My Boy-22 months

Let's be honest, as thrilling as it is to anticipate my baby girl's arrival, it's hard to fathom the amount of love and fulfillment she will bring until she is actually here. Am I right, moms? With that said, I have a walking jumping, singing, and boisterous toddler I get to love on right in front of my very eyes, and he amazes me every single day. As I mentioned before, Preston's firsts and favorites are changing by the minute, so I wanted to document a few more today.

22 Months

Typical Phrases:

"Mommy/Daddy, hold you!"

 We hear this phrase frequently when he wants to be picked up or snuggled. It's derived from, "Want me to hold you, Preston?"

"We're here!" 

Almost every time I pull up to our house, these excited words emanate from the carseat behind me.

"Almost....almost....we MADE it!!" 

This is one of his favorites when he's climbing a ladder to a slide-or perhaps up the slide itself-or when he has conquered a once impossible feat.

"Ooohh, reeeee high!"

This one comes when Daddy is tossing him up in the air-or the time when I caught him sitting on TOP of his cozy coupe and not in it.

 "I sorry (insert name or inanimate object here)." 

This one breaks my heart but also makes me glad that my little one is so passionate and is also starting to show true empathy. However, sometimes he uses it backwards. For instance, he may say he's sorry when he gets hurt, when really I'm the one who should be saying it....sweet heart.

"Hi! Youuuuuuu?"

 Meant to be, "Hi, how are you?" This one we hear frequently over the monitor in the morning as he's greeting every one of his books and animals.

"Oooohh-dark in here!"

It's inevitable, whenever we walk into the dark garage, he must proclaim the lack of light. Hilarious.

Favorite Books (at This Very Moment):
"Quick as a Cricket" by Don & Audrey Wood

"Huckle's Opposites" & "Huckle's Good Manners" by Richard Scarry

Favorite Songs:

"If You're Happy and You Know It" -Mickey & Friends Version

Preston's absolute favorite part is throwing his hands in the air and shouting "HOORAY!" as if his life depended on it.

"Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"

He's always liked this one, but as with "Baa Baa Black Sheep," he surprised us the other day by singing his very own version of the song without prompting. It went a little something like this:

"Twinkle, twinkle, little starrrrr, how I wonder what you arrreeee,

How I wonder what you arrrreeee,

How I wonder what you arrrreeee,

Twinkle, twinkle, little starrrr, how I wonder what you arrrreeeeeeeee!"

Close enough to me!

Exciting Firsts:

This morning, Preston woke up with a pretty yucky case of allergies. Let's just say I'd compare his nose to the faucet he won't let me turn off when he's taking a bath. Generally, he despises when I try to wipe his nose. Today, I tried something different: I simply put the tissue up to his nose and asked him to blow. To my complete surprise, he actually did it! I had no idea how exciting this milestone would be for all of us. I brought over the tissue box, and he proceeded to take out a tissue, and blow his nose-over, and over again. Stuart and I couldn't believe it, but we were so thrilled! We are still mastering the wiping after blowing concept, but hey, it's a start!

Well we daddy could not wait a whole other month to spoil Preston with one of his big ticket birthday presents-a balance bike! As soon as we walked into ATX Bikes, you would have thought Preston had died and gone to Heaven. "Ooohh, bi-ickle, bi-ickle!" he proclaimed. Of course, once we found one "just" his size, he wanted to ride on it backwards. Hmmmm, guess that's what happens when you have the Blevins gene and your feet don't quite touch the ground when sitting on the seat itself. Poor guy, we knew that would happen. After some clever rigging by Stuart this morning, the seat was removed, and an improvised cushion took its place slightly closer to the ground. Now our little man can touch the ground, and he is absolutely loving his new treasure. For those of you that don't know, a balance bike is just like a miniature bike, but with no pedals. The ultimate goal is that the child learns how to push himself forward, balance, and stop himself, so that training wheels can be completely bi-passed. Let's hope that's the case! (Thanks for the tip, Hatfield family!)

Preston cruising on his "Lil' Rock'It"

Daddy providing some encouragement and an extra push!

Struck a Chord

As Preston and I were standing in line to ride the Zilker Zephyr today, I realized something. I, of course, want to write this blog to chronicle some amazing memories our family will create. Nevertheless, I don't want to paint a false picture that our family is perfect, raising children is rainbows and gumdrops, and that it all comes naturally. That simply isn't the case. Although Preston will always be perfection in mine and Stuart's eyes, he doesn't always act perfect (none of us do). I am constantly learning/struggling to find the delicate balance between loving mother and loving teacher & disciplinarian for my son. That being said, I don't plan on harping on the negative, or focusing on the insane tantrums my dear-heart will and has thrown, but I wanted to make that point clear. Our family is definitely not perfect and motherhood is by far the hardest challenge I have had to face, but it is also the most rewarding blessing I could have. Afterall, even after said tantrum in line waiting for our turn on the train ride, this is what I got. So, so sweet.

I came across this quote on a friend's Pinterest page the other day, and it really struck a chord for me. I shared it on Facebook, but thought I'd share it again. Couldn't be any more true.

"The love a mother feels for her sons is a miracle. It is natural for a woman to love a girl baby with whom she shares a place in history, culture, and biology. But to love so much that you would be willing to die for beings so vastly different from yourself is nothing short of miraculous" ~Karin Kasin

Sweet Kennedy

I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times- I STILL can't quite believe we are having a girl! So far, my sweet Kennedy has been an angel. Never once did I suffer from morning sickness or food aversions, and so far I have not blown up like a blimp or developed a severe case of teenage acne. Phew! In spite of the extreme Texas heat and an energizer bunny for a toddler, my second pregnancy has been nothing short of a miracle. With our go-go-go lifestyle, it's the sweet moments when Preston is sleeping, or when I am laying down at night, that I truly get to appreciate the sweet angel we have created.
She is moving so much now-and I don't just mean I feel a kick here and there. There are some serious acrobatics going on in there-flipping, flopping, and dancing away. I no longer just feel her in my lower abdomen, but way up high as well. Perhaps that is because we found out at her anatomy scan that she is breech at the moment. However, my doctor was not concerned and expressed that she has plenty of time and space to flip in the coming months. We will be praying for that!
I ran into a woman at Barnes & Noble the other day with 1 boy and 1 girl. She asked how old Preston was and told me her two were almost the exact same age difference as Preston and Kennedy. She then went on to boast about how incredible it is to have children two years apart: what an amazing bond they share and interests they can foster together. This lady was literally beaming, and it made me beam, too.
I don't pretend to think that it will always be a picnic; I am fully aware that the next couple years, especially, will bring the biggest challenges I have had to face yet. But, I am grateful and thankful to have them.

22 weeks

I don't know if it's the teacher in me or the mother in me, but I simply cannot go into the Barnes & Noble children's section without walking out with at least 1 or 2 books. I'm constantly thinking oh, Preston will LOVE this, or  oooh, maybe I can use this one for a lesson on leads, or simply, everyone needs a copy of (insert classic book title here). That being said, on our last excursion to the train table, I walked out with the following book for Kennedy. It was always one of my favorites as a little girl, and I hope she'll love it, too. Her bookcase is sure to be stocked just as Preston's is.

On our latest trip to San Antonio, Grandy Ann presented us with our very first baby girl outfit. I don't dare buy one yet for fear I won't be able to stop! Check out the precious ballet slippers on the feet, and the bib says "Daddy's Princess"-yes, she is. I can't wait to dress Kennedy up!

We also received a very special surprise in the mail last week. One of my extremely generous and talented co-workers, Brooke Dreyer, handmade this gorgeous blanket for Kennedy. I envision many strolls in her stroller and cozy nights in her bassinet wrapped in this masterpiece.Thank you, Brooke!

The 4th

A bit of transparency: Stuart and I LOVE our sleep. Thank goodness our son does, too. We were blessed with a good sleeper right out of the womb, and I'm not sure we could have survived otherwise. (Fingers crossed for Kennedy!) That being said, it's the early bird who gets the worm, right? Right.

The City of Lakeway puts on a great day of events for the families of the neighborhood every year. This year, there was a parade at 8:30...8:30??? We are still in our pajamas and rolling out of bed at that time. Now, don't get me wrong, if Preston had woken up early, I would have loved to get him dressed in his patriotic attire, head down to the main drag, and watch the decorated golf carts and musicians stroll the streets, as well as the F18's impress in a flyover. That didn't happen, but when I started seeing my neighborhood friends post about the events, I felt so guilty we hadn't done the same with Preston! Let's be honest, he is just as cranky when he can't wake up on his own terms as Stuart and I are. So, we opted for a leisurely morning. I cooked a red, white, and blue breakfast, and we took our time getting out of the house.

Red, white, and blue fruit plate

 Besides, we had the Army helicopter on display to look forward to, right? Wrong! The events noted that it would be on display until noon. We arrived at 11 (I said we were being leisurely!), and the helicopter had gone! Not to mention the host at the activity center laughing at us and saying, "You came too late, hahah!" Wow, I felt like such a dud! But I wouldn't leave until getting some sweet pictures of Preston in his flag outfit.

Checking out the Lakeway Fiddlers

After that disappointment, we headed to where else, but Home Depot. Success! Preston found the tractors and was in hog heaven. Seriously, this boy could "drive" a tractor all day long.

Then, when we got home, it was time for us to set to work making our annual Flag Cake. And by "make" I mean decorate a store-bought angel food cake with Cool Whip, strawberries, and blueberries. Messy as it was, Preston had a great time helping to decorate-sneaking a few bites along the way. ;-)

He was so proud using that spatula!

Place one, eat one, place one, eat one

The final masterpiece!

The second half of the day continued to be successful. After nap time, we went straight over to Mimi & Papa's house to "hijack" the golf cart and ride to the neighborhood pool for some swimming fun. Let me tell you, if we had our own tractor and golf cart at home, we'd never leave! I WISH I had some pictures of Preston going down the frog slide, but that doesn't happen with mom and dad are both in the pool! Lastly, we got to dance to some classic rock, and PJ was loving it. He can't help but move when he hears any kind of "tukit (music)." My personal favorite part was getting up to dance together to the tune of "Pretty Woman." Ahhh, love my boy.

I love the post-hot dog ketchup-smeared look

 To top off the evening, we walked about 50 yards where one of my long-time friends, Lee Krassner, had his food trailer-Dock & Roll Diner-set up.  Stuart and I enjoyed some delicious sliders, while Preston had fun, once again, "driving" their burnt orange truck and laughing at himself in the rearview mirror. Afterwards, we hopped back in the golf cart and headed back to pick up our car, and I don't know who was more excited to see whom-Mimi or Preston? My parents had just arrived home from an excursion to Vail, and Preston and Mimi got their fix of each other.

Hammin' it up

Literally, just laughing at himself

Thanks for the meal, Lee!

Mimi's home from Vail!

At the end of the day, we were stuffed, exhausted, and satisfied-what an amazing Independence Day!

Preston "Lately"

I use the term "lately" quite lightly, because honestly, at 22 months, Preston is growing and developing so quickly. His language development excites Stuart and I daily, and in terms of "favorites," they change all the time! So, a more appropriate title for this entry should be "Preston at This Very Moment." So I can look back and smile one day, I am going to list some of his favorites "at this very moment."

Books: 

"Pajama Time" by Sandra Boynton

"Driving My Tractor" by Jan Dobbins & David Sim

"Daddies" by Lila Prap

 "Elmo's Mother Goose" by Constance Allen

"Baby Bear, Baby Bear" by Bill Martin Jr. & Eric Carle

"Go Dog, Go!" by P.D. Eastman
"Pat the Bunny" by Dorothy Kundhart
"Goodnight Moon" by Margaret Wise Brown

Honestly, we have a little book worm on our hands, so the list goes on. However, these are the ones I could recite by heart at this point- and so could he!

Songs:

 "Jesus Loves Me"

"You Are My Sunshine"

"Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"

"Skidamarinkey Dinky Dink"

"Baa Baa, Black Sheep" -He totally surprised us by singing the chorus to this one in his car seat the other day. Today I was able to get him singing on video-you'll notice why most of the video is taken when he can't see I'm filming if you watch until the end!

It's crazy how much he catches on without us even realizing it!

Hobbies:

Reading

Playing with his firetrucks, backhoes, and tractors

Swimming

Jumping off of anything he can climb onto

Bug-watching & Exploring

Singing & Playing Daddy's Guitar
Dancing-anywhere & everywhere

Shows:

"Little Einstein's" 

"Super Why!"

"Elmo's World"

"Thomas & Friends"

Phrases:

"Boo boo, kiss it"

"Mama/Dada gegegege (get in) carrr/tet (tent)"

"More oange juice/meeulk?"

 "Ride backhoe/choo choo train"

"Mama sad....hug"

"Baby, Kenneny"

Again, the list goes on. He will mimic almost everything we say these days (We better watch it!), and he continues to surprise us by reciting full choruses of his favorite songs, naming letters we had no idea he knew, or counting to 11 (his new high). So proud.

Miscellaneous:

Hats-Yes, he will point out anyone who is wearing a hat, want every hat he sees on his head, and pretty much make any object into a hat.

"Gield" Cheese and "Strawsbeyas"

Play-dates with his grandparents & friends

Pushing the cart at the grocery store

Every day is a new day with our little man. And let's be honest, he reached "two" way before his actual birthday (if you know what I mean.) However, even though we are never quite sure what we are going to get, he is the brightest part of our day, every day. His hugs, kisses, and infectious giggle erase any tantrum he could throw. 

I mean, who could love a little guy who wakes up this happy to see you??

We are totally smitten. We love you, Preston!