Traveling Internationally with Kids (must haves!)

We just got back from spending 2 weeks in Iceland! We had our kids (ages 3 and 5 months) in tow.

Here are a few items that made our trip a success:

1. Portable sound machine. I kid you not, this is the best invention ever! It is $10, it can clip onto a stroller, carseat, baby carrier, etc! It runs off batteries (perfect for going international) and you can choose to have it run for 15, 30, and 45 minutes OR you can let it run forever. 🙂 This really helped with getting our kids to nap on the go, plus we used it in our sons crib at night. You can get it at Target or Amazon. (myBaby sound spa on-the-go sound machine) You can spy it hanging on the stroller and laying in the crib.   
2. A baby Carrier. We brought along our Ergo for our 3 year old and our Infantino for our 5 month old. The Ergo was perfect for our 3 year old because it’s like getting a piggy back ride without having to use your arms! haha. The Infantino was perfect for our 5 month old because he loves to face forward and look out at the world. Both works so well for napping on the go and hiking! Both of these can be purchased on Amazon or target as well!(okay so this photo makes me laugh! My 3 year old wouldn’t put his arms under the straps and then fell asleep and was just flopping. 🙂 It was pretty funny!
   

   
3. Headphones for the toddler. I got these completely adorable headphones on Amazon! Its a little headband with speaker by the ears. It stays on and if your kiddo  falls asleep it’s still comfortable! (CozyPhones kids headphones)
4. Hust Hat. This bad boy can block out the loud noises when you’re trying to get the little ones to nap! It was a life saver for the plane, restaurants, and just being out and about! The plus side, it keeps the babe warm!! You can get it at Target or Amazon as well. 

(so funny, the hat did slip down and cover my son’s eyes. He is under there somewhere!! ha 🙂 )

5. Pacifier Clips and a Wubanub. If you have a little baby like we do, that pacifier clip will come in so handy! You can clip it onto the baby carrier, clothes, carseat, etc! That way you don’t have to worry about losing it.

6. Stroller with a rain cover. This last one really all depends on the age of your kids and whether or not you’re expecting to be around rain. We went to Iceland and the weather there is so crazy. Luckily it was nice most of the time, but it would randomly rain throughout our whole trip. The stroller and rain cover were a life saver when it was raining. It helped keep our kids warm and dry, we also were happy to stick everything else under there (shopping bags, diaper bag, camera, etc!

Well there you have it! That is my list of MUST HAVES. Stay tuned for my next post on what to pack in your child’s carry on bag.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

…until next time! xoxo ❤

2016 in review

Even though January is coming to an end, I thought I would do a little 2016 year in review! With the arrival of baby Jack, we didn’t get around to sending out Christmas cards to all of our friends and family.

We started the year off planning our trip to Australia for my one of my best friends’ wedding. I was lucky enough to be her Matron of Honor! Since Chad and I had already been to Australia a few times, we decided to use this trip as the perfect excuse to see New Zealand!

After the wedding we hopped a flight to New Zealand. We rented a camper van and drove along the south island. We had a blast camping out and the scenery was amazing!! We were able to visit wineries, go sky diving, and just enjoy each others company while taking in the most wonderful views! It was such an awesome vacation and I always forget how much I love camping! 🙂

Chad’s sister watched Preston while we were gone. It was so nice to get away knowing he was in good hands! We sure did miss him though! Two weeks away was definitely long enough!

Shortly after returning from ‘down under’ we found out we were expecting a baby due in December!

Chad also started traveling to Nebraska for work 4-5 days a week upon returning from our trip. I definitely had my hands full with Preston and being pregnant (and sick until 27 weeks…okay, who am I kidding?? I was sick up until the day that I had Jack). The good news was that Chad had accepted a new role in Chicagoland and, thankfully, he wouldn’t be traveling in his new role. So while he finished up his days traveling, Preston and I were at home cleaning and keeping our house in perfect condition for showings. It was a crazy 6 months filled with house hunting trips, inspections, and more house hunting trips.

{{side note, we actually made an offer on a house, it was accepted, and then we decided to back out after the inspection–this happened towards the end of October. We ended up going back to the first house we fell in love with, made an offer, and luckily it was accepted on the evening of October 30th.}}

The plan was for Preston and I to stay at our house in Iowa until it sold, thankfully, it sold in 3 weeks and we were able to join Chad in Illinois. We closed on our house November 30th and were able to get moved in and settled that weekend. We had family come over to help us unpack and organize our whole house!! It was such a blessing considering I was about 37 weeks pregnant by then.

In December I scouted out some schools for Preston. We got him enrolled in a cute little school that is just a couple miles from our house! It was a little transition for him; new house, new school, new baby brother on the way…but he’s done so well! It’s so awesome hearing him tell us stories about what he learns at school.

We were able to host Christmas for my family! They were hoping Jack would make his appearance while they were all here…but of course that didn’t happen! He decided to wait a little longer.

We finally were able to meet our little bundle on December 30th. He arrived in less than 3 hours and has had our hearts ever since! He was 7 lbs 11 oz and was 20 inches long. He has been such a good baby so far. He’s very content and easy going and gives me baby fever (is that even possible?!?! haha). We can’t wait to watch him grow–hopefully not too fast though!

Preston has really taken to being a big brother. He loves Jack so much already! He’s always wanting to kiss him and hold him. He’s been a good helper too, always fetching me things, doing tummy time with Jack, helping with bath time, giving Jack his binky, or as punk calls it, his ‘pinky’. 🙂 Although, Preston has tested me on more occasions than I’d like to admit, at least he loves his brother! My sweet boy has decided to rebel against his Mom a bit. He still loves construction sites and machinery. He’s smart and silly and the perfect mix of Chad and me. We look forward to seeing his relationship with Jack grow into something special! (I’ve already gotten them 3 matching sweaters for next winter and matching bowties for Christmas!! YAY!)

We were able to ring in the New Year from the hospital and were discharged the next day. We definitely started the year off with a bang! We were able to bring our new addition to our new home for the very first time on January 1st.

Well, that was our year in a nutshell! Can’t wait to see what 2017 has in store for us!!

We hope the New Year brings you all the happiness. ❤

…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 ❤

 

 

 

On the move!

Hi friends! I figured I’d do a little update of everything that’s been happening lately. After coming home from a much needed weekend away with my sisters and Che, the only thing that could have made life sweeter was an offer on our house.

A little overview of the last few days: I left home on Thursday to head to Chicago for a weekend away. Chad stayed at home with Preston until Sunday and then they headed to Chicago to meet Emily and I for dinner. We had an inspection on our new house on Monday. Heading back to Iowa after our inspection, we got a showing request for first thing Tuesday morning. So Chad dropped Preston and I off at my parents house and he headed straight to Nebraska for work. (That way we didn’t have to worry about getting out of the house before Preston even wakes up in the morning!) I was a little nervous as I hadn’t been home since Thursday, but knew I could trust hubby’s cleaning abilities.

So anyway, call me crazy, or hormonal and pregnant, but yesterday (tuesday) was the day for happy tears. Preston and I got home after being gone since Thursday. When I walked in the house and saw how clean and perfect Chad had left our house, I just couldn’t help but try and fight back the tears. I was so impressed! That’s been the stress of having our house on the market–keeping it perfectly clean for showings! Shortly after that, I received a call from our realtor, we had TWO offers coming in! um, what?! I was just so happy that there were people who loved our house just like we did. One of the couples even asked if we’d be interested in selling any of our furniture with the house, I was so flattered! 🙂 Anyway, with one of the offers that came in, also came with a letter to us from them. The letter was perfect and sweet and made me cry. They talked about how they loved how we had our house decorated and how it was already baby proofed. They have a 2 year old and a baby on the way this winter. (um, what? just like us!). They talked about how their son had found our raspberry bush in the backyard and couldn’t help but pick the raspberries and eat them (one of Preston’s favorite things to do) and they said that he played in the Preston’s sandbox the whole time they looked at our house. This letter couldn’t have been more perfect. It was just what I needed to hear. It’s been so hard thinking about even leaving this house that we have grown in and love,but knowing that there is a new family, just like us, that will be taking our place makes it seem a little more bearable. We’ve written a letter to send back to them and can’t wait for them to read it! Makes me cry just typing this up.

Those of you who have been unfortunate enough to be around me since we listed our house the beginning of October, know how stressed and worried I have been. Thank you for listening to me stress and worry and vent. I swear this whole process would have been so much better had I not been weeks away from having a baby.

(what if our house won’t sell? what if the contingency expires on the house we made an offer on in Illinois?  what if we are living out of a hotel with a toddler and a newborn? When can i start going through baby clothes for Pip? When can i start nesting? Am I stressing so much I’m going to go into early labor? Should I start packing my hospital bag?) you get the jist! #basketcase #nutjob

We are excited for the new adventures ahead, it’s going to be so bittersweet leaving this home! This is the home that we welcomed Preston home to and the one where we found out we were adding another bundle to our family! Hoping the next house will be perfect to making many new memories.

…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 ❤

We’re excited to announce…

that Preston is going to be a big Brother!!

 

He’s so excited and so are we! Baby is due December 2016!

I know I’ve been MIA for awhile, but with feeling sick, taking a photography class, Preston’s gymnastics, babysitting my cute little neighbor, and wedding festivities for my SIL…we’ve been pretty busy!

…until next time! xoxo

Dear Punky,

dear Punky,

I’m sorry we left you for almost 3 weeks. Your daddy and I went to Australia for my best friend’s wedding! I was the maid (matron 😁) of honor; it was something I’ll remember forever.  We missed you so much but we know you had so much fun hanging out with your auntie, uncle, and cousin! You even got to spend time with your grandma and grandpa, too!!! I know you had so much fun bonding with them. While your daddy and I were gone–we were able to spend time together!! We even made a side trip to New Zealand!! We rented a campervan and drove around the entire South Island! It is time together we will never forget!! We missed you so much!!! But luckily, you were able to bond with your cousin, Noble. You went to gymnastics, the children’s museum, and did build-a-bear together!! You actually missed your dog, Bentley, (or as you call him, Bobo) so much that you named your new puppy (that you picked out at build-a-bear) ‘bobo’ that just happens to be almost identical to your own dog. You did really well the whole time we were gone. We were so happy to see you happy!!! It made our trip go by so flawlessly! It wasn’t until 2 nights prior to our departure from New Zealand that your auntie and Grandma told us you were crying out for ‘mama and daddy’ at bedtime. That broke my heart and made me want to come home!! We know you had so much fun and you were able to enjoy your first ever 3 days at daycare!!!! You did so well–and napped well!! I think it’s because you had your cousin, Noble, there with you. But when we came home you came up and grabbed me and squeezed me sooo tight in, what seemed like, a never ending hug. You kissed me and kissed me!!! You went to daddy and hugged and kissed him, too!! That night it was hard to put you down for bed because you were scared that we wouldn’t be there in the morning. It broke my heart. The next morning you yelled out for mama and daddy, and we came and grabbed you so quickly!!! Daddy went back to work that day and you hugged and kissed me all day long!!! It took forever to get you down for a nap because you were still sad I wouldn’t be there when you woke up! I rocked you to sleep and laid you in your crib. After a couple days you realized we weren’t going to leave you again. It breaks my heart to think about how much you missed us!!! Even though our trip was amazing and so worth it, it’ll take a lot for me to leave you again. You still get sad when one of us is out of sight from you… we have to remind you we are just going to the bathroom or running out to the car. I know it’ll pass, but in the meantime, it breaks my heart. You learned so much with your auntie and cousin. When we came home you were speaking in sentences. You were able to sing ‘twinkle twinkle little star’. You could count to ten flawlessly… and with confidence!! You are such a strong and smart young boy!!!! We love you so much and are so proud of you!!!! I just want you to know, we will never leave you and not come back. You are our entire life and we are better because of you!!!!

I love you so much, Punky!!!!!!!!

-Mama

a little cuteness.

Today when we were saying goodbye to Chad:

I said, ‘i love you!!’

Preston said, ‘I’ and I said, ‘Love’, and he said, ‘YOU!!!’.

I wanted Preston to say it by himself. So next time he said, ‘I’ and paused, and I said, ‘what comes after I?’ and he said, ‘J’…. I had to do a quick run through of the alphabet, lol, but yes, you’re right, ‘J’ does come after ‘I’! haha!!

Chad and I looked at each other like, ‘who is this kid?!’. Oh the way the mind thinks. And to think, he’s not even 2 yet!

Preston uses his little stool for everything. He pushes that sucker all over the house! It’s pretty cute and resourceful. He uses it to turn on and off lights, to get food and drinks, etc.! I had to snap this photo because as I was laying in and he was just doing his thing, and I was just thinking, ‘he will never be this young again. he will never be this tiny again!’ it was a crazy thought!

I’m trying to remember all the cute things Preston does before I forget them all. It seems like just yesterday he would say ‘ek’ intead of ‘x’ and ‘eee’ for ‘train’ (because that’s the noise the train made when it went by our house).

Now the cute favorites are:

‘bork’ \\ fork

‘poon’ \\ spoon

‘bopcorn’ \\ popcorn

‘bup’ \\ cup

‘poppee’ \\ coffee

‘bi-base’ \\ fireplace

His f’s sound like b’s and his c’s sound like b’s. It’s the most adorable thing! What’s funny is that he can say is r’s so clearly, and that was the letter both Chad and I couldn’t say when we were young.

Preston knows his whole alphabet and has for awhile now. When we read his book ‘Chicka Chicka Boom Boom’, he always says, ‘R’ and other ‘r’, for capital and lowercase. I’m impressed he knows the uppercase and lowercase versions of the alphabet. What i was even more impressed with though, we were at Red Lobster eating with my Mom a few weeks ago and Preston was able to tell us every letter in ‘Red Lobster’ when it was backwards! The letters were on the window so people outside could read them, he knew what they were even when they were transposed.

I swear, if I did baby birthday parties, i would have his second birthday party theme be letters. haha!! No joke, he would be ecstatic.

Most recently we’ve been working on numbers. He can count, he just doesn’t like to do it. Which is fine, but I always like to squeeze counting in every time we climb stairs and walk past cars, etc! Just to expose him to it! No drilling here, just fun learning.

He knows his colors. Today we were downstairs by his little Christmas tree (yes, it’s still up, but it’s the only Christmas decoration that’s still out) and he was able to name off all the colors on his tree with no prompting. Yellow, blue, green, red, and pink. I think pink is his favorite color! He definitely seems to favor it!!

Today when we were coloring, I showed Preston how to write a ‘P’ step by step and he did one too. It was pretty cool! (below, you can see my green ‘P’ and his huge blueish gray ‘P’)

Preston still refers to himself at ‘Punky’. Even when i say ‘Preston’ he says ‘Punky!!’ I guess that’s what we get for only referring to him as Punky for he majority of his life. haha!!! I can just see it now, Punky H. on the roster for sport in high school.  hahaha!! 🙂

Tonight after I took Preston’s diaper off for ‘nakey time’ he looked at me and said, ‘pee pee’. I asked him if he needed to go sit on the potty and he said, ‘yes’. so we ran to the potty, he sat down, and he went! YAY!!!!! no prompting, no pressuring. all on his own. 🙂 I was so proud!!!! Chad was still at work so I made sure to FaceTime my parents so we could all celebrate together! Now i really need to make that sticker reward chart!!

One last thing, Preston had his first night in his big boy room!! He did so well! He slept his usual 12 hours. We were so proud of him!!

Now we are off to make brownies! 😛

…until next time! xoxo ❤