Here's to hoping....

This morning P got up at 5:00am...David got up with him...He has this new cry that is not a cry at all...It is a scream/screech...I can't stand it...It actually makes my ears hurt and has given me a headache...From a one to a 10, it is a 25....It actually woke the dogs that live around us...I felt like I was in a horrible nightmare with a screaming/screeching child and barking dogs at 5:00am..It sucked...Here's to hoping that was a one time occurrence.

On a positive note: P is finally ticklish...He has been laughing now when we tickle him. Usually he just stares at us like, "What are you doing?" I try to tell him to lighten up and finally he has heeded my advice.

Today is a big day....

Turning in my deposit for nursing school today...This means many things....A lot of which I don't like to think about....Being away from David for a long time...Preston being away from David for a long time...Me being a single mom for a long time...Finding child care for Preston...Me being away from Preston full-time...Having to find a new place to live when I am by myself in December....Moving by myself in December...Starting school with a 9 month old...Doing school with a growing baby/toddler.....Thinking about all of these huge changes and transitions gives me anxiety.  However, I am very excited to be moving forward with my goals.

Dear Preston...

Please go to the bathroom...Mommy and daddy are tired of worrying about it every two weeks....We don't know what else to do...Prune juice does not even phase you....Love, mommy

Sweet Jesus...

I got in! I just got a call from nursing school saying that I was accepted....WHOOP WHOOP for me!!! I am so relieved and excited! Cheers to becoming an RN:)!!!! And, just to toot my own horn, rumor has it that the top 20 students were being notified this week and the remaining students will be notified the first week of October!

Rent...

Yeah! Just bought tickets for tomorrow night to go see Rent! Excited....And, speaking of Rent....David put in our 30 days notice for our apartment....We better be off to somewhere by then or we are homeless :)....

Can't wait...

for Grey's Anatomy tonight...I have been waiting for the season premiere, since I finally got caught up on the last season about a month ago...Also, Modern Family was great...I think I am Mitchel.....He hates birds as much as I do and I have to love his flaming, red hair.

Favorite toys right now...

His first computer!

And, paper....

Playing with his sippy cup

P is ready for fall...

Just like mama! I can't wait to break out all of his warm clothes that people bought for him. I can't believe he is big enough to fit in them.

Big boy jeans...

Beanie and boots from Sarah

5 months....

My Baby!

What a difference a month makes!! This last month has been a month of transitions...It has been hard for the both of us, but we have made so much progress that I will continue to move forward. Now seeing what a wonderful baby Preston is, I never ever want to go to what it was like just one month ago....Most people who have been around him are always saying, "He is such a good baby." And for some of the time he was, if he was able to sleep at all. A couple of times, people suggested giving him baby Tylenol because he would not stop crying...I know that parents of easy babies are not told that. At times if he is late for his nap and he won't go to sleep without screaming, there is nothing I can do, but help him get to sleep ASAP...He will cry in his cradle, cry laying on the bed watching me, or cry in my arms...That is how it used to always be and little glimpses come through, if I have lost track of time or if he didn't go down the first time I put him to bed...Those are the times when I know what I am doing is right, because now 99% of the time he is babbling, cooing, laughing, playing, and is pretty much the happiest baby on the block. I think he needs more structure than I thought and the sleep-on-demand, like feed-on-demand, did NOT work for him. If only I would have had a practice baby for 4 months, all of this would have been figured out!  We are loving this new little person that is so happy all of the time! A happy baby equals a happy mama!

Height: 27 inches, 92%

Weight: 16 pounds 10 ounces, 68%

Top 10 at 5 months....

1. Is nursing and eating solids like a champ...He loves rice cereal now that I am not giving him rotten breast milk...No, that wasn't on purpose. Frozen pears are a favorite too.
2. Takes 2 naps each day for approximately a total of 4 hours. Last time I posted this, he stopped immediately..I am confident this time that he will nap tomorrow.
3. Can sit-up for a short time unassisted.
4. Literally has a bowel movement 2x per month...Yes, the doctor said this is fine...Interventions should start after 14 days. With this schedule, he needs to poo before October arrives.
5. Drinks prune juice.
6. Is scooting on his back.
7. Loves everything about paper. He especially  likes the sound and the flavor.
8. Is practicing with a sippy cup.
9.  Found his feet and toes.
10. He loves everything about his tongue. He can blow bubbles with it and use it to smack his lips.
 +1. Is only waking 2-3 times per night to eat, from like 100 times per night.
+2. Is sleeping 100% of the time in his cradle, unless I fall asleep, which happens regularly....

Feeding himself frozen pears like a big boy!

After dinner..what a mess!

Sitting up on his own!

His tongue is pretty much always sticking out these days.

Crazy bathtime...

Preston has graduated from the laydown side of the bath to the sit-up side. Last night, he was trying to sit-up so bad on the laydown side, so we moved him to the sit-up and he was so happy..Look at that splash..That was also the first and last time I will ever bath him with the mini bathtub out of the big bathtub...Way too big of a mess!

Another day of fun...

Sarah and I took the boys to Sarah's neighborhood park to "play," which actually meant us scarfing down our Carls Jr. (sorry Sarah-just threw you under the bus), while the boys looked at each other from their respective strollers. We played on the equipment for about 1 minute total due to the ungodly heat and me wearing jeans in the summer..Note to self: jeans are too hot when its 95 degrees outside.

Getting kisses

Down the slide

Riding the horsie

I think I was having way more fun than P.



New Friends this Month...

Paige at Paula's Birthday BBQ

Megan at din-din

Italian Festival...

Last weekend, my mom had the great idea of heading down to the First Annual (didn't know it was the first) Italian Festival in Grass Valley. My godmother, Sandy and her husband, Paul met us there. It was nice hanging out with them, it was nice eating fried food and gelato, but that was about it. The vendors consisted of a licence plate frame vendor, a pasta vendor, and probably some apron vendor that sells aprons with 100% Italian on it that I missed. They ran out of cannolis and the polenta man flaked which is why we went...I love polenta! Anyhoo...Preston was a dream...Between Leah's fancy dancy stroller that I borrowed for the trek and the Ergo, he was a happy camper. He even caught a little bit of an afternoon nap which was a miracle.

Napping in the stoller..We have come SO far!

Hanging out with Sandy

Laughing at Lala Noni

We are still here....

Yes, we are still here waiting for an offer...Everyone keeps asking what we are doing, so I thought I would let the five people who read this thing know...David is still waiting for an offer and is hopeful that we will be going somewhere soon. Most players left around September 1st, so we are not that late. It has been a blessing in disguise because I have gotten to spend a lot of time with my family. I was having anxiety at the beginning of August thinking that I was going to leave in a month. October 1st would be just fine with me.  Since all of our bills are paid through September, might as well stay through the month. I just know we will pay our rent October 1st and David will get an offer the next day....Here's to hoping we are somewhere soon!

Fall....

hurry up and come!!! I have now switched my favorite season to fall....I used to love fall and then abandoned it for summer, when my summers were filled with time off, laying out, tan skin, and cute summer dresses....That all ended with the arrival of the little prince..Having a baby in the hot sun is no good, so we sit in the shade, until we start sweating, then back to the house...My how things change. So...I have reclaimed fall as my favorite for the following reasons...

1. no sweating in the house

2. starts to get dark sooner

3. the first real rain comes in the fall

4. the car is not ungodly hot

5. candy corn

6. caramel apples

7. changing leaves (my favorite after caramel apples)

8. the outside temperature finally drops below 90 degrees

Weekend fun....

This weekend we actually, for once, had things going on! It was nice to see so many friends in a matter of two days. On Saturday, we went to Paula's post-birthday BBQ to celebrate another year passing....She is one of the youngest of the group...It always feels good when the babies finally catch up to us old ones! We had food, drinks, laughs, games, breast milk chugging videos (you really, really don't want to know-trust me), and music...It was a great time, even if I was home with the baby to bed by 8pm. Sarah and I got to spend some quality "mommy" time together.

Happy Birthday Paula!!!

love, Austin and Preston

'00 YCHS Crew, minus David :)

Flip Cup Queen with her Little Prince

On Sunday Jen and Megan came over for din-din. It was SOOO good to catch up, since Megan spent the summer in Italy. I had not seen her since December, when I was just starting to show. Megan got to meet the little prince for the first time and he loved her....He was the most gentle, sweetest little man while everyone was here...It was like he was drugged compared to his previous days as an expert fusser/grumpy old man. I <3 NAPS...Emily and Warren also came and hung out and Emily ended up staying the night! It was so fun!

Daily chores...

Obviously, we have not been up to anything exciting, except for the activities of a 5 month old, which include tummy time, explaining/showing/attempting rolling over and the Tripod, eating, sleeping, crying, and the occasional poo, on top of stay-at-home mom everyday activities....One of these is doing the laundry, which Preston thoroughly enjoys. He's so happy to go get the clothes out of the dryer and ride in the basket. He also is content watching me fold it...Its the small things in life that make him happy, I guess.

Look at that face....

Note to self...

Never get a spray tan,while you are breastfeeding or if your baby loves to be held...He will cry white tears...:(.

Almost weekly playdate...

These two are just so funny together...One starts crying...The other one starts crying....They love to just watch each other. Yesterday, I swear Preston was telling Austin about how his tummy was hurting because he never poos and Austin was such a good listener...This was all narrated by the Baby Whisperer, Sarah, ha ha! They just melt my heart.

And, I know Austin would give him the shirt off of his back :)

Would have been perfect except for P's eyes...Cracks me up! They are holding hands AGAIN!!

Sandy...

Last week Preston and I had a wonderful visit with my godmother Sandy...We headed up to Auburn where she lives and made a long stop (unintentionally-stop intentional, long part-not so much) at Sierra College to pick up my book for my Human Development class. Somehow I managed to block out the craziness of the first week of school, so I had forgotten how long it takes to find a parking spot, find a book, stand in line at the bookstore, and get out of the parking lot...My how I blocked those memories out so quickly...Its only been....5 years!!!  AND, I felt like the oldest person on campus carrying a baby around, even though I know I most definitely was not the oldest person there. Once we got up to Auburn we enjoyed a HUGE shrimp salad, bread, and salami, which I ate my weight in. I seriously just kept eating...We got caught up on girl gossip and she got to meet the little prince. He was so good that day! It was a blast!

Big milestone...

Preston has started eating real food! Well, I guess baby food isn't real food, but it is more than breast milk. His pediatrician said that we could start him at five months, so on his birthday, we whipped up a special batch of rice cereal and forged ahead. Before this, he had tried the juice from a fresh plum and sweet potato. He loved the juice and the sweet potato was just ok. The rice cereal was not so good.  As of now, he has tried peas, rice cereal, fresh honeydew, and fresh cantaloupe. He loves sucking on fresh fruit. I think the juice, texture, and temperature all feel good on his gums...He is not eating it though, just sucking. I didn't want to start him until 6 months, so we are taking it really, really slow. We just went to Indian food for lunch and I CANNOT wait for him to be older and trying all different foods and flavors.

Yummy Peas!

He is really stubborn with the spoon...CONTROL FREAK

Not so messy....

Messy!

Through the night...

Preston went to sleep at 7:15pm and slept until 7:50am, without waking up AT ALL last night....It was his first time sleeping for more than 6 hours, which is once I think....He's getting to be such a big boy :).....Not sure if it was a fluke or if it will become a habit, but it was NICE (except, I kept wondering if he was okay).