Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Summer fun


This summer is flying by so fast, we can hardly believe it. In the meantime, Preston is having a blast. This last week, he's made trips to the zoo, the lake, and had two friends come into the world!


First and foremost, CONGRATULATIONS TO MATT AND HOLLI ADAMS!!! Finley Ellsworth Adams came into the world on Wednesday, June 18 (11 days late!) at 6:50 pm. He weighed 8lbs 6oz and was 20 inches long. Mom and Dad are doing great and Preston loves him already. We are so excited for Finn to get a bit bigger so he and P can play!
Look at this precious little thing!



And what are the odds, that on the same day in Chicago, our friends BRITT AND BEN METZGER would also be having their baby!? Britt wasn't due until July 3rd, so she went early. We'd like to say a huge, "Welcome Luke Benjamin Metzger!!" Baby Luke weighed 8lbs and looks so much like his older siblings, Lauren and Miles. Preston can't wait to meet him! I love his wrinkly newborn feet here:


At my mom's group last week, Preston was really interactive with the other kids. It was a meeting about women who've nursed more than one baby so there were several "older" brothers and sisters of the babies there, most were under 4 years old. Preston joined them right away and helped himself to the toys in the community toy box. The older kids didn't mind, but he is one of the only babies brave enough to venture that far away from mom. He comes back to check in every once in awhile, but for the most part, he's very comfortable there and loves seeing the other kids. It's been such a treat to have this group to attend and allow him to socialize and it's been paramount in my decision to keep nursing him!



There has been a lull in family activity at Lake James, so Kevin has allowed Preston to "drive" the boat. He loves it. Any time he's out in the sun, however, we have to load sunscreen on him. He had pink arms from a day at the park early in the summer and I felt awful! He didn't seem to notice, but to looking at his baby white skin and thinking of him ever getting a burn makes me cringe. You'll also notice he's pretty much wearing this hat every day to shade the sun from his face and eyes, since he immediately rips off his cute little sunglasses.




On Monday of this week, I made not one, but TWO trips to the zoo. One in the early morning with the Erb family and all of Preston's cousins, (except Lily whom we missed terrilby!) and the other with Natalie and Emma. It was so wonderful seeing the Pryors, as always, and it was a total treat for Nat and I to spend time with our Godchildren. I taught Emma how to say "So?" to her parents and was promised that I'd be sorry in a few months when Preston could talk. ;) Here are some pics of Preston's multiple zoo trips and playing with his sweet pal, Emma.







Monday, June 16, 2008

10 Months Old.


Seriously?? Ten months?! Sorry- I am just a little confused because last I checked I had a newborn! Preston is quickly becoming a little boy and we are shocked at how the past 10 months have flown by, so I thought I should give a quick update before he's blowing out the candles on his 1st birthday cake. Or... candle.

He's still long and lean! At his 10 month check up last week, he weighed in at 18.3 lbs and measured 29 inches long. (He was 28 in April, so he grew an entire inch in just two months.) Throughout the past 10 months, he's been up and down on the weight chart. He was only in about the 10th percentile at birth, then was up to the 50-75th % by 4 months old, then has slowly dropped to the 25th now. He completely slimmed down once he became active, but we still love his chubby little face and fat rolls on his legs! He's in the 75th % for height, which is where's he's been pretty steadily for a while.


He's cuter than ever! Of course, every parent thinks their little one is adorable, but I honestly have strangers stop me and tell me how cute he is. I have to agree. The thing they comment on the most is his eyes (both his lashes and the half brown/half blue right eye) or they ask about his demeanor, saying, "Is he always this happy?" He totally engages people- especially when we are restaurants. He's constantly looking around and trying to grab the attention of the strangers eating around us. Kevin and I are so glad he's social and enjoys people. With such large families, it would make things challenging to have a shy baby.





He's active and more mobile everyday! I just can't get over how well he gets around lately! He is totally capable of doing the hands-and-knees crawl, but he still prefers to do the army crawl instead. I really don't think walking is that far behind, either. As I've mentioned before, he pulls himself up on everything and then walks well while holding on. Sometimes, he'll let go and just stand for a second, and if we hold his hands, he walks great. I often find myself daydreaming of the days where he was completely non-mobile and couldn't even roll over, but I love watching this adventurous part of his personality emerge.

He's totally interactive. His jabber is starting to sound more like actual words and he's getting so much better at communicating with us. It's clear that he THINKS he's being conversational, so we usually try to engage him in hopes of helping to develop his language skills. He can clap for pat-a-cake, and reach and point for what he wants. I love that we are starting to understand each other more and more.



His favorite activities are reading, taking walks, standing at the tub while the water is running so he can try to "catch" it, playing with or climbing on Ruby, opening and closing things, and now cruising around the house on his own two feet. He changes so quickly these days that for now, we are just trying to remember to enjoy each moment with him.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Monkey See, Monkey Do


Preston is mastering the art of imitation. When he's in the highchair, I'll sometimes hand him a piece of food, and he'll offer me one back. We stick out our tongue and he does the same, I sing the ABCs and he raises his voice and tries to sing along. He'll jibber a "bah," "da," or "la" and I'll say it back and we'll go back and forth like that for a while. Or, when we take a drink out of a water bottle, he instinctively opens his mouth and leans towards it. All of these things sound adorable, but recently, he's figured out how to feed Ruby and it's his very favorite thing in the whole wide world.

The not so adorable thing about his new imitation skill is that he recently was crawling around on the floor in just a diaper and watched Ruby eat a cracker that he'd left behind. (What can I say, he's comfy in his diaper, it was 85 degrees in my house and we didn't have th air on, and not to mention- when he crawls on the floor in clothing, he ends up looking like a dust mop.) Well, he set his own cracker down and immediately tried to EAT IT OFF THE FLOOR. Like dog, like baby. I know, I know- it's oddly disturbing, but you've gotta admit, it's a little bit genius, too. ;) Luckily, the camera was right on hand and I was able to take some pictures of the whole thing.




We've been busy again over the last week. One thing we've done a couple of times is head to the pool with Holli. It's completely empty during the week and with the Adams Baby due at any moment, she enjoys being in the water. Preston had fun once again this week and he's always thankful to have someone swim with him! Stay tuned for details on this much-anticipated arrival, by the way. Maybe if I can pull myself away from the baby, I'll actually post a blog to let everyone know when he's born.




This past Sunday was Preston's new cousin, Jacob's baptism. We had a nice day, and even though Preston and I unfortunately missed the ceremony because he was napping, we got in for the action at the family dinner afterwards at Grandma and Grandpa Erb's. Preston had fun and after some time playing in their gorgeously landscaped yard with his cousins, aunts, and uncles, he finally zonked out on Daddy's lap with a water bottle in a death grip. Looks comfy, huh?





Here are some other random shots of P from this past week. If you wonder why I take so many in the high chair, it's because he's still and contained, which is a rare ocurance lately now that he's constantly on the move and cruising the furniture. Speaking of cruising, check out my big boy!!!