Fourth of July Fiesta!!!

We had quite the weekend...lots of food, family and fun!
It was nice to host the party at our house because that meant we got to have ALL our family with us for the holiday, which was such a treat! I am so thankful that not only do Mike and I both have such wonderful families, but that they get along so well too. I actually had a lot of fun planning the menus and cooking too. I can get pretty stressed out about getting things done and things going well, but I honestly didn't feel that at all this weekend. It was just nice to be surrounded by everyone we love.
Without further adieu, here is our Saturday...
THE NEIGHBORHOOD PARADE
We were prepared to cover our ears this year (last year the firetruck was a little traumatic). I just love how bright the colors came out in these pictures. Oh, and it was Preston's first parade experience :-)...what a milestone!

HANGING OUT AND ENJOYING THE COMPANY

Addie fell asleep, well passed out is probably a more correct term, and we could NOT get her to wake up for anything! Papa had her, Grandad had her, Aunt Kayley had her, etc. eventually she joined the party and didn't slow down for a LONG time after that :-).

FOURTH OF JULY FUN
Ella with her favorite people, Aunts Chloe and Hope, making JELLO cups. I think this will be a frequent activity in our house from now on...it's fun, easy and cheap (not to mention there are so many colors of JELLO to choose from)! Ella and Addie now have painted rainbow fingernails (which they LOVE) and played lots of dress-up and Barbies...thank you aunties.

I loved all the girls in their festive colors!



The girls love Uncle Scotto too and he braved the heat outside with them for quite awhile.

TIME TO EAT!!!

No one but Addie gets a turn to say the prayers around here...even when someone else is saying them she tries as best she can to repeat everything they say in her cute little voice. She sure knows how to steal the spotlight :-).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MIKE


FAMILY PHOTO-OP TIME
All The Men...

My favorite :-)! I was setting the timer on the camera so we could get a picture of the whole crew and this time I just pushed the button without hitting the timer first on accident :-). I don't think I could have captured everyone looking so serious if I had tried!


Addie is hiding behind Grammy above and obviously NOT happy below.


TIME FOR FIREWORKS

Ella tried SO hard to be brave this year. She stayed outside with us all for a long time, but when my mom noticed little tears in the corners of her eyes she took her inside to watch from the window. I don't know why she thinks they are so scary. I know she doesn't like how loud they are, but she was covering her ears and someone was always holding her so I thought she would be ok. I hope she learns to like them eventually. Poor Ella :-(.

Addie, on the other hand, thought they were great.

Kayley's in-laws, the Millers, came over with their fireworks as well and the two Scotts :-), put on quite a show for us!

A Message from Preston

(and a photo stolen from Chrissy)...
HAPPY 4th OF JULY EVERYONE!!!

Let the Fun Begin

No better way to kick off the weekend than with dinner at Chacho's with all our family (except Brittany/Ili and Mack/Cheryl...we wish you guys could be here too...oh, and Chrissy/Zach, but they are here now, just missed the Chacho's tasties)!

My only attempt at getting the girls in their cute matching outfits...unsuccessful...definitely too much excitement!!!

Addie and Meema making some potato salad for tomorrow

(don't worry I tried it and it's GOOD)...notice her beautiful accessories from Ella and Addie :-).

Mike taught Ella to play a couple chords on the piano and she thinks she's a pro now

(and a ballerina too, that is her latest outfit of choice at home)!

HAPPY 4TH of JULY!!!

Not On Purpose

I don't set out each day to take tons of pictures, it just ends up happening. One thing after another seems to occur that seems photo worthy and before I know it the day is over and I have a bunch of pictures to somehow incorporate into a single blog post. I think that is the trickiest part of blogging...coming up with a theme and a title that can blend a bunch of random events from the day. Sometimes I'm more successful than others, but it is good exercise for my brain!
Here are some moments that just had to be captured today...
Has anyone seen Preston?

His face says it all, "What did I get myself into?!...Mom?! Are you seriously not going to help me out here?!"

Modeling their new sunglasses from Nana.

More fun with Johnny...today we went to my parents' house to swim (Mckell is lucky enough to be on a 10-day trip in Europe without kids with her in-laws. Did I mention there are NO kids?! Yeah, rough life! Her mom is watching Johnny and Livvy so we have been trying to give her some little breaks :-).

I asked Mike to put Addie's swim diaper on her before we left this morning and after we had been swimming for awhile I noticed her diaper seemed really huge...which is the whole point of a swim diaper, right? As I was checking it out I was about to tell Mike we should write to Huggies and tell them we got a defective swim diaper, when I realized it was a pull-up, NOT a swim diaper. I accidentally bought some boy pull-ups during one of my diaper deal crazes and didn't even notice they came in boy and girl packages. So, these were blue and pulled on, just like the swim diapers...it was a funny sight though (I was in the pool and all wet, so no pictures).


Scott wished I didn't happen to be walking by holding my camera when this happened :-). See what I mean about photo opportunities?!

Aunt Hope on Preston patrol inside.

The kids were getting a little bored until Uncle Scott had the genius idea to turn the bubbles on in the hot tub (which is not hot). They FREAKED out...they LOVED it!!!

The danger of sitting poolside during a pool noodle battle.

I LOVE this picture of Preston (and HATE it of myself, but I'm sacrificing here for his sake). I think is a better representation of what he looks like than most the pictures I get when he looks so wrinkly. I went and saw a friend and her newborn baby today and it made me a little sad that Preston is already so big. As much as I want him to hurry and get a little bigger and older in so many ways, it is sad to think that he is never going back to that itty bitty newborn who just cuddled the days (and nights) away. He's still pretty little though.

Of course Addie always provides a good laugh and a photo-op...this is how I found my drink later in the afternoon.

And Lastly, our cute and crazy sleepers...

Date Night

You know me, I can never just pick one...



This picture was actually taken a couple hours later even though it looks the same :-). Mike took the girls to get a cool, yummy treat on our hot Houston day.

Ella and I have had fun entertaining ourselves by making Preston hold different items and then talking for him :-).
"What are we eating guys?! I'm ready! Give me some real food!"

"What?! It's all gone!!!"

DATE NIGHT!!! My mom came and watched the girls so Mike and I could enjoy a relaxing dinner together. Preston was awake when we went into the restaurant so I was a little nervous but he just looked around at all the decorations until he fell asleep! Way to go Preston!!! (and notice how Mike, sporting his bday shirt from Brit and Ili, and I even matched on accident...we're so good!)

Where did we go? YUM!

Earlier in the day Ella and I went on a "date" to the mall where I was searching for something cute to wear for Preston's blessing. It was nice to get out with just her! We had a good time and Ella kept an impressive pace walking around. Our adventure also included getting locked in a dressing room where Ella had to crawl under the door and get someone to let me out. I was SO proud of her for actually speaking to a complete stranger. I know she must really love me because she is so shy and I'm sure she was scared to death! We sampled chicken as walked through the food court (she thought it was pretty cool), found her a cute dress for the 4th of July and shared an ice cream sandwich from a vending machine after being completely entertained by the cooler that opened and the little vacuum aparatis that grabbed our treat for us! When Mike and I were leaving later that night and I told her we were going on a date she said, "Oh, like me and you? How fun!" :-)

The Week So Far...

Ella played with her favorite "doll," Preston :-)...

We've been eating yummy food...


Preston had his 6 week check-up (our new pediatrician likes them to come in 2 weeks before the "month" mark for some reason). He weighed 10 lbs. 3 oz. (50th percentile) and is 22 inches long (50-75th percentile). The 6 week vs. 2 month appointments are messing up all my comparisons between him and the girls! Oh well :-). Of course the appointment meant lots of shots for poor little Preston. And as if I hadn't put him through enough already, as I was buckling him in his carseat on the floor of our exam room, Addie "accidentally" hit him on the head with the little formula can sample they brought us (I really don't think she did on purpose). He wasn't hurt, but he sure didn't like it and I felt horrible!

Lots of fun was had playing with Johnny...


Water fight (even Addie was trying to throw buckets of water)...

For some reason Addie thinks sidewalk chalk is supposed to be used like make-up, although I'm pretty sure she's never seen anyone else use it that way.

Time to move the party inside...what is it with kids and popcorn? They think it is THE best...Works for me :-).

Preston was sad the rest of the day (the poor little guy had been through a lot), but he did seem to like the swing. Ella is taking her new role as a mini-mom pretty seriously :-).

Addie is following in her Dad's footsteps already. And speaking of him :-), it was Mike's birthday yesterday. It was pretty low key around here, but we did try to make him feel special on his big day. It was also my first day back to work and although I only went in to Gymboree for a total of 3 hours, I was still nervous leaving all 3 kiddos, especially since Preston wasn't himself. They all did fine of course. Mike gave Preston his bottle and he took it well, and then I had to pump when I got back home which is never exciting. What is exciting though is that for 2 nights in a row Preston has slept until 4am (instead of 2:30 or 3am...that means 1 to 1-1/2 hours more of sleep for me in a row!). The doctor said most babies start sleeping all night when they get closer to 13 pounds so I'm thinking I need to try and fatten him up...and FAST :-)!

NOT a Happy Toddler

Miss Adeline has been a little emotional the last couple days...witness Sunday morning.
Miss Gabriella was happy as can be to see all her church friends again (although she wasn't too happy initially about her hair, she prefers it down).
And Preston, well, we just love to see his little smile all the time now.

Happy Baby

Step 1: Focus on entertaining person/thing.


Step 2: Decide you like what you see and begin the smile.


Step 3: Let the smile take over (and show off those dimples)!


And then resume serious, contemplating expression.

Other Preston updates...he goes in for a check-up tomorrow (6 weeks) so we'll see what he weighs and how long he is. I'm very curious because he seems SO much bigger to me! He is sleeping about the same still. I am experimenting with trying to keep him up a little later at night to see if I can get him to sleep for a better stretch, giving myself more consecutive hours of sleep, keep your fingers crossed! And lastly, Preston is SO strong! Mike noticed his little calf muscles a couple weeks ago and it's pretty hilarious to see his little legs flex when we stand him up. Over the past couple days he has started pushing all the way up on his arms when on his tummy that he tips over and falls onto his back. He's obviously not doing it on purpose, but still, I was shocked the first time he did it (as was he)!

Happy Days

Cuddling, Getting Beautiful, Playing with Friends, Swimming, Cookies, and Dogs...

Nothing Better :-)!

Addie's New Favorite

Preston at the Pool

Wednesday we went to the library...it was puppet show day! Preston woke up during storytime so I took him out to properly meet Venitha - he has always been sound asleep in his carseat when the librarians admire him. When we went to wake Addie up we found she had managed to get this Ariel dress on herself during naptime.

We met up at the pool with friends later that night for dinner. We tend to not venture out much in the late afternoon, but it ended up being really nice because had cooled down a tiny bit. I worry about Preston getting too hot at the pool since he's not swimming around and this was a perfect solution (aside from swimming at my parents' where he can hang out inside the a/c). He got to wear his swimwear for the first time and the 0-3 month swimsuit is HUGE on him...his 0-3 month clothes aren't though, who knows. Ella is completely thrilled that the "fun" pools are all open now that school is out!

Preston went back to his usual pool activity not long after his photo session :-).

Ella thought she was pretty cool because she could touch the bottom at the shallow end of this pool...I LOVE Addie's hair when we go swimming :-).

Time for Tuesday

I'm almost caught up...

here's our Tuesday...




...we love our new pediatrician in Katy (we finally switched to someone closer)...

Preston's first "Daddy trick"...

and inspecting the new shelf Mike built...

It's fireworks time in Texas again and Addie loves to point out the "Mean Cats" when we drive by the stands...

Where a Kid Can be a Kid

Monday we decided to take a trip to Chuck E Cheese for some fun since we missed out on our little outing in Fresno. We went after lunch and it wasn't crowded at all which was nice. The girls had a blast (and so did Mike and I...who doesn't love those games?!) and had fun picking out prizes at the end.
They pretended to run through the sprinklers earlier in the day (neither of them really get wet although they act excited to do it when we ask them).

Time to Recuperate

Our first few days at home...
Ella loves her jewelry from Aunt Brittany, especially the earrings! And we love watching Addie wipe her hair out of her eyes in the morning in her little Addie way.

We spent an afternoon swimming at Nana and Grandad's, always fun, especially when Grandad swims too!

Preston is getting bigger and bigger. He is spending more of his days looking around and he's on a pretty good sleeping schedule (although sleeping through the night is the schedule I'm still waiting for). He usually goes to sleep around 10:30pm, wakes once at 3 or 3:30am and then is up again around 7am. I need to be better about going to sleep right after he does! He is getting cuter all the time and has shown us some glimpses of a smile.

Addie has been much more interested in Preston since our return. She calls him "Prestont" and Ella only calls him "Cute Preston."

Saturday night Ella, Preston and I went to watch Hope perform in our Stake's youth musical.

We found the girls like this one night when we went to check on them - I think my favorite yet :-)!

I Get to Join the Fun

Preston and I flew in Sunday night and he did GREAT on the way. We had two flights (switching in Salt Lake City) and he slept the WHOLE time on both of them! On the first longer flight I did have to feed him twice and change a poopy diaper, but he never made a peep. We got lots of compliments :-). I was really worried about the trip disrupting his newly formed schedule but we were able to maintain it for the most part.

It was so much fun for our family to be reunited and Ella quickly gave Preston enough love to make up for their time apart :-). We wanted to take the girls to a fun little place called Storyland but were VERY disappointed to find it was only open on weekends. We just did something fun here in Katy yesterday instead which hopefully I'll get to blog about soon now that I'm almost caught up.

If you know Ella, you know her love of rollie pollies discovered in California was quite out of character. The ones Addie found didn't fare so well - she usually ended up smooshing them.

We were playing "where is Arthur hiding?" and it was actually hard for me to find some of Ella's hiding places!

I was really glad Preston got to meet more of our extended family and that I was able to be a part of this fun memory. Michele invited us to come by their house our last night and the girls were thrilled to play with some real toys! They are doing such fun things with their house and it was so fun to see it in real life after following it on their blog!

Trying to catch these teeny frogs was fun until Addie stomped on one (on purpose) and it barely survived.

The drive home went really well...and was made easier by the fun surprises Meema had prepared for the girls. After dropping off Papa in San Antonio we made it home around 4pm on Thursday and man did it feel good to be home at last! I found these princess nightgowns for the girls while they were away and they were a perfect welcome home treat! Waiting for me I had about 100 blog posts to catch up on (ok, I didn't read all of them)...good thing I'm not usually away from a computer for that long!