Friday, June 29, 2012

Party Party Party!

It was fun to celebrate Preston's birthday for the first time. He had almost no clue what was going on. I kept singing "Happy Birthday" to him throughout the day and he would look at me like I was a little crazy, but smiled and started clapping. Mid-morning we skyped with my Mom and had her watch Preston open their gift to him. He opened a took bench and it was so fun to watch him play with it all day long. So, Thursday was fun, but the party started on Saturday when we had a few friends and family over to swim and then have dinner and cake. It was fun! Then, after we flew to Washington we had another party there for him. We had cake and opened presents. It was fun to keep celebrating his birthday!

Since he is 1 he now:
walks everywhere
loves to chat to himself and make all sorts of sounds
eats all real food except for nuts
loves eating fish and chocolate
enjoys swimming and playing outside
observes everyone and is certainly curious

Weight: 21 lbs 3 oz.
Height: 29.5 inches

Here are a few pictures of all the events!
 
 


 


Thursday, June 28, 2012

Happy First Birthday!

It's true, this post is almost a month late, however...life has been super crazy lately. I have lots of things to blog about for sure! Those will be coming soon! Hopefully really soon!

On June 7th Preston turned 1! I can't believe how the time has really flown by. I was looking at a baby that a friend had last week. He is so small and I can just picture Preston being that small, with the chubby cheeks of course. I have absolutely loved watching him progress and learn. He is such a curious little man that loves to move everywhere and see everything. He has also become really photogenic. He loves to turn and smile. It makes me laugh so hard and I love it!

He now walks everywhere and eats real food. He loves the pool and has started to have his own little attitude. He doesn't like to be told where to go or sometimes what to do. I have found him to be a very determined little boy in certain circumstances. He sleeps amazingly well. He sleeps 12 hours a night and then still takes two naps a day. I love this little boy so much!

When we went to Washington for Emily's wedding I was able to go to my Aunt's Studio in Kent and take some pictures of Preston. We were able to get him dressed in several different outfits and shoot with her props. It was so fun! I hope to have my own studio someday!

Here are a few blog boards with the pictures:

 

For his first birthday we had a party with a few friends and went swimming. It was so fun...and I will have a whole blog post just about that with some good videos to come!

So, what do you think? Isn't he super cute? I have so much fun taking pictures of him. I think he will probably hit an age when he thinks it is the most annoying thing ever, but until then I am going to dress him up and click away!


Sunday, June 10, 2012

A Thank You to Parents


This is Neil writing. Today, I heard a story at church and I felt that I should share with my friends and family.

An older man was talking with a young adult at church. As the conversation was coming to a close, the older man ask if there was anything the young adult wanted to talk about before the conversation ended. The young adult went quiet and began to tear up. In a sad and serious tone, he mustered, “My Dad never built me a tree house.” The older man was taken back, wondering if this was a joke of some sort. The young adult explained that when he was young, he asked his dad to build him a tree house. The dad said they could do it that weekend. On Saturday, the boy woke up early and excitedly ran to his dad’s room. This was going to be the day, but the dad said he had some things to do and wouldn’t be able to build the tree house until next week. When the next Saturday came around, the young boy heard the same story from his dad:  “We’ll do it next week”. Weeks turned into months, months turned into years, and the boy never got his tree house. Even as a young adult, he knew he missed out on doing something with his dad.

As I heard this story, I instantly thought, my dad built me a tree house. And that wasn’t all. He took me to work with him, taught me how to fish, took me to baseball games, he told me he was proud of me, and he even let me ride in the back if his truck to take our dog to get bred (that’s a funny story!). The most important part is that my dad showed me that I was important to him.

My mom is the same. She came to all my sports games and concerts. She was home when I came home from school. She helped me prepare for church meetings and do my school work. I owe much of the person I am today, because of what she has done for me in my life.

My wife feels the same about her parents. Amber worked so hard to make Preston’s first birthday special. I asked why she went through so much trouble to put on a birthday for Preston. She responded, “My parents always did this for me. They always made me feel special.” She tells me about how they would go on memorable family trips, and spend holidays together. They would encourage her to try new things and support her in the new activities. When Amber wanted to learn water polo, her dad took her to get a water polo ball and researched the rules to know all he could about what she was doing.

I have met so many parents just like this in my life. Parents that sacrifice and make their kids feel important. Many times, the sacrifices are not recognized, but they do make a difference. The world is a better place because of parents like mine and my wife’s. Thank you to all the parents that make their children feel important.