Scott, Amanda, and Preston Eichmeier

Preston's 2 Year Pics

2010-11-03T16:07:00.000-07:00

If you would like to see Preston's 2 year pictures, click here.
Manday Smith Photography took them and she did a great job! Bribing Preston with M&M's worked better than I could have ever hoped! :)

Rest of Summer Pics

2010-10-28T18:23:00.000-07:00

Yep, it's been 2 months again since I blogged and we are still too busy. But, I am trying to catch up. So many events have happened and I want to document them all, so here is my attempt. This post is basically a bunch of pictures from the summer that I still haven't put up...then there is Preston's 2 yr birthday party that I need to update........ahh!

Papa Kyle giving Pres a ride on the mower
Riding his pink "mo mo" with Aunt Molly

Riding Papa's "Momo"

Fun at Altoona Palooza

Car show at Altoona Palooza

Playing with his cousin Zach

Trying on his cousin Haley's hair bow for cheerleading....so pretty :)

Haley and Aunt Kristi got to spend a few days with us when Haley had cheerleading camp!

Preston loved having Haley around!

She went along with everything Preston wanted her to do...playing "mo mo's" below

Preston's first concert....Hairball at the State Fair. We didn't stay much longer, I felt too much like a white trash mother :)

Preston in the baby cow cage!

Mommy, Preston, Aunt Moyee, and a BIG pumpkin

Preston's favorite part of the fair...the big slide. And it was only $5 a ride! :)

"Don't lick my shoes piggy!"

"Wow, that pig is big!"

Gotta love those fried mac & cheese bites! Mmm fair food

Hanging out with Nana Didi and Great Gpa Dale

Parade in Altoona with Adrian and Jennifer

Taking a break from playing for a snack

Papa Kyle brought me a Norse hat!

Raise the roof for the Iowa Cubs!

Lovin that Iowa sweet corn!

One afternoon we took Preston to Union Park for a picnic and to ride the carousel

Mommy and Daddy in Cedar Falls for Daddy's 30th birthday

Lynn and Rowan all smiles

Brad and Kami's 1 year anniversary :)

Mommy took Preston to a tumbling class this summer

He had fun bouncing around and playing

Helping Mommy make pancakes for Daddy one morning

At the horse races

Preston loved watching the horses up close

Yum...raspberries!

Visiting Finley and Jenn- when Mommy picked Finley up to hold her, Preston started crying and threw himself into a wall. A little jealous, huh?

Preston saw Finley sitting in her bumbo seat, so he had to get his out when we got home :)

Happy Birthday Auntie Paige!

2010-09-13T18:44:00.000-07:00

Preston wanted to wish you a Happy Birthday Aunt Paige! We love and miss you! Hope you had a great day!

Note before the video: He kept saying 'more' because we might have bribed him with food :)

And he has a flashlight with him because he likes to tease the kitty with it (she runs around in circles and up the wall and he thinks it is hilarious!)

Busy Busy Bees!

2010-09-12T11:13:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. We have not blogged FOREVER! We have been so busy that as a rule, I told myself I could not get on the internet until I have everthing done, and that has never happened, so I am cheating and blogging now. On August 9th, I started my reading practicum for 2 weeks and then on August 22nd I started student teaching in kindergarten at Hillis Elementary. So, I am going to school during the day and trying to get some part-time hours at work in the evenings. Student teaching is going well, though, and I love my cooperating teacher. I just keep telling myself that if we can get through the next 4 months, everything will work out :) Money is tight, our house is a mess, and there is not enough time to do all my work! When December comes it will be such a relief. Preston also had to start full time day care in August, but he is absolutely loving it! For some reason, he is a getting along a lot better at day care since he has started full time. He loves eating breakfast at day care (don't ask me why) and is excited to get out the door when I remind him of that. He has never cried when I have left and he has even kissed me goodbye and told me 'bye bye' before I have wanted to leave. It makes me a little sad, but it is better than him screaming when I leave! His teacher said he is talking so much more now and has become very social, which is awesome and makes me feel a little less guilty for leaving him there full time. I miss him him a lot though and try to spend as much quality time with him as I can in the evenings and on the weekend.

Daddy has been such a great help since Mommy started student teaching and this prevents Mommy from losing her mind! And Daddy got some great news last week at work- he got a promotion! It couldn't have come at a better time! Congrats Daddy. We are so proud of you and how hard you work to support your family. Daddy had to take a week-long trip to Memphis the last week in August for work (the week that my students started school!), but he had fun and Wells Fargo treated him very well there. I think this trip is what sealed his promotion! Grandpa Kyle came and stayed with Mommy and Preston that week so Mommy could get some part-time hours in after school, so thanks Papa Kyle! Not much else to share at the Eichmeier household. Next weekend, I take my Praxis test at Luther College to get licensed to teach so we are going to spend the weekend in Decorah for family weekend. I have many pics to share from summer, especially from our trip to Wisconsin. Hopefully they will go up before December :) Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the start to fall and football season!

Balsam Lake 2010

2010-08-14T19:40:00.001-07:00

So, since I am on a bloggy roll, I decided to finish the Balsam Lake pictures I had downloaded like a month ago. Enjoy! It was super fun with all the Marquard Fam and we can't wait for next year.

This is how we kept Preston quiet on the way to Balsam Lake, Wisconsin. We didn't let him eat the whole container of Pringles, just half :) He really was a good rider though, slept most of the time.

Love the sunsets at the lake
Playing on the porch

Papa Kyle and Preston looking at the lake

Great Nana Mary enjoying the nice weather

Row, row, row the boat

On the beach

Aunt Moyee and P Diddley swimming

Ride on Great Uncle Randy's boat!

Lovin his boat ride

Campfire at night

This picture makes me want to go back right now- it was so relaxing!

Preston loved touching the fishies and throwing them back in the water

Looking at the big fish that Great Uncle Jeff caught- and beautiful sunset in the background

Snack by the campfire

Marquard Family shot

Papa Kyle's Family with Great Gma Mary

Preston and "Ky Ky" playing

Daddy and Preston playing on the beach

Preston and Ky Ky swimming

Pontoon Ride

Driving the pontoon with Papa Kyle

Sister pic- Aunt Paige had even dyed her hair blonde!

"The pontoon boat is making me very sleepy."

And he's out

Swimming off the boat

One evening, there was a bad storm. It was pretty scary and we had to sit in between the door frame because we thought the windows might crash in. When we went into town, there was a lot of damage- trees uprooted and roofs blown off. You can see how weird the sky looks in this picture.

Preston and Papy Kyle showing off their fish

Daddy and Preston being goofy

Our cabin

Preston caught his first fish

"Ooh Daddy, I can see it!"

"Yay, a fish!"

"Look at my fish."

"I'll just take the hook out myself."

Papa rigged this little pole with a fish so Preston could catch it :) It was so fun for him that he threw the pole back in about 10 times and caught it again!

Paddle boat ride- Mommy, Pres, and his aunties paddled out to a water trampoline and Preston was not afraid to jump on it or jump in the water. Our brave little fishy!

Fun with Chalk- his hat says, "Grandpa's Fishing Buddy."

Last pic before Aunt Paige left to go back to Costa Rica

Paige and Grandma

Celebrations

2010-07-22T18:55:00.001-07:00

The month of July has brought on some more celebrating. First off- Daddy turned 30 on July 21st- wow- he is sure getting old :) Grandma Diane and Grandma Sue also celebrated birthdays and both Grandpa's are retiring. So, Happy Birthday and Happy Retirement!!!

For Daddy's birthday, we went out to eat at Felix & Oscars."These breadsticks are too good for a picture, Mommy."

This picture was taken after Preston dumped a whole glass of water on Mommy because he wanted to sit in the big boy booth like Daddy. Fun times out to eat in soaked clothes! Daddy and Preston blowing out the candles on his ice cream cake

Preston and Haley playing bags at Great Gma and Gpa Eichmeier's. They had a nice get-together and we got to see some family that we haven't seen in awhile.

Great Gpa and Gma Eichmeier with their great grand-kids

Clark Family

Eichmeier Family

Preston loves hanging out with Haley

And Zach loves Preston so much

Doing flips with Daddy

Grant showed Preston how to play in the ice

So cold!

Raspberry doughnut before Gpa Kyle's retirement party-delicious!

Gpa with his cake

Gpa Kyle with his family

Great Gma Mary and Gpa Kyle

Out to eat for Gma Diane's birthday

Doing a birthday dance for Grandma

Video of Preston and Grandma Diane dancing on her birthday. Check out Grandma's sweet moves :)

4th of July Weekend

2010-07-14T18:37:00.000-07:00

The weekend of the 4th we traveled back to Ventura for the holiday. It was a nice, long weekend, despite the rain on the 4th. We saw some friends we haven't seen in awhile, which is always nice.

When we arrived at Gma & Gpa Eichmeier's, Preston looked through the whole tub to find this "mo mo" he played with previously. And then Gpa and Gma bought him another "mo mo!" He loves playing "mo mos" now! We decided to go downtown and listen to the band on Friday night. Here are the boys.
And ladies

On Saturday, we went to Rowan Treloar's 1st birthday party. Look at her cute outfit!

Preston sharing with Rowan

Cutie pie- Hazel Dillavou

The Dillavou party was packed with little kids and tons of cool toys.

Gus Dillavou- he was upset with me after I took this picture because he firmly told me not to take a picture of him :)

Preston enjoyed jumping on this trampoline with Gus. Preston is on Daddy's shoulders and Will is talking to him.

Preston opening his 4th of July presents

"Here Grandma, have a yummy raspberry."

Grandpa Kyle and Aunt Molly met us at the OP for dinner on the 4th.

Gpa Kyle and Mommy

"Look Ma."

Matchers

Blowing bubbles at Gpa and Gma's

So intrigued by the bubbles

Trying to catch the bubbles

Gpa Larry giving Pres a ride on the bike

"I can do it Grandpa."

Preston's 1st sparkler

He wanted more and more sparklers to be lit so he could watch them. He did a good job of staying far enough away from them so he wouldn't get burned.

4th of July outfit at the parade...Red, White, and Vroom!

P-dawg and Gma Sue waiting for the parade

Daddy and Gpa

Eichmeier fam at the pararde

Fun Times with Aunt Paige

2010-07-13T19:22:00.000-07:00

Aunt Paige came back from Costa Rica the end of June and spent a few days with us in Altoona. Preston had been practicing her name and said it moments after she arrived ("Pai"), which Aunt Paige loved! Here are some pictures of their fun times together.

Aunt Paige brought this dump truck for Preston- awesome! Preston showed Aunt Paige how gentle he is with the kitty by running a truck over her head :)
Getting ready to go to the Aquatic Center

Preston and Aunt Paige in the pool- he made Mommy and Aunt Paige stay until closing time.

After feeding the ducks

Preston and Mommy

Aunt Paige showed Preston how to throw rocks into the stream

And he had to do it over and over

Filling up his pool

Watch out Aunt Paige!

Getting ready to swim in the backyard

Sliding into his pool

Throwing things into his dump truck

Adventureland 2010

2010-07-12T19:30:00.001-07:00

Just like last year, Grandma Diane got cheap tickets to go to Adventureland, so we got all the family together, both sides, to enjoy the fun with us. Of course it was like the hottest day of the year, but we still had a blast.

Aunt Paige, Pres, and Aunt Molly on the train Preston enjoyed riding the carousel

He did not enjoy the ladybugs too much because we couldn't ride with him.
LOVED the semi-trucks- rode them tons!

Hated the boats- he tried to jump out into the water

Preston watching the show

We thought maybe he would like the ladybugs more if Zach went with him...but he still wasn't a fan.

Waiting in line for a ride. Before this, Preston enjoyed hanging out at Kokomo Cove- running through the water.

PK, Daddy, and Cousin Zach

Semi trucks with Aunt Paige

Ate this entire pickle

Goofy Daddy on the bumper cars

Preston and Gma Sue

Gma Diane and Aunt Paige taking a rest

Grant in the semi

Daddy and Preston in the semi- see, he loved the semi-trucks!

Mommy and Daddy brought home these maracas for Preston from Costa Rica.

Jammin' with the maracas

Happy Birthday Grandpa Kyle!

2010-07-01T18:11:00.000-07:00

Preston, Mommy, and Daddy would like to wish Grandpa Kyle a very happy birthday today!

We love you!!!

In the video, he is showing off some of his dance moves to the song "Happy Birthday."

And his new butch haircut :)

Costa Rica

2010-06-21T20:10:00.000-07:00

These pictures are from our trip to Costa Rica. We drove to Chicago in the middle of the night last Thursday and were in Costa Rica from Friday to Friday. My sister, Paige, lives there, so she was generous enough to book our activities, be our tour guide, and let us stay at her place in between our excursions. It was so fun and beautiful there!

This was our view from our balcony in Manuel Antonio- sweet!

Amanda and Scott outside our room overlooking the ocean
Happy Hour....every day!!
Iguanas were all over the place- this freaky one would not leave us alone at the pool.
Sisters on the balcony of our hotel
Molly and I at the pool with an oceanside view

At the restaurant at our hotel- I love the background in these next pics.

Earlier this day, we went jet-skiing on the ocean. Scott loved it, I was super scared, but am glad I can say that I did it and didn't die :)

Molly and Scott getting roughed up by the waves. The waves and riptides were huge our last day in Manuel Antonio. The lifeguard was constantly going out to save people, so we stayed pretty close to shore.

Paige taught Molly and Scott how to surf. They both did a great job and got up a few times. The pic below is Paige helping Molly to surf.

On the beach our last day in Manuel Antonio

Juan Ca, Paige's "friend," took us to a restaurant in San Jose when we returned

As you can see, Scott got a little sun

Our next little trip was to La Fortuna. We were about to hike down to see the waterfall in the background.

So amazing

The water at the falls was incredibly cold, but so clear and beautiful.

The next day we went canopying. We canopied on 10 different lines.

Also super scary, but what a thrill. I think this pic is me on the left on the zip line with a waterfall on the right.

Molly was not so good at controlling herself on the zip-line. We heard a lot of screaming and saw a lot of twirling :) She even had to go with the guide on the longest one because she got stuck on a previous long zip-line. I have video I need to post somewhere because it is funny!

It is hard to describe how scary this was for me- but at least I am smiling!!

Scott- almost to the landing on one of the lines. He loved canopying.

We rode horses back- Paige and Scott

Our last night in San Jose, Paige took us to a restaurant with a great view of the city.

Bye Bye Costa Rica :( If you want to look at more pics of our trip (like 200 more!) Click Here.

Thanks to all the grandparents for watching Preston while we were away. He had so much fun and got to do so many cool things! What did Preston do while we were gone? Grandma D took some pics to show us.
I guess it rained a lot while we were away so Preston watched from the window

Rode his "mo mo" and played outside when it wasn't raining

Went LOTS of places- baseball games, softball games, great-grandpa's house, cousins' house, parks, etc etc

Preston and Grandpa Kyle dressed alike and entered the "kiddie parade" at River Days. Too funny!

Riding a horse at the park

Mommy and Daddy got back to Greene at 4am on Sat morning. We got a couple hours of sleep, but it was River Days so we took Preston to the parade and Mommy had her 10 yr class reunion Sat night (wow- I feel old!).

Grandma D and Preston watching the parade

I also wanted to mention that right before we left we found out that our friend, Lane, was going to have surgery to remove a tumor in his brain the next week. They have since learned that it is cancerous and are going to start some kind of treatment soon.

We are thankful that his wife, Rachel, did such an awesome job of updating their blog because that was hard news to swallow and then leave the country. We got online whenever we had computer access and could see how he was doing and the information they received. So, thanks Rachel, for keeping everyone updated because you and the family are always in our thoughts. We know that their strong faith and love will get them through this difficult time, but please pray for Lane, Rachel, Kamden, and their unborn baby. You can click on their blog to the right to learn more about their story.

Last Few Weeks

2010-06-20T20:05:00.000-07:00

The pics from this post are from the last few weeks. I have not been doing a good job lately of keeping up with the blog. Of course, busy is my excuse :) They are mostly from Memorial Day weekend in Greene and Grandpa K's Retirement party at the school. We did our final Farrell's test that weekend and both Scott and I are happy with the results. We lost some pounds and lots of inches. Now we just need to keep exercising!!!!

This climber is an early birthday present from Grandma D. Preston can climb up, slide down, and it has a basketball hoop, football throw, a place to kick the soccer ball. Neato!

Aunt "Moyee" taught Preston how to smell the flowers, so he loves to go over to the neighbors garden to smell them. Sometimes we have to run away quickly because they fall off :)

Grandpa Kyle and PK at the park in Greene

Swimming at Grandpa's. He was loving the cup so he could throw water on us :)

Then came the hose!!!

Grandpa K and GGma Mary watching Pres swim

Playing the piano with Grandma D. He likes to jive to the songs.

And he is becoming quite a pianist himself

Laughing with Aunt Moyee while eating all of her muffin

This was Grandpa's last year as the high school counselor. He retired after giving 33 years to Greene/North Butler Schools.

Congrats Grandpa Kyle!

Every Thursday at school Preston gets to bring his lunch and participate in water play. He brings his Sesame Street lunch box.

New swim attire for the summer

We just got back from Costa Rica to see Aunt Paige so I will update with pics soon!

Catching Up

2010-05-24T11:22:00.000-07:00

I am finally tending to the blog again, I think my last post was May 1st! Time just flies by so quick. Preston is taking a nap so I have a little time this afternoon. Sorry for the long post! Our weekends have been busy by going to Tulip Time, going to Ventura to see family, and then spending time with family here. Daddy was busy with work in the evenings and Mommy was busy with class last week, so Preston got to spend some time with Grandpa Kyle. He also got to enjoy the Farmer's Market with Grandma Diane, Aunt Molly, and Great Uncle Michael and enjoyed showing off his skills to Great Aunt Dawn and Great Grandpa Dale when they visited. Preston got to see so many people this past weekend! Grandma Diane helped Mommy plant the garden and Daddy also did some landscaping while Aunt Molly watched P-dawg. This coming weekend we have our final Farrell's testing and then we need to start getting ready for our Costa Rica trip to visit Aunt Paige..we are so excited!

We went to Tulip Time the first weekend in May. The picture below is from Tulip Time last year. This picture is Preston at Tulip Time this year, same spot. He obviously still didn't want his pictures taken with the pretty flowers. This year it was really cold and kinda rainy. He did enjoy playing on the bouncy toys.

And of course he enjoyed a corn dog.

Flowers from Paige for our anniversary on the 6th. And a Mother's Day card from Preston that he made at school. Daddy and Preston also got Mommy a gift card to Jordan Creek and a massage for Mother's Day/Anniversary- woohoo!

We went back to Ventura last weekend to see Daddy's aunt, uncle, and cousin from Texas. This picture is Preston with his cousins. They did an awesome job of entertaining Preston while the adults played some games!

Playing trucks with Aunt Kristi

"This pie is delicious, Grandma Sue!"

Watching Grandpa Larry make the mo-mo (motorcycle) go Vroom

Daddy's Aunt Jean, Uncle Gerry, and Cousin Todd. It was so good to see you! We can't wait for next year!

Eichmeier's

Mommy and Preston jumping on the trampoline at his cousins' house.

Preston tried and tried to keep up with the big kids :)

Wrestling with Pooh- and he is pinned!

Uh-oh- Pooh flipped him over!

This past Friday, we went to the I-Cubs game. Preston didn't watch more than a minute of the game, but he loved to run around and run through the water.

Lovin' the water

Preston loved helping with the landscaping and garden....he is throwing dirt at Daddy and Aunt Molly is giggling in the background.

Kisses for Aunt Molly!

His new thing over the weekend was dumping his toy box out and getting in the tub.

Mommy and Preston

Tantrum because he wanted to take a picture of Daddy by himself.

Preston took this pic of Daddy (with Mommy's help:)

Sesame Street is about the only TV we let him watch..but as you can see he enjoys it, along with his snack and milk.

Happy May

2010-05-03T11:22:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it is May already! Last weekend, Preston got to stay with Grandma Diane while Mommy and Daddy completed their 5 week testing for Farrell's and attended the Drake Relays. Grandpa Kyle works at the Relays every year so we get to watch some excellent athletes for free! Our 5 week testing was also a success- Mommy and Daddy have both lost weight, inches, and improved on our mile, sit-ups, and push-ups. There were 2 little girls born in the last couple weeks also- Hazel Dillavou and Finley Hyde. Congrats Dillavou and Hyde families! You can check out Hazel on the Dillavou blog to the right. We got Preston's 18 month pictures back last week. She took some really awesome candid photos and we love the editing she did with them. You can check them out here.

Finley Marie Hyde in the NICU- born 5 weeks early.

Preston riding his "motorcycle" at Grandma's. He also got to go to the park, visit prom, and see Great Grandpa Dale while at Grandma's! Fun Fun!
Doing some tricks on his trike at Grandpa's.
Aunt Molly even came home from college to see Preston

Preston visited Grandpa at the school and Grandma at the post office. He is riding in a mail bin at the post office in the picture.

Mommy, Daddy, and Preston went to the farmer's market this past Saturday. It is probably our most favorite thing to do in Des Moines in the summer. It was super busy, but still a good time. Preston enjoyed people and dog watching...and running around in the grass.

Preston's May Day "basket"

Preston is obsessed with bikes. He has been running over the the neighbor's constantly and trying to get on their bikes and he also runs after any bike he sees. Even though he is still a little small, we decided to break down and get him a trike. This one is awesome because he can't reach the pedals completely, but we can push him from behind. He loves it!

Pres with his new picnic table.

We visited Finley, Jack, and Jenn on Sunday. Jack giving Finley a bottle.

Jenn and Finley

Of course my child is uncooperative :)

18 Months

2010-04-19T12:20:00.001-07:00

Preston had his 18 month checkup last week. Here are his numbers: Height- 34 inches and in the 91st percentile, Weight- 29.4 lbs and in the 88th percentile. At least he is tall too! Our pediatrician told us that since he is a "bigger child" (pretty sure those are the words she used:) we can switch him to 1% or 2% milk. He got a couple shots, which got him pretty ticked at the nurse and he gave her a mean look. Other than that, he is right on target for everything else. We also went over to Grimes to get his 18 month pictures done outside. Needless to say, he wasn't that cooperative- he didn't want to smile, sit, or pose, and I am pretty sure we didn't get 1 family picture that turned out because he was screaming. Just hoping that she got some good candids of him running around because that is all he wants to do now! We are enjoying this beautiful spring weather and playing outside A LOT- riding our bikes, stroller rides, toy car rides, firetruck rides, wagon rides, playing catch, writing with chalk, playing with the neighbors, going to the playground, watching trucks and school buses, etc, etc. Mommy bought Preston a new little picnic table which should be fun for picnics outside this summer.

Preston LOVES watching trucks outside- mail, garbage, cement, pick-up, it doesn't matter. This day, he saw the garbage cans outside waiting to be dumped so he knew the garbage truck was coming. He wouldn't leave the window so he had to eat breakfast by it so he wouldn't miss the garbage truck going by. The garbage truck came 2 hours later just as we were leaving for school...it was a long morning.

Daddy and Preston playing the "chase" game.

Wagon ride to feed the ducks....although I don't think much of that bread was left for the ducks after Preston got a hold of it!

Showing off his new haircut for his pictures

Once again, watching trucks outside with his own truck. The neighbors are putting in a garage, so there are lots of trucks for him to watch right now.

Hawaiian Day at school-he wore a cool Costa Rica shirt! And he brought a lei for each one of his friends.

Kisses for Daddy

Toddler Plumber crack....trying to get up in the chair and mess with the new computer Daddy built.

Strolling with Grandpa Kyle on a beautiful day

Easter Weekend

2010-04-05T12:29:00.000-07:00

Easter weekend was a blast. Preston got to participate in so many fun activities and he loved it. He didn't want to cooperate for many pictures over the weekend and his scraped nose was in its prime for Easter weekend. Oh, memories!

Heading to the Easter Egg Hunt in Greene Meeting Brecken at the Egg Hunt
The Easter Egg hunt lasted about 30 seconds. He did get 4 eggs though, and even shared 1 with Brecken.

Grandpa and Preston in matching hats...like I said..not very cooperative.

Pretty flowers Grandma

Aunt Molly and Preston playing outside

"Look what the Easter Bunny brought me Grandma!"

Preston was a little messy dying the eggs. He enjoyed throwing the eggs into the cup and making a big splash :)

At the park

Swinging

Preston got these Sesame Street bathtime paints for Easter and liked decorating himself and Grandpa's tub.

Aunt Molly got him some golf clubs to go along with his outfit

Preston, Daddy, Mommy, and Aunt Molly

Aunt Molly and Preston were tired after church

Hunting for eggs at Great Grandma's

Baby ducks!

Look how cute that duck is!

We had to remind Preston to be "gentle" with the ducks :)

Update on Farrell's

2010-04-05T11:59:00.000-07:00

We have completed 2 weeks of our Farrell's Xtreme Bodyshaping. They are hard workouts, but we already feel much better and healthier. It is definitely hard to go at 5 and 6 in the morning, so that has been an adjustment. Sometimes Scott and I take turns going at night because our coaches told us we could go at anytime, as long as we are going once a day. Five and six in the morning are also their busiest times so sometimes it is nice to go when you have more room to punch and kick! The eating part is the hardest for me because I like to eat what I want, and it is usually not that healthy. We have to eat 6 small meals a day and we each have a number of grams we have to meet each meal for protein and carbs (healthy ones of course). And some veggies throughout the day. Scott and I both look forward to our "free" day, where we can eat what we want. Easter was especially hard, though! I met with the nutritionist at HyVee last week and she gave me some healthy options, which was very helpful.

Grandma Sue and Preston reading books Grandpa Larry and Preston playing
We went to Carlos O'Kelly's to watch UNI play Kansas. Preston got this sweet balloon after they won! He loved it.

Preston practicing his "Farrell's" moves

Watching basketball

Daddy went to the UNI/Michigan State game with a couple of his friends. He had a great time even though they lost.

Grandpa Kyle and Preston going for a cruise

Preston found some dirt and thought it would be fun to throw at Gpa.

1st day in shorts

Then this happened....skinned nose, head, knee, and arm...ouchie. Just in time for Easter.

St. Patty's Day!!

2010-03-17T18:32:00.001-07:00

Contrary to this blog page, we are not Irish, but as some of you may know, Mommy loves St. Patrick's Day. She may have even become a little obsessed. Mommy, Daddy, and Preston all got new green shirts for St. Patty's Day and Mommy also made a very green meal last night. Today, Daddy took off a couple hours of work to join Mommy and Preston for the parade.

Mommy made some green bread in the bread maker It looked so delicious, Preston had to have some immediately!

Green pears

Green beans

Green chicken/broccoli alfredo sauce- I know, it looks kinda gross, but it wasn't that bad!

Green noodles

Green Jello

Green slushie (lime sherbert + 7up)- Preston had green milk.

The whole green meal

Yummy- and yes, his poop was green today :)

And for dessert....Green rice krispie bars- Daddy's favorite!

Scrumptious!

P-Bear loves to watch the mail truck drive around our cul-de-sac and deliver mail. This was after he threw an hour long tantrum because Mommy accidentally said we were going to go outside to the parade today..he thought that was immediately. Oh, and after he threw multiple tantrums because he wanted to do dishes. Every time we run water or go near the sink, he thinks we are doing dishes and pushes the chair over to "help us." I just avoided the sink the entire day today because the tantrums were just too much for Mommy!

Preston and Daddy watching the parade

Mommy was bummed that it was too cold to show off his St. Patty's Day t-shirt, but we found this sweatshirt, and everyone around us thought it was adorable :)

Mommy and Preston

The parade lasted an hour and a half! He sat for the first hour, and then we let him get down and run around, which he loved! He was dancing to the music, catching beads, and chasing down dogs.

I like this picture because our little monster looks so little compared to the rest of the crowd :) And it shows off his tail!

This little monster was TIRED! He slept on the way home, but wouldn't lay down for a nap when we got home. He got a whopping 20 min nap today...FUN!

Instead of sleeping, we read this St. Patrick's Day book.

Happy St. Patrick's Day from the Eichmeier's!

It's beginning to look a lot like.....spring!

2010-03-15T19:10:00.001-07:00

The weather has been wonderful the past couple days and we have definitely been enjoying some outside time. We didn't even have to wear our winter coats out today :) This past weekend we went back to Greene because we haven't been there since Christmas! It was nice and relaxing just to hang out at Grandpa Kyle's and Grandma Diane's. Mommy and Daddy got to sleep in both days- yippee! This week will be kinda slow for Mommy because it is spring break, but she is super excited for St. Patrick's Day. Weather permitting, Mommy and Daddy are going to take Preston to the parade on Wednesday. Hopefully we get some good pics on Wednesday of our St Patty's Day festivities.

Since we couldn't find a pink shirt for Preston to wear on "pink day," he wore this shirt. It says: My favorite color is dirt. And he is proudly displaying his St Patty's Day hat he made at school. Watching Elmo videos on the net

Preston's favorite thing to do at Grandpa's was play on the porch. It was a little chilly on Saturday, but Preston still wanted to be outside...or at least as close as he could get.

On Sunday, Grandma and Preston took a walk down to the river to see how much it had flooded. Thankfully it has not flooded Grandma's post office this time!

Driving his car on Sunday after returning home

Preston helped Daddy take down the Christmas lights (I know, we are behind, but they were frozen to the gutter!)

Preston can sit down and eat an entire container of fruit, this time it was strawberries.

Since Preston practiced looking for Easter eggs at Grandmas, Mommy decided to get them out at our house for Preston to play with. We put toys and Lucky Charms in them and he enjoyed dumping them out and finding the goodies. Easter will be fun!

What a fun surprise..beads!

Today we could wear our "spring coat." Preston had to take his Dew bottles with him in the car...just like Mommy and Daddy. Not a very good example we are setting, I know. Guess we need to limit our soda intake!

Took a short walk in the wagon

So excited to be outside! Running and running until Mommy makes me come back!

Preston's new favorite song to dance to is "I like to move it, move it!"

Changes

2010-03-08T19:43:00.000-08:00

Changes have been happening this week in the Eichmeier household. Mommy started a new term this week in school. She dropped an online class she heard horrible things about, so now it is just the one class this term, which will be so nice! She just has one class next term, a reading practicum, and then will student teach in the fall. So close to being done! Daddy and Mommy also signed up for Farrell's Extreme Body Shaping, which starts March 20th. Daddy is going at 5am and Mommy is going at 6am 6 days a week- which in itself is crazy because we are not morning people. That is the only time it would work in our crazy schedules though. Hopefully it will be a good and healthy change because we need it! Preston also changed this week- he got his 2nd haircut. This one went so much better than the first one. I was dreading it but he did well. Preston watched Mommy get her haircut first, and then he sat on Daddy's lap while he got his...and we gave him juice and snacks :) Starting on Monday, Preston will also be sleeping on a cot at school. There are two younger kids moving up and they need the cribs, so P-dawg will get to be a big boy! They tried it a couple times last week and he kept getting up, but the staff said they will just lay by him until he adjusts to the cot. He is growing up so fast..which makes Mommy sad and happy at the same time because it is so cool to watch him learn and grow.

This is the morning before his haircut. He has this cool Cheerios book that you have to put Cheerios in the holes to finish the picture..then he eats them! Haircut time!
Where'd my hair go? He likes to do this gesture for everything now. Helping Daddy do the dishes
This is later that night after his haircut. It is pretty short, but that way it will be awhile before we have to schedule another haircut. He is trying to get the last of the pickles in the jar. He loves pickles!

Daddy and Preston made a tent on Sunday morning.

He really wanted to be in this picture!

Mommy and Preston went over to Adrian's house to play for awhile on Sunday afternoon. They were feeding the kitty some treats. Hopefully the weather keeps changing and raising those temps so we can play outside soon!

Sweet Adrian.

Colors

2010-03-08T19:04:00.000-08:00

I gave this post the title "colors" because it seems like colors have been a big part of our life the past couple weeks. Right now at Preston's "school," they are having color days for 2 weeks. Each day they are supposed to wear a certain color. Last week, he wore blue, green, yellow, and the picture below is brown day. We wanted to take a picture of this day because Aunt Paige gave him this shirt from Costa Rica. It has monkeys on it. Tomorrow is black day, so that will be easy, but I know sometime this week is pink day and I don't think Preston owns a thing that is pink. Jasmine loved getting decorated by Preston in these pretty beads from Lisa's 30th bday party.
"Stay still kitty so I can make you pretty!"
Daddy is getting ready for Lisa's 30th Birthday Color Block Party. Preston is thinking "Wow, my Dad is weird!" Brad, Kami, Mommy, and Daddy ready for Lisa's color party.

The host and hostess, Jared and Lisa. Happy 30th Birthday Lisa!

BFF's all colored up

Look at those beautiful baby blues!

Mommy made some orange homeade play-doh one day when Preston and Mommy were running out of things to do stuck inside. It kept him entertained for awhile and he only tried a couple bites :)

I think he had a lot more fun with the cookie cutters.

State Champion Bowler? Mommy read in the SE Polk Newsletter that the high school team just won the state championship in bowling. Maybe Preston will be on the team....?

Is winter over yet?

2010-02-21T19:35:00.000-08:00

We are thankful that this snowstorm we were supposed to get today missed us because we already have waaay too much snow. We are ready for some warmer weather so we can play outside...soon hopefully! Like always, we have stayed busy the last few weeks and the weekends go by too fast. Despite the weather, all the grandparents have been able to visit a couple times, which is fun for Preston. He loves to show off when we have company and since it was Valentine's Day last weekend, he got some cool gifts (Elmo stuffed animal, Sesame Street cars, Chuck the Truck, puppy dog stuffed animal, and many cards). Thanks Everyone! When Mommy is done with Saturday classes the beginning of March, we are hoping to find some weekends to visit back home. Preston is saying more and more words each day, which is amazing to us and still uses his signs to communicate. He just started quacking like a duck, which is adorable.

Reading People magazine

"But I love Sports Illustrated too, Daddy!"
Making his Valentine cards for his day care party. He made Mommy and Daddy a card with his hand print at day care and he received lots of cards and treats from his friends. Who knew that we would have to start buying Valentine Cards for our 16 month old's friends!?

Preston gave out these cute animal cards and a page of stickers to each friend at day care. They were so cute Mommy had to take a picture.

He is still a dare-devil monkey and has to climb on everything. Here he climbed on his music table to watch the snow plow outside.

The fam went to Buffalo Wild Wings on Valentine's Day and Preston enjoyed playing this race car game.

New firetruck Pj's. We love warm and comfy PJ's...that is why we live in our PJ's :)

Amelia (and Amy) came to visit so Amelia and Preston could meet and so the Mommies could plan Jenn's baby shower. Jenn even decided to come visit. She is due in May and we are so happy for Jenn and Jack, even if they won't tell us names :).

Amelia (4 mo) and Preston (16 1/2 mo)

1st Time "Sledding"

2010-02-21T19:13:00.000-08:00

One cold, snowy day, Mommy opened this toy from his pile of Christmas presents. Aunt Kristi and family gave Preston this and it entertained him for hours! "Yes, Mom, I am petting the kitty nicely."
Preston had to get a better view to watch the Super Bowl

Grandpa Kyle always brings Preston lefsa to eat. He thinks it is Yummy!

Found Grandma's glasses to wear after church

Earlier this month, Grandma D brought Preston a sled and took him outside for his first snow excursion.

"Snow feels cold!" And of course he won't leave his mittens on.

Sledding

So much fun!

Reading books with Grandma

Hotel Swimming

2010-02-02T20:14:00.000-08:00

Preston had a very good time this past weekend swimming at the Ramada hotel with the Noel's. They built a small "water park" at the hotel in the last couple of years and we decided to try it out and make a night of it. It was a nice "get-away" from the Iowa winter, but it was not fun for Mommy to put on a swimsuit this time of year!

Preston and Mommy getting used to the "chilly" water This pirate ship had a few small slides and then they also had 2 bigger, twirly slides in a different pool. Preston tried out all of them and loved it! He laughed all the way down on the big slides.

Daddy, Preston, Mitch, and Adrian in the pool. The daddy's volunteered to watch the toddlers in the evening while Mommy and Jennifer had a few drinks at the bar. Preston and Adrian stayed up until 10pm playing! Daddy said that they would run from one thing to the next copying each other and doing things together- like looking at a book and breaking the microwave :)

Preston and Daddy getting sprayed by the pirate ship

Jennifer, Adrian, Mommy, and Preston

Coloring before dinner..oops- I mean eating the crayons (Preston) and sticking them up her nose (Adrian)..ha ha

Adrian and Preston sure made a mess beneath them!

Daddy and Preston swimming... and the pirate ship in the background

We took Preston swimming again in the morning before we checked out

Mowing the cat hair from the carpet :)

Preston loves reading books now. His favorite books are any book with a Sesame Street character in it and his truck books. Aunt Molly especially loves reading Preston the oh-so-entertaining truck books!

We got some good videos of Preston and Adrian at the restaurant in the hotel. Jennifer posted a good one of them making a ruckus in the restaurant. You can click on her blog on the right if you want to see that one or her pictures of swimming. This one includes Preston and Adrian trying to give each other high-fives. So funny- it makes me laugh out loud.

Hip Hop, Signs, Body Parts, Toddler Time, Etc.......

2010-02-02T19:02:00.001-08:00

This is kind of a hodge podge of pics and information, so I was not real sure what to title this blog post. Preston is learning so much every day and it just amazes us. We have realized that although he cannot verbalize what he needs/wants very well yet, he knows exactly what things are and what we are saying. He has only said a handful of words, though, that we have understood (mommy, daddy, uh-oh, ball, Elmo, Big Bird- maybe). He is obsessed with B's right now so everything is "buh, buh." We have been working pretty hard with him on sign language and he has picked up quite a few signs. The big one we taught him was"more," but he does it whenever he "wants" something now, so he does it constantly! He also signs bath, please, thank-you, all done, and he has done "help" and "sleepy" a couple times. I am hesitant to teach him anymore than that because some of them are so similar I feel he is going to get confused. He knows many of his body parts too and points to them- head, hair, ears, nose, teeth, mouth, toes, fingers, and sometimes eyes. We got Preston some flashcards a couple days ago so we have been working on identifying letters, objects, colors, and shapes. We have also noticed that he wants to do things by himself more and "help" Mommy and Daddy. He likes to put his toothbrush back in the holder, throws his diapers and kleenex away in the garbage, tries to dress himself and put on socks/shoes, helps put groceries away, and anything else we will let him do. Just this week he started pointing to his diaper and then running to the toilet, so we have been putting him on the toilet after we take off his diaper sometimes just to show him that "potty" goes in the toilet. Now he tries to climb on the toilet himself. I guess we need to get a potty chair, but we don't expect him to be doing that anytime soon!

Although he is 16 months now, I forgot to post his stats from his 15 month appt, and I need to have them documented here since I haven't done baby books or anything...so here they are: Height- 32.75 and 91%, Weight- 27.11 and 87%- the first time he has been below 90%! Our pediatrician was on maternity leave at his 1 yr appt, so when she saw him at 15 mo, she thought he had slimmed down a lot from his 9 month appt :) We also decided to turn his carseat around, facing front, after his appt and he loves being able to see us and look and point at all the cars on the road.

We went to Jared and Lisa's last weekend for dinner club and they decided to make it a hip-hop theme. We weren't real sure what "hip-hop" people wear, but Daddy and Preston sure tried! Jared and Lisa made some very delicious homeade pizzas and it was fun to watch the football games over there also. Preston, Kamden, and Presley interacted pretty well together, although I didn't get a good shot of all of them. Below are the hip-hoppers that dressed for the occasion: Steve and Presley, Lisa, Preston, Jared, Jack, and Daddy Preston loved climbing into Jersey's kennel and pretending like he was a dog :)

Aunt Molly joined us for dinner club that evening because she was going to baby-sit Preston the next 2 days- here are Preston and Molly meeting the Ringus cat, Phoebe
Kamden decided that Lisa was a very "hip" lady to hang with

I have been looking for awhile to get Preston some snow pants...I made the mistake of only buying a coat at the beginning of winter and could not find just snowpants....but Grandma D found some and they fit and match his coat perfectly!

After the blizzard passed, Mommy, Preston, and Aunt Molly went to Toddler Time at the Botanical Center. A guy from IPTV read 2 books and then the toddlers got to sing and dance. All Preston wanted to do was run out of the room, up and down the halls, but it was nice to get out of the house and see some other kids. Preston is listening intently to the story, "Click, Clack, Moo!"

Aunt Molly and Preston at the Botanical Center

It was nice to be in such a bright, warm, flowery place for awhile after that storm! There were some huge, rather disgusting, fish under this bridge.

Preston loved running over the bridge and going up the stairs

I really just wanted to try and put a video on here because my last one didn't work...so I am not for sure what this is...Daddy and Preston being silly I think.

Little Monkey

2010-01-24T10:54:00.000-08:00

This little monkey loves to climb- Preston climbs on everything now, as you can see by the pictures. Most of his climbing is not very safe! Our last few weeks have been good. Staying home for snow days, family visitors, and Mommy and Daddy have both enjoyed some nights out with friends.

Climbing onto the chair to look out the window

Climbing onto the speakers to turn on/off the TV

"Help Mom, I'm stuck!"
Dangerous!

On Grandpa's cooler

We are going to have to start strapping this monkey in!

Preston recently became brave enough to climb from the speaker to the TV stand. He fell off a couple days ago, but laughed. Can't take your eyes off him for a minute!

Gpa Kyle reading books with P-dawg

New slippers from Gma Diane!

Aunt Molly got these giant cardboard blocks for Preston for Christmas. It took Aunt Molly, Aunt Paige, and Grandma a looong time to put them together!

Preston riding his horse along to Aunt Paige's awesome singing :) Aunt Paige went back to Costa Rica after this and we miss her already!

"Don't I look so intelligent in your glasses, Grandma D?"

Uncle Shawn helped Daddy install our new bathtub last weekend and we are so grateful! Thank you Uncle Shawn! Preston loved knocking down Uncle Shawn's tall towers.

While Daddy and Uncle Shawn worked, Aunt Kristi, Grant, Mommy, and Preston went to Jumpin' Jacks in Urbandale. Most of the jumpers were too big for Preston, but there was a toddler area and he still had fun watching all the kids. This will be a good way to get all his energy out in the winter when he gets a little older.

Grant and Preston

Jump Jump Jump

The jumpers were just right for Grant and he enjoyed it!

Multi-tasking

Sesame Street, juice, and crackers before daycare

Taking a nap on his Sesame couch

Speaking of monkeys, this little monkey moved up to the 15 mo-2 yr old room at day care- the ZOO crew! He has adjusted really well and we love his new lead teacher. Mommy was a little nervous at first because they sleep on cots, but the teacher said that they would not let Preston sleep on a cot until 18 mo. This room is also bigger and has much cooler toys than the baby room! This is his first day at Zoo Crew- look at that smile!

This past Friday was Beach Day at daycare. Preston got to wear his beach outfit and bring a beach towel.

The staff at daycare said Preston had a perma-smile on his face while they played in the water, sand, and with bubbles.

Brrrrr..It's Too Cold!

2010-01-07T19:29:00.000-08:00

Mommy and Preston took a "snow day" today. Actually, Mommy hasn't worked very much this week at all, which has been nice, but not for paying the bills! Preston was not in a very good mood today- he has a cold and yucky stuff coming from his eyes, and I think he may be getting some more molars- ouch! We watched Sesame Street and did a lot of snuggling today. Not sure what tomorrow will bring- I see some schools have already been cancelled and it is supposed to be bitterly cold.

Mommy and Daddy enjoyed spending time together while Preston stayed with Gma Diane and Gpa Kyle in Greene. We got to hang out with Jared and Lisa on a week night to watch the Nebraska game and go out to eat on New Year's Eve (although, like old people, we went to Texas Road House at 4pm to beat the crowds :) Then, we just watched movies all night, and it was a great feeling just laying on the couch, not having to get up for anything. I thought I would be more upset to be away from Preston for a couple days, but I think every parent needs a break sometimes, and I enjoyed myself! Mommy then traveled to Greene on New Years Day to spend the weekend with the family and bring Preston home.

Silly Aunt Paige

Aunt Paige, Aunt Molly, and Mommy went to the movie, Avatar, on Saturday night. Mommy really didn't want to go to that particular movie, but ended up liking it. It was even fun to wear the 3D glasses. But, oh boy was it cold when we came out of the theater, -12 degrees! It is almost too much for Aunt Paige, who is used to the warm temps in Costa Rica and Texas.
Preston sporting his Iowa Hawkeye gear for the bowl game

We went over to Lane and Rachel's on Tuesday night to watch Iowa kick butt against Georgia Tech. Kamden and Preston actually played very well together. Kamden introduced Preston to crayons and stickers- so fun.

Such cheesers!

It was a miracle we got 2 pictures of them both smiling and looking! Silly boys!

Daddy and Mommy found this Cookie Monster at Menards yesterday for 1/2 off. We weren't planning on giving it to him just yet, but Mommy forgot to hide it and he found it.

Giving Cookie some love

Helping Mommy cook dinner tonight

What good help Mommy has!

"Why can't I open these, Mommy?!"

Tis the season!

2009-12-29T13:41:00.000-08:00

Well, we successfully made it to all of our 5 Christmas gatherings despite the scare in weather. Mommy and Preston left on Tuesday afternoon with Aunt Paige and Aunt Molly so we could beat the "storm." Daddy joined us on Wednesday for the family festivities. The weekend before Christmas we decided to go to Jordan Creek to get some last minute shopping done. Preston loved playing in the little playground there. We decided against Santa though...we thought he was too scary and you had to pay an outrageous amount of money for a picture.

We also let Preston take a ride on this school bus....although he wasn't so sure about it.

We were so glad to see Aunt Paige over Christmas. She was amazed at how much Preston has grown. Aunt Paige and Aunt Molly babysat Preston on the Monday and Tuesday before Christmas.

Preston received so many toys from some very generous people. Lots of Elmo!

Grandpa Kyle, his girls, and grandson on Christmas Eve

The whole Marquard family

Take one last look at these cute curls.........

Because P-dawg got his haircut!

And hated it! Great-Aunt Kay generously provided Preston with her hair-cutting abilities, but Preston was not very grateful. He acted like we were torturing him, screaming and crying. I don't know how in the world she didn't cut his ear off or something. Thanks Kay!

But, doesn't he look so handsome now!?

He was being such a cheeser on Christmast Eve, I had to get some pictures, because it isn't very often that he sits there and smiles for the camera.

Preston and Aunt Molly

Say Cheese!

Still showing off those pearly whites

Christmas day at the Eichmeier's with his cousins

Grandma Sue bought Daddy and Uncle Shawn a puppy dog that rolls over and laughs when you walk by.

Preston trying to knock over his bowling pins with his head

A new Sesame Street couch!

Grandma D, the girls, and P

New bathtub toysOn Saturday night, we went back to Des Moines, but stayed in a hotel for the Dixon family Christmas

Aunt Paige, Mikyla, and Preston playing with a bouncy ball. Preston loved to run back and forth in the halls of the hotel. Fun!

Tomorrow, Preston is going to head back to Greene for a few days to spend some time with Grandma Diane, Grandpa Kyle, Aunt Molly, and Aunt Paige before she leaves to go back to Costa Rica. Maybe Mommy and Daddy will do something exciting for New Years Eve......probably not :)

Another birthday.....

2009-12-15T18:35:00.000-08:00

December has been flying by and we have been staying busy. Mommy is excited that this is her last week of classes this term and won't start back up until January. A small break, but a much needed one! The first weekend in December Daddy and Preston got to spend some quality time together while Mommy went on an overnight trip to go to Christmas at Luther. Last week we enjoyed the days off from work and school due to the blizzard. We are so thankful to Eric and Laura who generously lent us their snow blower. Our snow pup just wasn't doing the trick :) This past Saturday was Mommy's 28th birthday...yuck. I stopped liking birthdays when I turned 25. But, Daddy did get Mommy a Garmin for her birthday. Now she won't get lost all the time! Grandpa Kyle was going to watch Preston while Mommy and Daddy went out to eat on Friday, but Daddy came home from work sick. So, Grandpa bought Mommy some birthday pizza. Daddy had a high fever and had the chills pretty bad. Mommy thought Daddy had H1N1, but Daddy did feel a lot better the next day. Might have been 24 hr flu or virus? We decided to go to Red Lobster on Saturday night and stuffed ourselves with lobster, shrimp, and crab. We are looking forward to the holidays and anxiously awaiting Aunt Paige's arrival from Costa Rica this coming weekend. And hopefully we get our Christmas cards out before Christmas!

The amazing Spiderman!

This picture was taken around 2:00 in the morning. Preston decided he was going to take a 2 1/2 hr nap at daycare and then get up in the night and play. Good times for Mommy! This is a little odd, but Preston always finds my underwear and wears them around his neck. I keep explaining to him that he is going to be really embarrassed about this when he gets older, but he does not seem to care right now :) I think he likes doing this because it is the one thing he can put on over his head by himself.
Wearing Mommy's boots
Wishing he was outside with Daddy hanging up lights
Daddy and Preston at Red Lobster
Mommy and Preston, but he was too busy eating his cheddar biscuits

Yummy...they even put a candle in it and let Mommy blow it out

Preston in his new jammies

Brushing his teeth

He has learned how to climb up this kitchen step ladder now......makes Mommy so nervous!

Pres likes to rock in the rocking chair by himself

On Sunday, Preston went on his first trip to.......McDonald's. He enjoyed his first happy meal and drinking real apple juice (not watered down) from a straw. What a big boy!

Mommy and Preston enjoyed the Playland, although it did say for kids 3-12 years old.

Crawling through the tunnels

Preston is old enough to help around the house now........

Yummy!

2009-12-01T14:17:00.000-08:00

This was too funny, I had to post it. Preston thought it was super funny to "kiss" his toes during our Thanksgiving meal. And the little show-0ff kept doing it over and over to get some laughs. On a side note...Preston has not had any bottles for almost 2 weeks now. We thought taking his night bottle away would be pure torture, but it has been okay. And...Daddy just called and he has bronchitis, yucky!

We're Back!

2009-12-01T13:06:00.000-08:00

Some of you may have noticed that we have not blogged in awhile, but we are back now! Our laptop finally bit the dust so we have not been able to do much on the computer and internet in the last month. Luckily, Gma Diane lent us her desktop so Mommy was able to do some work and homework in the meantime. We bought a new laptop on black Friday for a good deal. Daddy waited in line for 2 hrs to get it, but it was worth it! If you are wondering what the Eichmeier's have been up to in the last month....here ya go. Sorry for all the black and white photos, I guess I liked the edit button this time! Giving thanks...we know many families have been going through great loss and heartache
in the recent months, so we just want to give thanks for our happy and healthy family and friends.

Snuggling..Preston was battling an ear infection and eye infection in the middle of November and now he has a cold, so we have been doing a lot of snuggling. It seems like we wipe his runny nose every couple of minutes!

Daddy and Preston with Kelvin, Great Gma Mary's dog

Preston and Grandpa Kyle taking a nap after a big Thanksgiving meal

Mikyla and Preston

Mommy and Aunt Molly at Thanksgiving

Frosting Cookies, getting up at 3am to go shopping, and Preston even went Christmas tree shopping!

Walking- Preston has been "officially" walking since Halloween. Here he is trying to join in the game of football that Daddy and his cousins were playing.

Preston and Cousin Zach

Gma Sue and Preston taking a nap

Visitors- We of course have had some visitors to our house in the last month, especially for the Iowa games. Jeremiah, Lynn, and Rowan Treloar visited us last weekend. Here is a pic of Preston of Rowan.

Rowan sitting in her bumbo watching the Iowa game

Aunt Molly visited us so Mommy and her could go to the musical "Rent."

Riding bikes- Gpa and Gma Eichmeier got this bike trailer for us so we could pull Preston along. We got out it out for a couple nice days in November and went on some bike rides. Preston enjoyed it!

Playing outside- we can't believe how nice the weather was in November! We took advantage of it and went to the park a few times.

Preston and Mommy going down the slide.

This is Preston's favorite thing to do at the park. He is not really old enough to walk over this holey bridge, but he sure tries!

Daddy pulling Preston in his wagon

Visiting Ameila- Amelia Updegraff was born in October and Mommy went and visited Amy and Amelia one day.

This brave little girl had heart surgery in the middle of November...and she is doing so well! Although I hear she likes to keep her Mommy up at nights :)

Taking a bath at Grandma Diane's

Vacuuming- Here is Preston "vacuuming" at Grandma's. He loves this little popper....and he has one at his day care too.
We don't have anything like this at home, but he loves to take cookie pans at home and run them on the ground like he is vacuuming.

Preston went to a Halloween carnival in Greene the last weekend in October. He is picking out a prize after playing a game.

Picking up a duck for a prize

Halloween Festivities

2009-10-30T19:13:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile since I updated the blog...we have been pretty busy with work, school, and trying to have some fun in our spare time with friends and family. Last weekend we went to Adrian Noel's 1st bday party and then Sunday, Gpa and Gma Eichmeier visited and attended Night Eyes at the zoo with us. This week we helped Preston carve his 1st pumpkin and then tonight was our Beggar's Night. We visited Eric and Laura Engels first and then our little lion got to hand out candy to a whopping 6 kids! Pretty sad! But, after Mommy goes to class tomorrow, Preston and Mommy are going to head to Greene to possibly trick-or-treat and go to a Halloween Carnival.

Here is the birthday girl in her Iowa cheer outfit Preston supporting the Hawkeyes
Adrian was pretty excited about this card-she must have known it had some money in it. Preston and Kamden enjoyed watching (and helping) Adrian open her gifts.

Preston stayed up until 10pm at the Noel residence. Daddy just had to stay and watch the entire Iowa game and then celebrate after. Mommy did enjoy hanging out with the girls, though. Preston did a good job going right back to sleep when we got home. Here he is the only child still up...just pushing Adrian's lion around.

Preston and Gpa Larry before Night Eyes

He kept trying to feed the goats his candy

Then Gma got some real food to feed the llama, goats, and whatever else was in there.

Then he tried to eat the goat food, yuck! "Here Daddy, eat some candy!"

On the train..where we got to see real lions

The zoo had a toddler area where little ones could climb in and jump/play around. We were a little nervous to put Preston in it because if he would have got stuck or cried it would have been difficult to get to him, but he did a good job navigating around by himself. He tried and tried and tried to climb up these stairs to get to the slide.

And he finally made it! Then he went down face first. You can see Mommy in the background trying to see what he is doing.

Family picture

Gma Sue, Preston, Gpa Larry, and Daddy

"Are we going to carve all these pumpkins!"

Digging out the goop

"What is this stuff?"

Getting waaay down in there

Here is the pumpkin that Preston "carved." Mommy held his hand and he got to draw his face..that is why everything looks a little crooked :) He did do the ear by himself though...just one ear.

Preston and his pumpkin

Preston and Mommy

Preston also dressed up tonight to hand out candy

This is a video of Preston walking. He is getting better and better at it. I just noticed today that he usually chooses to walk to get somewhere now instead of crawl.

1 Year Pictures

2009-10-19T10:54:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was pretty relaxing. Gpa Kyle and Aunt Molly stayed overnight with us on Friday night because Luther played Central on Saturday. Saturday the Eichmeier family watched the big Hawks game and Daddy was very pleased with the results. On Sunday, we took Preston to get his 1 yr pictures at Portrait Innovations. They came out pretty good, but it is much harder to get Preston to sit still and look at the camera now. The lady was trying to get him to just stand there and smile-but he was not going to do that. He kept taking off and walking (or more like running) to us. Then we went over to Lane and Rachel's house for dinner club..and they made us steaks- yummy! Mommy just got done cleaning up puke in the ball pit...yep, Preston puked. Not little baby puke either, his first "big boy" puke. Not sure what the deal is- he didn't eat very good over the weekend, hasn't really eaten at all today, and I have counted 5 teeth that he is now cutting. He doesn't have a fever, though, so that is good. I gave him some orajel earlier because he was cranky and I thought his teeth hurt. He doesn't act like his tummy hurts- he thew a tantrum when I tried to get him out of the ball pit because he wanted to keep playing...in the puke. I guess time will tell- hopefully this is as worse as it gets. He is sleeping now, so maybe he will wake up and be feelin' good! :)

Here is the link to his pictures. Not sure how long he will sleep so this will be much easier!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=116011&id=736087434&l=7cbe28ba19

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-13T18:27:00.000-07:00

Mommy and Preston spent some quality time together this past weekend. Daddy went tailgating for the Iowa game on Saturday and then stayed overnight at his friend's house, so it was just Mommy and Preston. We basically just played all day, didn't leave the house from Friday afternoon until Sunday- because it was too cold! On Sunday, Gma Diane and Aunt Molly came down because Gma bought us tickets to see Wicked at the Civic Center. It was wonderful and very entertaining! Sunday afternoon, we decided to bare the cold and take Preston to a Pumpkin Patch. Preston is getting so close to walking- we don't think it will be long- he is able to take 6-7 steps at a time now and is getting more brave every day. We are not pushing it though-we have enough trouble chasing him around when he is crawling and if he starts walking, that means he is not a baby anymore :( He is getting so smart also- this weekend I asked him to bring me his socks to put on him and he crawled right over to them and brought them back to me. He kept trying to put his socks, hat, and bib on by himself this weekend also- which was hilarious. (He also kept trying to put his mittens on his feet, but hey, they look like socks, right?) Daddy also asked him to go get a book last night and guess what- he crawled over to his books and got 2 out to read. It is so cool to watch him figure things out like that- even if they are as simple as socks and books! Just one more short story about Preston- I tried to teach him wear his belly button is one day by pointing to his and pointing to mine. But now, if you ask him where his belly button is, he will only lift up my shirt (or whoever is asking) and point to it, he will never show you his belly button. I picked him up at daycare one day and the staff said he kept trying to lift up their shirts (embarrassing!). I had to explain the story to them and that he was trying to see their belly button by lifting up their shirt. So- now we are just trying to get Preston to only point to his own belly button because lifting up women's shirts' could lead to some problems later in life!

Mommy was giving Preston a bath on Saturday night and we were talking about how many touchdowns Iowa was going to score that night.Preston was so wore out from all the playing he decided to take a nap right on the living room floor- Mommy was trying to keep him up until after lunch, but he sure showed her! As you can see, Preston is still in his pjs- which both of us stayed in all day! It was so nice.
Preston and the gigantic pumpkins
Someone (Aunt Molly or Gma) said "touchdown"
Mommy and Preston with the pumpkins

"I want to go see those big pumpkins, Aunt Molly."

So many pumpkins

And Kitties!

We decided to go to the patch and pick the pumpkins out ourselves- here is the one that Preston picked out.

Walking back to the car after picking out our pumpkins

Luther, Vikings, and Packers

2009-10-13T17:53:00.000-07:00

Yay- we finally got our computer back. Good thing it was free to get it fixed! These pictures are from a couple weeks ago when we visited Molly at Luther. Then, Daddy, Gpa Kyle, and Gpa Larry went to the Vikings vs. Packers game.

Great Grandma Mary and Preston in Molly's dorm room. The Luther sweatshirt that Preston is wearing was one that Mommy wore when she was little, like 25 yrs ago! It was raining, so we stayed inside during the football game. Preston got a new football so he enjoyed throwing it around and crawling around the Union.
As you can see, Preston is trying to bite Aunt Molly in this picture. This is a problem we have had recently; Preston has even drawn blood from both Mommy and Daddy. Luckily, we have not had any problems at day care yet! Preston is getting another tooth on the bottom so this may play a part in the biting..but he also thinks it is funny.
Nerdy Aunt Molly before her formal..she didn't really wear that hat to the formal..I don't think

The family on Sunday after eating a big breakfast

We then traveled to Greene, where Daddy and Preston enjoyed playing dominos with the Jenga blocks

Great Gpa Dale visited while Daddy and the Gpa's were at the game

Gpa Larry and the Viking

View of the Vikings/Packers game

Dumb Computer.....

2009-10-09T11:04:00.000-07:00

So, our laptop computer is not working...again! It is currently in the "shop" and we are waiting to see what needs to be replaced. Hopefully it is the same thing as last time so it will be free (because it shouldn't break after 2 months!) It is so frustrating, especially when I rely on my computer for work and school...and to blog! So, no pics of Preston for awhile :( Anyways, last weekend was fun fun. We went to Homecoming at Luther to visit Molly and then we hung out in Greene while Daddy, Gpa Kyle, and Gpa Larry went to the Vikings/Packers game. They had a great time and said that the atmosphere was eclectic! Too bad the Packers lost :( But Daddy and Gpa Larry enjoyed seeing the Vikings win. In other news, Preston had his 1 yr appt on Wednesday. He got 3 shots, the flu shot, and a finger poke to check for lead. That was not fun, but they said everything looks good and he is on track. Preston's Stats: 26.1 lbs (90th percentile-of course!) and 31 inches (75th-90th percentile). He started on whole milk (which he is not sure of yet) and we are going to try and wean him off the bottles. The doc also gave the okay for him to try juice again which Preston is excited about. We are going to let him have juice at daycare (so he does not feel left out :) and then probably just milk and water at home. That way he doesn't get too much juice! I really need to call and get Preston's 1st yr pictures scheduled, but it is hard to find the time. We are also looking to take Pres to a pumpkin patch if the weather cooperates- anyone have suggestions? One more question- just wondering if any of you bloggers have ever printed off your blog? I wanted to do that for Preston's 1st year so he can look back on it. I went to "the cutest blog on block" and tried, but when I previewed it my comments didn't match up with the pictures so it looked weird. Does anyone know how to do this?? Hope everyone has a great weekend and Go Hawks!

Our Baby is 1 Today

2009-09-29T18:20:00.000-07:00

This is how Preston was looking at Mommy when she was singing "Happy Birthday" to him this morning. Guess he thinks Mommy is not a very good singer :) Preston and Mommy made these strawberry cupcakes to share with his friends at daycare
Our grown up little boy
Opening presents from Mommy and Daddy

A football....

Some books....

And a horse!

Here is our sleeping angel 1 year ago.

Here is our sleeping angel today.

Dear Preston,

We are so lucky that God chose you to be our child. You bring so much joy to our life each and every day and we truly feel blessed. To us, you are perfect. We love you more than you will ever know. Happy 1st birthday baby boy!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Preston's Birthday Party!

2009-09-29T11:38:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, we celebrated Preston's 1st birthday at the Adventureland Inn. We stayed in a nice big suite, but it was still not big enough for the 30+ people that came to help Preston celebrate his birthday. Thankfully some of our family also stayed in the hotel to help and hang out. This big event in our lives was a little stressful for Mommy, but I think it was a success. It was so kind and thoughtful of everyone to travel for Preston's birthday and we are blessed to have such wonderful family and friends.

Preston and his Mommy and Daddy Mikyla, Preston, and Haley
Preston's beautiful Tigger/Pooh cake and his own miniature cake

Great Grandma Mary and Great Grandpa Dale hanging out before the party

Ripping open his present

Some of the crowd watching Pres open presents

A new book

"Just what I wanted!"

He loved the singing cards. This was a Dora card from Aunt Paige, singing in Spanish of course.

"Is it time for cake yet?"

Daddy tickling Preston

"Stop singing to me!"

He was a little timid with the cake at first

And then he dove right in!

He devoured the whole cake. Pretty sure this is why he woke up in the night with a tummy ache :)

Preston and Aunt Molly

Swimming with Mikyla, Mommy, and Aunt Molly

Practicing his kick kicks

Preston didn't mind when the water poured on him and even went down the waterslide.

Watching the Iowa game that night...and what a great game it was! Preston even woke up to catch the end of it.

One exhausted boy after a long birthday weekend

Dave Matthews Concert

2009-09-29T11:23:00.000-07:00

This past Friday, Mommy and Daddy went to the Dave Matthews Concert at Principal Park while Gpa Kyle watched Preston. They played lots of their new stuff, which we did not know much about, but it was still a good concert.

Jenn and Amanda before the concert. Yes, that is my big fishbowl drink at dinner. I decided to splurge, but I did have help drinking it! Scott and Jack
Dave

Us at the concert

What were Gpa and Preston doing while Mommy and Daddy were at the concert??

Playing with this huge ball pit that Gpa got Preston for his birthday! Fun Fun!

"Look how much room I have in here, Gpa!"

Almost over the sickness...?

2009-09-21T15:40:00.000-07:00

Preston has been battling this cold for the past two weeks. His nose has been stuffed up while he sleeps, runny in the daytime, and he also had a pretty bad cough. Mommy took him to the doctor last week and they said he had some fluid on his ears and his throat looked red, but not enough to give him any antibiotics or anything. So, we have just been riding it out. He hasn't slept in our bed for the past 3 nights and when he woke up this morning his nose wasn't all plugged. I think it is finally starting to go away, just in time for his 1st bday party next weekend- yippee! Over the weekend, we did a lot of planning for his bday party, had some visitors, cleaned a little, watched football, and Mommy and Preston went to Amy's baby shower on Sunday. Daddy had a good surprise at work on Wednesday; he was selected to be on the Wells Fargo Financial Sales Council. Good Job Daddy!

Preston and Daddy watching the Iowa game...with Preston's 2 favorite things- cell phone and remote

Preston is fascinated with things on the ceiling and up in the air. He always points up and wants you to lift him so he can touch whatever it is.

Up high

Who can guess what Preston is going to be for Halloween?

Happy Birthday Aunt Paige!

2009-09-14T07:24:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT PAIGE!!!!

HOPE YOU HAD A GREAT DAY!

LOVE, PRESTON We took about 25 photos and that was the best one. As you can imagine, it was hard to get Preston to sit still, look at the camera, and hold the paper. Here are some of our other shots during the photo session :)

Doing some acrobats

In the left side of the picture is the paper being thrown :)

And when he started ripping the paper up, our photo session ended.

Labor Day Weekend....Finally!

2009-09-13T20:05:00.000-07:00

We have been pretty busy lately, so I am finally catching up on the blog. Labor Day Weekend, we traveled back to Ventura. Preston got to hang out with Grandma Sue a lot while Mommy and Daddy watched the IOWA/UNI game with friends and then went to Daddy's 10 yr class reunion that evening. Preston enjoyed going to the parade with Grandma Sue and going downtown to Ventura Fest with his cousins. Preston and Mommy took a day trip to Greene on Sunday to visit Grandpa Kyle and Aunt Molly while Daddy participated in his fantasy football draft. It was a fun-filled weekend!

"Grandpa Kyle is so goofy." Preston and Aunt Molly in their "gansta" shorts.
Daddy and his classmates
Mommy and the girls also enjoyed the night out.

Yay! We got eat breakfast with Jeremiah, Lynn, and their new baby girl, Rowan. She is so sweet...Mommy almost forgot how to handle that little of a baby! I don't think Preston was ever that little though!

Lynn and Preston...he was trying to take her money :)Grandma Sue and Preston snuggling

Cousin Zach feeding Preston

Cousin Haley and Preston looking outside

Preston has learned how to push toy cars, trucks, and tractors around. He likes to crash them into each other.

Uncle Shawn and Preston...just a short time ago he was afraid to even look at Uncle Shawn.

Great Grandpa and Grandma Eichmeier also came over to eat lunch on Monday.

4 Generations of Eichmeier's

We decided to get some pictures as long as we were all together.

Eichmeier Clan (except Mommy because she was taking the pic)

Great Grandma Doris and Great Grandpa Louis with Preston

Grandpa and Grandma Eichmeier and their grandkids

Family Picture

Great Day

2009-09-13T19:33:00.001-07:00

Today is a good day. It is Aunt Paige's Birthday today (25 years old, woo hoo!) and Aunt Molly was also discharged from the hospital today. They decided that her kidneys failed from a combination of being sick with something, taking ibuprofen, and becoming very dehydrated. Molly's creatin level is about to the normal level today; she just needs to stay hydrated, stay away from ibuprofen, and follow up with the doctor a few times at Luther in the next few days. While Preston and Daddy visited Grandpa and Grandma Eichmeier, Mommy and Great Grandma Mary visited Aunt Molly in Rochester on Saturday. Mommy stayed over night in the hospital with her and Grandpa Kyle and Great Grandma Mary stayed in a motel. Grandpa Kyle and Aunt Molly needed a break from each other :) It was surprisingly comfortable on the cot they provided!

Mommy and Aunt Molly Great Grandma Mary and Aunt Molly
A view of her room. Molly is on the phone with the food service people who would not let her order the food she wanted because the doctors put her on a special diet. This made her very angry..hee hee.
PS- Tomorrow Preston will have a surprise for Aunt Paige, but he was too cranky today to be cooperative. He is battling a stuffy/runny nose right now and we think he is also cutting some more teeth. Poor little guy can't get adequate sleep at night because his nose becomes too stuffed up and he can't breathe...so Daddy slept with him in the recliner last night :)

Before and After Day Care

2009-09-10T12:44:00.000-07:00

Day care is going okay. Preston is still unsure about it. Sometimes he will cling to Mommy and not want her to leave and sometimes he will just get down and play right away. There has only been 1 day when the staff said he was a little fussy in the afternoon, otherwise he seems to do okay. We are still giving it time :)

"Please don't take me to day care, Mommy." "I'm not going, see..I'm taking off my shoes!"
After day care, he was a much happier boy and Mommy and Preston played outside for awhile. Eating a leaf.....

....leaf didn't taste very good

But that did not deter him from trying a rock

Watching some cars go by

"Hi Mom, I swear I am not going to put this rock in my mouth."

Teasing the kitty

Destroying ant homes

Preston riding his fire truck

He loves to tip everything over

Experimenting

2009-09-10T12:28:00.000-07:00

Since we have this brand new camera, Mommy has been taking tons of pictures and trying to figure out what features to have on and what pictures look the best. Here are just a few.

Preston posing My big blue-eyed baby
Giving his duck some kissies

Preston and Mommy

On a walk, looking at the ducks. I do have to mention that we were feeding the ducks and one of them decided to try and eat Preston's finger. It must not have hurt him, because he just looked at the duck like "Are you crazy?!"

Getting caught playing with the shade string

Big smile for Mommy

Preston loves to stand on the couch and look out the window, especially when there is some action out there.

Prayers for Aunt Molly

2009-09-10T10:25:00.001-07:00

Aunt Molly has not been feeling well over the last couple of days (backache, nauseated, vomiting, pain all over, very dehydrated) so she went to the Luther Health Center yesterday afternoon and they told her to go to the ER. In the ER, they took some tests and figured out something wasn't quite right with her kidneys and her Creatin? level was too high. So, they decided to keep her overnight with an IV and pain meds and see if it got better. Well, long story short, it did not get better and she is currently on her way by ambulance to Rochester to see a kidney specialist and do a biopsy. So, please keep our Aunt Molly in your prayers and we will keep everyone updated.

New Camera!

2009-09-07T19:18:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Preston was 11 months old. Grandma Diane came to Des Moines to visit Preston before she left for Alaska. In this picture, Preston is opening his 11 month present from Grandma. And it was........money to buy a new camera. Yippee! Mommy has been saying she wants a new camera before Preston's 1st bday and Grandma must have been listening. Mommy, Daddy, and Preston went and picked out a brand new camera at Best Buy the next day and we are so happy with it. Thank you Grandma! Preston loves his present and is happy he will have wonderful pics at his 1st bday party! These next pics are still from our old camera- the last ones! We still need to download the program to put pics from our new camera on the computer. Grandma D and Preston at the Farmer's Market. Preston loves to pick flowers.
"Here, I'll get that Grandma."

Mommy, Preston, and some "sauce man" at the Farmer's Market

There was a parade in Altoona on Saturday and everyone knows how we love parades!

It was a great parade. There was a float contest, so all the floats were very extravagant and everyone was dressed up. Mommy and Preston especially loved all the Disney characters- there was a Shrek and real donkey! Preston was very entertained.

After the parade, Jennifer and Adrian Noel came over to play. Preston still needs to work on sharing, though :)

1st Day at Child Care Center

2009-09-02T09:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Preston's first day at the center and Mommy just dropped him off a little bit ago for his second day. Mommy could not sleep the night before- it felt like it was her first day of school or something! But, she did stay up writing a four page paper to inform the staff of everything they need to know about Preston. Mommy dropped Preston off yesterday at a super crazy time because it was almost lunch/nap time. The kids were fussy and at one point all seven other babies were crying/screaming because they were hungry and tired. Preston just looked at Mommy like "What the heck is going on?" Mommy was trying to hold it together :) Mommy stayed with Preston for 1 1/2 hrs before she had to leave for her appointment. She stayed with Preston through lunch which consisted of pigs in a blanket. One little girl choked a little on the hot dog, and this is when Mommy decided that Preston would not be eating meat at the day care. Mommy and Daddy just don't feel comfortable at this point letting him eat chucks of meat (without our supervision)....until he can chew them better. The staff said he did fine after Mommy left. Preston did have a little trouble taking a nap; he got scared when they turned out the lights and said that he had to be rocked again to sleep. When I called in the afternoon, he was playing with his friends. They did inform me that he doesn't like when the other kids scream/cry near him because it scares him. Today when we got there, they seemed like they were really trying to make the transition easier for all of us. Miss Lori is the main teacher in his room and she has been very nice and understanding. When I told her that I didn't want Preston to have the ham for lunch today, she said that she had already planned out his meal and she didn't think he should have the ham or pineapple today because they might be too hard. She was also going to move his crib so it is closer to the staff and more in the light because she didn't think he liked to be in the corner where it is darker. It is just so funny to hear the things Preston is doing at daycare- he is such a big boy. In the newsletter they sent home yesterday, the staff informed us that for the next 2 weeks they are focusing on telling stories with puppets, flexing their muscles with push trucks, using the stacking blocks, making dot pictures for art, and singing "Wheels on the Bus" (Preston's favorite song!). Sept 11th is also "spirit day" so he gets to wear his Iowa Hawkeyes gear. Hopefully the days just keep getting better and he transitions well to this new experience. Sorry for the essay about child care- it is a big milestone for us. Hope everyone had a great weekend- we did..I will have to get pics posted when I have time!

State Fair Time

2009-08-27T19:31:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, we made a family trip to the amazing Iowa State Fair. We decided to save some money and go on Extreme Sunday where admission is 1/2 price. Some nice older man also gave us a free ticket while we were waiting in line and we got there early enough that we did not have to pay to park. $5 for the State Fair, what a great deal! The money we spent on food is a whole other story, we won't go into that :) But, it's the State Fair, right?! It was so much fun to spend the day with Preston at the State Fair- all three of us had a blast!

This picture is not of the State Fair. On Saturday, Mommy and Preston went with Daddy over to his friend's house to help build their deck. Justin and his wife, Tiffany, have a little baby around 6 months named Lily. Preston enjoyed playing with her...although he now has a habit of hitting in the face...which Lily did not enjoy.Preston looking at the peeps

Petting a baby goat
Mommy's favorite, the little piggies!

This picture is from last year at the State Fair in the butterfly tent. We absolutely loved this last year, so we decided to take Preston in this year. He definitely had a better view this time :) Sorry there are so many pics of the butterflies...they are all so adorable to me! A butterfly landed on Preston's foot right when we went in. He was so confused about what was on his foot and he kept trying to kick it off. It was funny. If you know Preston, he does not like anything on his feet/toes.

Wearing Daddy's hat....with a butterfly on it.

"Let me see those creatures."

Mommy and Preston...he is holding a butterfly and there is also one on his shoulder.

Daddy and Preston trying to catch a butterfly

We were afraid he would rip their wings off, but he did a pretty good job of being gentle.

So pretty

Next, we went and saw "Buddy" the biggest boar. Sick.

Then, Big Black, the biggest bull. Yuck.

We took Preston to the petting zoo. We bought food to feed the animals and it was grooosss! As you can tell by Mommy's face.

Who knew there was such an animal?! Zedonk- 1/2 zebra, 1/2 donkey

This is when Mommy officially stopped feeding the animals...when this camel's tongue licked my arm in one swipe. Once again, sick.

This was actually a scary picture to be in....Mommy thought the camel was going to start licking us. Preston didn't take his eyes off of him.

Great Grandma Mary and Grandpa Kyle visited us that night. We took another four generation picture because Mommy was very "bloated" in the last one, the day we brought Preston home from the hospital.

Bye Bye

2009-08-27T18:19:00.000-07:00

We have been working with Preston to wave "bye bye" and today he just decided that he would start doing it. I was kissing him good bye at Krista's and said "Mommy is going to go bye bye." Preston started waving at Krista when he heard "bye bye." Krista and I both looked at each other and said "Is he waving bye bye?" Yep, he was. And he has done it many times since this morning. It was his last day at Krista's today- he starts the center next Tuesday!

His new favorite thing is to crawl up the stairs....and chase the kitty. We obviously keep a gate on the stairs, but we let him practice it every once and awhile. Preston doesn't understand that he can't just stop and "dive" down when he gets tired of the stairs.

Preston loves to dance. He likes to hang on to his activity walker and "bounce" to the tunes.

This video includes Preston practicing his walking skills. This walker thing is so fast, we have hang on to it otherwise it would fly forward and Preston would hit the floor!

Short Trip to Ventura

2009-08-21T18:55:00.000-07:00

A couple weekends ago, we traveled back to Ventura for the day so Preston could meet his Great Uncle Gerry and Great Aunt Jean. It was a short trip, but we are glad we made it because we usually only see them once a year. Thanks to Gma Sue and Aunt Kristi for providing the pics because Mommy forgot her camera! Also...I just want to say thanks to everyone for the helpful comments about childcare. I am feeling more and more confident everyday that he will do fine there....although it does keep me awake at night and I have dreams (or nightmares) about it :) My true fear is that I will not be able to leave when I drop him off the first day and I will quit my job right then and there. I may be over-reacting just a little....my youngest sister, Molly, says that I have become a "crazy mom." Oh, the joys of parenthood!

Shawn, Gma Sue, Aunt Kristi, Preston, and Great Aunt Jean

Preston, Grandma Sue, and Grant

Gpa Larry and Preston ready for bed
Cute pic of Aunt Kristi and the boys

Daddy, Preston, and Grant cruising in Daddy's 73' mustang

Keys in hand....Preston is taking the car for spin

Child Care Anxiety!

2009-08-20T18:58:00.000-07:00

Last week, we ventured out to the State Fair Parade. It was busy and very hot, but we stayed for a little bit. We left at #85 and there were over 200 floats in the parade. Fortunately, Preston did not get our sickness from last week and we are all doing well this week. Daddy went tubing in Eldora with his friends last weekend, so Mommy and Preston went to Greene to hang out with some family. Preston got some "new" clothes at a couple garage sales on Saturday. We are also in the process of switching day cares and after touring and asking many, many questions, Preston will be going to a center in Altoona starting Sept 1st. His current in-home provider decided that she would rather find a different job (since he is the only one there) and we have been thinking that Preston needs some more tots his age to hang out with. We are very excited for Preston to get some friends, but also very nervous. Preston is used to being the only child around and his every demand is met immediately, everywhere he goes. Now there will be 7 other toddlers around with only 2 staff, which makes Mommy very anxious. I don't quite understand how 2 staff can get 8 toddlers fed, laid down for a naps, play time outside, etc.....without some major catastrophe; I can barely do 1! Preston's schedule is a little off compared to the day care's schedule, so we are going to practice getting him on their eating/napping schedule starting this weekend. If anyone has any advice about day cares (advantages, disadvantages of in-home, center, etc) I would love to hear it! Hopefully everything works out for the better. Here are a few pics from the last week. I also need to blog some pics from Aunt Kristi which include our trip to Ventura, but my email site was down tonight. Soon I hope!

I bought this shirt because it reminded me of Aunt Paige. She used to watch Adventures in Babysitting constantly and Thor is the hero that the little girl "Sarah" was obsessed about. I just watched the movie last week also (I had to stay up until 1am!) and it was still just as good! We bought this toy to help Preston practice walking. He is basically too intrigued by all the noisy buttons on it that he doesn't want to walk with it, just play. It also goes way too fast for him to do it by himself!

Daddy and Preston goofing around

Mommy and Preston at the State Fair Parade. We are going to the Fair this weekend hopefully!

Mommy's back got really sore, so Preston switched to Daddy's shoulders. He obviously sees something very interesting in the parade.

Can't really tell, but this picture is of Shawn Johnson and her "Dancing with the Stars" partner.

"Let me help you get that Grandma." Preston helped Grandma in the garden too. He is such a good helper :)

Preston giving Great Grandpa Dale a high five

Preston had a picnic at Grandpa Kyle's.

Too busy eating his "veggie stick cheetos" to take a pic with Aunt Molly

"Please can I get in Aunt Molly?"

Preston was so excited to splash around in Grandpa Kyle's pool, we let him get in with his clothes on. Boy did he have fun! He can even crawl around in this pool and go where he wants.

First time eating pudding!

Preston loves to take the toilet paper off the roll and rip it up

After the downstairs roll was unraveled, he moved to the upstairs bathroom while Mommy got ready. Currently, we do not put tp on the rolls...they are up where Preston cannot reach!

Sickness

2009-08-13T13:47:00.000-07:00

So, now Daddy is home from work sick. His stomach started hurting last night and then he got sick in the middle of the night. I thought maybe I just ate something that didn't agree with me a couple days ago, but I am pretty sure we are passing around some sort of flu now. Now, we are just hoping that Preston does not get sick. I need to wash all the sheets and disinfect everything! Daddy is hoping he feels better soon so he can go camping/tubing this weekend.

Just Hangin' Out

2009-08-11T09:24:00.000-07:00

We have oodles and oodles of pictures, so I thought I would just share some from here and there over the last couple weeks. Mommy is taking a sick day today since she had to call Daddy home from work yesterday because she was throwing up. Not sure what was wrong, ate something bad or 24 hr bug....but I am feeling much better today. I am just resting and doing some work (and play) on the computer. Daddy and Preston are upstairs taking a long nap.

In this picture, Preston is stuck under the chair because he was trying to climb obstacles to get to some picture frames I was trying to hide from him. He is not happy that I am taking pictures instead of helping him get free :) It is very hard to change Preston's diaper, he loves to roll over and take off in the nude.
One night Preston was having a hard time falling asleep, so I gave him one of his soft bears to hold. He fell right asleep. So precious!

He loves to stand up on anything and everything. Unfortunately, this has caused a lot of

injuries, but I guess that is how it goes when you are learning new things every day! Preston's hair is getting pretty long and hangs over his ears now. Mommy is debating whether he should get a haircut or not because she was asked recently "Is it a girl or a boy?" Gggrrr...who asks that!

He is even getting some curls....

Mommy was letting Preston play with his butt paste when he obviously got it open and started eating it. I turned around and saw this little stinker.

His favorite toys are not "toys." They are spatulas, pans, butt paste tubes, pop/water bottles, picture frames, remotes, phones, cords, camcorders, cable and internet connectors. Unfortunately, he cannot play with most of these things, so this makes him very angry.

We got this license plate for Grandpa Kyle for Father's Day. It means: Preston Kyle's Grandpa.

Mommy recently got out this Noah's Ark from Preston's baptism. He enjoys putting the animals in the ark and taking them out.

"Found a zebra, Mom."

Mommy and Preston went to the park one hot day. Preston is riding on a ladybug.

"My mom is crazy."

He doesn't look too enthused riding on the bumblebee.

Or in the swing....but it was really hot that day. We headed home after this.

Kamden's Birthday Party

2009-08-09T19:57:00.001-07:00

On Saturday, we headed over to Waukee to celebrate Kamden's 1st birthday. Lane and Rachel threw an awesome birthday party and made some very delicious food. Soon enough it will be Preston's 1st bday....hard to believe my "baby" will be one!

Here is the birthday boy with the Hawkeye football that Preston gave him. Preston loved all the "big boy" toys that Kamden had. Mommy realized that she needs to get Preston some more mature toys to play with...hopefully for his birthday.

Adrian, Kamden, and Preston. Of course we couldn't get a shot where they would all sit still and look at the camera.

"Adrian, Can I have some of your snacks? I already ate all mine."

Kamden loved cake...and also loved when everyone sang happy birthday to him.

Preston and Jenn

I need to get these hats for Preston's birthday!

Adrian and Preston reading a book together.

Zoo!

2009-08-09T19:21:00.000-07:00

Today we decided to take Preston to the Blank Park Zoo since Wells Fargo gave us 1/2 off tickets. Despite some rain sprinkles early on, we had a great time. Preston even gazed at most of the animals and was very intrigued.

Mommy and Preston in the "rain forest." Preston and Daddy by the waterfall

He was even a little scared of some of the animals- he thought the fish in this aquarium were going to jump out and get him.
"I see you down there duckies!"

They had a little kids area where you could feed farm animals (if I remember correctly, I think this is the place were the goat ate Aunt Paige's hair when she was about 4 yrs old) and also a nice playground (which Daddy helped build on his volunteer day). I am sure Preston will enjoy this more when he gets a little older.

After I took this picture, the lion opened his mouth very wide and licked his chops...I think he wanted us for lunch.

Looking at the tiger

Preston got to see some giraffes up close and personal while Mommy and Daddy fed them. Daddy's face looks funny because he thought the giraffe's tongue was gross to touch!

Preston, Mommy, and a couple zebras

Scenic shot

Large tortoises

Here is a video of Mommy and Preston feeding the giraffes.