Halloween Penguin

Preston dressed up as a penguin for Halloween this year. I bought it it September and hoped he would be walking by Halloween so he could waddle in his costume - which he did!! He wore it all day as we drove around to visit Daddy and Grandma at work and then at night when we went trick-or-treating at the neighbor's houses. He was a good sport and didn't seem to mind wearing it - he wasn't too keen about the hat though, but it stayed on most of the time.

Preston's 1st Birthday Party

Preston celebrated his first birthday with friends and family. We had the party at our house and almost everyone that was invited showed up. It was so fun to share the special day with so many people. Several of Preston's little friends came and it was so neat to watch them all interact. They played very nicely together! I made monkey cupcakes and had a blast decorating the house.



Preston wasn't too thrilled with eating his cupcake. We all sang 'Happy Birthday' and had blow-outs which scared him. He wasn't too sure of getting his hands dirty and digging into the cupcake. I helped him out and assured him it was ok. He ate the whole thing and made a big mess just like he was supposed to.


He has recently learned how to blow kisses and when I ask him where his nose is, he grabs his ear. Guess we need to work on that ;) He loves to give kisses and hugs. He can be crying and if you ask him for a kiss, he'll stop crying, give you a kiss and then resume crying. It's quite cute! He climbed our stairs all the way to the top by himself for the first time yesterday. He's getting to be such a big boy! I have so much fun playing with him and I sometimes just stop to look at him and to take it all in that he's MINE! What a blessing :)

Preston is 1!

12 month picture. This was the best shot I could get - he was tired and hated the hat.

Birthday bath with Mohawk!

Preston turned 1 yesterday! Daddy took the day off so we enjoy the day as a family. We celebrated by taking him to the dr. for his on year check-up complete with shots (sorry buddy!). He got his first flu shot and several others. He's always done really good with shots so hopefully he doesn't have a reaction to any of these. It's been a wonderful first year and we're so blessed to have this little guy in our lives.

He's now walking really well and it's so fun to see him waddle around. He has now figured out how to crawl up the stairs, but hasn't figured out how to get down. He gets up a few steps, looks back and panics. He finally started clapping! I've tried teaching him how to do it for months and he would flap both arms, but couldn't clap them together. He just started doing it out of the blue about a week ago. He points at everything and says 'ssssssss'. Not sure what that means, but it's cute :) He loves to point at airplanes in the sky and kitties. He still only says 'mama', 'dada' and 'uh-oh' but mama is his favorite thing to say ♥ He tried pumpkin for the first time on his birthday and liked it and we're switching him from formula to whole milk. He noticed a difference so we're going to slowly wean him off the formula by mixing the two for a week or so. He drank that just fine.

His big birthday party is tomorrow so I'll post pictures from that soon.

Happy 1st Birthday to our
lil' pumpkin!

Colorado aspens

Last weekend, we drove up into the mountains to see the beautiful changing aspen trees. I love all the different colors - most are golden yellow, but some are orange and red. They are mixed in with the lime green aspens that haven't changed yet and the dark green evergreens. Makes for great pictures :)

We always stop at the mine pit on our way home to see the HUGE mining trucks.

Mini-vacation

(Double click on picture for a MUCH bigger view)

We recently had a weekend road trip for the beginning of Brandon's Fall school semester. My mama and I joined him and got to play while he was in class.

Here's a collage of our trip:

We went swimming, toured the Budweiser beer factory and ate at The Cheesecake Factory (which has now become a tradition).

Labor Day weekend

We had a fun 'Labor Free' weekend.

The city has a hot air balloon show every year and it's one of the only times I enjoy getting up before the sunrise. We went Saturday morning, but it was too windy and the balloons didn't lift off. We went again Sunday morning and the weather was perfect - coolish and not a cloud in the sky.


We headed out of town to take Preston on his first train ride. It's near the Royal Gorge Bridge which is the world's highest suspension bridge. I used to live close by and have been there a million times. Every family or friend that visited took a trip there. It's quite a breathtaking experience. I love trains and saw this one advertised (heavily!) on tv recently. I'd driven by, but never ridden this train. It's a scenic 3 mile trip that gives you a view of the bridge. The weather was cool and it was sunny and beautiful. Days like that you never want to end. Preston enjoyed the ride and so did we.



*You can click on the pictures for a larger image*

Crispy Green Beans

The crispy green bean appetizer at PF Changs is probably my all-time favorite food. We never go there without ordering it. They're crispy and salty and battered with a very light coating and served with a creamy spicy dipping sauce *DROOL* I don't feel so bad eating these because it's almost like eating a side of veggies - if it weren't for the crispy fried part :)

Preston was eyeing mama's beans. I let him smell one, but he'll have to wait a few years until I share my coveted green beans.

Preston is 9 months old!

My baby is turning into such a fun little boy. He has a very sweet, but curious personality and is always on the move. He's sooo close to being able to walk on his own. He can stand holding on with one hand and today I caught him standing next to the bathtub and he was leaning against it, not holding on with either hand. He can also now stand up in his crib. I love watching him figure things out - he loves to open and shut doors/drawers, flush the toilet, rip apart Kleenex or napkins, throw things into the bathtub and his favorite thing to do is play with electrical cords. He will go straight for a cord over any toy. Fans, lamps, computer, vacuum - he loves them all. I always have to watch him so he doesn't get hurt.

He now has 6 teeth - 4 on top and 2 on the bottom. He's tried more new foods and has liked everything so far. He's now had applesauce, avocado, bananas, carrots, green beans, peaches, pears, peas, squash (butternut) and sweet potatoes. He's been eating brown rice cereal and oatmeal for a few months and I just introduced plain yogurt and tofu. I have so much fun making new combinations. He loves oatmeal/yogurt/peaches - it's like baby peach cobbler :) I'm going to try adding spices next and then we'll move onto all the other fruits and veggies. I like to do them in alphabetical order so next up will be apricots. He now sits in a big boy highchair to eat and loves to bang on the tray while waiting for his food.

My dad just flew in from Phoenix for a visit. He hasn't seen Preston since he was 5 weeks old. He was only here for a few days, but we were able to go to the park and play on the swings and do some other 'Grandpa' things. I was able to get the 2 grandpa's together and get a picture of them with Preston. That will be a special memory for all of them (notice how similar their shirts are - that wasn't even planned!).


Preston had his 9 month check-up on Wednesday and he's doing great. Growing, happy and healthy.

First Father's Day...and peas!

We enjoyed a relaxing, fun first Father's Day. We met up with my inlaws for a Sunday brunch and then back to the family house for some playtime with the cousins. Then, we got to come home, take a nap and go out to dinner and do some shopping. That's my idea of a pretty perfect day. Preston was SO tired by the time we got home, but mama had to get some pictures of him and his Papa. Pictures are not optional, especially on holidays :)



He also tried homemade peas for the first time and LOVED them! They were bright green and so pretty - very different from the watery, olive colored jarred peas. I'm still enjoying making all of his food. He's a very good eater! *Notice the appropriate "I Love Daddy" jammies he's wearing*

Father's Day - then and now

Here's the gift I made for my dad for Father's Day this year.

The top picture is of the 2 of us when I was 11 days old exactly 37 years ago today. The bottom picture is of me and Preston in the same location 37 years later - he's 33 weeks old. The trees by the lake have really grown in that time! But overall, it looks very similar. The park now has more plaques/statues in the area (the one by us is a Veteran's Memorial), an added recreation court and a big parking lot - you can see our new car in the bottom picture at the left :)

Hope he likes it!