My Little Prince

I have a 2-year old. It is completely mind blowing how fast time flies when you look at it from certain perspective. And how in other ways I can't believe there was ever life before Preson. It really makes me question why we waited so long to have children. He is our best buddy and a total blast!

While there have been ups- some of my favorites have been teaching him his letters and numbers, watching him do his first somersault (in his words, "SUPERsault"), hearing him whisper "I yuh yoo" for the first time, going to see "Missy Mouse" at Disney World, getting his first haircut, bouncing Penelope air born in her bouncer, feeding her her bottle and giving her eskimos...
And then there have been some heartbreakers too- hearing him cry watching someone get hurt on America's Funniest Home Video's, watching him do that somersault off the sofa onto his little noggin :(, his struggle with learning to eat...

The list goes on for both of these categories. We are at a crossroads with so many areas with Preson. He is finally starting to eat. He still eats like a bird and is in the 3rd % for his weight, but by golly the child is eating and that is "WINNING!" in my book :)

We finally made the switch to Preson's big boy room. He loves tromping up and down those stairs (scares me to death!) and counting each one as we go.

We aren't rushing to get him switched over to his toddler bed quite yet, so I have peace of mind that he wont go wandering up and down in the middle of the night. Now both he and Penelope are upstairs in their rooms. (stay posted on that!)

The other night the "paci-fairy" came. Preson is not one to always have a pacifier in his mouth, but somewhere along the way, we incorporated it into his night-time routine and he has just always soothed himself to sleep with it. So I prepared him every night for about a week before his 2nd birthday. I explained to him that now that he was turning 2, he was a big boy and the paci fairy would be coming to take his paci's to heaven for all the new babies to use. We had a couple of nights where he cried for it a little bit, but he quickly got the hang of it and is doing much better. Let's just hope we don't have any relapses along the way.

And finally, last Sunday, was Preson's second birthday party. With his first birthday, we were in the process of moving and let me just tell you, the kid got the shaft on the big ONE. So, I was thinking through all the hundreds of Preson fetishes and finally narrowed it down to his most long lived love- fire engines. I am obsessed with all things handmade and insisted on killing myself with DIY-ing everything. The day before, my friend Jess called me telling me that I was not going to be making the red velvet cupcakes I had just purchased all the ingredients for. But rather that I had 30 of them waiting for pickup at Tampa's finest bakery- Wrights.

Besides being a bit overstimulated (both of us :), It was an awesome day. All his little toddler buddies and about 20 of our closest friends and family made it out. I am pretty sure my children draw a bigger crowd than their parents do! The party was a blast to put together, but the best part was when the big red fire truck pulled to our yard. Our good friend "Dustin the fireman" pulled some strings and was able to surprise the party! The day was filled with some wonderful memories.

Preson Peek, I YUH YOU!! You are my sunshine and I am so very blessed to have you as my little boy. I treasure you each and every day.

Love, Mommy

Unsuspecting Anticipation

It has been so long since I last blogged. To be honest, I have written a few posts but after reading them, decided they were just a little too personal for posting. This pregnancy has been wonderful to me physically with minimal side effects, but it has been so tough emotionally. My hormones have had me on the verge of tears over the smallest little things- nearly every day. I am surrounded by the most amazing people and yet I have felt so alone for the last 9 months. I know it has everything to do with this pregnancy and it is one thing I am looking forward to coming to an end in these next couple of weeks. In the meantime, it has drawn me so very close to my heavenly Father. One thing I have learned is that when you feel alone and when you feel there is no one to turn to, he is there. It's a shame we so often let ourselves get to that place before turning to him.
I can hardly believe I am now only 2 weeks out from meeting my little pumpkin. I am definitely preparing myself differently this time around than with Preson. For one, I am not planning on being super woman with laboring naturally at a birthing center for 2 days. I am going to try to do a VBAC, but I will be in a hospital setting and if my midwife tells me I need to C- Sec it, I am totally at peace with that. I will plan on going as long as possible without the epidural, however if the labor veers in the direction of my 52 hour labor with Preson, I will not be putting myself through that again. I went through enough natural labor for all my children combined in my first labor experience. Lately I have been reminiscing over Preson when he was first born. Here we are in his first moments of life outside the womb.

Yesterday my friends threw me the most beautiful baby shower. this is the only picture I have at this time (Thank you, Ali!) but I will certainly be sure to post more when they become available. It was just a very nice lazy Sunday soiree under the oak trees of my friend, Jen's backyard. Every detail- from the monogrammed burlap table runners to the little button accents to the pre-addressed thank you note station- was perfect. My sweet friends, Jessica and Tiffany really nailed it with all the little things that make me smile and feel loved. And that is just what I was desperately needing at this time in life- a little love from my girls.

I am in overdrive with the nesting phase of my pregnancy. Sewing like a mad woman, deep cleaning out all our little nooks and crannies, trying to plan ahead how to go about juggling our meals after the baby comes, etc. My poor husband is at the mercy of his slave- driver of a wife. We have been working so hard to get our home to a place where we can relax when this baby comes and not feel stressed about all the pending projects that are half done. We have just finished our most recent project of subway-tiling the bathroom walls. Feels so good to get that one done! We still have many things to do, but I think we are finally getting to a place of peace with their incompletion. This is the bathroom in the midst of our tiling project. I know! I know! I need to get more after pictures up!

One of the biggest things I have been fearing with the arrival of little Penelope, is my 20 month-old, Preson. I have no idea what to expect. I just cant comprehend how, at this point, I will be able to give the same love I have for him, to this new little one. It almost breaks my heart that he is so sweet and oblivious to everything that is happening and how one day very soon, we will bring her home from the hospital and everything will change.
Every day, my husband and I just sit back and watch him and beam with pride and talk about the joy that he brings us every day. We were driving today and Tommy reached over and held my hand and said, "ya know, I think we have a pretty great life, don't you?"
I am overwhelmed with this wonderful life that God is allowing us to live. I don't take it for granted. I anticipate and look forward to every new day.