Summer Wrap-Up?

Beware-I was never good at summarizing.

Yes, it's true. Being a teacher, I get an incredible schedule, and I am blessed to have a lot of precious time at home with my family. I have never known what it's like to not have a summer break, and I don't intend to! For Preston, his summer has been book-ended (word?) with a wasp sting and stitches. What can I say, he's a rough and tumble boy, and that won't change! Oddly enough, the sting took over a month to heal. Luckily, there was no allergic reaction; our insanely fair skin just takes an obscene amount of time to heal. The stitches on the other hand were in and out within a week, and I doubt there will be a scar to show for it. You know what they say, no more monkeys jumping on the bed! 

(Since this incident his new coined phrase is, "Doctor, all bebber.") 

Here he is playing in my car-one of his favorite pastimes!

The time in between, however, has been as rich and sweet as the inside of the chocolate croissants in which I have a torrid love affair. Must. have. chocolate. This summer, in comparison with last, has been a world apart. Whereas last summer I was hovering around Preston's every move as he was learning to walk (stressful and exhausting!), this summer we have enjoyed outings to every park around Austin, play-dates with actual friends, lunch dates, splash pad fun, story time at the library, first swim lessons, spoiled time with the grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins, discovering the mecca that is Barnes & Noble, plenty of trips to the grocery store (this is fun for him, I assure you, as long as he can drive the "ret car"), and riding his new bicycle. It has been a whirlwind, for sure, but so incredible to watch him grow. In many ways, it's been easier as he's grown, because we are able to do so many more things together. On the other hand, his independence and stubbornness are starting to shine through, with which I have a love/hate relationship. Nevertheless, I'm so proud to call him my boy.

 Here he is riding his bike-He's gotten so good he can run and then glide while balancing.

What's more fun than playing chase with Brew through the sprinklers?

We got this water table especially for his birthday party-but we couldn't wait to try it out!

Mimi and Papa's back yard is a lot more shaded than ours! Great for the Texas heat and my fair-skinned boy.

A few more of Preston's "latests:" 

• Running up to me with no prompts, throwing his arms around me and proclaiming, "I love you mommy!"

• Showing his affection with an exaggerated kiss to pretty much every animate and inanimate object in our house-our animals, his stuffed animals, books, water bottles, and every once and a while, Stuart and I-the kid is incredibly affectionate and I love that about him. "Mmmmmaaaaaa"

(Today he saw a baby across the restaurant and said, "Hi baby!" Then proceeded to give her multiple air kisses. You could hear "Mmmmmmaaaa's" from across the room!)

• He can now not only recite the entire ABC's but also recognize the letters when you put them in front of him.

• He is still counting to 11, but has also added 16 and 18 to his repertoire. 16, because we happened to see that number on his "Thomas the Train" number flash cards, and 18 because it's the number on the flag of his golf set. It goes a little something like this, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 8, 16, 9." Haha, works for me! 

• Every time I turn around he has a new song memorized. Preston is incredibly music-minded (does that term exist?) which really excites me. For instance, he loves "Knick Knack Paddy-Wack," "Little Einstein's Theme Song"-add in enthusiastic YEA! at the very end, and "Pop! Goes the Weasel."

• Apparently everyone is playing a game of hide-and-seek with him because he'll often wake up going "Mommy Daddy, areeee youuu???" or while watching "Super Why?" he'll say "Supe Why, arreeee youuu???" And when he appears he'll say, "Oh, there is!"

• He has started to string together complex sentences that impresses me every time. Of course, it's a combination of what we have said in the past, but he can rearrange the phrases and put them in an appropriate order. For instance, "Garage door is loud. It's okay, mommy. Don't worry." 

• He's learned how to string together a list using "and." "Who's at the zoo, Preston?" "Giraffe and lion and zebra and elephant and monkey and Elmo." Perhaps I should bring him into my class when we are discussing Author's Craft? hmmm

• Speaking of loud noises-he's not a fan. Particularly the garage door opening and closing and the obnoxious BEEEPPPP our dryer sounds when it's finished. (His room is right next to the garage and laundry area-poor guy.)

•  He continues to adore our three animals. Brew (9, Jack Russell Terrier), Stella (5, Lab), and Thames (4, American Short-Hair Cat). He would smother those animals with tight hugs and a million kisses at all hours of the day if they'd let him-and he tries, believe me. To him, their names are lovingly, "Boo, Stuguh, and Nims."

•  Lessons we are learning and reinforcing constantly are using gentle touches (he's rowdy-especially with the animals), using our words (After all, why are you whining if you know exactly what you want and how to ask for it?), and saying "please" and "thank you." If nothing else, my boy will be respectful!

I have a feeling I'll have to stop posting about his newest and favorite phrases pretty soon. The boy is a talking machine and picks up on everything we say virtually the first time we say it. There is no way I'll be able to keep track!

Stuart and I have also had an amazing summer together. We got to celebrate our 5 year anniversary (time flew!). We finally got to attend the "Foster the People" show at the new Backyard with the tickets I gave him for Valentine's Day. I am testing his patience again, because I got him tickets for his birthday to see "Awolnation"....in October! Sorry, Stuart! And we got to celebrate each other and our newest bundle, Kennedy, in gorgeous Lake Tahoe, California.

Work has been picking up for Stuart which has kept him very busy. He's currently working on a beautiful home in Spanish Oaks that he designed for a sweet couple-she is an OB/GYN at the new hospital in our area. I'm pretty sure she saw his first spec home in The Hills and said, "I want you to build me that one." He's got an amazing eye for design and efficiency-I am so proud of him! Construction has also begun on his latest spec home in Lakeway Proper (another designed by him.) And, there are several other prospects on the horizon we are both looking forward to. Life, as they say, is good for the Alkires. Check out Stuart's incredible work on his website. Alkire Construction, LLC

I am a proud wife and mommy. Life is sometimes rough around the edges, but when I step back and reflect:  we have our health, we have our home, and we have each other. Can't get much better than that :)

He loves his cars and trucks. Here he is at his friend Jackson's first birthday party.

Just taking an afternoon ride.

THE Toddler Room

Original Inspiration Room

Well, it's finally "done." What I am most thankful for is that Preston LOVES his new room. In fact, we've been at Mimi and Papa's house for the past few days because of a busted A/C (lovely), and each night Preston will protest, "No, big boy bed!" It is not easy to get that boy to sleep in a pack 'n play now that he has so much freedom in his "big boy bed" back home, I'll tell you that much!

I'm so glad it was such a simple transition, and that we were able to move him with plenty of time before Kennedy arrives. As I was reading an article from Baby Center about "preparing your 2 year old for a new sibling," it specifically stated not to move your toddler out of their room right when the baby comes.  This way he won't feel displaced by a new baby in the house. Phew, did something right!

The color palette and general decor for his toddler room was inspired by a little boy's room I happened to see on, where else but, Pinterest. One of my favorite parts of the room was the headboard made out of wooden palettes. However, after one trip to Ikea, we decided on a twin bed that has not only a trundle underneath, but three generous drawers for storage. Of course, Stuart probably spent triple the time putting that dang thing together than he would have constructing the DIY version, but you live and you learn right?

The bedding is from one of my favorite establishments, Target, and the wall decor is comprised of items we already had around the house. My favorite wall hanging is of the Pearl Jam poster I had framed for Stuart. It was a gift to us from some friends who saw them perform at ACL Live a few years ago, and they knew what a huge fan Stuart was. It helped that I loved the burnt orange color, and the intials-"PJ" work perfectly for Preston! Another special piece in the room is the small wooden desk chair that my mom found at my grandmother's house after she passed a way. It will always be a special piece we hope to fully restore and keep forever.

Let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I took these photos when Preston was fully distracted and nowhere near his room. Notice the bed-made up, the toys-put away, the books-in order? Ya, definitely not what his room actually looks like....ever. Perhaps one day soon I'll actually post some pictures of Preston enjoying his room, and you'll see the "truth." 

Another amazing paint job by Stuart!

The bulletin board was one I had in my room back home. I love getting to display Preston's masterpieces this way!

Yay! Enough room to get some toys out of the living room!

Happy Anniversary-Moon!

Cue Monica from "Friends." You know, Monica and Chandler's, like, 3 month anniversary was this massive ordeal, and she almost ruined it with her cheesy one-liners?! Ha.

Let's face it, I'd like to say traveling is one of my favorite hobbies-because that is the cool, popular, well-rounded thing to say, right? Unfortunately, It's just not. I am just as content staying in Austin than doing anything else. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE exploring and discovering new countries and cultures, but the act of traveling just doesn't do it for me. It totally stresses me out. So, when we do travel, I prefer to get somewhere as quickly as possible and soak it all in with zero packed schedules or agendas and just enjoy it! And that's exactly what Stuart and I did.

Recently, Stuart and I went on a combination anniversary/babymoon to Lake Tahoe, California. Our heart is in the mountains. When we traveled to Vancouver, British Columbia for our honeymoon, we had to make a trip up to Whistler. Preston's first destination on a plane was to Vail, Colorado, we ventured to Taos, New Mexico a few years ago on Spring Break- we'd simply choose the mountains over the beach any day. Not like we're getting a tan anyway! So, to Tahoe we went. I'm not going to lie, as our first trip together without Preston, I had mixed emotions. I knew once we arrived and got settled, I would love it, but it took a good two days for me to get over missing the little guy so much. He was in the best hands with his Grandy Ann and Mimi, though, and I know for a fact he wasn't missing us! (HUGE thank you to the grandparents-I know it was a long 6 days!) In the end, it was just what the doctor ordered. Stuart and I were definitely in need of an adult trip and some time to simply enjoy each others company.

When deciding on our trip destination, we had originally toyed with the idea of Napa Valley, Chicago, New York-other places we hadn't been together. But who were we kidding, all we'd want to do in those places is eat and drink! Ya, not happening at six months pregnant :( Maybe next time! Instead, we chose the Resort at Squaw Valley in Lake Tahoe, California-perfect choice.

We spent five glorious days in the 70 degree weather-oh right, and our agenda was packed-with eating! That's about all we did: eat 3 scrumptious meals each day, plus snacks of course. Now that's how a pregnant lady wants to travel.

Day 1: Travelling Day. We chose not to get up at the crack of dawn so that we could make sure we had an entire day in Tahoe City to explore. This was perfect for the anxious traveler that I am. Instead, we had a reasonable flight time out of Austin, and we arrived in Tahoe around 4. That gave us plenty of time to get settled into our suite, explore the resort, and have a nice dinner at the Pub downstairs.

View of Squaw Valley from our suite

First order of business-fire going and feet up

Back of our resort as the sun was setting

Day 2: We started off the day with breakfast at Rosie's recommended by the employees at our hotel. It was delicious! Nothing like a hole in the wall only the locals could tell you about. After a brief tour around Tahoe City, we took the rental car to the market and picked up with cheese, crackers, chocolates and drinks. Then we headed to Commons Beach and literally sat on our towels, ate our lunch, and watched the other beach-goers attempt to kayak gracefully without falling in the frigid water. The best part about this particular beach was the view-an expansive mountain-lined lake, the nearby yacht club, and the aspen-covered park.

I definitely had the best view at breakfast

24 weeks pregnant

Taking a stroll by the water

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Lounging by the water, not in it-Brrrr

Gorgeous pink and purple sunset

Day 3: Today we took the gondola up to the top of Squaw Peak and got to truly enjoy our surroundings. Squaw Valley was the host to the 1960 Winter Olympics, which of course they have woven into their legacy.  You'll see in the pictures.

 

 

Don't judge-we had a big day ahead! ;-)

Made it to the top!

Home of the 1960 Winter Olympics

Check out Lake Tahoe in the distance.

24 weeks

Day 4: Spa day! Of course I looked forward to this the entire trip. Stuart treated me to a prenatal massage at the resort, and I loved every minute of it. It was the first time I think I actually could have fallen asleep during a massage-it was that good! Then we decided to take advantage of the beautiful day and take a road trip to Emerald Bay-an area near south Lake Tahoe. The water was absolutely gorgeous. It was almost aqua in color and truly resembled the Caribbean. People and cars lined the highway to camp, go to the beach, hike, cycle, and of course capture the photo ops.

Overlooking Emerald Bay

View up into the mountains

It was windy up there!

Stuart had a "spa day" of his own and went on a hike through the valley while I took a nap!

Day 5: Travelling Day. By now, I was relaxed, rejuvenated, and SO ready to see my boy. Austin could not be close enough.

The President paid a little visit to the Tahoe/Reno International Airport.

Exhale. We made it home. To anyone with little ones considering an adult trip-do it! I don't care if you have to bribe the grandparents or aunt and uncle, it was so worth it. After a little "toddler-sickness," we were able to relax and enjoy each other, something that seems to slip away from us in the day-to-day grind. Now....to get ready for a family of FOUR!