Christmas

Christmas was good! Preston could have really cared less but he thoroughly enjoyed chewing on the box that one of my presents came in. I bought Preston some Japanese clothes because they are too cute/crazy not to buy and realized he is way bigger than I thought...Everything was skin tight and basically, he needs the size that 2 year old apparently wear here. On top of that, a woman asked us if he was 2 or 3 years old...ARE YOU KIDDING ME?   I <3 my Big Boopa..(but my arms/back don't). I loved getting my hair done and we had a great dinner at a nice sushi restaurant...Sushi for Christmas...Only in Japan. Today was our last family day since David has work tomorrow...I will be packing tonight and tomorrow and running last minute errands...Then Mr. P and I will be off and headed home to the green orchards of Yuba City....Everytime I think about it my stomach hurts...I hate thinking about all of the last times with David until May...Can I really do this??? We shall see. Pictures to come, if I ever blog again, once school starts.

Tomorrow....

is our little family of three's Christmas...I'm getting excited, even though the real Christmas is happening on the 31st, when I get home. I can't wait to see what Preston does...He will probably just eat the paper like always...I am getting my hair straightened, which is my present and I am counting the 3-4 hours of alone time as my present as well...which is more exciting???...I am not sure!!! Merry Christmas to us!!

 And, I just finished felting Preston's girl Valentine's Day shirt turned Baby's First Christmas shirt and my fingers hurt. Is that a step up from the Santa dog vest or a step down? Remind me next year if I am overseas to pick something up ahead of time, so I never have to do that again..Or better yet, maybe I should just buy some things on clearance now and save them...hmmm, now I am thinking like a real mom.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from our side of the pond to yours!! XOXOXO

Santa Claus is coming to town...

We had a surprise visit from Santa last night...I think Preston will be scarred for life...After he went to sleep last night, he woke up screaming, about 45 minutes later, in sheer terror...I swear he was having a Santa nightmare...Poor baby.  I will say, I am so thankful that I got these First Santa pics. I have been searching high and low for Christmas outfit for P to wear on the day, but have found nothing...So, I am felting a lame little T-shirt, so he has something to wear. It is nice to have a little normalcy around the holidays, since there is nothing really here to denote that it is Christmas time at all...Santa's visit was very appreciated, even though it was obviously not enjoyed by one member of the Palmer family...Please note that the little Santa outfit P is wearing in these pictures is for a dog....It was all I could find and it is way too small, but hey, it worked and he may be wearing it again on the 28th (day we are celebrating Christmas, since David is out of town).  Thank you Eric!!!!

Poor Santa is not even in the house yet



Aquarium...

David, P, and I headed up north on David's day off to the aquarium. They have a couple of huge whale sharks to look at and a dolphin show, which was pretty cute. Preston loved watching all of the fish swim around and he also loved watching all of the people and kids. I hope he found this experience to be much more exhilarating than the couple of times I have taken him to Petco to watch the fish...He probably enjoyed both the same. That is one of the joys of children...Petco fish tanks = famous aquarium....

Family photo with Preston trying to nurse

The acclaimed whale sharks/largest fish tank I have ever seen

 P telling me in his little voice that he needs a fish tank at home

 Long red hair-check

Brown eyes-check

Pointy ears-check

Weird hand pose-check

My Cartoon Twin!!!

And, only in Japan....A gargle machine at the aquarium..Why, oh why???



All-Star Game

So the All-Star game players just got announced and unfortunately (or fortunately-one extra game to get hurt in) David wasn't one of them BUT for forwards/centers he was in the top 4 in his conference (#4) and the top three get to go! So close but no cigar. The guy who got 3rd beat him out by only 600 votes! B. Knight (who now plays for Osaka) had 23, 800 votes and David had 23, 200 votes.  Also, the coach for the team will be David's old teammate and Lynn & Jeff & Matt (all played for Osaka before) are playing too...Of course, last year it was in Okinawa, when we were in Osaka and this year it is in Osaka, now that we are in Okinawa.

Pulling himself up and Dancing...

Don't mind his messy mouth...It's just peas all over his mouth...I didn't forget to clean it up.

Crawling...

Excuse the voice...starting to get the hang of this video thing...will be posting more but it just takes ssoooooo dang long to upload...i have no patience.

8 months old..

I will be updating this post with a better eight month picture at some point. I have tried three times to get the picture taken and have only succeeded in getting a shot of P ripping off the sticker or eating the sticker...Welcome to eight months....Each month has gotten increasingly difficult to get the shot, so we are moving forward without it for now. I bought the real deal the other day (the sticker-no more paper with tape on the back), so I will no longer be doing it the ghetto-fabulous way. Hopefully, the sticker will be less distracting than the paper with tape stuck to his chest.  He is one smart cookie.

Hurry, distract him with the roll of toilet paper, make sure he doesn't crawl off the couch, then stick the sticker on real fast, wait the sticker is crooked, retry, take away the roll, and.... he found the sticker.

Top 10 at 8 months

1. He is crawling..all over the place.

2. Just cut a tooth finally. I have been saying he was teething for months. Finally I stopped, because I was consistently wrong and bam, there it was.  Once I stopped checking, it came. Just got a glimpse of it today because everytime I pull his lip down, out comes his tongue. His tongue is always out still. Unfortunately, I think he has my ears (little elf), my digestive system, and my oral fixation.

3. Is pulling himself up on things around the house multiple times a day (TV stand, coffee table, in the tub, crib)

4. Takes two solid naps a day, if he doesn't get his leg stuck in between the bars in the crib. Still trying to solve this problem. Wakes up 2-3 times each night...we are wanting to resolve this but don't have the heart to when he cold/sick/teething/stuck/constipated/went poo/scared/ there is a new issue every night.

5. Eating tons of finger foods and regular foods...Cheerios, potatoes, veggies from veggie soup, tofu, pasta, grilled squash, hot dog bun

6. Does a humpity hump dance. I like to say he is doing pelvis thrusts...He is just trying to strengthen his pelvic floor.

7. Hates to get undressed and dressed. He is crying through every dressing and undressing recently. He used to do this when he was brand new. I thought we had moved on.

8. Likes If Your Happy and You Know It and Christmas carols.

9. Crawls to us to sit in our lap and play, if we are anywhere on the floor, while he is playing. He wants to be on us and have his play time too.

10. Loves the attention that he gets from all of the fans and the basketball players here. Not sure why at home he always cried when people gave him attention. Isn't Stranger Anxiety supposed to start now? Maybe he had it early or maybe he just loves Asian people and b-ballers. I think he feels at home with them :).

**And, until today, cried everytime we blew our nose, even it was in another room.
**And, he has said da-da when David has walked into a room and ma-ma, when I am around, but I am not convinced that he is saying it to him/me or a person even.

24 hour vaycay...

We headed out of town after David's "Active Rest Day" on Monday and stayed over night at a huge resort, which happens to be one of the team's sponsors, so everything was either free or very, very discounted. It was a nice little getaway. Since David only gets one day off each week, it is hard to go anywhere for any amount of time. We definitely stayed until the very last second. It was so nice and relaxing. We even got a babysitter for Preston ($60=3 hours, YIKES!!!), but it was sooo nice to have time together alone. She said he cried a little, but when we got there his eyebrows were not even red, so that means it really only was for a little bit and it was not hard crying. His eyebrows tell us all we need to know :). This was his first real babysitter. The only times have been our 10 year reunion (Emily, my mom, &  Norma), 2 plays that we have gone to (my mom & Norma), and the 3 hours that David was at Paula's wedding (Emily)...All in over 8 months. The food was amazing, there was a jacuzzi on our balcony, our room had a wall of windows facing the ocean, and a to-die-for shower room. We even got a little golf cart to drive around in. It was great!

Our Wheels

 The view from our room

The Big Christmas Tree

On our date :)

David skipping rocks



Baskeball...

David's team split the series with the first place team this last weekend. The first game was so exciting because David won the game in overtime with a buzzer beater, even though he said it was the worst game (8-0-1) of his life...I guess it is good that the fans will only remember the buzzer beater...It was crazy. The second game (David was 16-2-7) did not go so well, but David actually played better.  Now the team is tied for second behind two teams that are tied for first. So...there are four teams in the top two spots...I am sure they will be battling it out the rest of the season. Also, those were the last home games that Preston and I are able to go to this season....WWWAAAHHH!

Preston is a celebrity...And, he was loving it!

 The Girls

Right after the game

He is so over sitting...All he wants to do is stand.



Basketball Article...

Awesome article about David...Check it out!

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/sk20101210n1.html

And...him arriving at the airport...Old news I know....

http://www.youtube.com/user/RyukyuGoldenKings#p/u/0/qpZhHvg3bJw

Recent pics...

First time in the Ergo on my back...Asleep...Need I say more?...

Could not have lived without this or my hooter-hider

Picnic Dinner on the beach..Preston's dinner=sand, sand, & more sand

 Oh and a little carrot

 Our teeny tiny tree :)

 My little man...I just want to eat him up in this hat!

Happy Santa



At the zoo.

How distrubing is this? Poor little turtles :(

P, Dee, Ashley, and I ventured out and went to the zoo...We basically closed the place down, literally. The security guard was showing us to leave. We got there too late, so most of the animals had been put away for the night. Preston could have lived without the experience. The bats were soooo nasty and I think the ostriches were diseased. The giraffes were the highlight for sure and the lions were very, very mad about something.

The Game...

Here are the pics from last weeks game..Don't mind P's baby tee...It is so tight, but it is David's team colors, so he will continue to wear it, until the buttons pop.

So in Okinawa, instead of signing autographs, the players do a fist-bump line...For some reason, this cracks me up.

The first fan that I saw with an "exclusively David" sign

 Our virtual Christmas card

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you love and joy this holiday season.

Love, The 3 of us :)

 P's new friends...He <3Yama...Not sure if Yama <3 him

First real cold...

It makes me so sad that he finally has his first real cold...We are talking snot bubbles, suction thing, and constantly wiping...He can barely nurse, which is just sad...David gave it me and I gave it to P...Just call us the Sniffles.....Get better soon, baby! However, the last two nights he did not wake-up at 10pm to eat...Is this a new habit? Are we dropping one of the three mid-sleep feedings? I sure hope so:)!

The happs....

We haven't been up to much lately...Just spent David's day off trying to get some documents printed and faxed for my financial aid for school. Not exciting at all, but something that would take 15 minutes at home, took 2.5 hours here. As I have said before, when you don't know the language, it is sssssslllllllooooooowwwww going. We decorated for Christmas, which is nice. As soon as P got up the morning after we set our stuff up, he was looking at everything in awe. We put ribbons on the tree and commented that he would not be able to get them off because they actually tie around the branch...OH HOW WE WERE WRONG...The first thing he did was rip a ribbon off the branch and then he decided that he was he-man for the day and was pulling and pushing the tree all over the floor, until it toppled.....He is into everything now that he can move...David spent all last night making snowflakes for me to hang, which was very nice. He kinda went a little crazy with his perfectionist side and even looked up videos on Youtube...This man can crochet and make a mean snowflake :). I tried to make eggnog for our decoration night. I had to make a trip to the store to get sugar and ended up getting salt, which I didn't know about until I took a huge swig of my just made, delicious smelling eggnog and almost choked....The salt literally burned my mouth...There was a look of confusion and then an Ah Ha moment and that is when I realized, "Man, I bought salt, instead of sugar."  Whoops....I really need to study Japanese.....David's team plays the first place team at home this weekend, so it should be a good match up. We will be going to both games...Preston did so well at the Sunday game..No crying at ALL! And, he found some peeps to play with. He loves other kids right now. And, apparently hates his nap time right now, as in just this second.....Go to sleep little man! Putting him down for a third time has to work-->Third Time's a Charm, right?

Game day...

I just realized that there are two other players, who have the last name of Palmer....David is playing against one this weekend and I just read about the other on the Internet.  Too funny...A league with three Palmers.....It better watch out! Ha Ha.  It was kind of strange watching a Palmer guard a Palmer from the back.

Last night's game went well. P cried on the ride there because he was ready for bed at 6:30pm for some reason. And, he cried for the first five minutes of the game, because of the noise. And, he cried for the last quarter of the game, because of the noise and he was tired. Poor baby. I thought it was going to be much worse, so we are headed back today at 1pm. After the game, everyone basically accosted us and Preston put on quite a show for all the Japanese ladies. He was in heaven. They held him, rubbed his head, poked his cheeks, etc. Even the old men wanted a little piece of P. Of course, he ate up the attention. He is quite the attention whore.  Crying one second, smiling and laughing the next. I guess I am just not as cute or fun as the Japanese ladies.

Oh yeah...David's team got a win. He had 19 points and 4 rebounds. Hopefully after this weekend their record will be a little more evenly matched with the other teams that are ahead of them in the standings. We are slowly but surely getting there. GOOO KINGS!

Game tonight....

I am headed to my first home game tonight and I am STRESSED....The last game I went to with the little prince was not so successfull, at all...I had to stand outside the arena and watch the game on a television screen, with him on my boob for the whole two hours. FUN TIMES, FUN TIMES! Those are the days I never want revisit...EVER....Emily can attest to it. He has about 6 months of maturity in him, so I am hoping that will help. Unfortunately, the game is at 7pm, which is his very strict bedtime hour, so I am not so sure how this will go. Yesterday, David asked what I was going to do, like taking him to the game was not an option at all.  I am going to try this once and hopefully, I am pleastantly surprised. And, loud noises still bother him....Example: Everytime we blow our nose, he cries...Sometimes he cries, even if we blow it in the other room....Ah...MR. SENSITIVE. Also, I have to drive there, which with my stress, his bedtime, and me driving mixed all together, is a reciepie for disaster. I have driven once while I have been here. I hopped the curb and drove on the wrong side of the road...Needless to say, David drove home. In my defence, the steering wheel is on the opposite side of the car AND they drive on the opposite side of the road, which with me behind the wheel is ANOTHER recipie for disaster. GOOOOO KINGS!!!!

Mama's night out....

I went out to celebrate my new friend, Dee's, birthday on Wednesday. It was a pretty wild night that consisted of drinks, laughs, and games. It felt so good to be out with adults, just having fun. David stayed home with Preston. As soon as I got home, I told David, "I had so much fun!"  This was before I got hit with a nasty bug that sent me to the doctors at 7pm the next night and a fever of a 102.6 after that. I feel way better now, but it was a little touch and go for a while.

First lime...

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I love sour stuff....David and I thought it would be funny to see if Preston has the same preferences as me... We gave him his first taste of lime and I think it was a negative. Most people would say, "Who likes lime?" Well...Nate was not even phased by lemon/lime (I can't remember which one it was), when Leah gave it to him. He was like, "Give me more!" Preston, not so much.

YUCK!!!

 Mom, I can't beleive you let him do that to me :(



It's official...

He rolls.....FINALLY!!! He has just started rolling consistently from his back to his belly...He rolled about 10 times when he was around 2 months old from his belly to his back and just stopped and never really cared.. Now he is on his belly, when I get him from his nap and when he is playing on the floor...

Also...HE CRAWLED ABOUT 2 FEET TODAY...He looked like a little drunk sailor, but he was moving forward.

A week with the Palmers...

Preston copying Daddy...Or daddy copying Preston...His tongue is sticking out about 90% of the time these days.

 The start of a sunset

 First time in the sand...He loved it!

Second time in the sand...Showing even more love...Getting down!

Looking at something...

 

Playing with mommy...Well, he was playing and I was sweating like a pig. 

 With daddy, watching the waves



Two wins..

this weekend.  (Even if one was during overtime at the buzzer). Whoop whoop...we are catching up :)

Thanksgiving Dinner...

After my little rant about not getting a regular Thanksgiving meal, I was kindly rewarded with exactly what I thought I would be missing out on...At David's coach's house, we had the whole shebang, with Japanese staples mixed in. It was a great night. Preston was the most charming little baby I have ever seen and it was nice to finally meet David's teammates. They loved the little man. I don't think I held him the whole night and he loved them in return..It was hilarious..He has never been happier in a big crowd with strangers... We all know he gets overwhelmed easily, but this night he felt right at home. Both, David and I, could not stop talking about how good he was.  Here are some with his new friends.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are spending Thanksgiving with David's team at his coach's house. Originally, I didn't think Preston and I would be able to go, but as it turned out, late last night we got the word that we could come too...Thank god...the thought of sitting at home alone on Thanksgiving is just depressing. It's bad enough that I won't get any stuffing, turkey, cranberries, pumpkin pie..AAAHHH...now I am getting depressed :). At least our little family will be together.

Things I am thankful for...

My son..He brings so much joy to my life..seriously..so corny, I know, but it is sooo true. He makes my world happier.
My husband. He loves me...enough said.
My husband's job...I am so thankful he is able to play basketball for another year.
Getting into nursing school. I am  excited to start this spring...I am looking forward to moving forward with something that is just for me and for my future.
My family! They have shown Preston and I so much support and love over the last year...I keep moving back in with them and they take it with stride.
Living near the beach for the next six weeks...Yes, I am very thankful for that...It is a dream come true for me.
My health, Preston's health, David's health (knock on wood).
My friends...They are just plain awesome.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and count your blessings...I am sure you have many more than you ever imagined.

Baby Brooklyn...

My friend, Maren, had her baby girl yesterday. Welcome to the world Brooklyn Reece Brunker!! You are so loved...Hopefully, we will get to meet her before she is one :). 

7 months..

The months are just flying by and I CANNOT believe that he is 7 months old...I am starting to feel sad for the time that has already passed..Will it be like this forever??? I guess so...I was hoping I wouldn't feel like this until he was at least 5 years old...I have a long way to go! He is growing so much each day...It is amazing how fast he is gaining skills...One day he can't do something and the next he is doing it.



Top 10 at 7 months...

1. Is definitely babbling...We have ma ma ma ma, na na na na, ba ba, wa wa wa..This pretty much happened over night and I love the ma ma ma ma..but he does not say it to me...Except the other night in the middle of the night he said, "ma ma" and i rolled over and was like "Baby, mama's right here!"

2. Pretty much is sleeping with me on and off at night...His night waking is happening about 3-4 times each night. I think he should be able to sleep through the night, but letting him cry for an hour is impossible. He has definitely regressed in this area.

3.Eats all of his meals at a high chair and loves eating there, but hates waiting for me to mix up his food. Things he is eating are squash, sweet potato, garden veggies, pears, peaches, prunes, spinach & potatoes, biter biscuits, melon, apple, etc...Basically, everything under the sun and the doctor said we could start meat and about 2 weeks after that we can give him table foods, which I am most excited about....

4. Has started to develop a little pincer grasp....

5. Loves "If your happy and you know it" and "Doe a deer"

6. Reaches up to be picked up and will reach out to go to someone

7.Definitely has a temperament..When he is happy, you know it and when he is uncomf, you know it and the happy can change to uncomf in about 1 sec...then watch out...

8. Is up on all fours rocking and practices baby yoga..He is a strong little guy.

9. Sits in the grocery cart like a big boy.

10. Looks for stuff when he drops it on the floor.

**Has finally started blinking at regular intervals....

6 months

I totally lagged on his 6th month post and now he is seven, WWWAAAHHHH!!! Here is the 6th month one...The picture was taken a while ago..I just never posted :(.

Has a child ever looked so serious before....

Weight: 18 pounds 6 ounces, 60%

Height: 27.5 inches, 75%

AND HE IS NO LONGER A PART OF THE SMALL HEAD CLUB...

Head Circumference: 56% WHOOP WHOOP!!!

Top Ten at 6 months

1. Totally sitting up unassisted and can even play with toys, while sitting. We no longer have the "I'm folded in half" sitting position. Now his sits like his back is a board.

2. Is eating a ton of food....He loves everything. It takes about 2 spoonfuls for the "I am not sure about this" look to leave his face and after that he is jonesing for more. He is quite impatient.

3. Is still totally breastfeeding throughout the day and throughout the night. Yes, we have a frequent waker..Hey, at least he is still napping most :) of the time.

4. Starts to cry if you take away a toy that he wants.

5. He has a naked baby dance that he does...It is hilarious...This child may grow up to live on a nudist colony.

6. Loves my parents' cat, Dolly. He lights up when she is around and the feeling is mutual...He is classic with her, pulling her ears, neck, fur, tail and she just purrrrrss...I am trying to teach him, "Be nice". He is like, "yeah right mom!"  (I typed this long before Dolls disappeared :(...Just never posted it)

7. Started pooing every 4 days..This occurred after switching to baby oatmeal, eating prunes, and having roughly 4 oz of diluted apple juice each day. We are in constipation prevention mode now. (Now 2x a day is not abnormal!!)

8. Can stick out his tongue and blow bubbles. And, makes gas noises with his lips.

9. Falls asleep in the car.

10. Loves to rough house.



Big boy...Slow down!

We are slowly moving on to finger foods...It is more like playtime and they are all over the floor and the chair, but he loves doing it himself...More green beans.

This is what I walked into the other day when I went to get him out of the crib...I almost died. There he was standing up, big as life, just chillin'....He was looking at me like, "What mom? Yeah, I'm standing." Even had enough time to get the camera.