More Birthday Fun! (Late:))

As you all know about me by now, in my family you get two birthdays :)...your "actual" birthday and the day of your party. :) So, here is the scoop on Preston's actual birthday.

Dad and I gave him a bike! He was very excited! He rides it very well...he honestly goes a tad too fast! And, because his birthday is in January he had to practice inside first...until he tore up the hardwood floors so bad once when he fell that it was a miracle Dad didn't throw the bike away. :) Thanks for your patience, Dad!


Then, that night we went to "Chi-wee's" (aka Chili's...for some reason this was where Preston asked to eat???) to enjoy a dinner and cupcakes with Maw Maw and Paw Paw. That Maw Maw sure is patient. I know I am not much up to two kids throwing themselves at me at one time. :)
I always get such a crack out of Preston watching waitresses sing at restaurants. Each time his facial expression is priceless. And, don't you love how he is wearing his crown literally all day that he made during homeschool?

Jackson was so cute showing Preston how to pedal the bike. He even would give him a small push or boost to help him gain momentum. :)

And, Jackson gave Preston his first baseball glove! :) (Okay..I bought it and said it was from Jackson...you all get the picture :)) More to come soon in the blog about Preston and his new adventures playing tball for the first time this year!

Here is Preston working on the infamous crown...remember Jackson made one too for his birthday? To me Preston looks so mature in this picture. Makes me even more sure potty training is about to start up again. :))

And, I made cupcakes for him to have on his actual birthday and to take to Chi-wee's. The only thing is I did store bought icing which did not hold color very well...so the red Lightning McQueen cupcakes ended up pink. You would think noone noticed...guess who did? His name starts with "J" and he's five and you only get one guess. All we heard was, "WHY did Mommy make Preston's cupcakes a GIRL color??" We are totally in the "girls have cooties" stage. Although he doesn't use the word cooties.

Hmmm..funny..Preston doesn't seem to mind they are pink. :)

He was quite determined to peel the sticky back off the foam stickers all by himself.

One of my favorite things about blogging no matter how many months late I am on the topic is reliving the moments and memories through the pictures. I think that is the main reason I probably blog. And, looking back through all these and remembering my sweet baby turning three really just soaks it in...that I am SO incredibly blessed.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Preston!

Although my sweet baby boy turned three over a month ago, and I feel so bad I am just now blogging about it...I think his party turned out to be the best one we have ever had for our kids. I wouldn't want to take away from any of Jackson's parties by saying that, but it is just that the place where we had Preston's this year we know the owners..it is familiar to us...it feels like home...and Preston loves being there...and we had the whole place to ourselves. I highly recommend it if you are looking for a place to have a child's birthday party!

The staff totally keeps the kids involved and entertained the whole time! They are great with the kids, and Preston knows them from classes we take there so he was loving their attention! He even did the balloon relay race...

And, probably his favorite was the marching band. Actually I think all the kids loved that..the very loud ruckus it caused with a mix of drums, cymbals, and maraccas though probably made the adults need some Advil.

But, my most favorite part was the parachute. Honestly I think some of the parents liked that part more than some of the kids! ahem...not naming any names or anything. :)

The theme was Preston's favorite..."Lightming McKing" (aka Lightning McQueen) from the Disney movie Cars. I was disappointed in the stability of the cake, but Preston had no idea..he loved it!

We had so many friends and family members there to help us celebrate, and I truly feel all the kids had a blast!

And, a huge thank you to Aunt Erica for once again being the photographer of the day! (for free, too, I might add!) She is a lifesaver! She had told me she got some cute pics of Preston eating his cake...and I was shocked to see this was what she meant. Even more shocking to me was the fact that I thought these were taken while he was waiting on a fork. And, then I saw the fork in his hand. So, honestly all I can say is..this is totally my Preston. :)

He got lots of cool toys..and this probably sounds so spoiled saying this, but with two kids, same gender, close in age, with birthdays close to Christmas you are always shocked when you get things you don't already have. And, we got so much new stuff! Some stuff I'd never even seen in stores before. I guess you can say we have some creative gift givers out there on our guest list! :)

I cannot believe he is three. Really. It hit me kind of hard. Time is really flying by. I know now why Paul got a vasectomy. He said, "You will try to talk me into another one! I know it!" :) haha! He is probably right. My baby is gone..I still call him that..but he is a "kid" now. And, it is a hard adjustment for me. Actually I am going to figure out how to adjust pretty fast. In a few weeks, baseball and t-ball begins for us. And, while we are incredibly blessed there is little overlap in the two boys' schedules it is still a ton to keep up with! Preston did play soccer this fall, but it wasn't "real" soccer. This is real t-ball. Both boys have practice twice a week until games start, and then one practice a week and one game a week. Honestly if they end up where they are supposed to go at the right time in the right uniform it will be amazing! And, to top it off I think Paul will definitely earn his SuperDad badge because he totally will be helping..especially when I am at work. So, here's to turning three, big boy! We love you! And, you and your brother are totally worth it! :)

Wishes...

Do come true!

About a month ago, the weather forecast called for snow...and the kids anxiously (okay, well I did, too!) waited for it staring longingly out the window. And, nothing happend. Well, alright. A slight dusting occurred. But, still. It was so annoying!

So, this week our forecast called for more snow. And, I was like, "I am not even telling the kids! And, I bet it does nothing again!"

Well, here are the pictures from a month ago...

And, you'll just have to wait for the ones from today. Why? Because I am so tired! From what you ask? From playing in the snow after working all afternoon! We got tons of snow! I am not sure how many inches. I say three. Paul says more than that! Either way, it is alot of powdery, soft stuff! Stuff that we rarely see here in the south! Yay for snow!

Fresh Start

Even though we are well into 2010, I thought I would still share with you how we rang in the New Year! The boys were so excited to wear their new suits, and we went to the Old Spaghetti Factory with our fun friends: Nathan, Jessica, Tess, and Wyatt. The kids are always so excited to see Tess, and it was a great time!

Then, we let the boys stay up to watch the peach drop. Last year Jackson stayed up, but this year we thought we'd give Preston the chance. Amazingly, he did great! Jackson is the one that got grumpy! Go figure! :) They thought it was neat to toast with some apple juice at midnight! They were so excited even though I know they probably really weren't even sure what we were doing. :) Jackson is starting to get down the months of the year rotation so maybe he had a clue.

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This might sound horrible, but I was ready for a New Year. A fresh start. Of course, 2009 wasn't completely horrible, and even what was bad could have been so much worse. Still. I am happy to start a new year. I know 2009 will be one of those years when I am fifty I will still remember and think about. Alot. So, I am loving 2010! And, I can't wait to see all that it has to offer!

My Sweet Not So Little Boy Anymore...

I wish I had some pictures to post with this, but admittedly I am behind on organizing all that. However, I still wanted to share with you some adorable things my little..ahem..I mean BIG Preston has been saying lately.

I have been going over his shapes with him (have I mentioned I do miss homeschooling? Watching your children learn right before your eyes is SO rewarding.) When we get to the diamond shape, he blurts out loud with excitement and complete confidence, "A kite!" He thinks a kite is the name of a shape! For some reason that is so freaking adorable to me!

Then, for hexagon (he has recently become infatuated with those for some reason???), he answers the same way, "Epsagon!" Then, he smiles and says, "I am good with epsagons!" Bless his dear heart!

Then, while at Disney World he was playing with some of their new, free souvenirs (remind me later to tell you about those!) and was "adding" them up. He said, "Two equals two makes six!! Right, mommy?" Hilarious.

I just said, "Yep, that's right!"

There will be time to teach him addition. For now, I just want to love on him.

I love you so much, Preston!

Definitely NOT Magic...

I don't have much time to make this a long post although I have tons to write...but I started potty training Preston today, and let's just say I have always bragged about how easy Jackson was, and I am not feeling that today. I know it is JUST day one, and we started at lunchtime AND the big no-no..we did have to go out of the house to get groceries. But, honestly if I waited till we had no errands, that might NEVER happen with our schedule lately. When I trained Jackson, I didn't have anyone to take back and forth to school every day.

So, I am trying to remain patient AND remind myself technically he is starting 3 months earlier than Jackson did based on their birthdays. So, even though I always said I'd never start and go backwards, IF I have to I have to. But, he starts school in August! That is not very far away, you know? So, I feel the need to give myself a good six months to get this right. Three months isn't that long.

So, my little boy who yes has always seemed younger (to me anyway) than Jackson at landmark ages anyway is becoming a "big" boy today. Is it me? Have I babied him too much? Who knows. Will he eventually get it? YES. Should I worry? No. Is it going to be easy? Probably not. But, do I love him to pieces anyway? Yes. :)

God-Given

We are home. And, my title is how I feel about our trip. God-given. We go to Disney every year, and we truly have a blast each time. But, this time for some reason it was different. I wish I had the time, energy, and memory tonight (I am exhausted! :)) to delve deep into my explanation of that tonight, but just know that pictures are coming soon! And, I am truly blessed to share such special moments with my family. And..diabetes definitely made sure we knew it was invited along on the trip, but still... It doesn't stop my heart from swelling when I look back at the photos of my family's faces. I needed this trip! Can you believe noone puked? :) We might tonight, but it's okay if we do. I asked Paul if he could tell...if he could tell how Disney changes me? He exclaimed whole heartedly, "YES! Now if we could just put it in a pill for you take we'd be doing good!" Amazing, my anxiety, nerves, AND my OCD just about completely disappear when I am at Disney. While it seems tempting to just move there, I know if I lived there the magic might minimize or stop altogether. It is the once a year leading up to the trip and the short span of time spent there I think that make it so special. So, there you have it. I am not on any prescription medicine...but Disney is my Lexapro..or my Xanax..look at it however you want. And, I'll take that anyday! With a full glass of coke please! :)