very good a memorizing. He ‘reads’ every book along with me before nap time and bed time. He can count to 10 in English and Spanish and is currently learning to count to 10 in Japanese and German–only because my hubby and I know how. haha! He is so good at singing songs–his favorite is ‘The Itsy Bitsy Spider’. Probably because he LOVES bugs. Which he will kill for me if i ask, otherwise he will play with them. Today while we were in Express he found a bug on the ground and the lady working was so grossed out and Preston looked at her and just stomped on it like ‘i got this, don’t even worry’. It was so funny! He is Mr. Manners to, no more prompting from Mom most of the time! I even hear him playing with his cars and they will crash and he will say, ‘i’m sorry’ and ‘it’s okay’ or they will happily pass each other and he will  say ‘thank you’ and ‘you’re welcome’. It melts my heart every time i hear it!!

He also practices writing his letters. Especially his initials. But the other week when i was cooking preston said, Mama, look, i drew an ‘h’ and an ‘i’!! He was so proud!! I was impressed he wasn’t even looking at anything to go off of.

Today when we were at TJ Maxx Preston found a Digger that he wanted. He asked me if we could buy it and i told him i didn’t have any money for the digger. He told me he had a penny in his pocket. I told him a penny wasn’t enough money to pay for the digger. He told me he had more money in his wallet at home. So i told him next time we go out, we could bring his wallet, and he could buy a toy. The thing that made me want to just buy it for him was that he didn’t get mad or throw a fit, he just put it back on the shelf and gave me these little puppy dog eyes. I just melted. but i stayed strong because i know it’s an important life lesson! I told my hubby that some day this week I’m going to take preston to the bank to exchange his piggy bank money for cash and let him buy a toy with it. I’m sure i’ll end up paying for over half of what he got but i think it’ll be a good lesson for him!!

I keep reminding myself that life will never be this easy again (come December). Having one child is such a joy and a blessing!!! It really gives you time to hang out and get to know your little mini. I can’t wait to add another little munchkin to our family, but I’m sure enjoying this single child thing while i can!

^^^ Preston’s first REAL camping trip! We stayed in a tent (or ‘fort’ as preston would call it). He loved every minute of it!! And the extra time he got to spend with family.

Anyway, I still have a couple more hours of nap time–so i think i might take a little snooze myself!

We will find out Pip2’s gender on August 12 (21 weeks). At my 15 week appt Pip2’s heart rate was 140 bpm. (Preston’s was usually in the 160’s) Any guesses on what I’m having???

…until next time! xoxo ❤