"Uh"

Preston has his own language.  He sometimes says something that sounds like "oodie goodie" or "oydie goydie", I still can't figure out what that one means.  Then he'll say, "wassat"  which I think means, "what's that?"  The problem is, he also says, "is at is"  while pointing, which I also think means "what is that?"  He understands more words that he'll actually try to say.  He'll point to the light when I ask him where it is.  He'll point to his belly button, and he'll go get his "ba ba" if I ask him to.  The thing is, his favorite word right now is "uh", sort of the cavemanish "UHH".  He points and shows me things that all have that same pronunciation in his vocabulary, yet he expects me to be able to translate.  For example, yesterday morning Preston brought me one of his snow boots.  He said, "uh" and handed it to me.  I thought, "ok, he wants me to see this boot."  I told Preston, "thank you" and put the boot down.  He cried, grabbed the boot and handed it back to me with another "uh".  I told him "thank you" again and handed him back the boot.  He was getting angry at this point and said, "uh" very forcefully, handed me the boot, then stood on his tippy toes.  I picked him up and put him on my lap.  He grabbed the boot and gave it to me again.  That's when I realized that "uh" actually means, "I want you to put this boot on my foot woman!!"   I put the boot on his little foot and he limped around happily, until he came across the other boot and wanted it on too.  I understood the language better the second time around....maybe I'll become fluent in Prestonese.

Wow....that was fun

Thanksgiving.  A time to be Thankful.  A time to be grateful for the things we have in life, to cherish our family.  My Thanksgiving was a bit more....well let's just say stressful.  The Hubster took a couple extra days off of work.  I was so excited to actually spend some time with him and my kids.  Generally the Hubster works all week, and I work weekends.  This makes for a tough family life, since we hardly ever see each other.  So, Wednesday, aka Thanksgiving Eve, we were all hanging out at home, as a family.  The Hubster planned an actual date for he and I.  We were going to see Harry Potter....yes the "nude scene" one.  I had to get a few last minute things from the store first.  I got in the car, started backing down the driveway, and BAM.   I hit our other car in the driveway.  First of all, I forgot it was there...I'm used to backing out, without the Hubster's car blocking the driveway.  Also, it was dark, so I seriously couldn't see it.  I know, I know....excuses.  I pulled forward and assessed the damage.  We will need a new panel above the left front tire and a new side view mirror.  I get back in the car, straighten out as much as I can and begin to back out again.....and Bump.  Imagine that, I hit the dang car again!!  Basically in the same spot.  No extra damage occurred, but I wanted to cry.  I pulled forward, jumped out of the car and handed the keys to the Hubster.  All I could think was, "how are we suppose to pay for this and manage Christmas at the same time?"  Just like everyone else, we struggle a little in this economy.  I sat pretty much silent for the next few hours until it was time to go to the movie.  I almost didn't go, but the Hubster forced me.....he already paid for the tickets.  So, we get to the movie theater.  I'm walking head down with my hands in my pockets.  It was COLD!  I step over a curb and get whacked in the head with a tree branch.  My hair is caught in the branch.  Seriously?  Like my day hasn't been bad enough!  I ripped my hair out of the branch and broke down crying, in the middle of the theater parking lot.  I know, funny right?!  Can you imagine how that must have looked?  I have some serious anxiety issues apparently.

Although I didn't feel any better about our situation, Thanksgiving was a little better.  Considering it was our oldest son's birthday as well, I had to snap out of it, right?  I got up early to make a birthday breakfast.  When the Hubster got out of bed, I tried to take a nap.  It didn't really work since our 15 month old....who was suppose to be taking a nap.....kept playing in the crib.  I rallied and helped the Hubster with dinner.  We had a good dinner and spent the evening with some neighbors.  Our oldest son seemed to have a good birthday.  Pumpkin pie was his cake of choice this year.  It was interesting to say the least.

I'm still trying to snap out of the looming depression that is hanging over me.  My mom used to get depressed every year around Thanksgiving and Christmas time......oh Lord, please tell me I'm not turning into my Mother!

Ultimately, I'm thankful for my family.  I'm thankful for the things I do have in life.  But, I'm entitled to feel sorry for myself once in a while, right?   

Climbing!

The other day Preston pushed the bench from our table over to the counter. I didn't think much of it....he's not big enough to climb onto the bench....so I wasn't paying super close attention. The next time I looked over, Preston was standing on the bench, getting a drink of water from a cup on the counter! Startled, I ran over to get him down. I then realized what my smart little boy did. He pushed the bench over to the new box of diapers I just bought. He got onto the diaper box, then onto the bench, where of course he could stand up and get the drink he wanted so badly! This wouldn't be so odd if he were a little bigger, but he's only 13 months old! Most children are barely learning how to walk.....yet he's getting drinks from the top of the counter. I'm soooo in trouble with this little one!! I wish I had a picture....but in my panic, it didn't cross my mind to grab the camera.....

Pictures are here!!

We FINALLY had some pictures taken of the kids! Preston has NEVER had professional pictures in his life.....so at a year old, it had to be done! We decided to go ahead and have all of the kids photographed, instead of paying for the dorky pictures that they take at the school every year. We always pay way too much for one pose that we usually don't like! Anyway, I think they all turned out wonderful! I can't wait to hang these in my home!!

Barf Vader

Only a big nerd would buy this shirt for his son...but I have to admit, it's kinda cute!

Preston is one!

It's so incredible how fast a year can go by. Even with the cranky days, not much sleep, milk allergies, and multiple ear infections, it all went too fast! From his tiny 6 lbs 9 oz to a whopping 21 lbs. Through all the stages of rolling over, crawling, walking, running, spinning in circles and dancing. Screaming and crying every time we put him in his car seat to sometimes enjoying the ride....and bopping his head up in down to the music in the car. In just one measly year, my little Preston went from an infant who needed even the most basic of things done for him, to a child who likes his independence, gets into everything, throws huge temper tantrums, and gives hugs and kisses.

Some of his other recent qualities/accomplishments:

He's a biter...but we are working on that!

He's not talking alot, but he babbles like crazy and tries to mimic what we say, even if it means nothing to him.

So far he's doing well with the words "Dada" (of course), "Mama" (only on rare occasions, when he's screaming and mad), "Bye Bye" (which sounds more like "Die Die" and he waves when he says it!), "Yay", and "Uh oh".

Jared got his daddy's boy. Preston lights up every time Jared walks into the room, and cries every time he walks out.

He likes to put everything in his mouth.......still.

He's learning to climb......recently he climbed onto a bench seat and got himself a drink of some body's water from on top of the counter. (talk about scaring me to death!) Just want to send a big sarcastic "thank you" to the darn "walking early gene".

Recently found his belly button....and now points to it when we ask, "where's your button?"

He gets into his swing and on his little four wheeler all by

himself.

He's cutting 4 new teeth right now.....the 2 teeth next to his front to teeth, and two molars in the back on top. Poor baby!

He's such a good eater! Will try anything...but prefers to eat from other peoples plate instead of his own.

Loves his all of his siblings and wants them to hold him all of the time. He likes to sit on their laps if they are sitting on the floor.

He is fascinated by his big brother Peyton.....those two play together surprisingly well....considering there is a 5 1/2 year gap between them. Preston lights up when he sees Peyton and runs to give him hugs....it's super adorable! It's like he just knows its his big bro.

Mommy, Peyton and Preston 8/17/10. Preston's actual birthday, but he was sick :(

Preston just got over a horrible sickness called herpangina....basically like hand, foot and mouth disease. Poor little babe! We don't know where he caught it, but was running a fever for a few days. I thought he had another ear infection, but when we took him to the doctor, we found out that he had really bad ulcers in his mouth! No wonder he wouldn't eat! For the next few days, Preston ran a super high fever. I couldn't get him below 100 degrees even with medicine for a couple days....and his fevers would run as high as 103. The hard part was, there was nothing else I could do for him, we just had to wait it out. Finally after about 10 days, it went away. We put off getting his year old pictures because of it (pictures to come). We put his birthday party off because of another darn ear infection.

We had a great Birthday party a week after his birthday, with just our little family and a couple neighbors we invited over....last minute. We invited family but knew they wouldn't make it because of distance. It was fun anyway....Preston loved digging into the cake! He opened all of his cute gifts! Thanks to Grandma Egbert for sending the cute outfits and books for Preston....he loves those books!! We got him a cool little four wheeler....that he LOVES! He got a couple other small toys like a telephone, a dancing cow, some stacking rings, etc. All of those things that seem really boring to us, but babies seem to love! Oh, he also got a leap frog dog that talks to him and sings, it's pretty darn cute!

THE BIRTHDAY PARTY!

Bedroom Talk

This conversation happened in bed last night

Me: (to Jared) "I'm really glad you are home tonight, so I don't freak myself out. If a boogie man comes to get me, you'll just beat him up!"

Jared: "Yep....unless the boogie man has a gun."

Haha! My hero!

Caile is 12!

This year was Caile's "family birthday". We only do a big party every other year for each child. It's a lot of work, and a lot of money to throw a party! We could spend that money on better gifts, or just save money for a change! Anyway, it was Caile's family party. It was small and fun! Just us, visiting, enjoying cake, eating our favorite dinner, and playing on the slip and slide. We were able to take some of that money we would have spent on a party and do some cool things for Caile this year! We gave her a surprise new bedroom! This was only possible because we decided to give her Josh's old bedroom. Josh had to suffer with "girly" decor for a couple weeks or so. It was so hard to get everything put together without Caile knowing! We managed it though. We didn't spend a ton of money either! It did cost us, but we were pretty thrifty. Caile's bed, desk, and chair were ksl.com finds....so we got some awesome deals! Everything else was either things we already had, walmart finds or cheap internet finds. It took a lot of work for me....I had to do a lot of painting myself, but it did save us some money. The end result was amazing though....and Caile more than loved her room! She was so funny to watch. She kept saying, "I love my room! I just can't get over it!" It was a great to see her so happy! I would go through all that work again, just to see that look on her face!

Caile getting ready to blow out the candles.  I thought we had candles at home so I didn't buy any.  When I could not find our candles, we had to improvise....with candles from the house.  Caile thought it was "cool

Caile's new bedroom.  She got a new bed, bedding, desk, desk chair, new paint and wall hangings!  She was super excited!

Enjoying the warm day on the slip and slide!

Preston's first experience with sliding!  Dad gave him a good push and he loved it!

Just had to share Preston's first time running through the sprinklers!  He's such a little ham!

July Celebrations

A normal 4th of July! Lots of fun, lots of fireworks, lots of watermelon and BBQ! What else could you ask for?

Family Updates

So, I've been preoccupied with being a Mom to a new little one. Sometimes I forget to mention all the great things that have been happening otherwise. We've been extremely busy, as usual. I'm a bit upset right now because our video camera is missing. I believe it must have been in the diaper bag that was lost during Pony Express Days. Jared took it to the parade, and it hasn't been seen since! Luckily most of my videos were already downloaded on my computer. I'm still missing some from Peyton's kindergarten program and Caile's choir concert. There were a few cute pictures I took of Peyton with his kindergarten teacher and some of his friends from school. All gone. I guess I can pray that it turns up, but I won't count on it.

Jared has been amazing as usual! He's continuing to work 2 jobs, is coaching Caile's soccer team, and is assisting with the scouts when he can. He's also playing on a soccer team himself. He likes to tell me that he's not the "oldest" person on the team...."there is one guy older". It's been a lot of fun for him. A bunch of out of shape guys running around the field...haha...it's good for them! It doesn't leave much time for anything else! Sometimes he has so much on his plate that it's hard to get everything done....but he always has the best intentions.

Josh has struggled a little this year. Problems with his ADHD has made things difficult. We started him on some new medication and he's in counseling again. I think it's helping some. He can be such a good kid, he just has a lot of struggles that most of us have difficulty understanding. He's wonderful with his baby brother. Always willing to help if we need him to. He gained some privileges back after being in trouble most of the school year. So, he's been excited to spend time with friends this summer. He's been even more excited to have his Xbox back! He's going to scout camp next week, and can't wait to go. School was a bit of trouble this year, but he managed to get his grades up before the end of the year. He also did really well in band! He started with the flute, the changed to the clarinet the following semester. He does great! Very musically inclined. He's looking forward to football tryouts. Football has been a good outlet for him, so hopefully he'll be on a good team this year! Josh is a wonderful artist and loves to draw. I'm really amazed at his talents!

Caile has had a great year. She's been on a competitive soccer team all year! They play indoors during the winter months and have just recently started playing outside again. She absolutely loves it! She's a defender, and is really good at it. Jared coaches the defense on the team, so we know her coach is good :) ! Her team had a really good season and made it to the playoffs. She's a very well rounded child, or at least tries to be. She has been in choir all year, loves to sing. She's also in a theater day camp all week this week. Her best friend's parents are running the camp, so we had an in! Caile is also a wonderful artist. She loves to draw and write stories. She did well in school, with a little help from a math tutor :). She's growing up too fast....and is becoming a beautiful young woman!

Peyton Peyton Peyton. He's had some ups and downs this year. We all know that he's an adorable beautiful boy. He's so loving and compassionate. He can be a little overly sensitive and emotional....which has it's good a bad sides to it! He's not the kind of kid to sit still for too long....which becomes a problem in the classroom. His teacher was so wonderful and worked so well with him though. He had a great Kindergarten year...after a rocky start. He's learning how to be a big brother, which he's done really well with! He loves his baby brother and tries to be involved with everything that is going on with him. Sometimes he tries to help too much! I think it's also been a bit of a struggle for him. He's not the baby anymore, and that's a hard thing to give up. He still fights for attention. I try to show him I love him just as much as I did before. He's just a Mama's boy and is learning to deal.

Preston is more of a Daddy's boy. He just lights up when Daddy comes in the room! I love how animated this little boy is. He just has this amazing awareness in his eyes all the time. I can tell he's going to be extremely bright, and a handful! He already throws temper tantrums when he doesn't get what he wants. There's no tricking him either. Way too intelligent for the redirecting trick. He cries so hard sometimes that he doesn't take a breath, and starts turning blue. Then he does his big gasp for air and is fine. It's usually over something silly like taking a Lego away from him that he was trying to eat, or closing a door to a room that I don't want him to go into. Oh, the thing that makes him the most angry is blocking the stairs off so he can't climb them. This can't be a learned behavior at 9 months old.....it's definitely personality! It's gonna be fun to figure out this one :). He can be a very happy baby though. He laughs a lot, smiles a lot. He likes to dance and is walking! He just recently started walking a ton! All the way across the room. He will even hold things in his hands and walk at the same time. So cute! I've even seen him turn in a circle and go the opposite way! He also just barely started standing up in the middle of the floor instead of crawling somewhere to pull himself up. I knew it wouldn't take him long to get the hang of it. Smart boy. He's sleeping a little better. Only waking up twice a night usually. It's much much better! I can't believe how blond his hair has turned, and his little eyes are still blue as ever! He still just has his 4 little teeth but is starting to cut some more further in the back. He's been such a wonderful new part to our family.

I'm doing about the same. It's been a bit rough working every weekend, but a necessary thing. I'm looking forward to having some weekends off in the near future...so maybe I can spend some time with my whole family. I don't think I've had more than 4 hours of sleep in a row in the last year or so. I think I'm still adjusting to living so far from my family. It's really good in some ways, but it would be nice to hang out with my sister now and then. Or have my Mom near by to help out with the kids once in a while. I have made some great friends out here, and have some good neighbors....with the exception of a few HORRIBLE ones. I'm enjoying my life and know that the best is yet to come. I'm trying to enjoy the journey!

Some new videos of my baby walking and dancing...I'm such a proud Mama!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Tw6Ln1AH4Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aprmDSrFTr8

Cute....had to blog it :)

While tucking Peyton in bed tonight he said, "I'm as tight as a bug in a buckle!" I said, "Yes, your are as snug as a bug in a rug!" He's so funny. He got a little closer the second time he said it :).

Kindergarten Program

Peyton's K program was this morning! It was incredibly adorable! Since our camera was lost after the program, I no longer have a video. I do want to share some little memories of what I can remember though. All of the little kids were in their best dress. Peyton wore what he considers his "Michael Jackson" outfit. It's basically black slacks, red shirt, black tie, and a red and black vest. He looked pretty darn handsome in it!! One of the songs they sang for the program was "What a Wonderful World". They did little hand motions and everything! The most darling thing I've ever seen! Peyton of course is a wiggle worm, so sometimes he was paying attention to the song, and actually singing. Other times he was moving his mouth and looking around at everyone else!! They did a song that I don't remember well, but they all wore top hats. They would take them off for certain parts of the song and were suppose to put it back on during certain parts. Peyton thought it would be cool to spin the hat before putting it on top of his head....so he was always the last child to get it there! They did a song with the ABCs and all of them had a speaking part. Peyton's was, "R is for Reading stories, especially those we love so dear." He said it so fast, I don't know if anyone understood it....but I was such a proud Mama anyway! There was another song about how good parents are.....it was a sticky sweet song, and I loved every minute of it! I'm so bummed that our camera is missing! I got some cute pictures of Peyton with his friends, and his teacher....and they are just gone. At least I still have the memory!

So, after I put up this post, I found a couple pictures I took of Peyton in the morning before I sent him off to school on his program day! I was so happy that I at least had these!! He's such a handsome little man!

I took this upclose shot because I was trying to show his two lost bottom teeth. Pretty much immediately after he lost them, the adult teeth started growing in!

9 months

Preston is a big 9 month old now! He's not walking on his own completely yet. He lets go and stands in the middle of the floor for long periods of time, but has only ever taken the one step that he did on video. He is able to go from standing to sitting without hanging on. He also attempted to stand up from a sitting position, but didn't quite make it! The only thing that he "says" with meaning behind it is the "yay" pronounced "aaaa". He mumbles lots of things and has said mama, dada, and baba for a long time, but they don't seem to mean anything. He doesn't seem to associate his bottle with baba, or me with mama, or Jared with dada. Right now it's just noises. I'm sure it will all have meaning soon! He is in this phase of biting. He's always had a thing with putting everything in his mouth, but ever since he got those little teeth, he bites! He bites hard too!! He's taken bites out of things that I wouldn't have thought about, like the handle on the stroller. It's just rubbery foam stuff, but he took chunks out of it! When he leans over onto my shoulder, he always bites down, then pulls back...OUCH! He's in a sort of tantrum phase. He gets super angry when we take things away from him. He hates to be held in any fashion that may put him to sleep. He cries so hard that it catches his breath. He actually didn't breath very quickly once, and started getting that blue tinge color to his lips....then he gasped for air and continued to cry. I told Jared that we are in soooooo much trouble when he's 3! Yikes. He's still not sleeping well....and has been even worse recently. He's had a bit of a cold, so maybe that's why. I'm also wondering if he's starting to teeth again. Some nights he's awake every 30 minutes-hour, just crying. It almost seems like he's in pain. He doesn't want to eat, doesn't want to sleep, there is no position good enough for him. All he wants is for you to get up and walk him around. I've given him Tylenol and Motrin at night, without a big change in his behavior. He's not usually like this during the day either....which makes me wonder. Anyway, hopefully he'll get out of this stage quickly! His cute little smile, the way he bobs his body and head up and down to the sound of music, and his laughter make it all worth it! The cutest thing ever happened the other day. Peyton was pushing his ship around the floor and the baby was following him, so Peyton gave the baby a piece of his ship (basically a smaller boat). The baby put the boat on the ground and was pushing it behind Peyton and the big ship! So cute, I wish I had a picture! It's just amazing how he wants to play with his big brother, and is imitating him already! Anyway, moral of the story....the baby is beautiful and sweet and naughty all rolled into one.....and me, well I'm in love and exhausted!!!

Preston in his "little brother" shirt. He's such a big boy now!

Peyton in his "big brother" shirt, and Preston in his "little brother" shirt. They were so cute, but this was the best picture I got of them together...

Preston ate his food....then fell asleep in his high chair. He's normally hard to get to sleep, so this is a rare occurrence!

Preston is learning to play, and loves attacking his big brother! Peyton thinks it's funny and just lets the baby tackle him. It's really fun to watch them play together!!

Conversations with a 6 year old

I've had a couple of funny conversations with Peyton in the last few days that I wanted to share. These are the kind of conversations that I have often with my son. I don't always have the mind to write them down, but I came to the realization the other day, that these kind of conversations won't last. I just want something to look back on, and laugh at, and share with him when he is grown...and has kids of his own! These are just some misunderstandings/misinterpretations of words.

On the way home from school....

Me: "What did you do at school today buddy?"
Peyton: "Well, I had to go shopping."
Me: "Really? Shopping?"
Peyton: "Yep, that's what they called it."
Me: "Well, what did you do? Did you buy stuff?"
Peyton: "No, I wrote stories and stuff."
Me: "Oh! Did you go to a workshop?"
Peyton: "Oh yeah, I think that's right."

At home......

Peyton: "Mom, I need a ear cleaner to get the food out of my ear."
Me: "What?"
Peyton: "I need to get the food out of my ear."
Me: "You don't have food in your ear buddy."
Peyton: "Yes, remember? The Dr. said I have food in my ear."
Me: "Oh, you mean fluid! The Dr. said you have fluid in your ear."
Peyton: "Oh."

First Steps!

Preston took his first step today! It was a small step, but he did it! What luck to catch it on camera! Excuse the filming....it was done by my 6 year old. You can hear Peyton in the background...he was just as excited as me! What a good big brother! I can't believe my little booger Preston is almost walking. Not even 9 months yet!!

baby talk....and walk?

Preston has started balancing on his feet....without holding onto anything! He only lasts about 5 seconds at a time. He thinks it's really funny that he isn't holding onto anything, so he laughs, then falls down. So cute. I don't know if I mentioned this before, but he's a stair climber! He will scale our entire flight of stairs in no time. It didn't take him long to learn it either, just a few falls, and he's got it down! He's starting to mimic a little bit. I started saying "Yay!" every time he would clap his hands together. Now he thinks it's pretty cool, so he claps his hands and says something like "aaaaaaaa" TOO CUTE! I love it!!!

This is a video of Preston clapping his hands! I love it!! (Just so you know, I'm not very video savvy....I don't know how to edit, so you are stuck with a big long video. You will get bored with the clapping after about 5 seconds....but this lasts way longer than that! You really don't have to watch it all....nothing spectacular happens at the end!)

Fish, Fish, Fish and Penguins!

We had a little family trip to the Aquarium the other day. We had so much fun!! We met some friends of ours there....and just enjoyed spending time looking at fish, sharks, and the cool little penguins! Peyton LOVED it! He especially enjoyed the sharks, jelly fish and manta rays! Josh and Caile had just as much fun, they just aren't as animated about it!! Preston actually thought some of the fish were pretty fun! He was trying to grab them through the glass. It was so funny to watch him not understand that he can't reach through the clear glass! It was our second trip for the summer....and it was just as fun as the first time! I'm glad we have such a cool place so close to us!

My friend Becky and her family met us at the aquarium! This is her husband and two adorable kiddos....

Becky and little Casey! I love this picture of them!!

Becky stole my baby from me part of the time....I was just helping her get her baby fix!

Preston is trying to grab the fish through the glass....just can't understand why he can't pick them up!

Cool fish!

The jellies....one of Peyton's favorites!!

Peyton petting the Manta rays....they put there wings up the side of the wall so you can get them easier! It was sooo cool!

And finally the penguins!! This was the best picture I could get unfortunately. They were so cute!!