Human Development...

Just got all signed up for my last prerequisite class for nursing school...Lifespan Development..I am actually kind of excited...It is all online and will be interesting, now that Preston is in the picture. I tried my hardest to get this class waived since I have a B.A. in Psychology, a minor in Child Development, and worked as a social worker...They said NO...I am so relieved that the teacher could add me since there were tons of people on the waitlist...It was my lucky day!

Emily's birthday weekend extravaganza!!

Emily turned 23 on August 27th, so we had some celebrating to do...Dinner at Roxy's with the family on Friday...Lounging, errands, BBQ, and Punchline on Saturday...More lounging/laying/being hungover on Sunday! It was a fun weekend and I think she had a good birthday. It was so nice have her and Warren as house guests for the weekend!

Birthday Girl!!

Grandpa and Lala Noni with Baby P

Three Girls and a Baby

Our Little Family..and my nasty bang...Why didn't someone tell me:)

Lounging with Warren...Two peas in a pod

Emily working the guys at Punchline...The redhead was the main act (whoop whoop to the redhead) and he won Last Comic Standing in 2007...He is in some truck commercial talking about "Hemmis"... David, Warren, and Emily loved the show! My entertainment for the night was P.

BFFL....

I love how Sarah came up with Praustin...So perfect! Preston + Austin=BFFL..Here are some pics from our most recent times together.

Holding hands and one of Preston's only smiles on film with Austin.

Mr. Serious + Mr. Smiles

Austin laughing hysterically after pooping all over Sarah in the baby carrier...It was a sight!

Austin mauwing down...Carrots, yum!!!

Paula and Joe's Wedding Weekend...

Two dear friends of mine were married on the 21st of August....I was honored to be apart of their big day/weekend! David was with Preston, so I could have my girl time (again!!) before the big day and Emily watched him the night of the wedding, which didn't turn out so well...Should have started the sleep training a little earlier :). The weekend was a blur of fun activities starting with a spa day for the ladies, followed by the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, then getting ready, pictures, and the BIG event! The weather and surroundings were PERFECT!!!

At the spa..No one is naked!

Rehearsal Dinner

Party time!

Those crazy boys....

A visit from the little man!

P and Carlos

Party time....again!

Sleep Training....

David and I have had so many problems trying to get little P to take naps, to stay asleep during his naps, and to sleep longer stretches through the night....I only feel the need to blog about this because it will be apart of our "family album" when I make a book out of my blog.  This started right after my mom left Japan, when he was two weeks old and has continued up until now. The situation had gotten progressively worse to the point of him eating every 1.5-2 hours around the clock, with him not really sleeping during the day. Other than the sleep issue, which causes a lot of crankiness, P is a dream...On the days that we got naps out of him, he was an angel and not so much on the days where we didn't. He started sleeping in the car, so recently we have been driving him around for 45 minutes to an hour, just so we could get a short nap out of him...It was a very sad, sad situation. Per the advice of our pediatrician and support of a dear friend, we started letting him cry at nap time and bedtime. It sounds evil and mean and cold, but this child wakes up with a smile on his face now and goes to sleep peacefully without nursing (I am still in shock) or being driven or rocked. It took about 4 days of scheduling to get to this point. He cried for 15 minutes each time, with one exception, which was much longer.  Today there was not a peep for both of his naps and bedtime. We still have some nighttime things to figure out, but I am so proud of the little man! He has adjusted beautifully. I finally feel in control of my life and feel like I am giving him the best start in life. He needed sleep, he just did not know how to get it. I am hoping the PTSD will fade away over the next month and then we will ALL be sleeping peacefully. With sleep, he is the mellow, calm baby I knew he wanted to be! And, after promising myself I would never let him cry it out ever, I have to admit, it worked wonders for us. Like my dear friend said.....TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF OUR LIVES...Naps recharge everyone.

Naps before sleep training.....

if we were lucky enough to get a nap.

After sleep training...

Imagine Preston sleeping in his cradle in his own room with his little blankie close to his face...No pictures yet..I am still to scared to wake him up by taking his picture...I think this little fellow gave me PTSD with his sleeping habits...I still tip-toe by his room, speak in a whisper, and try not to sneeze in the house, if he is sleeping....Life was very, very difficult before this :).

Tripod...

Sarah taught us the tripod and after a couple of rough attempts, we finally figured it out (barely)!

Yeah!!!

Uh-oh!

And, I'm down!

Playing catch up...

The last two weeks have actually been filled with all different types of fun activities for mama, dada, and baby! Here are some randoms...

P may be teething...He has the rash around his mouth...He is drooling a lot...He is chewing on EVERYTHING.

Playtime in the morning...

Whoops....TIMBERRRR!

Favorite time of the day besides breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, graze, and munch time.

Big boy!

Up again....

I guess this only waking up twice a night is a transition for both of us...I just can't sleep.

Why am I up right now...

while my baby sleeps in his cradle peacefully after only waking two times tonight once at 10pm and once at 3am (so far) and why am I not happier about it...Probably becasue I am still awake, even though he is not and becasue it means he is growing up....WWWAAAHHHH!!!!!

Thank you Target...

Today I made the finding of a lifetime...Prenatal Gummie Vitamins...I was looking everywhere for these when I first found out that I was pregnant..I hate taking pills/vitamins everyday....I forget and they always stick in my throat, leaving me to burp them up hours later...I stopped taking my prenatals at the beginning of the 3rd trimester (gasp...bad mom award) because I could not stand choking them down day after day. I have not taken any vitamins since, so now I can give back my bad mom award and start taking them again. Greatest invention ever!!!  If you hate taking vitamins as much as I do, you will appreciate this post :).

Success!!!

David and I woke up this morning and decided that something has to change regarding P's sleep habits...He is sleeping less and less at night and is still struggling to fall asleep and stay asleep at night and during the day. There was a time when we put him down at 9pm and would not hear from him until 2am....He started the night in his cradle and would sleep with us after the 2am feeding..Oh how I long for those days....These days he is waking up 2-3 times before he is out for a 2 hour stretch...Nursing was our clutch move when he wouldn't sleep or on the days that he cried forever...Now, he needs it....Note to self: never nurse a baby to sleep ever again.....Today was the first time in months and yes, he is only 4 months old, that he fell asleep in our arms instead of nursing...and did not wake up 10 and 20 minutes after he put him down to nurse back to sleep...Our goal is to put him down awake/sleepy and have him fall asleep on his own...Basically, move from nursing to arms to cradle.....This may take a while!  Then...on to his eating schedule...every 2 hours 24/7 is not cutting it anymore..He is a big, big boy...I think he can go a little longer.

4 months....

His little piggies!!

His new BFFs..His fingers!

Top 10 at 4 months...

1. Loves watching daddy juggle the ball.

2. Is grabbing everything in sight including our eyes, cheeks, and hair.

3. His best friend is Mr. Gloworm...Mr. Glowworm's face lites up every time he sees Preston and he sings to him...Who could ask for a better best friend!

4. Maybe has a lovey...His peach blanket that a family friend crocheted for him. He loves having it with him and sticking his fingers and toes through the holes.  

5. Is maybe ready for food even though mommy is not. He stares at everything that we eat, like he just wants a little bite and he is eating every 1.5 hours, which is driving mommy crazy.

6. Is NOT taking naps again...It was a very short lived but glorious experience for mommy to have him taking naps. No-cry sleep training is starting this week.

7. Plays independently in his floor gym for 15 minutes.

8. Does perfect crunches. :)

9. Stayed with daddy without mommy overnight.

10. Had his first ever babysitter-Auntie Ems. She has said that she may never have kids. He couldn't have been that bad??!!!

Yoda...

Does my baby look ljke Yoda????

Lately....

Ems, Dolly, and Preston...Dolly has found a new favorite! Preston not so much!

Preston and mommy headed to the pool

Preston munching on a pear...:)

Preston finally sleeping on mommy....

Reverting back to the good ole days...We will try anything that works!

Cousins...

David's cousin, Candace, and her family were in town from Texas. They got to meet the baby and we all had a nice dinner at Casa Carlos...Preston was so well-behaved and he loved Ashlyn....She figured out that he loves the song "Don't Worry, Be Happy". 

Grandma Norma with Preston

Preston with Ashlyn

Ashlyn and I

10 year reunion...

We had our 10 year reunion...There were so many faces that I had not seen since I graduated...It was nice to mingle and catch up..It seems like everyone is doing so well and is pretty much the same...There were an astonishing number of TB Eagles there...Talk about bonded for life...Most of us have been together from Kindergarten through 12th grade....Whoop whoop, that is a small, tight knit community for you!

Rachel and I

My little family before the reunion...Mommy and Daddy's first date night & Preston's first time with a baby sitter--Auntie Ems :)

Reunion Committee 2010

This is how I found them at 1am...So sweet!

Mama's night out!!!

Last weekend, I went up to Tahoe for one of my best friend's bachelorette party..It was the first time I had left Preston for more than 1.5 hours and before this, I had only left him for about 4 hours total, since he was born.....With that being said, I was a little sad, but so excited to have some girl time and to be able to relax without worrying about feeding, napping, or pooing. It was so nice to be so excited driving up the mountain, as well as, driving down. David had things under control and everything went so well. I forgot the power cord to my pump....I was in pain...Of all of the things to forget. Us girls indulged ourselves with beach time (peeling as we speak), beer pong, flippy cup, tons of snacks, a great dinner, and dancing. I have learned that I am no longer a "drinker". It took me two days to recover. One beer with dinner is great for me these days. Tahoe sun is always stronger than I expect, and I still rock at flippy cup!! And, heels kill my feet now! I sound like not only a mom, but a grandma!

At the beach

At dinner

P dancing!!

Matt and Paula

At Dinner

Sleeping.....HELP!

We went to check out new beds last night...One of David's cheif complaints besides his back hurting is that our bed is loud and it wakes the baby up, when we try to roll off of it after we finally get him asleep...How sad is it that we may buy a whole new bed becasue he can't sleep through the creak noise that it makes when we get up? Also, maybe that is why David's back hurts...I know I look like a gold medal gymnast, when I contrort myself to get off the bed, while trying not to wake the baby.  Things have got to change.......

Also, you know you have hit a low point when you find yourself looking for sleep books at Barnes and Noble at 9:30pm. And, when the cashier says, "How did I know that you were going to buy baby books?" My dishevled looks must have screamed MOM!!!