My Baby is 5!!!!

Today is Preston's Birthday!!! I can't believe it has been 5 years since he was born, time really does go by fast. I will always have the best memories of Preston as a baby because he was my first baby. I didn't have anyone else to chase around, it was just the three of us. When Mike and I found out that I was pregnant,we were so excited. I had gone through a miscarriage the month before so this pregnancy was an extra special blessing. The beginning of the pregnancy was tough because I was so sick,but by the fourth month I was much better. Around the fifth month we found out that we were going to have a little boy. We were so thrilled!! Mike had a smile glued to his face for a month. =) His first boy. We decided on the name Preston (actually I let Mike decide on the name since it was his first son) and then started shopping!! About the seventh month of my pregnancy I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, so that was tough making sure my blood sugar didn't get too high, no fun following that diet either. Then on Nov. 18, about a week early, I went into labor! After a LONG 46 hrs. (yes, 46 hrs) of labor, Preston was here!! He was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. He weighed 8 lbs. and was 20 inches long. He was such a good baby! He never cried much, although it was probably because he ALWAYS had his pacifier (we call it a nuk) in his mouth. He was attached to that thing from day one. =) I could write a book remembering all the great things about Preston as a baby. I am so blessed to be his Mommy.

Now at 5, Preston is such a love. His smile lights up any room and when he laughs it is contagious and soon we are all laughing! I have watched him grow to be the best big brother Ella and Aaden could ever ask for, he loves them so much. And they love him! Aaden always gets a huge smile on his face when he sees Preston and Ella won't go anywhere without her big brother. Even though Preston has been through some pretty scary moments dealing with his food allergies, he is still the happiest boy I know. He loves playing with his spider-man toys, his legos and he really loves wearing his costumes. He runs around in his spiderman outfit shooting "webs" and has worn his Halloween costume everyday since his Halloween party. Again, I could write a book. I love him so much and am so thankful God entrusted ME with the blessing of being his Mommy! Preston is 5 today, but he will always be my baby. WE LOVE YOU PRESTON MICHAEL!!!!!

Food Allergy Walk!!!!

I'm so excited to write about this!!! Today we participated in a walk for an organization called FAAN...Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network. I have been a member for a few years now and am very passionate about the work they do. They hold fund raisers for food allergy research, publish newsletters for their members, and are advocates for educating people about food allergies. Today they held a walk in Santa Monica and it was so much fun!!!! I put a team together and named it Preston Friendly. In just a short amount of time we were able to raise about 200 dollars for FAAN!! I am so grateful to all our friends that supported us...thanks to The Socha's,The Thomas', The Bedrinana's, The Johansson's, Aunt Susan and her co-workers, The Sutton's, Carole Anderson and everyone else who donated anonymously!!!! We love all of you and are so thankful!! I managed to hold myself together today, but I definitely had to hold back the tears. The walk was a 2 mile walk and a lot of people came out!! Our good friends the Bedrinana's and The Johansson's came and walked with us. This was our first year participating so it was kind of a learning experience for me. Next year I'll try to get more people to come out with us because it was so much fun!! My heart JUMPED with joy watching Preston meet other kids with food allergies. He also ate his first chocolate bar!!! A company called Enjoy Life Foods (an allergy free company, I LOVE them) had a booth there and and they now make chocolate bars completely dairy, egg and gluten free!! And they were GOOD!! I was jumping up and down watching my kids eat chocolate...silly, huh?? When you live with food allergies, little things like that just mean so much. Preston met the sweetest girl named Kendall. Kendall also has EXTREMELY severe food allergies and she was so nice. She talked with Preston about what each of them can and can't eat and Preston was in awe of the fact that she too was allergic to many things. He's never met anyone with quite the same allergies (or someone that is as severely allergic as he is). I could go on and on, but in short it was one of the most special days of my life. There are no words to express how much I love my Preston and seeing him "fit in" with other kids was priceless. I will remember it forever and am looking forward to next year!! Thank you Jessie, Christiam, Jamie and Daniel!! To have you guys there today meant more to me than you will ever know!

Us with Kendall. I really hope we get to see her again soon!


My big boy!! He's the reason we walked!!


Preston and I with the Johansson's, Jamie, Daniel and little Jonah!


Yes, that's Preston eating a CHOCOLATE BAR!!!!




Our team Preston Friendly!!


Me and my boys


They had these signs along the walk route. Every time I read one, I had to choke back tears....


Wait....am I seeing double?? =)


Maybe one day....


Me, Jessie and Mike (in the background)




Hey, even Gary Busey came out to join the fun!!




Some of the walkers




Christiam and cute baby Leo


There's Sophie!!


Jessie dancing with the girls after the walk




Jessie and I being silly with the kids after the walk


Holding his little Bro..


I love my silly boy!!!

Preston's Halloween Party!!

OK, so I know this is really late, but better late than never, right? Preston had been asking to have a Halloween party for so long, I just had to have one for him. He was so excited for Halloween this year. I'm not exactly sure why because he can't eat most of the candy he gets when he goes trick-or-treating, but he was sure excited to go this year! So we had a little party for him and many of his friends came in their costumes.....so cute! After the party, we went trick-or-treating with our friends (and neighbors) The Hesters and with Grandma LaRoe, Grandma and Bumpa and "Guncle" (not exactly sure how the kids landed with Guncle for my brother, but they did). Our neighborhood goes really crazy with the decorating, so the kids have a lot of fun going through the neighborhood. We walked a long ways! The bummer is that even after all the houses we went to and the full bags of candy, when we came home to separate the candy to safe and unsafe, Preston and Ella were only left with maybe a handful each. Poor things. All that work for such a little return. Most people gave out chocolate this year, but I have a system. For every ten pieces of unsafe candy, they get to pick a prize out of the prize bag. So they do walk away from the whole thing excited and satisfied. Better for their teeth too, I guess (although not so good for the wallet). Buying prizes for both kids gets expensive and soon we will have to buy for three...oh well, it's worth it to make them happy!

Preston and Ella with their friends Abby and Elijah


Preston being spooky...I don't know if you can tell, but Mike bought dry ice for the party...Preston thought that was super cool. He is standing next to the bowl of it.


Grandma with our baby pumpkin


Cute little Addie


Preston enjoying his cupcake


The two princesses...Sophie and Ella


The two babies, Aaden the pumpkin and Leo the.....dog??=)


Trick-or-treating with Elijah


The kiddos with Bumpa!


The spooky house....that's fog from a fog machine


We had to get Grandma and Guncle in one!!


Preston and Addie after lots of trick-or-treating!


The kids all tired out after a long night

Here are just a few cute pictures I wanted to include....

Aaden's first taste of carrot....didn't go so well


Pajama picture!!...take one.....


.....take two........


........take three......


Never mind....

One day I went upstairs to put Aaden down for his nap and when I came back downstairs I found this:

They were jumping on the couch and singing...yes, they both stripped and Preston put on his pirate belt and Ella felt that she needed a headband.


Ella was so focused..I asked what she was doing and she replied "I'm being a rockstar". She was singing Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes with Elmo. =)

So now onto my next post.....

Just want to remember....

So, when I started this blog, I originally did so to update family who live far away (I have family on the East coast) and for family and friends that we just don't get to see as often as we'd like to. Then I realized how awesome technology is...I can use this blog to document my days and look back on them years from now. Maybe my kids will even be able to read them. Could you imagine how cool it would have been if our parents were able to keep a blog? Looking back on fun moments in our lives that, unfortunately,you inevitably forget about as life continues on. I feel so blessed to have my family. My husband is my best friend and my kids are my most treasured gifts. They grow up so fast and sometimes I just want to freeze time, just for a second, to make sure I always remember exactly how they are at this very moment. I love them so much. So, yesterday there was a moment that I hope I always remember (that's why I decided to write about it) and wanted to share with others! I was vacuuming the house yesterday and Ella is always my little helper. She follows me everywhere! Sometimes, when you are just trying to finish a task that is not the most fun thing to do, having a little one right at your feet can be a little bothersome. So I was trying to vacuum the kids bedroom and Ella was always right in the spot I needed to get to. So I sort of sighed and grouchily asked Ella to please get on her bed so I can finish. She climbed onto her bed and I continued vacuuming. Then I heard her little voice over the roar of the vacuum...she was jumping up and down on her bed, shouting in her tiny voice as loud as she could so I could hear, "go Mommy, go! Go Mommy, go! Go Mommy, go!". She was cheering me on! As a stay at home Mommy, you don't very often get a cheering squad for the numerous chores you complete in a day, but there she was. My little 2 yr. old cheerleader. My, how I love my little girl.....