Some fun stuff

Preston has been trying to copy us...and blows little raspberries! SOOO cute! He mostly just spits, cuz he's a slobbery kid...but it's adorable anyway. He's attempting to scoot himself across the floor and tries to eat everything! Sorry kids...no more Lego's downstairs! If he can't get what he wants by scooting, he rolls until he can get there. He hit his head on the coffee table the other day, mid roll. He only cried for a minute...Mommy fixed him!

Peyton has been doing really well in school and is starting to read and write. As far as I know, the first word he spelled (without being prompted) all on his own was CANDY. He spelled it just like it sounds.....KANDE. When he came home with his school papers and "kande" was written on it...I just cracked up! How cute is that?! He tried, and really did pretty well! I mean honestly...he's 5, in Kindergarten! I know for a fact I didn't start reading until 1st grade. They just put the pressure on a little sooner now I guess.


Peyton's teacher seems to be falling in love with him more every day. She walks out with the kids and tells me funny stories about what Peyton did that day. He likes to sing songs to the class, and they are usually songs that the teacher wouldn't expect from him. Like a song that's on "G Force" from the Black Eyed Peas. "Boom boom boom, gotta get that boom boom boom"! So funny! He seems to think he's a little entertainer because he did a Michael Jackson dance for the class the other day too. I guess he spun around and said, "Ow!" Who wouldn't love that kid?! The most recent story the teacher told me was that Peyton said he and his girlfriend Katy are going to get married when they are big....but they have to have a date first...."and tonight is our first date". When I asked him what kind of date they were going to have, he said, "you go get something to eat, duh!" Katy's Mom told me that Katy told her the same thing. They have it all planned out that they are getting married when they are big. They even leave the classroom holding hands sometimes. So funny! Peyton asked me the other day if you have to kiss when you get married. I about peed my pants. He wants to get married, but kissing girls is gross! LOL. Awww, the innocence of my little boy! I hope he keeps his fun personality!

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells...

Christmas was a little bit different this year. I was scheduled to work Christmas night, so we had to change things a little. We decided to have Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve. We didn't have family over this year....and obviously couldn't go anywhere. So, it was just a small little thing at home. We had a nice dinner, just ham. I couldn't bring myself to make a whole turkey for 5 people. It was delicious food anyway! I think I'm starting to enjoy small family holidays. I love our family, but the calm that comes with staying home and not worrying about getting somewhere, or entertaining a crowd. It's just so much easier!

We did our normal Christmas Eve tradition of opening PJs. The kids loved theirs! Peyton got PJs that said "Big Brother" on them. He loved that! And Preston's were "my first Christmas" PJs. We just did slipper socks this year...we have too many unused pairs of slippers around the house! After opening our PJs, we danced around the house to Christmas music, and started a new Christmas puzzle. I think everyone started getting cranky, and it got late very fast. The kids got to bed after a lot of coaxing, and after we threatened that Santa doesn't come if you aren't asleep. That seemed to work for Peyton. He asked if he could sleep under the tree so that he could meet Santa...I had to disappoint him :(

Santa and Mrs. Santa were up very late, wrapping presents and setting up the stockings. (it was about 3 a.m. when they went to bed). Of course they went overboard with presents again this year! It seems like no matter how much they plan on "cutting back" for Christmas, they still end up with too much stuff! Maybe next year!

The kids got up early....and Daddy made them stay in bed for a while. We were extra tired from the night before....but finally we made our way downstairs.

This was Preston's first Christmas! We know that he won't remember it, so everything we did was more for us than him. We wanted the pictures and the memories! He was such a good boy...and tried to open his presents himself by eating the wrapping off! We had to help him a bit.

The kids got all of their presents opened....to describe it in a word...SPOILED! We all got too much stuff, but it was a lot of fun! This is the mess that followed the fun!



I made cinnamon and orange rolls for breakfast Yummy! Then I went to bed to prepare for my night shift. Turns out that I was cancelled that night anyway...but you can't plan on that, or count on that happening. So I ended up spending the evening with my family....we played with our new toys and had a wonderful Christmas!

Trimming the tree

The kids worked really hard on getting the tree in order. They climbed the ladder...or should I say "fought" over who got to climb the ladder! They really tried hard to make the tree beautiful! I usually do a little work over to all of the decorations after the kids are through....but this year it didn't happen. I was a bit too lazy. It looked pretty good anyway! It's funny how much they love decorating for Christmas. I think it helps build the excitement for Christmas day. When the tree is up, they know it's so much closer!

4 months!

Preston was 4 months old on the 17th! We had his 4 month Dr. visit today. Most everything is great...besides another ear infection! Because we just had him on antibiotics, the doctor gave him a stronger antibiotic this time. I'm hoping it will take care of the problem. He weighs 14 lbs. 10 oz. and is 24 1/2 inches long! He's growing up so fast! He has been rolling around more on the floor lately. I'm having to start keeping the kids toys out of his way. He holds his head up really well...getting ready for crawling! It's weird but he seems to actually prefer being on his belly. If I lay him on his back, he immediately flips over. He's getting better with his colic. He's not quite so angry all the time! It's nice to be able to tickle him and to make him smile with silly noises. He's starting to laugh more! He holds his breath sometimes still, and tries to shove his whole hand in his mouth to stop the laugh. When he gets it out though...it's pretty darn cute! He likes to play in his little bouncy monkey thing that we bought him. He still loves the swing...and the vacuum is a God send when we can't get him to settle down! It seems weird, but it really does work! Preston's hair seems to be getting lighter in color...I think we may have a blond hair blue eyed baby on our hands! He still has a dark patch of hair in the back, below his bald spot, and some dark strands on the top. He's been losing some of that hair though, so we will see! He is still a little slobber monster! We keep a bib on him pretty much all the time to catch the drool! The adjustment to me working is still moving forward. Daddy has a hard time now and then on the weekends. Preston is just used to having Mommy around. We are getting there! We are really enjoying having a little one around. Even though he's so much work....he's also so much fun!

There's my handsome little man! Jared calls him our Gerber baby!

Getting comfy on the floor

Sucking his thumb..

Christmas day...in his monkey chair!

This is so funny because he was playing under his floor toy, tried to roll out, knocked it over, got stuck and fell asleep! There has only been a couple times he's fallen asleep on his own!

Christmas Eve

Playing with one of his new favorite toys! His feet!

It's the little things

A couple of nights ago, I saw something that just made me smile. It wasn't anything big...but it was something that made me think a lot about the little things in life. The things that I hope I won't forget. My children are getting bigger every day, and I'm trying to enjoy all the things they do that make me realize what life is about. It's easy to overlook the every day mundane things. I have to stop and realize that these every day things are my children's whole world! They are only young once...and I hope I can enjoy it more.


This is what I saw that started me thinking....

Peyton's toys lined up along the tub. I listen to him play in the tub all the time...but seeing his little toys standing there waiting for him to come back...it just gave me that happy feeling. How long will this stage last? Not long enough! He sings in the shower...and has full on conversations with his toys. I had to take a picture! Then I walked around the corner and saw this.....

His toy squid stuck to the front door. Then this......

Apparently he decided to clean the white board with his hands...then wiped them on the wall! Don't worry, it came off easily.

These are little boy things that happen every day. They can be frustrating things...but they are the things I will miss when my babies grow up!

I got to thinking about all the little things the rest of the kids do too....

Preston drools so much that it drips down my arms. He smiles at every silly face or noise I make. The way he rolls onto his belly and gets stuck there. The way he bats at his little toys until he can get hold of them, then they go straight to his mouth. I also love the way he screams before he cries, just to let us know that he's really mad! Hence the nickname "Screech" that Daddy gave him. He also likes to yell while he's "talking"...I think he likes the sound of his voice.

Caile says umm before starting almost every sentence. She says "good night, I love you" approximately 100 times before actually going to bed. She always has a new picture that she just drew to show everyone. Most importantly, she writes her name on everything! When I say everything, I literally mean everything. If it's hers...you will know it's hers! Maybe that's just a girl thing because I remember doing that.

Josh is getting so big, it's hard for me to catch him doing those fun kid things. He is in a stage of his own, but it's fun too. I love the way he is with his baby brother. He always wants to hold him, and even rocks him to sleep sometimes. When he's excited about something, he'll repeat it over and over until you can't stand hearing it anymore. He can be the sweetest most helpful kid when he wants to be...like helping with dinner or taking the baby when I need to get something done. Josh is also a classic annoying big brother...if someone is happy and content, he'll make sure that changes! He likes to do just enough to get someone upset, without getting himself into trouble. That part is tough right now, but it'll be a good memory...and hopefully we'll laugh about it later!

What a blessing!

Preston was blessed on Sunday November 29th in California. We chose to do it while we were visiting for Thanksgiving, that way some of our family could attend. Jared had a lot of family and friends who were able to participate in the blessing. Jared's Dad, Sid, blessed Preston for us. It was a beautiful blessing, full of health and happiness! Preston did really well through the whole thing. I was worried he was going to scream through it. I tried to prep him as well as I could. He had a full belly before they got started...and he wasn't quite to his cranky, tired phase yet. I'm so glad it went so well. Our newest little blessing was officially blessed! After the blessing, I had to change Preston's diaper...twice in a row (that's all I'll say about that!)...then his cranky, tired phase kicked in. I walked the halls for the rest of church. We made it through the important parts though!

We had a nice brunch for friends/family afterward. Thanks Barbara for getting it all set up for me! The brunch was wonderful....delicious food! Jared was able to visit with some friends...and his "second family" for a while. I know he was so excited to see his "other Dad". It was nice for me to finally meet some of the people he's told me so much about! Leave it to a baby to bring family and friends together. This was truly a blessed day!

13 years!?

Josh turned 13 the day before Thanksgiving this year! Poor kid had one of the most awkward birthdays ever. The fact that we drove to California the day before his birthday didn't help at all! I had his Grandma Egbert kind of set a couple things up for Josh before we got there...hoping that it would help us have a somewhat special day for him. We drove up to Palm Desert from Canyon Lake that day, settled in a little bit, then headed to the living desert. I guess usually they have some really neat desert animals to look at during the day, but at night around Christmas time, they do a light show. We got out there and had some fun! There were lights everywhere and they had a cool little train that ran through the area. That was Peyton's favorite part! Unfortunately, there weren't any animals to see, but there was a live band playing, face painting, and glow in the dark cotton candy! We walked around for a while and the kids had some hot chocolate. It was a bit cold....nothing compared to the weather in Utah...but it was a little too cold to have the baby out for very long. I finally decided that we needed to head out when Preston got cranky. I think Josh enjoyed himself though...and that's what it was about! We didn't end up having cake for him that night...it was late and the kids had enough treats already. Josh did open his presents though. He got a movie and poster from his great Uncle Tom. Jared and I and Grandma and Grandpa Egbert went in on an I pod touch for him. You should have seen his face! He wasn't expecting that at all! I'm glad we got him something that he seems to love! The next day he got some Chargers PJs and drawing materials from Uncle Paul and Aunt Sara. I think he made out pretty well! We finally sang "Happy Birthday" to him the Sunday following Thanksgiving. We didn't even do candles! I feel horrible about it. That whole week was just super chaotic! I didn't even get a picture of the beautiful cake that Grandma Egbert picked out for him. By the time we sang happy birthday, there was already a piece of cake missing. Honestly though....I don't think Josh minded. I told him that it was going to be a small family birthday this year, so he was expecting it. He was a trooper! Next year we will try a bit harder! I still can't believe we have a teenager...now the fun really begins!!