I'm on a boat!

Preston has become quite fond of his wooden boat (a baby shower gift from Aunt Sarah's parents, Connie & John) this past week. I have been catching him climbing in on his own, and attempting to deboard on his own, too, which is slightly more tricky. No major injuries have been sustained, yet. 

Summer Begins

Since I now have to give overnighters serious consideration (see previous post), we headed to the cottage for just the day today... It was our first time back on the boat this year, and it was glorious.

Watching Mama duck and her 13 or 14 ducklings. No one could agree on the exact number.

"Let's get moving, Dad!"

Mom wins the "worst smile" award this trip. 

Helping Grandpa drive the boat!

Turns out the boat still works like a charm. Asleep in minutes...

Makeshift kids table. He loved it!

Updates: Sleep

I am very happy and relieved to report that our complete destruction of Preston's sleep schedule (while on vacation), resolved within 2 days of being home. Thank GOD. He is back to sleeping through the night (for the most part). I thought I had violated the cardinal rule* and would forever be punished.
For those who were spared being in the same house/hotel/living quarters; he would sleep in his crib 2 hours MAX, before waking up and screaming, at which time I would quickly pick him up and console him (as to avoid disturbing any other poor souls in a 1-mile radius), and end up having to bring him to bed with me because he refused to be put back down in his crib. This started day 2 of vacation and got progressively worse as time went on. There is nothing like instinctual motherly paranoia waking you up every 5 minutes ALL NIGHT LONG freaked out that your child's going to fall out of the bed, to ruin any chance you have at getting any sense of restful sleep. Like I said, I am VERY happy he is back to sleeping in his own bed, and through the night.
Which brings me to the newest of Preston's sleeping habits...the bedtime ritual. For a long time we had it down to a science: bottle, lay down in crib, fall asleep within 15 minutes (with me at the bedside, of course.) More recently, it has become more of a game. Bottle, lay down in crib, pretend like he's going to fall asleep, fake mommy out, stand up, smile, giggle, and start jumping around like he's on a trampoline. Usually followed by windsprints from one end of the crib to the other, like he's a WWE wrestler. Accompanied by babbling, laughing, and pointing at various objects in his room. This goes on for upwards of 90 minutes now, during which, if at any point I try to leave, all hell breaks loose. I just have not been a fan of the "cry it out" method, and before, when I only had to wait 5-15 minutes before tip-toeing out of the room, it wasn't so bad. Now, it's becoming a little ridiculous, especially when it gets past 45 minutes (and it's already past 11pm, and I have stuff to do before I go to bed, and then have to work in the morning, etc...) So I've become quite skilled at timing a quick departure when Preston is facing the wall and preoccupied for atleast 5-10 seconds. I discovered that if he doesn't actually SEE me leave, and instead I just happen to vanish, he cries for maybe 15 seconds, gets over it, and goes to bed by himself. If, however, he DOES catch me sprinting out the doorway, he sounds the alarm. And it goes on, and on, and on...
This exit strategy requires a fair amount of dexterity, grace, and luck (none of which I am known for), as even the slightest creak of a floorboard is an immediate give-away.
Needless to say, on the 2 nights a week that Matt is home in the evenings, I can usually be found pawning off bedtime on him. For whatever reason, Preston is usually much more compliant with Daddy's instructions to lay down and go night-night. Matt usually tip-toes out within 5-10 minutes without a problem. Show-off.

Imitation at it's finest

I came across this fantastic little massage chair on Craigslist a few weeks ago while looking for a new office chair.
Needless to say, we did NOT show Preston how to use it, but the other day, unprompted, this is what he did:

Vacation, Part III

The latter part of our trip took us to Mobile, Al and Dauphin Island, where Matt has family and close family friends. Then we swung back up to PTC for a 2-day pit stop before heading home.

The Boiling Pot. Total SCORE on my part for haphazardly selecting this place for dinner our first night in Mobile. We ate a lot of shrimp. And it was delicious.

Preston's 1st exposure to ocean!

He much preferred staying on land, however.

Evidence that he visited the Dauphin Island Aquarium. (He slept through the entire thing.)

Remarkably large gator parked in someone's yard on the drive to DI. I daringly crept up to atleast 25 yards of this beast, only to find out the next day...that he was dead.

1st official ice cream cone! He liked it. A lot. Must be genetic.

Preston's 2nd cousin, Olivia. 5 months his senior. They played endlessly for HOURS....it was fantastic.

"I'm gonna push this around for a while, Ma. See ya!"

Georgia Aquarium. Pure awesomeness.

"Oooo."

Sat and watched from this spot for atleast 10 minutes. Definitely the biggest aquarium I've seen.

Just a 6 foot Manta Ray swimming by. No biggie.

Walking through the aquarium tunnel.

Last vacation stop: the Atlanta Zoo. Also awesome.

It's hard to believe our vacation is already over... it seemed like it was never going to get here!
What I learned: the planning/packing process when there is a small child involved turns the thought of a nice relaxing vacation into a stress-filled, brain-wracking project. I don't think I've ever had more "to-do" lists going at the same time. Also: there are Target's in Georgia AND Alabama.
Luckily, the airport check-ins, and airplane rides, and lengthy car rides were largely uneventful, and overall Preston got good marks for being a mostly cooperative child. (Although having a 30-pound toddler confined to a space 2-airplane-seats wide, and walking/crawling on top of you, back and forth, for an entire flight, is particularly exhausting, and kind of painful.) But, I am especially happy to report he was NOT that token, screaming-like-a-banchee baby we've all had on our flight one time or another. I'd like to attribute that to Matt's and my fantastic parenting skills, but I'm pretty sure it was mostly the cookies. Lots of cookies. And diet Coke. (Who knew?? The kid LOVES diet coke.)

It was fantastic to get away for 9 days, and spend lots of time with family and friends (a lot of whom we don't get to see very often!) So for that, we are grateful.