The joy of cats

Here is Preston opening his Halloween card from Uncle Mike & Aunt Sarah: (it has a cat on the front, in case you're wondering.)

Also, a picture of Mom & Spidey from last week (Preston is working intently on a lollipop):

The Zoo Boo

Yes, another day of Spiderman...
Tonight I took Preston to the zoo for their Halloween party, the Zoo Boo. Which I can only describe as an after-hours party at the zoo, but for little people. And there are no animals involved. Preston wasn't quite sure what to think of it all, so I ended up having to carry him the entire time. (This is our second zoo trip in a week that I've had to hold him the majority of the time, and it is beginning to make me seriously re-think my no-stroller policy.)
By far, the highlight of the trip was getting to ride a school bus, to be shuttled from an off-site parking lot to the zoo. He was delighted to even see the school bus, and when we actually boarded the bus it was like all his dreams had come true. He probably would have been completely satsified with the evening if we had just turned around and taken the bus back to the parking lot and gone home. But following the mutually painful 45 minute fiasco to get him into his costume and out the door to begin with, I was committed to getting my money's worth for the remainder of the evening. Here are a few shots I managed:

Deconstructing a jack-o-lantern.

These pictures would have been much better if I could have captured the blinking Christmas lights behind him. After 4 failed attempts I gave up.

Thanks to the little girl ahead of him, Preston thought the purpose of this game was to take the hula hoop and whack the penguins over.

Scarecrow on a tractor. Obviously, he loved it.

He LOVED this train. Or whatever the heck it is. All I know is, it was my only reprieve from holding him of any significant duration. It was atleast 10 minutes before he finally emerged.

My closest success at capturing a smile.

Smile-fail.

Another smile fail. (0.2 seconds from a perfect shot).

Success! He courageously ventured into this display after about 5 minutes of serious trepidation. 

Another demonstration of courage and solitude. It took 2 attempts for him to successfully board this boat by himself, but it was well worth it when the pirates started rocking it back and forth! Again, a smile-fail.

This moment was priceless. I had just coaxed him to get close enough to this blow-up pirate ship to get a picture, and it blew over as my flash went off.

Halloween Party #2

We are getting very good use out of this Spiderman costume. Not to mention the 9 1/2 Spidey shoes Aunt Sarah sent perfectly complete the outfit. Last night Preston enjoyed an evening of Halloween festivities up at the YMCA while Mommy got to enjoy a few hours to herself. (Eating dinner at my leisure was the highlight.) Preston was a little apprehensive at first, (this room was full of kids his age in costumes, even though it looks like he's the only one there). In these pictures, one of his childcare teachers, dressed as a cat, is trying to coax him to join in the dancing. He is giving her the stare.

Luckily, it wasn't long before the ladies started moving in. 

A moment after this picture, he let loose, and started showing off his sweetest dance moves for all the ladies. He didn't even look back as I left...

Updates

Since I really haven't "blogged" much lately, (aside from posting pictures) I figured I would give everyone an update on some of the new and fun things Preston is doing these days.
Talking! His vocabulary is picking up quite a bit. He will usually try to repeat any new word you throw at him, and he can come up with quite a few on his own now. His favorite word: Mom. Is there anything better than that? And he loves to say it, all the time. Throughout the day he will randomly stop what he's doing, point at me, and go "Mom!" This is usually accompanied by a hug, and patting me on the shoulder, and several more repititions of "mom." The best is when I pick him up from daycare, and he comes running towards me with open arms going, "Mom! Mom! Mom!" (Unless of course he is on the playground, in which case I am lucky to get any acknowledgement.)
Other objects of fascination; the moon, his stuffed cat, my car, airplanes, trucks, tractors, bikes, and bugs.
He loves to locate and point out the moon, and he enunciates the word perfectly.
He has formed a deep bond with his stuffed cat, and loves to squeeze and snuggle with it, to the extent that it is very fortunate she is not a real cat. Because I think she would probably be inadvertently suffocated.
Pretending to drive my car has become a favorite pastime. In fact, today, as soon as we got home from daycare and I got him out of his carseat, he promptly ran around to the driver side and insisted that I open the door. He even knows he has to take his shoes off first (since he ends up standing on the seats and climbing all over the place.) It's pretty amazing how well he knows how to play with all the parts of the car; playing with the volume knob on the stereo, turning the flashers on, pulling the turning signal up and down, and even trying to manipulate the shifter. And he loves to reach over and pat the passenger seat and yell for me to come get in the car and sit next to him. And occasionally I will think; Someday, I will actually have to let him turn the car on...
On a similar note, Preston loves just about anything with an engine. If he hears a loud engine of any type, he will usually stop what he's doing and search frantically for the source. And then watch in complete awe as it drives/flies by.
And finally, bugs. I am trying my best to disguise my complete disgust for most insects, so that he can learn to appreciate them, formulate his own opinion, and not be influenced by my skewed perspective. (This principal applies to lots of things, actually.) This, however, is very difficult. Just thinking about bugs in general gives me the heebie-jeebies. Fortunately, he is still in the stage of just stopping and staring. He isn't to the point where he is trying to pick them up. But I think it's just a matter of time. When it is time, that will really push my boundaries.

October recap

October has been significantly less busy than September (in terms of scheduled activities, appointments, surgeries, etc.) but I have found it difficult to keep up with blogging, so apologies to all whom delight in P-man updates. Here is a compilation of photos from the past few weeks:

Enjoying a new-to-Preston selection of hats and Grandma & Grandpa E's home in Ithaca. First time we've been back to I-town since the beginning of the summer I believe. (Note Wrigley giving a look of desperation in the background. How dare she be relegated to the backyard!)

Joint celebration of Mommy's and Grandpa's birthdays. We will leave ages out. Grandpa wins the cheesy-smile-of-the-night award. Usually those honors go to me.

 Spiderman! Heading out to costume party #1 of the Halloween season, after we take care of some lawnmowing, of course.

Meeting #2 with baby Addison! He was SO enamoured. And he was an excellent older pseudo- brother.

This is the smile he gave every time he looked at her.

Enjoying another day at the zoo.

Just chillin with the lions.

"Cat."

Full UK uniform! Thanks Auntie Jayne!

"See ya later, mom."

Misc pics

Some pictures from the past week:

Pretending to leave.

Early adventures in photography. Nice wool sweater!

A pumpkin patch/farm that we had all to ourselves last Sunday afternoon. Preston showed some initial interest in the cows (rear left), but once he spotted the ride-on toys, it was all over.

"bird."

Stragglers at the Apple Fest.

Preston's 3rd consecutive year of the Lafayette Apple Fest. (2010 was in utero).
New discovery this year: If you stay til the very end, they start giving away all the remaining baked goods for super cheap. A dozen cider donuts for $1? Yes please.

One of many attempts to get a nice photo with mom.

The Kid Who Wouldn't Come Inside

We recently procured a Little Tykes basketball hoop for Preston (thanks to Craigslist,) and set it up outside. In hindsight, this might not have been the best idea. It brings the total number of outdoor toys now to 5 (bball hoop, trike, lawnmower, car, pumpkins), which is apparently the magic number. Now, Preston wants to play outside All. The. Time. And doesn't want to come in. Ever.
A sequence of events from the other day:

Rearranging the pumpkins.

Pretending to drive the car. And showing me some of the garbage I have tucked down in the door.

Back to pumpkin sorting. After runningaround with the lawnmower (in backdrop).

Now to the trike.

Then shooting hoops.

 Then, after 2 hours, being dragged inside for lunch, (kicking and screaming):

Another Comparison

October 9, 2010

Exact same spot (minus the sun), October 7, 2012

 

Accessorising

In my last post, I failed to mention how Preston and Bailey have actually had some very tender and sweet moments as well. A few nights ago while sitting on the potty, Preston called Bailey into the bathroom so that he could pet her and hug her. Of course, she stood there looking terrified, but she tolerated it well. She tried to sneak out a few times, and he kept looking at me and asking for more. So we'd call her back in, and he'd lean over and put his arms around her and rest his head on her back. It was very sweet. The entire time I have to reassure Bailey that she is being a very good dog, and she still just looks at me like, "How much longer do I have to do this?" Oh well.

On a different day, we were again in the bathroom, and Preston was on the potty, and I was using the time to brush my teeth and put my hair up in attempt to look atleast somewhat presentable, should we venture out in public. I enlisted the help of a hairband, which Preston immediately demanded I give him. So I gave him a spare and helped him place it on his head, and thought, "My, what a pretty girl you would have made," and took advantage of the photo opp:

Sorry, kiddo. You did this to yourself.

One of Preston's favorite things to do in the kitchen (while being held), is to scan the countertops for anything that might be of interest to him. And then gesture for it, going, "Uh, uh, uh!" Fortunately now, he adds a very sweet little "please" at the end. On this same day, Preston spotted his sunglasses, (which he hasn't worn hardly all summer), and insisted on wearing them. Then he proceeded to leave them on for atleast 15 minutes, which far exceeds any previous records for duration of wearing them. Again, I seized the photo opp:

Squeeky baby, squeeky grocery cart

It's been interesting to watch Preston and Bailey's relationship evolve. As he has become more vocal and boisterous, she has become increasingly apprehensive and skittish. She usually does her best to stay as far away from him as possible. However, the paradox is, Preston has become an unrelenting source of food. Good food. So she really can never stray too far, because she might miss out on a feeding opportunity. Previously, (i.e. before baby), Bailey was actually quite oblivious to our mealtimes, or any kind of food preparation or consumption in general. Now, she is an official Chow Hound. She is perpetually lurking whenever there is even the slightest chance that food might be showing up. And when it is an official meal or snacktime, she is not shy about standing directly next to Preston's chair, eagerly awaiting even the smallest of crumbs to come her way. And Preston has become quite fond of treating her to his leftovers. When he's nearing the end of his meal, he'll usually hand her anything he's had enough of. Or throw it across the room for her to fetch. It is this reason I believe she has been tolerating him, and as captured below, has been putting up with a good deal of harassment, actually. I picked up this grocery cart at a garage sale over the summer, and just brought it upstairs yesterday. Apparently it's in need of some WD-40. Preston was attempting to cart around his frosted mini-wheats (and chase Bailey simultaneously), failing to recognize that the holes in the cart allow the mini-wheats to fly out sporadically. Bailey, however, did not miss that detail.