Today...

...was a day when I thought to myself that I have GOT to replace our camera. And it's only been dead for less than a week. Seriously, it's going on my to-do list for tomorrow. The one point and shoot I really want is more than I should spend, so I'm bargain shopping for another.

But humor me by closing your eyes and trying to imagine this picture:
Preston, with two of the baby's ribbon hair clips in his hair that he refused to take out, smiling up at me with peanut butter smeared on his face. Knowing how ridiculously adorable he looked, he was belly laughing the whole time. Where. was. my. camera??!!

And because I can't make a post without a picture or two, here are some fun shots from the past couple of weeks:
Making a boat out of his sister's bedding:


Spaghetti face and playing with dad:



Hanging out at the pool with Aunt Heather and Jacob:



We have a busy and fun-filled long weekend ahead as Kevin has 4 days off- whooo-hooo! Fort Wayne Tin Caps game, Kevin and I taking Preston golfing for the first time- can't wait to see him ride in the cart! Babies and Books and final summer reading program prize at the library, dinner with our neighbors and their little boy who is just a few months younger than P, Kevin winning his annual golf tournament, the Fort Wayne Open with his friends (haha), continue working on the kids' rooms, and depending on the weather, a possible trip the lake on Sunday to see Grams. Will update soon!

Transition Time!!

We have BIG CHANGES going on around the Erb household in preparation for the baby's arrival.

First off, I am proud to say that not only is Preston officially taking one longer mid-day nap, he's also beaming with pride as he's now in a BIG BOY BED!!! We borrowed my brother Collin's old twin bed and took the plunge last weekend. I am nervous to post this, as I'm obviously tempting fate, but so far, it's been a dream. (pun intended.) We've taken baby steps to make the transition and there's still more to come, but his new room is definitely starting to take shape. We started by removing the bumper from the crib a few weeks back, then setting up the big boy bed along one side of his room, then eventually switching the bed and crib and putting him in the new bed. We have an extra long/extra tall guardrail on the outside of his bed, and a long body pillow between him and the wall. So far, he's either A.) not interested in escaping, or B.) Just hasn't discovered that it's a possibility yet. Let's hope it's A. He's gone down for naps and bedtime like usual. No changes in sleeping patterns, either. I think a big part of the success thus far is that we've kept his sleep routine exactly the same. Bath, book, snuggles, bed. Kevin and I are ecstatic. GO PRESTON!


Anyways, I've had fun re-decorating/re-purposing his room into more of a big boy room. Right now, we are sticking with white sheets and his trusty blankies and bunny (obviously) because that's what he's used to and I didn't want to overwhelm him with new sheets at the same time, but he's also got blue and green sets to match his cute new bedding that we'll add in a few weeks, which looks like this:

He's got a new blue dresser coming Tuesday, he's getting a new chair and lamp for our book reading marathons, and we're going to move some of his larger toys into his room. Specifically his adorable little tool bench and keeping his old fashioned school desk in there too. I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty happy to see some of the toys leave our living room.

Another big boy transition is that Preston's in the (very very) beginning stages of potty learning. He will tell us when he has to go, and we have both a small potty and a potty seat for him to sit on. He hasn't actually GONE POTTY (essential to the training process, apparently...) on the toilet yet, but he does ask to sit on it quite a bit and tries to go. I'm actually really relaxed about it and feel like if it takes another year, then so be it. However, I can think of things I'd rather do than diaper two kids multiple time a day. Anyways, in an attempt for him to associate pottying with the bathroom, we are changing many of his diapers in there and got a great little stepstool with storage for wipes. He loves it. Not only is it supposed to help them potty on the big potty, but it also gives him some serious freedom to climb up to the sink, wash his hands and brush his teeth on his own. He loves it. Who knew a step stool would offer such entertainment? (And such cute buns to go with it!)




As another reminder that he's growing up, Preston is talking up a storm lately! He can sing "E-I-E-I-O!" and requests "Donald!!" in the car to hear Old McDonald. When we ask him if he needs help (going up and down the stairs with us, for example) he'll say, "Nope, got it." He says "please," "thank you," and "love you." Another new phrase is "do it by myself!" He'll say "seatbelt" to remind us to put on our seatbelts when we get in the car, (which we obviously always do anyways.) And then when he hears them click, he says, "safe!" He adores watching and playing golf. When it's on TV, he'll say, "In the hole!" or, "Ohhh! Missed it." Driving down the street, he sees someone on scaffolding and says, "Going up, up, up!" or "front loader/bulldoder (bulldozer)/big digger right there!" Seriously, if I could just bottle him up at this stage, I would. It really is precious watching his little personality and hearing his language develop. With everything else going on, it's a nice little reminder to cherish every moment of this time with him as he's getting so big and going to turn 2 in just three short weeks!!

Here he is watching his beloved garbage truck friends leave:



In pregnancy news----
I'm now in week 33 and feeling HUGE. I'm serious... huge. Swelling, heartburn, cankles, peeing all the time, uncomfortable sleep. All the good stuff that happens at the end of pregnancy. Sorry, I don't mean to complain... and we've had a wonderful break in the heat with temps in the 70s and 80s & low humidity the past two weeks. Honestly, I am well aware and remember clearly from my pregnancy with Preston just how much worse it could be. On a more positive note, my appt this week went perfectly, the baby's heartbeat was 149, my blood pressure was 102/79, and I'm measuring right-on at 32 weeks. She's moving a lot and my chiropractor is going to start working on opening up my hips, ribs and lower back in preparation for the big day starting at my next appointment. Until then... my heartburn and cankles send their best.


EDITED TO ADD:
I gracefully tripped and dropped our crappy digital camera today (darn!) I'm fine- I didn't actually fall, but the camera did, and fine it is not. I was able to get our pictures off of it, but we can't take any more. Going to shop around for a good one and taking suggestions! :)

giant balloon

It's TRF time! Fort Wayne's Three River's Festival is always fun so we've made a few trips down to see what they have going on this year. We stopped by Chalk Walk, sponsored by the awesome Fort Wayne Museum of Art, where Kevin and I used to chalk a square every year. We've sort of let that go since I was pregnant with Preston two years ago, we had an active 11 month old last year, and here I am, pregnant again. Kevin did arrange for Labov and Beyond to sponsor a square, and got a few of the designers to do it. Next year, we are totally stepping up to the plate again. (promises promises) There are always these giant balloon arches and lots of cool stuff for kids, and Preston got one of the balloons. What can I say, I guess he has connections. :)
Check this thing out!


We had a play date scheduled at the Three Rivers IPFW Children's Fest this morning, but Preston's pal Stella got sick. And we did make a trip to the famed "junk food alley" which they now call just "food ally." (as if taking the work "junk" out of the name makes it magically healthier.) By the way, two gyros and an onion blossom cost us $22 even. That's right- no drink, no extras... just those three items, none of which were as good as we'd hoped, cost $22. Maybe I'm cheap, but I was shocked.

I also plan on heading down to The TRF Marketplace later today or tomorrow to see some of the cute bag vendors and look for a good diaper bag for the new baby, as my diaper bag from Preston is more worn than I would like and I want one with a great shoulder strap I can hang over the bar of a double stroller.

Speaking of double strollers, anyone have any good recommendations? 8 weeks left till d-day!

News Flash: summer half over & baby on the way!

Where is this summer going? You know the drill... once we pass the 4th of July, it just flies. I'm still in shock that a sweet baby girl will be joining our family in less than 10 weeks. I know I've said this before, but we have SO much to do before she gets here. Her room is still our office, her closet doesn't have nearly enough clothes, I need a double stroller and just some general help in the sanity department taking care of her brother lately. :)
I had my 30 week OB appointment yesterday. I now go every 2 weeks and have been since week 26, then at 36 weeks I begin to go weekly. Considering I started some early stages of labor with Preston around 36-37 weeks and he was born at 37 weeks and 4 days, I am wondering if this baby will hold off until September. (That is my utmost hope because I'd love for Preston and the baby to have different birth months so that neither grows up feeling they have to share party plans, etc...)
My blood pressure was 110/64, I gained 5 (YES, FIVE!) pounds in the two weeks since my last appt. which puts me at 2 lbs heavier than I was with Preston at this exact same stage. I definitely wanted to gain less weight this time around... so, um... yeah, it's not looking good in that arena. I have Braxton Hicks contractions all the time and both my swollen cankles and heartburn have reached the extremely annoying and painful stage. Other than that, I feel good overall...my energy level is still ok and I don't have too many other aches and pains. Sleeping is getting more difficult, but I know it's not going to get easier in the coming weeks so I'll just pipe down about that. ;)


The weekend of the 4th was crazy busy. We had the Goettermans over for a yummy fajita dinner (thanks to Patrick's awesome marinade!) Spent the next day at the lake where Preston enjoyed a cookout and watched his first fireworks display, Kevin and I enjoyed a date night on the 4th, and we also made a trip to the Fort Wayne Zoo where Preston FINALLY got to see the giraffes up close at the new African Journey exhibit. We've been really lucky for Kevin to have some time off this summer and we've done lots of fun family stuff. Good times!

I believe he's saying here, "I pooped!"

Muscles!!


Mezmerized by the fireworks and all the boats lining up to watch them. I was curious how much he'd remember the next day, but when we asked him "What did we go see last night?" He'd reply, "BOOOM! Red! BOOOM! Blue!"





our attempt at a family photo at the lake:



Wooo-hooo, date night! Such a treat- thanks Nana Connie. Have I ever mentioned how much I love my husband? It's amazing what a dinner out together at a nice restaurant without trying to feed a unfocused toddler can do for your meal time mental health.

We've had a nice break from the heat and humidity and have been taking advantage of it by spending every waking moment playing outside...

Fun on the new hide and slide!!





Loving the zoo. Can't say enough about having the season pass- it's worth every penny! I know I've said this before, but if you haven't gotten the chance to check out the African Journey, be sure to put it on your summer to-do list!







This goat's eating my shirt!









As my recent hire as kitchen-protege, Preston helped me make these delicious and festive chocolate dipped pretzels! I think he enjoyed it, although he kept requesting "mo sprintals" for the sprinkles, and he didn't quite get the importance of using my red/white/blue theme. He preferred the confetti mix "sprintals," so I let him do a few of those. Little stinker, trying to undo my Martha Stewart mojo.
YUM!




We are pretty unsure of how Preston will handle having a baby sister. He hugs my belly all the time and says "Baby Sisto." He also says the name we've been calling her. (Which we aren't sure of yet, so I'm not mentioning it here on the blog! HA!) ;) We do, however, have a strong contender that was on the list before we had Preston, but we're a bit stuck on the spelling and the middle name. The funny thing is that we both think we need a back up boy name in case she is a he. So we are literally trying to finalize both a girl and boy name.

BIG NEWS in the nursery department: we're gearing up to make the switch to Preston's BBB, or Big Boy Bed if you don't speak in acronyms like me. If anyone has any advice on transitioning out of the crib, please feel free to pass it along, I'm all ears. Baby Sisto will be using Preston's crib, changing table, and dresser, so big changes are coming to his room. Stay tuned!