Prestonisms

This little guy is 19 months old with an energy level that is off the charts. Keeping up with him can be exhausting, but, there's no other way I rather spend my days. He's the best.

I'm convinced he's a special kid. Who doesn't think that about their own child though? But with his smarts and wits, it's just a matter of time before he outsmarts John and me.

Last night at dinner, he didn't want to eat anything, he just wanted to play. No surprise there. We told him he had to have three more bites of hotdog before he could go play with his toys. So, what does he do? Eats one bite, no problem. Picks up bite two, bites it in half, and then tried to claim the other half of his second bite as bite three. I couldn't help but laugh at the cleverness of it all.

After dinner we went to look at Christmas lights for F.H.E. We stopped by Starbucks to get some hot chocolate, and as we pulled up to the drive thru window, Preston yells, "french fries!"

He's really into saying "more" these days. If we hear a song he likes, he says "more!" if he gets a bite of something delicious, he wants more! So, while looking at lights last night, he kept asking for "more Christmas lights!", but the best was when we'd pass houses that had a nativity scene on display and we'd say, "look, there's baby Jesus", and at one point he excitedly exclaimed, "more Jesus!". Yes buddy, we all need more Jesus in our lives.

After his bath the other night, and, out of the blue, Preston said to John, who was trying to dry him off, "don't touch me!" Where does he learn these things?

He loves saying, er, yelling "Amen!" at the end of prayers. The other day I asked him if he wanted to say the prayer for lunch,  he didn't. But, following the prayer while I was getting his lunch, I heard him whisper, "heavenly father...daddy safe...bless food..." it was the sweetest thing.

We've been trying hard to teach him manners, and to say please and thank you, and you're welcome. He usually combines them all and says, "thank you, welbome". I love how he says welcome. Welbome.

He's excellent at saying "no" but rarely says "yes", everything is, "okay!" I've since realized how often I say okay to everything.

He's still obsessed with music and picks up on songs/tunes really well. This morning without even realizing it I started humming the most obnoxious "Elmo's World" song...but I literally only hummed a couple of notes before I quickly stopped. And, right on queue, Preston yells, "Elmo". Nothing gets passed him.

Like I said, this boy is something else, but I wouldn't change him for the world. He keeps me on my toes, but exhausts me like no other by the end of the day. I guess I'd expect no less from a little boy. Isn't that how they're supposed to be?

November Goal

I completely forgot to blog about November's goal, so, here's my long overdue post.

This month, I will be going to bed early. And when I say early I just mean by 10pm.

I'm queen procrastinator. And queen of staying up way too late for nothing than to stay up late. I mostly wasting time, only to regret it in the morning when my little munchkin wakes up before I'm ready to. I thought maybe, just maybe, it would be nice to feel a little more rested in the morning. And we all know I suck at sleeping, so I thought by going to bed early, I could at least try to ensure I'd get a little more shut eye in...even when I wake up way too many times in the middle of the night and have a hard time falling asleep. Oh, the genes I've inherited.

Here's to a month full of more sleep. More sleep! Sounds glorious, right?

Rock Star

Ever since the day he was born, Preston has loved music. In those early months where crying never seemed to end, we could always count on this song to ease his tears. The second he would hear it, the crying would stop. Instantly. It was like magic. And I knew right then and there, that Preston was going to develop his dad's love of all things music.

This little youtube video also got played on a near regular basis, and was another one of our saving graces. I remember over the summer, Preston had just turned one, and we were staying at my parents house. My dad was playing this video for him, and he started to sing along. My dad and I both looked at each other like, DID HE REALLY JUST DO THAT? Yes, yes he did. He's always been bright. And, like I've said, he's always loved music.

The other night I was trying to put Preston to bed. It had been a rough day. Really rough. He fought every urge he had to not let me put him to bed that night, but, like music has always done, and pretty much right on queue, the second I started singing to him, he calmed right down. That's one of my favorite parts of our day, whether it's for naps or bedtime, I always sing him three songs before laying him down to go to sleep. Even if he's being squirmy, whiny, or just plain angry, music is our saving grace. Always. I had just finished singing him I Am a Child of God, and was about to stand up to go set him in his crib, when he did his little rocking motion in my arms, as if, to tell me, no mom, keep rocking me, you're not done yet. So, I rocked a little longer, and that's when he started to sing to me I Am a Child of God. I almost had tears in my eyes, because it was the sweetest thing in the world, and of course, that little moment erased all of the bad from that day.

Those tender moments are my favorite.

I'm so glad this morning I caught this on camera. He's my little rock star.  And oh how I love him.

I love you

I feel like every stage Preston gets to, I proclaim that, "I love this stage!" But really, I've loved every stage so far....except maybe those first few months of life, I liked them. Ok, so, there were things I loved, of course, but man were they hard. Now, life is just hard in a different way. I have the most rambunctious (almost) 18 month old that runs everywhere he goes. Wants to get into everything he shouldn't. Repeats almost everything I say. And my personal favorite, is listening to him quietly talk to himself, like he's trying to solve a world wide dilemma. He's so rambunctious it's exhausting. But at the same time, I wouldn't trade it for anything. How else are little boys supposed to be? I'll take three please!

He'll start singing at the store while we're shopping. Usually his ABC's, but occasionally it's baa baa black sheep, or twinkle twinkle little star. And I'm convinced that it's just a matter of time before he outsmarts me. Then the real trouble begins.

Little boys are the best. He's the best. And he sure makes being a mom pretty great. Sure he makes life exhausting, but is being a parent supposed to be any other way?

His laugh, his giggle, and those random moments when he runs up to me and gives me a big kiss just because, melts my heart. And then he had to go and ask me the other day if he could cuddle with me, and I had to melt all over again.

Being a parent, I give it 10 stars. 

17 Months of pure cuteness

The other day while we were driving in the car, Preston point blankly says, "Hi, how are you?"

As we were leaving the gym the other day, a cute older couple held the door open for us. As we walked through the door, Preston says to them, "Thank you!" -I'm glad he's learned his manners

When my parents were here last weekend, my mom was singing him the song "Pop Goes the Weasel" apparently Preston thought the word weasel was funny, because he kept repeting it over and over again laughing.

Whenever he hears you say a number, he'll start counting.

He'll wave and say "bye bye" whenever he's done with something and wants to move on to something new...lately it's been when I'm in the middle of conversations with my neighbors.

Our sweet next door neighbor has adopted Preston as her grandson, and is always doing nice things for him. The other day she bought a beach ball for him to play with, and I was telling him to say "Thank you, Carol." After that he ran all around the yard yelling, "Carol! Carol!" He'll even randomly call out her name when we pull into the driveway after running errands. Makes me laugh every time.

He's obsessed with his ABC's, and is always wanting to read all of the different ABC books we have. If you sing the song, he'll randomly chime in with the correct letter he knows comes next.

He's also pretty good at knowing what comes next in all of the stories we read, and usually finishes the sentences for us. He's a smarty pants.

And my favorite thing as of late is when he pretends to be a baby and fake cries. The kids a ham!

How I love this little boy of mine. He sure gives me a run for my money some days, but he really is the sweetest little boy there ever was.

October's Goal

I'd like to think septembers goal of being productive during nap time went fairly well, but, I'd be lying if I didn't say I had my fair share of naps, too...after I tidied the house, or did something else "productive" of course.

And here we are, already in October, HOW did that happen so quickly?

I've decided that this month's goal (although I may have slightly failed on the first of the month) is to not use my phone while I'm with Preston. It's so easy for me to get sucked into something useless on my phone....why did the world have to invent smart phones? While I love mine dearly, that's just the problem, I love it far too much, and I am subsequently sucked into it far too often. Curse that little piece of technology.

So, here's to giving my son far more attention, attention he both deserves and needs, and putting technology aside for awhile.

I like this goal.

Weekend Project

Preston LOVES to read. It's the first thing he wants to do when he wakes up in the morning, and the last thing we do before going to bed. Not to mention we read books all throughout the day. He's my little book worm, and I love that about him. Occasionally I'll catch him sitting in his room, books poured all over him,  just reading to himself...or at least looking at the pictures.  Often times he'll bring me the books he wants me to read to him. So we sit and read, and I love it, because he'll sit quietly in my lap and cuddle with me. Reading is the only time he actually sits still.

I've been reading to him since the day he was born. Reading is what put him to sleep as a newborn when nothing else worked. We'd sit and rock, and read and read and read, until the sound of my voice finally lulled him to sleep.

We love to read. And everyday he gets smarter and smarter with the things he remembers, the pictures he notices, and the phrases he reads along with me. I love our reading time together.

Ever since being in our "new" house, the corner in his room where the basket of books lies, and the glider sits, has felt incomplete. I knew I wanted to do something with that corner, but I didn't know what.

And then I saw this picture online somewhere, most likely Pinterest, and I was instantly obsessed. I knew I needed the corner in P's room to turn into that exact image. And Saturday was the day to make it happen.

So, we headed to Lowes, where John got his early birthday present...a new drill...we picked out just the right wood, and set home to put our plan into action.

And moments later, this came about. And, I'm equally obsessed, if not more, with the actual image of his room now, than the inspiration I saw online. There are still a few things missing, like a picture or phrase in that empty spot on the wall, but I love how its turned out so far.

I love weekend projects courtesy of a husband who turns my ideas into reality, and I love that we have a little boy who loves to read just as much as he loves to play in the dirt and eat rocks! 

Momma's Boy

Tantrums and outburst of "bad" behavior have their moments in our home, and trying to teach a 16 month old how to be polite, and not a complete pill seems a waste a time on occasion, but then there are those moments when I hear a "please" and a "thank you" and I'm given lots of big bear hugs and the sweetest little slobbery kisses that melt my heart a million times over, and it makes me think I'm doing something right as a mother.

I'm not perfect. And some days are less than perfect. But I look in those big blue eyes, and all I see is the sweetest little boy there ever was, and I never want him to grow old.

Tonight as I sang him a few songs and rocked with him before putting him in his crib, he grasped my neck as tight as he could, and then pushed his face away from mine, lips puckered, and gave me the sweetest kiss before resting his head on my shoulder, ready to go to sleep. All he needed was that kiss before he could entirely settle down into a peaceful slumber for the night. Those kisses are his assurance that everything is right in the world. And I hope those kisses never stop.

Moments like these I will always cherish. And in my heart I hope he never tires of wanting me by his side.

Capturing Memories

I don't know how long we'll be a military family, but that will be our status for at least the next five years. I've decided that everywhere we live, I want to have family pictures taken, if for nothing more than to capture what we considered "home" for a period of our lives.

So, one whiny and humid afternoon, while Preston was throwing tantrum after tantrum, and we were a total sweaty mess, we set out in our backyard with an amazing photographer, and crossed our fingers a few would turn out.

And this is what we got....

 

 

Completely in love with these, and what I love most, is that they were taken right out our door. We love where we live. Illinois, who knew you were so beautiful?

September's Goal...

 All thoughts of goals for the month have already been thrown out the window.

At first I thought I could blog everyday, since my blogging has been less than par these days. But, here we are three days into the month and that would mean I've already failed.

Next I thought I could manage my money better and not spend any on things we don't NEED. But, we've already gone out to dinner once and I just went to World Market to buy this darling drink dispenser I've been eying for months now...but in my defense, it's my birthday this month, and I had a $10 off coupon. I haven't lived near a World Market for the last THREE years, so after three years of a wasted $10 off coupon during my birthday month, I HAD to use it, you know?

Then I thought I could go off sweets again, because May was a rejuvenating month for me, but after eating this apple cake on Sunday, and nearly eating an entire container of Talenti gelato last night, I decided a repeat goal isn't needed, and it would have been an epic fail anyway.

So, I'm back to square one.

But I've just decided that this months goal will be to use Preston's nap time wisely. Maybe a lame goal, but usually when he goes down for a nap, I do, too. Or, I waste time online, and he's up before I know it and I've done nothing. Yesterdays nap time was actually productive, so I haven't totally butchered this months goal already. So, here's to using nap time more wisely and actually checking things off my to-do list.

Suburbia

I like to think of myself as a city girl. But put me in the middle of corn fields and farmland, and I guess I'm kind of fond of the small town life, too. Who knew!? Knowing we have a big city 20 minutes west of us helps a little. But really, we're loving it here, and anytime I tell someone that, they seemed shocked. Really?! Said in a sort of confused, shocked, are you sure you heard my question, kind of way.

What's not to love? We're surrounded by cornfields, and baseball diamonds. Our Monday, Wednesday, Friday night entertainment is right out our back door, and no one loves it more than Preston, who emphatically yells "baseball!" every morning when we open the blinds and he sees right onto the field.  At night when the games are being played, there's squealing and major leg kicking going on. He wants to run right out there and join them. My dad would be so proud.

August's Goal

    

I thought I posted this way back at the beginning of August, you know, when I was in the midst of moving and didn't even have a real internet connection. Turns out, not having a real internet connection makes posting hard.  Now, nearly three weeks of being in our new home later, we finally have internet. What a nightmare that turned out to be. I semi-hate AT&T right now. After I told them that, they gladly offered us free service and dropped all fees for a few months. The things people do to win you over. It only slightly worked.

This month I set the goal to be more serviceable. Big or small, it didn't matter, just something to help brighten someones day a little bit more. So, you would have thought that this afternoon, on my drive home from lunch with John, when I witnessed bags of clothing thrown all over the highway after having fallen out of someones car, I would have kindly pulled over and offered to help clean up. Instead, I witnessed other cars pulling over, people jumping out to help quickly clean up the road, and the car in front of me pull over with his flashers on to deter oncoming traffic. What kind people I thought, as I watched this all unfold in my review mirror. 

Needless to say, this months goal isn't going so well. And we're far closer to the end of the month than we are to the beginning. Major fail. I have nine days to make up for it. Nine is better than nothing at all. Right? Sure.

Here's to thinking about others far more than I think about myself, and clearly that's a hard concept for me to grasp.

Cornfields and farmland

Life has been nothing short of crazy the last few weeks. And I mean that quite literally. I think I've gone a little crazy even, which would explain why I drove off without buckling P into his carseat today. I've lost my mind. But it's ok, because hopefully sanity will find me again after we get all settle into our new life. Our new life for the next 12 months. Our new life in Illinois...or, as I like to say, St. Louis, because no one would have a clue where I was talking about if I said we were living in Shiloh, Illinois. Google it. It's small. It's ruralish. And it's going to be amazing. 

We're here. We're back together as a family. And we're beyond happy about that. Seriously, life is good. John started his program today, which really means he started a whole lot of paperwork. So, fun times for sure. We're quickly realizing there's a lot of inefficiencies in the AF. Who are we kidding though, that's the government for you, so really, there are so surprises there. 

We're currently living in temporary housing on base. Which has been interesting. Mostly I just wasn't prepared for the wakeup call at 6am over the loudspeaker this morning. That and the garbage man coming by at 5:40am. I mean, whose working that early anyway? More importantly, WHY?

We're moving into our new place tomorrow, and despite some major setbacks/turnoffs to our soon to be living conditions, we're really excited. We met half the street tonight unexpectedly, and that was enough right there to make us feel like its really where we're supposed to be. They were all so friendly and beyond helpful, it was comforting. 

So, tomorrow begins more craziness, and then, I hope we return to our settled down, normal life. Crazy's always good thorough. Spicing things up is important. 

Oh, and did I mention John is back? How I missed that man of mine. Love him a million times over. 

Hello

I completely forget about blogging these days. Is it fading out? Perhaps, but until it's entirely dead, I'll keep it up sporadically, since my actual journaling is far more abandoned.

P is in the funnest stage right now. And by fun, I mean B-U-S-Y. But busy is good and I love it. It also means I'm pooped at the end of every day, and I constantly wonder how anyone is capable of having more than one child? I'm convinced no one has a child more busy than mine.

He's quite the talker, which he's always been, but even more so now. Everyday he learns a new word, and he'll pretty much repeat, or at least TRY to repeat, anything you ask him to say. It's rather adorable, but I swear he's supposed to be my baby a little bit longer. How is he 14 months already?

Ask him what any animal says, and he'll happily tell you. Ok, just cow, dog, cat, bear, monkey, lion, snake, cat, whale, and bird. A good enough list for now. Ask him if he wants a bath and he'll take off down the hallway towards the bathroom, ready to climb into the tub. Ask him if he wants to go outside, and you're his best friend. Bring him inside and he hates you. But only for a second until you distract him with something else...namely food. He'll love you again. He understands pretty much everything you say to him, and generally obeys. The word NO, on the other hand, means absolutely nothing to him. He could careless about toys. Dirt and water on the other hand are his best friends. He's turned into quite the climber and gets into and onto everything he shouldn't. He loves to give kisses...even to strangers. He has a silly face, and loves to show it to you when you ask him. He's a ham, and he loves to make you laugh. If you laugh at something, he'll laugh right back. If he does something you think is funny, be prepared to see it over and over again, accompanied by his hysterical laughter. He enjoys eating lemons, for nothing more than to make his sour face and make everyone around him laugh...over and over and over again. His fake laugh is my favorite. And for the most part, he's the happiest little boy I could ever ask for.

Oh how I love him and his energetic self. He melts my heart on a daily basis, and I constantly wonder how I got so lucky to have him as my own. Life would be terribly boring without him, that's for sure.

My lucky number

It's been three years since I became a Lovell. Three years of being a wife. And three years of getting to live with an insanely attractive man. I'm a lucky one! Honest. In fact, I think it still shocks my family (or my sisters at least) that I scored such a great guy. Like really great. Oh how I love him. If only he were here so we could celebrate. Four more weeks people, four more weeks...!!

The Month I've Dreaded For the Last Three Years

The first day John was gone, I thought, this kind of sucks, but, we'll manage. Yesterday I felt the same. And today, while my baby sleeps, I'm sitting here wondering, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO WITH OURSELVES ALL.MONTH.LONG!!

Alas, I now get to feel for single mothers. Wives whose husbands are deployed. Or ones who have husbands always away for work.

And it ain't fun!

I never imagined I'd be a military wife. But I will admit, my time in D.C. made me admire the life. From the outside anyway. I guess living close to the Pentagon, and seeing men in uniform everywhere I went was enticing to me. I mean, hello, a man in a uniform. Need I say more? And now that man is mine, and I think it's less than glamorous. Only because I don't like being given two months of pure husband time, all to myself, right into an entire month of him being gone. All. Day. Everyday. Nope, I'm not a fan.

Unfortunately, there is more to military life than looking good in uniform. Very unfortunate for me. And John, because I know he was less than excited to start this training, too. Five weeks of waking up at 4:30 every morning, and not getting to bed until close to 11 pm. Mixed with marching. Making sure you properly address everyone as, 'ma'am, and sir. Saluting. Getting yelled at! More marching. Wearing full fledged uniform in the middle of a hot and humid Alabama summer. And making sure you get in the proper workout, in the proper amount of time. If not, you'll probably get yelled at some more. Yelling is their favorite form of communication.

The other night on the phone (calls home are short and rare) I asked John if he'd been yelled at already. He laughed, and then informed me he saluted someone who he wasn't supposed to salute, after forgetting to wish them a 'good morning'. So yes, he got yelled at. For one thing or another, it happens to them all. Poor guy has to endure five weeks of this!

So, for the next five weeks, I'm going to try my darnedest to keep my little boy entertained. And sadly, I think he's already bored with me. For most of the summer he's had a dad, and cousins to keep him busy. And now, it's just the two of us. His grandparents should really think about taking the month off! Because as much as I'd like to be a fun mom, I'm not. I'm boring and lazy, much to my dismay.

Let the longest five weeks of our lives tread on. And for any you Utah peeps, let's be friends. Please!!

July's Goal

How has June already come am gone? I guess I wonder that at the end of every month. The days are long, but the years are short. Is there anything so accurate? Alas, here we are, already into July, the most dreaded month for me (an entire post will be dedicated to my detest of this month later) and with a new month I have a new goal to set. No need to miss months that have already flown by. July, you can come and go as fast as you'd like for all I care.

Lets recap June, shall we, goal-wise anyway, since it was a month of success, and I like talking about succeeding. It's a rarity around here.

Four books. Thirty days. Done and done. Maybe that's nothing for some, but, I rarely read (why?), and I have a rambunctious one year old to chase around the house. When the day is over and the house is quiet, I usually want to sit and be unproductive. It's how I unwind. I'm a time waster, whether I like it or not.

I'd highly recommend all of these books. Not one bore me. And three of the four opened my eyes to how past life was for those who lived in the darker days of our time. Days I'm glad I didn't live through. World War II was not a pretty time. And the other one, it was just entertaining, but what would you except from a book titled, The Persian Pickle Club?

I will say, I enjoyed sticking my nose in the pages of books and letting someone else's words, instead of my own, entertain me for awhile. It reminded me that I like to read, and perhaps I should do it more often. And isn't that why I'm setting these goals, to remind myself of things I like to do, want to do, or want to better myself at? Why yes, yes it is.

And that leads me to July's goal, to get my craft on, all month long. Mostly in the form of sewing, but I'm sure I'll find non-stichery crafts to fill my time just the same. After all, I'm husbandless for the next five weeks, I might as well pull the Martha Stewart out of me and make myself productive...and utilize my mom for all of the times I'll mess up.

Ready. Set. Go!

Summertime

We've been living in, what feels like, vacation mode for the past month. And this vacation isn't ending anytime soon, we've got another good six weeks to go.

Not that there's anything wrong with that. Little to no errands to worry about. No time sensitive issues  pressing at us to get done...except finding a house to live in. But mostly, we just have laundry, and tidying up the messes our child makes while we take over my parents house. We're living the life around here, and trying to enjoy our time together before I'm reminded I'm a military wife and my husband is about to leave us for five weeks. 

I've been dreading this July since the day we got married. Quite literally actually. Five weeks of Officer training with the Air Force for him. Five weeks of being a single parent and without a hubby for me. Wah wah, there could be worse things in life, but I'm a baby, and I don't like it when he's not around. 

While we wait for that dreaded month to approach, we've spent lots of time with family in town, and took a much needed vacation away from a vacation to California for a week. And now, he we sit, back in Utah, trying to come up with things to fill our time for the next two weeks before the unmentionable...

Our life according to my iPhone. If you follow me on Instagram, this is nothing new:

                                       

                     

Summertime at it's finest I tell ya!