More singing!

Here is Preston singing The Itsy Bitsy Spider with me.
I apologize for the camera angle (nice slippers, eh?), but again, I was trying to record on the sly.
Also, don't be alarmed by my amazing vocals.

We had to interrupt bathtime for an urgent pooping session. Which gave me an opportunity to get a shot of Preston's awesome Spidey towel. Also, he was playing the flute.

Mom of the Year!

C'mon! Is that plate a thing of beauty or what?

Oh wait...it's cooked ham Gigi gave us, mac'n'cheese from a box, and steam-in-the-bag microwaveable brussel sprouts (of which he ate none). Oh well. I tried.

What, you may be asking, is the significance of this picture?? Note the distance between Preston and the garbage can.
I had just handed Preston a tissue to wipe his nose, looked down at my cereal, and next thing I knew, he yelled "Garbage!!" And I heard something land in the garbage can. That's right, he made a basket. From that far away.

"Mommy's shoes."

Some shenanigans from friday night. Oh the things this boy will do to avoid bathtime.

The 'do

It's rare to see Preston's natural curls anymore since he bathes at night, and by the morning his hair is essentially flat. I think it's important though, that I continue to capture the glory of his lovely blond locks from time to time, since eventually they will evolve into not-so-noteworthy grown-up locks. I made a concerted effort to catch a few pre-bedtime photos the other night to document his 2-year-old locks for posterity.

The Beast!

I have been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to catch Preston singing his first made-up song on camera, and it finally happened tonight. The song is loosely based on Beauty and the Beast's "Kill the Beast!" which I realize actually sounds quite awful. So first, I would like to take a minute to defend myself on this one. I have been allowing Preston to watch a few select Disney and Pixar films recently, usually ones that tend to be musical or seem incredibly benign (which there are disturbingly few of, by the way.) When I first sat down with him to watch these movies, I grossly underestimated the amount of violence and/or completely disturbing content they contained, in general. Particularly the Disney movies. So, not only did I quickly narrow the field of permissible movies, I got into the habit of fast-forwarding through any questionable content. There are really only a handful that made the cut; Finding Nemo, Beauty & the Beast, Winnie the Pooh, Up, and any of the Muppet movies. Some can be played in their entirety, others I must pay close attention to and fast-forward appropriately. I have honed this skill so well that I can actually multi-task with doing housework while Preston is watching a movie, and estimate based on elapsed time when I need to report to the living room for fast-forwarding duty. That being said, there may have been one or two times where I missed my cue. Thus, Preston has caught Gaston singing "Kill the Beast" a handful of times. And, how he has come to forge his own version of the song, which usually includes marching around the house going "Gaaaa-gohhh, Waaa-gohhh, Waayyyy-gohhh.....THE BEAST!" I very craftily caught him singing it at the dinner table tonight, unbeknownst to him. I left the camera rolling for some rather entertaining antics and dialogue (including a few new words I've never heard him say before). Enjoy!

Car Show

Had the choice of Car Show, Boat Show, or Golf Show today. (Who says there's nothing to do in Syracuse?) I picked the Car Show. It was a ragin' good time.
(And once again my craptacular phone and sh*tty lighting combined for optimal photographs.)

"Boat!"

"Bike!"

"Jeep!"

2 year stats

Thursday was Preston's official 2-year well-child check. His physician was amazed we hadn't been in since his 18-month well-exam. Which made me think of this:

Preston has certainly had his ongoing share of your garden-variety viral illnesses, thanks especially to daycare, but we have been very lucky that he has been otherwise very healthy. 

Like all his physical exams before, Preston was a model patient. He watched every move his doctor made very intently, and at times gave him the scowl-face (his favorite new expression). But he cooperated with the entire exam, and didn't make a peep through the whole thing. The only problem was when the doctor wanted to check his gait, the only thing Preston would do was march. I finally had to assure the doctor that he really can walk normally, he just really likes to march. 

We also got Preston's much-anticipated growth stats, since it had been 6 months since his last official weigh-in. 

Length: 38" (97th percentile)

Weight: 37lbs, 4oz. (97th percentile. Hey, atleast he's consistent!)

AKA: Really freakin' big. 

Here's his growth chart for length (notice we are a bit outside the normal range): 

Length at 2 years is also supposed to be a good predictor of adult height (simply double the length), which gives Preston an approximate adult height of 6'4". Gauging from his rather mammoth hands and feet, however, I would venture that 6'4" is a conservative estimate. In any case, it will be fun to see.

(I mean, not that I intentionally set out to breed an NBA player, but hey, if that's what happens...he will know from this blog what an outstanding mother he has and how she deserves at the very least an oceanfront condo in Hawaii. Just sayin.)  

The Pee-man

That's right. Pee. There can be no doubts about Preston's hydration status, because he has been peeing through everything lately. Daytime, nighttime, anytime. I am doing laundry more now than when he was a baby and spitting up every 2 minutes. In the past week, I think he managed to stay dry once through the night. Otherwise, not only are his pajamas wet in the morning, he usually has a nice big wet spot in the bed, and sometimes the blankets even get it. I am doing full linen changes essentially every day. What is this, a hotel? I have tried every brand of diaper that exists. Nighttime diapers, pull-up diapers, diapers a size too big, double-diapering. The only thing that has worked is putting an adult-sized incontinence pad in the nighttime diaper. Gigi thought this one up. Worked like a charm, until I ran out of incontinence pads. When I went to the store to buy more, I thought maybe I could get away with maxi pads. (Turns out incontinence pads are expensive.) Not to mention the only slight embarrassment involved in purchasing incontinence pads. Definitely one of those shopping items you put on the conveyor at check-out and cringe that no one sees it. Well, turns out maxi pads don't cut it. Guess I'm going to have to suck it up one of these days.
The daytime soakings are partially my fault. I've had size 4 diapers on auto-delivery through Amazon for probably the past year, and it recently became apparent that Preston needs the next size up. Unfortunately I still have a stockpile of size 4's. Most of the time they work fine, but he is starting to hold his bladder for really long periods of time now, so occasionally when he lets loose, its like a massive flood the size 4 diaper just can't keep up with. I think I will have to cut my losses on this one too and just pass along the remaining size 4's sometime soon. Oh well.
Well, thanks for joining me in today's discussion of urination. Stay tuned for future blogs where I am certain to continue fascinating discussions of bodily functions. That rhymes. 

A Grocery Shopping Success!

A crucial part of surviving on my part-time budget has been my commitment to couponing over the past few years. Yes, I am a couponer. And I'm not ashamed to admit it. Unfortunately, it is a very labor-intensive process that involves a good deal of mental focus while grocery shopping. No, really. There was a glorious point in time where I could simply keep Preston strapped in his carseat or tote him around in a carrier, and he would be completely content while I perused the grocery aisles. Those days are over. Grocery shopping with a 2-year old is a nightmare. I've tried pre-planning the trips to the best of my ability, in hopes of creating a Supermarket Sweep-like method to my shopping, but it has been largely unsuccessful. Preston will usually sit in the front of the grocery cart for the first 5-10 minutes, but after that, it's all over. Then he starts whining to get out, then crying, then will actually start climbing out. I will usually let him out on the condition that he holds my hand, but that only lasts for about 60 seconds before he starts squirming to get away, then collapsing to the floor, etc, etc. Then it quickly turns into a game of "Catch me if you can!" Whereby Preston takes off running, and I tell him to come back, and he starts giggling and keeps running. It is around this time that the shopping part becomes very difficult.
I don't know if it was because he was exhausted from a long morning of playing at the Great Northern indoor playground, or because of this fabulous new-to-us grocery cart, but something about today's shopping trip worked, and it was wonderful. I give you Exhibit A:  

He stayed in the cart the entire time. It was a miracle. Clearly, I need to identify all the stores that carry this style of grocery cart, and re-map my shopping excursions accordingly.

"Wesley's house."

Preston and I went to visit his friend Wesley at his new house in the beginning of January. Ever since, Preston will randomly, at various times of the day, pause, and ask, "Wesley's house?" Example: A few weeks ago I was trying to corral Preston out of bed first thing in the morning to get ready for daycare, and he wasn't very enthusiastic about the idea. I tried to coax him by reminding him that he would see some of his good friends: Asher...Robbie...Wesley... He stopped and looked at me, "Wesley's house?" Another example: Last week Preston and I were sitting at the kitchen table eating lunch. I was scrolling through email on the ipad, Preston was focused on his meal, when all of a sudden, out of nowhere, "Wesley's house?" You get the idea.
So it was with great enthusiasm this morning that I informed Preston that, today, we were indeed going to Wesley's house. In the car ride over, I think he proceeded to say "Wesley's house!" atleast a dozen times. And when we pulled in the driveway, "Wesley's car!" Luckily, Wesley shared in the enthusiasm, and when the two united, there was lots and lots of screaming, running, and general toddler mayhem.

During a brief pause in the action for snacks. Wesley is clearly a "cheese" pro.

My last minute attempt to get some pics before we left. Here, Preston is disrobing in attempt to further delay our departure. Notice Wesley's safety-conscious mother is holding on to him. Preston is fending for himself. 

Both smiling, in the same picture! Success! Preston looking a little disheveled, however.

A better smile from Preston. Clearly Mom did not coordinate the outfit too well this morning. The cords and horizontal stripes seem to be adding a few pounds, too.

Preston's fun-filled day was topped off with some quality time with Dad. The highlight was playing outside in the snow.

Action shots from inside the house are challenging. I think you can make out the smile though!

Good cardio for Dad. I am sitting on the sofa.

Another really big smile. He pretty much had this look on his face the whole time.

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Mowing the snow.