Tis the Season!

Christmas Season is getting in full swing around here!  I even have Preston singing his own version of Jingle Bells on camera!  That was my one Christmas wish for the year!  I wanted to record him singing oh so sweetly. And he is so sweet when he sings because he acts really bashful.

We still have yet to get our Christmas light up on the outside of the house, but the inside has been decorated for weeks.  It would be nice if I could find the energy to clean though!  I asked for my Christmas lights to be put up for my birthday, and got lots of other really great gifts instead, which I loved, but still miss the lights! I may have to take it upon myself and at least get them on the bushes.  With the baby on its way I am hardly allowed on the roof.  I think my doctors would be unhappy with me, since they put my running on hold, to hear that I was on the roof... Last year all I got up was the lights on the bushes too, and it makes me sad that the house isn't completely decorated because Preston is getting to an age where he truly loves Christmas.  He looks forward to seeing Santa and all that means! 

We bought an Elf on the Shelf and named our little elf Sammy.  Every morning he runs out of his room to find Sammy and his new perch.  It has become quite fun! The change in behavior was amazing, but I think after a week Sammy is starting to wear him out with all this talk of good behavior and always listening.  However, I will say that we have had a nap EVERY DAY since Sammy came from Santa! 

We are also trying to instill the real reason for Christmas in him.  Preston knows that Christmas is really Jesus's birthday, and that instead of Jesus getting all the gifts, he wanted us to have them.  He also knows that Jesus was born in a manger, and that the wise men came to see him, and that the angel showed them the way.  That is about as far as we can get before he becomes confused about how Jesus can be in his heart, heaven, the manger all at the same time.  I am at a loss to explain it all to him, but I do my best.  Some days I worry that I do more damage than good, but he normally seems satisfied, and will go back to whatever it is he does all day!

This weekend, we are going to pick up his Santa gift.  He has been asking for a big dog for months, and one fell in our laps about a week ago.  The lady that is giving us this fat and happy black lab is leaving for Rhode Island next week, so we have to get Tilly this weekend.  I have been having nightmares about really large poop in the back yard, and worry about how crazy this house will seem until she settles in.  It will be great for Preston though, as they are close in age, and will grow up together.  Our plan is to tell him that it is Santa's dog, and every year right before Christmas Santa gets so busy that he gets so busy that he asks a little boy or girl to watch over his dog.  We are going to tell him that when Sammy goes back to the North Pole  on Christmas Eve, that we will take Tilly with him. My plan is to go to the mall, tell Santa this story, and ask Santa to read a letter (that I will have to work on) telling him how happy he is that Preston has been doing such a good job with Tilly.  At the end of the letter it will ask Preston to keep Tilly and raise Tilly for him.  I am hoping to be able to get all this on camera, so that we can put it on a DVD and watch it Christmas morning. I am planning to roll the letter up and tie it to Tilly's collar, proof that Santa came, as this will be all he gets from Santa!  The things we do to keep Santa alive for our kids!

I hope that he believes in Santa forever, I know it is inevitable that he learns the secret one day, but I am going to soak up all his wonder in the magic while I can.  It is so sweet to see his eyes light up every morning with the thought that Sammy has flown to the North Pole to give Santa his daily report and taken a new seat in the house.  His little face is so innocent and filled with wonder, and amazement that I never want him to lose. I want to capture it all, and box it up for when he is too cool to spend time with us, and can't wait to get to his girlfriend's house to spend Christmas with her family!  I am going to miss this time, but loving every minute.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving this year was different than most. It was hectic and rushed, and almost seemed like we missed it.  We started out the week stressing over Brandon's dad and his surgery.  He ended up having two spots on his lungs that were both nonthreatening, and one was removed with a portion of his lower lung. Monday (Nov 22) also marked the all important 12 week point in my pregnancy.  It was a relief to have made it that far. 


On Tuesday, I had an ultrasound that looks at different features of the baby to look for a possibility of Down's Syndrome.  Brandon and I could not have cared less what the doctor found, we just wanted to see the precious little heart beat.  It was a huge relief, and we got a bonus because HE (!!!) had the hiccups, so we got to sit and watch his little body (at that point they are only about two inches long) bounce with each hiccup.  It also looked like he kept trying to put his fingers in his mouth!  There are no words for the amount of relief we felt seeing a healthy baby (the Down's results came back negative.)

Wednesday was very hectic, as I had plans to clean the house to get ready for Christmas decorations on Friday, but Preston had other plans for us. He managed to get his hands on a permanent marker, and colored the kitchen floor, cabinet, stove, fridge and dishwasher.  It was a mess, and sidetracked me.  We went and bought every remedy suggested online, and came back and scrubbed! We are going to have to find some time to sand the cabinet, and the marks are the floor were faded to barely there, and the stove and the dishwasher wiped right off.  The fridge, however, appears to be a permanent reminder. 

Thursday, since Preston still hasn't figured out daylight savings time, we were up bright and early. We decided to go ahead to mom's so we could watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, after we dropped Bob's daily coffee off with him at the hospital.  Preston loved seeing all the balloons, and different floats.  It melts my heart to watch the excitement he has for Christmas this year.  He sat in awe at the end of the parade when Santa came on.  He wanted everyone to see him, and he just sat and watch with such wonder on his face.  He refused to eat the turkey, but pigged out on the sweet potatoes, Waldorf salad, mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese. His little tummy was tight as a drum after he and Brandon split a piece of Brittany's pumpkin cheesecake. He was out cold before we even made it out of Mom and Dale's driveway.

Friday, I woke up at 5am, apparently this pregnancy I am not meant to sleep, and decided to go into town and see what the black Friday mess was all about.  For Christmas, Linda and Bob wanted to buy us a flip video camera.  I went to Wal-Mart first to see what kind of deals they had. They had one version on sale, but not the one that would suit us best.  I went to Radio Shack because I had scoped out the sale papers, and knew that they were putting one on sale.  I got the last one, and saved $50! I was really excited, and decided to brave Target because the two stores I had visited so far weren't crowded or miserable. BIG mistake, apparently, everyone was in Target.  I had to get Pull-ups, and ended up spending 45 minutes to buy one thing!  It was maddening. Now I know what it is all about though!


We prayed and crossed our fingers that Preston would take a nap, so that we could go do something fun.  He did, and as promised, we went to do something fun!  Every year I insist on chopping down our tree.  This year we went to a farm near our house, and searched for the perfect tree.  I drive Brandon crazy because he thinks that I need to see every tree before I can make a decision.  So, of course, we were all the way at the back of the field before I found one that would live up to my standards. Preston couldn't believe all the trees, and pointed out all the little trees, and which trees would be good for each of his friends.  He picked out a Charlie Brown looking one for himself that was his height.  I think he was as relieved as his dad when I finally found one that passed!  He helped cut the tree down by helping hold the saw for the first couple cuts, and then was off to explore the trees again. 


The excitement in him was contagious.  With each ornament, he had to pause and show both of us, and had such excitement for each one.  After we had put all the ornaments on the tree, he nervously pointed out that there were still branches left. Poor kid thought we had to hang an ornament on each branch!  Each time we came across one of his ornaments he wanted the whole story behind it, then caught onto the fact that all the ornaments had stories behind them. He loved to hear about where each one came from and what it meant. Then he sang a silly version of Jingle Bells, complete with made up words because he was on camera. 


We have so much to be thankful for this year, our health and our family's health, our new addition, the excitement in little boys, good friends and family, a great church, happiness, and love.  I couldn't ask for a better start to the Holiday season, and look forward to all things to come!

Halloween Pictures.... Finally!

Trying on a fireman's hat at our church's Trunk or Treat

Big pumpkins at the pumpkin patch

Playing in the tunnel at the pumpkin patch

Wanted a ghost and a cat in a boot on his pumpkins!

The Halloween parade at his preschool, so cute!

Miss Debbie, the squirrel, Pastor Bernie, the tree & Miss Kerri, the hunter!

My little BBQ!

So proud waling past the parents in the parade!

Playing in the YUCKS!

Why does that man have a beard?

When your baby is little you take the time to read all the books, listen to what the experts say, and do your best to adhere to what they say. We got on board with the "kids need routine" routine.  We had Preston eating, sleeping, playing, pooping at the same time everyday.  The kid still poops after lunch everyday. 

I had forgotten about how much we were into routine with him when he was little until recently.  Every night during bath time, right after we finish rinsing off, he looks up, smiles, sticks up a finger, and says, "I need one minute."  He gages our response, then tries to bargain for more depending on how easily we give up one.  Once the minute is up, he climbs up on the side of the tub, and tries to break his neck while jumping down (I never come away from bath time dry.) Then he and Daddy brush teeth, but before they can start, he and I have a talk about the tooth paste.  Same one, every night.  Preston: Mommy, I don't like this kind. Me: Do you want the gray? Preston: No, then opens wide so Dad can brush. 

He is now on a big kid version of toothpaste that he can't drink by the gallons because it does have some fluoride in it. When we first got this new "big boy" toothpaste, he was excited because it has Buzz Lightbeer on it.  We talked about the fact that he can no longer swallow his toothpaste, and that threw him for a loop.  He was terrified that he would accidentally swallow it.  So one night after an especially dramatic plea for help, I offered to let him try my toothpaste.  He thought this was a great idea. Little did he know it wasn't going to have any bubble gum disguise to it.  My tooth paste is in a gray tube.  It didn't go well, so now we have our chat about which toothpaste is better every night. 

Last night Brandon was telling me that every night after he reads the number of bargained books, that he says, "night, night, love you." before leaving the room, and every night he asks "Daddy, why do you say night, night?" Brandon replies with "because it is night time."  Yes, the "why's" are in full swing.

My point is though, this kid still is attached to his routines, and has created new ones without us even realizing it. We had him so structured and routine as an infant, that even now he looks for the sameness in everyday. One night I was at dinner with friends, and Brandon said he started looking for me when they went to brush teeth. I will miss when he is too old to play little games with us over toothpaste (as exhausting as they are some days.) I will miss the questions over, "Why is milk cold, why is it white, why do we drink milk, why isn't it all chocolate?" Most of which I have created a standard response of "I guess that's the way God made it."  So in case you were wondering, last night at the grocery store, "Why does that man have a beard? Oh, never mind, (giggle) that's just the way God made him!"

Trick or Treat!

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending the Morning with my Friends Halloween party.  It was the sweetest little party I have ever seen!  The amount of work these teachers do, to make each day special for these little three year old's is priceless. 

They started the morning with a little parade in front of the parents.  My little cheeseburger walked in a line, and wore a very proud smile! His expression made my heart melt!  His teachers were dressed as a squirrel, a tree and a hunter.  They then sat together as a class, and sang several songs.  I couldn't believe that my child sang the songs, and did all the actions.  He can be so shy, so for him to perform in front of a group of about 20 parents, was amazing to me.  They then gave each child an award for their costumes, Preston got Happiest Hamburger. 

They also got to hear stories about pumpkins and Halloween, had ridiculously sugary ice cream sundaes for snack, played a pumpkin bean bag toss among other normal preschool jobs.  The teachers amaze me with how busy they keep them for two and half hours. 

I thought he would come home and crash, boy was I wrong.  He definitely paid for not taking a nap when we got to the Broadway Trick or Treating.  I love that our small little town does this.  Every business on Main Street loads the kids up on candy and treats, and the kids come out by the hundreds to play games, and get their sugar high.  It is completely free, and kid friendly. He has such a good time every year. 

We haven't even gotten to the 31st of October, and this kid has already been trick or treating 3 times!  He has got a large stock pile of candy, and I considering passing some of it out.  He has been really good at sharing it though, and taking people candy whenever we go see someone, so it is hard to take it away from him! I hope he is always this generous with his Halloween candy! `Pictures to come later!

Busy Busy Busy!

I feel like we have been in constant motion for weeks now!  We have been keeping up with preschool, friends, and the house, and we have had no time left over.  I still say at the end of summer every year, that maybe now that fall is here we will have room to breathe.  It is never the case. As soon as fall hits, the visits to the apple orchards and pumpkin patch and fall festivals begin. 

Preschool had a field trip to the apple orchard (or apple ginst, as Preston calls it) several weeks ago, and the kids were so sweet picking their apples and then cleaning them on their shirts.  Mr. Paugh taught them to scrub the apples so that they became shiny.  It was such a great day.  They learned about the process of picking apples, and pruning the trees, and which apples were the best.  They were allowed to fill a small bag with apples, and a peach.  Then Mr. Paugh walked us back to his pumpkin patch and everyone got to pick a pumpkin.  Preston still talks about how he picked his own apples. 

He had pictures the following week, and I just got them back today.  He really smiled for the picture.  Brandon and I were skeptical.  He promised us that he did, and he wasn't telling a fib!  So glad it is a great picture!  They took them back in the days when Preston was still telling us that he didn't like school, and his teachers didn't like him daily. 

A couple of weekends ago, Kendall and Caden came to spend the day with us.  Preston LOVED the company and entertainment from them.  They are such good kids, and they have such a sweet love for each other, and I would love to be able to give that to Preston some day.  Kendall and Caden both had on number five Hokie jerseys, and Tyrod is Preston's favorite football player, and so we started the day by running and getting him one to match them.  They had a great time at the park throwing rocks in the river.  At the end of the day when it was time for Preston to get dress for a wedding we were going to, he melted because he wanted so badly to wear his jersey. We eventually promised him that he could put it back on after the wedding. He wears it constantly, as soon as it comes out of the wash he is wearing it the next day.  He loves to pretend he is Tyrod. 

 

We are trying to keep up with ourselves, and I will still say it, hopefully sometime between now and Thanksgiving will will get ahead.  That gives us two months, in which I am planning the church Halloween party, going to the Safari Park for a birthday, and a couple other birthday parties and hopefully baking more pumpkin cookies, as well.  We can't forget Hokie football either, that will give us something to do on Saturdays, just in case we get bored! 

He is only little for so long...

Look how little he was just last winter!

I know I say this all the time, but my little boy is growing up so fast!  We went to Pump it Up this morning, and he played so hard that after an hour he was beat.  I had to climb in the obstacle course after him because he was laying down pretending to sleep.  When I got back to him, he squeezed my neck and gave me a big sloppy kiss!  He can be such a sweetie, and it melts me every time!  He is so funny when he goes on the big slide (he is big enough to go by himself now.) He drags the mat up to the top of the slide, and then spends 3 minutes trying to get him mat out nice and flat and perfect to ride down on.  It cracks me up when he stands up at the top of it and shakes the mat like you would a sheet trying to get it just right! 

We have been very busy the last two weeks getting the new swing set for our Church together.  It is absolutely massive, and was quite the ordeal to put together!  We finally finished it last night, and Preston was really impressed with the telescope, rock wall, slippery slide.... So funny considering he has one very similar in his backyard.  After Pump it Up this morning we had to go to Lowe's and get landscaping timber and re-bar to surround it and fill the area with mulch.  I will be so relieved when this swing set is finished, and we can show it off to the church!  My Junior Women's Group has worked very hard to earn enough money to get to this point!  It should be a lot of fun for many years! 

Preston with my grandparents in 2007

We are looking forward to a busy weekend, it is grandparent's weekend after all!  Don't forget to call your grandparents!