My Boys

This morning Preston was playing with his Valentine's Day gift...his mini basketball hoop. Bennett has been enjoying it for the past two months, but now that Pres is sitting up, he too can enjoy it. He loved hearing the crowd cheer and smiled himself when he heard it. It was something we bought to encourage his balance when sitting because he has to handle the ball and grab onto the various things on the hoop. You then can raise the basket as he stands and grows. He is doing so well. He started to sit up a couple of weeks ago, but would quickly lose his balance and topple over. However, within the past week he has gotten better at looking around and playing with various toys while still sitting. He now can sit for several minutes and loves the new angle on life.

He is still not crawling, but he loves to "swim" while on his belly so we are hopeful that will be soon. Since he can get just about anywhere by rolling, he isn't as motivated as I thought he would be. Recently he also started this reverse crab crawl thing...while on his back, he pushes off his heels and scoots backwards. He has started doing this on the changing table, making it much more difficult to change his diapers.

He is so stinking sweet, and his smile can light up a room. He loves his big sister, and his "dog dog" as Bennett calls him.

The Mad Cycle

For those who wonder why I haven't been posting much lately...it is because we have been fighting this mad cycle of sickness! It all started two weeks ago when Bennett woke up from a nap with a fever, which continued for several more days and evolved into a runny nose and cough. Well she finally started to round the corner, but then Preston began showing the same signs. However, being such a little guy, his turned into a double ear infection. After 7 days of antibiotics, he is feeling much better. Unfortunately, I caught something this weekend, and have been fighting a major head cold for the past 5 days....with a headache, running nose, itchy eyes and sore throat! You would think that we deserve a break, but poor Bennett has it AGAIN! Daddy captured the moment perfectly today while at the doctor's office with her:

Our little girl had to have her finger pricked to get her white blood count to determine whether or not she had pneumonia. Fortunately she does not...only another bad cold. Though she isn't quite herself, and she is a little pathetic at times, a sucker always puts a smile on her face!

Spring Break

This past weekend we decided to take a couple of days off work and head up to Smith Lake for a long family weekend with the Mizeranys. The weather couldn't have been prettier, so it ended up being a great decision! We were a little nervous, this being our first trip away with both children. However, we loaded up the car knowing in the back of our mind that we were only an hour away from home if we had to come back early.

Fortunately, we had lots of helping hands to assist. Our niece Maria, or "Ria" to Bennett, was a huge help, as was Abby. They both entertained her, and helped influence her to eat (our biggest challenge lately). Bennett played so hard while she was up there and was just filthy at the end of every day. I know she had a blast because she was outside 90% of the time, and she was surrounded by those who love her.


Though the water was way too cold to swim, it was warm enough to lay out and dip your toes in, as you see Bennett doing above with her daddy. The family has tried to maintain pretty strict rules about behavior around the water to keep the kids safe. So to follow procedure, we kept Bennett in a life preserver while on the pier. Though everyone out there can swim well, it only takes a second for our graceful daughter to slip off the side and into the water.

Though Preston didn't get to participate in all of the fun, he still enjoyed his walks around the "grounds" and his swing... especially when his big sister was pushing him. Thankfully he is an easy-going boy. As long as he has a full belly and is well-rested...he is the happiest kid on the block! Though we never let him sample the adult beverages, he never loses sight of a bottle, regardless if it is one that contains his formula. So when I was holding him, and my drink...he stuck his tongue in my bottle before I even knew what was going on.

And for those wondering how it went with both kids...the night times were a little rough. But each night got better...which gives us hope for our week long trip this summer.

(Pardon Preston's drool, I didn't have time to have Steve airbrush it)

Half a Year...if you can believe it!

John Preston is celebrating his 6 month birthday today. Happy birthday my little man! He is getting so big and I am just amazed how quickly he is growing. We went in for his 6 month check-up this morning and he weighs 18 lbs 5 oz, and is 27 inches long! What can I say...the boy likes to eat!

Being such a big boy, we thought he would sleep through the night early. However, he was just the opposite...waking up once a night for one extra bottle until he was a little over 4 mos. I grew tired of that quickly, and did any trick that I heard from my mommy friends to get him to sleep through the night. Since we were spoiled with Bennett sleeping through the night at 6 weeks old, I did things that I never thought I would do (like put rice cereal in his bottle, introduced food before 6 months old, etc.) It was that introduction of food that really satisfied Pres. I guess he really was just hungry!

Once we started with food, we haven't had anymore sleepless nights (knock on wood). Preston is rolling everywhere now, and we are practicing sitting up with him, but he still loses his balance and tips over. He has officially said his first word... "dada" ...though it is just babble as you would expect at this age. He is doing very well health-wise, and a very happy baby. Once again God has blessed us and we are so thankful.

Spring is Here....FINALLY!!!

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. After the big "snow storm" it warmed up quickly and has been in the 60s and 70s, and even low 80s! With weather like this, I can't stand being inside, so we have been taking a lot of walks the past 2 weeks, and playing outside. Now that Bennett is talking more, she can ask to go for a "wok" or "park...wheee." It is hard to resist her when she actually asks for it.

Unfortunately, Preston is not as fond of the stroller as his sister. He does well for the first 20 minutes, but much after that is pushing it for him. He loves to be outdoors, but he prefers to be held or in his bjorn so he can see what is going on around him. He is very curious and loves to take it all in....especially all of his sister's actions.

Recently he appears to be teething. His hands are ALWAYS in his mouth, so much so that he gags himself all of the time. In order to prevent the spewing of his latest meal, we try to give him teething rings. However, he can't keep them in his mouth by himself, so we have to do assist. Thankfully he has a great big sister that loves to help out!

Soft Fluffy Stuff

Last night I went out to dinner with some girlfriends, and Steve said to drive carefully because we were expecting snow. I laughed and said "yeah right." So needless to say when I awoke this morning, I was shocked to see some of that soft fluffy stuff falling from the sky and already on our deck. Though Steve was off by a few hours, he was correct.



I let Spence out first thing and he was a little hesitant, not quite remembering what it was. However, he quickly warmed to the idea of playing in it. We got dressed and then bundled the kids up for a few photo opps. And that is when our crazy morning began....Bennett enjoyed being outside, but refused to wear her gloves so her hands got cold, and then she threw a temper when we wouldn't go to the park. She flung herself down in the middle of the road (thankfully no one was driving early this morning) and started crying. Steve brought her inside and the tears continued.















So I tried to bribe her with a shower (usually something she loves), but once again she kicked and screamed while being put in and the entire time in it. Of course the echos of her screams in the shower was enough to make about 50 new gray hairs come in on my head, so we quickly exited. I was bound and determined to go to church, if for no other reason to not deal with her for 2 hours. However, the tears continued and within 30 minutes I was opening a bottle of champagne and making myself a mimosa instead.


After eating some breakfast and recharging, we made a second attempt at going outside. This time Bennett was much more open to playing in it and having some fun. After several hours of it falling, I would estimate that we ended up with about 3 inches of it here in Birmingham. Unfortunately it isn't very cold so it is already melting, and will probably be gone by the time the kids get up from their naps. I doubt we'll see anymore of it this year, but maybe one of these years we'll receive enough to actually go sledding.