Cockroach

So I really love summer time, EXCEPT for the every now and then cockroach that ends up finding his way into the house. I despise cockroaches. They are dirty and creepy and I really really don't like them. Well last night Preston woke up around 1am and was hungry (this has happened for several nights in a row now and I'm thinking it is growth spurt time). I went and made him a bottle and stumbled into his room half asleep to give it to him. We sat on the glider and he was almost done with his bottle when the worst thing ever happened... I felt something crawl across my foot! I immediately freaked out, jerked my leg, and saw the unwanted house guest crawl under Preston's crib. Oh boy, OH BOY! Talk about an inner emotional breakdown that was happening. I knew I couldn't wake Chip up because he had school super early this morning, so I had to tap into my self efficient mind and take care of it. I put Preston back in his crib and he fell right to sleep, and that's when my 30 minute mid night adventure began. I went and got a shoe (very important in cockroach hunting) I moved Preston's crib out from the wall and of course there was no cockroach. Then I moved the glider and the ottoman, no cockroach. Ok now I was getting irate. I moved his ridiculously heavy changing table and there he was. Needless to say he is no longer with us, thank goodness! Just another exciting night in the Hodges' household!!

Sweet Cousins

Last week Preston and I went over to Aunt Kelly and Lexi's house to play. Lexi entertained us all with her dancing, and even taught me a few moves! Preston LOVES playing with Lexi and always has a huge smile when he is around her. Thank you Aunt Kelly for the great picture Of these two!!

Rolling over

For the past several weeks when I have gone in to Preston's room to check on him during naps he has been on his stomach. I always put him on his back so I knew that he was rolling himself over in his sleep. As of two days ago all day while we are playing he goes from sitting up, to his back, then to his stomach. He is one step closer to mobilization, and I have a feeling he is going to be all over the place!

3 in 1 day

So the time came for Preston to start eating in his highchair, be introduced to meat & to start weaning off the bottle. Of corse I decided that these should all happen in 1 day. I cried on the way to the store, on the way home from the store, and even shed a year while I was putting the highchair together. The next morning Preston woke up and I went to make him his first morning milk in his stage 2 sippy cup. I brought it to him, he grabbed it from my hands and immediately started drinking. This only lasted about 30 seconds though. He started to get frustrated with the extra work it takes to get the milk out. So I ended up putting the formula in his bottle and tried it again at lunch. Same thing happened. We will keep trying and working at it, but I am in no rush. He gives himself his bottles and will also take them if I'm feeding him which is great. For lunch that day I made him puréed chicken, broccoli, and carrots. This was his first time eating meat and I thought it was appropriate he did so in his new highchair. He took a few bites of the meal, and surprisingly enough he loved it! He had it again today for lunch and loved it even more.

As much crying the I did before this all happened, I was pretty shocked with the fact that all I felt was excitement during the actual events. I could not grasp the idea that he was going to using a sippy cup, but it is so much fun seeing him learn new things. What a blessing this little boy is!!

Favorites!

So Chip and I were talking tonight about the 2,000 pictures I have of Preston just on my iPhone. We scrolled through them and each found our favorite ones!

My favorite then Chips favorite :)

Cabin in the Woods

Well, more of a cabin on the lake. Several months ago my parents gave us a huge gift. They moved out of their home and in with my grandmother so Chip and I could rent their house. They did this for many reasons, the main one so Chip could be closer to work and school and I would be closer to them for help with Preston when I needed it. My parents have never once tried to make Chip or I feel guilty about it, but they have decided that they want there own home. I got bit by the craft and decorating bug from my mom, she loves doing DIY projects and creating beautiful spaces to live in. After a few weeks of going back and forth with what they want to do, they have decided on a plan. They are going to buy a lake front lot about an hour away and start building their dream home, a log cabin. This has been their dream since before they were married and I am so excited for them. I am also so excited at all the memories that will be made there. I can't wait for Preston to learn how to fish and water ski. I can't wait for birthdays and Christmas. I can't wait for summer get aways and having a place where the only thing that surrounds you is Gods beautiful design and nature. This is not an over night process obviously, but I'm so excited that the process has started.

The selflessness that my parents have towards their three children blows my mind. For 28 years, as long as they have been parents, they have sacrificed so much for us to have the best. Education is a huge one. They put all three of us through private school and have paid for both James and Keith's college completely, and they would have done the same for me if I didn't have the Army GI Bill. Since we all turned 16 we have had countless cars that they have provided for us. We have had major medical expenses that they have taken on the bills and payment for so we would not be stressed. They are amazing. The main word that I can describe them in a nutshell with is "love". They love us and we feel that each and every day. I am so blessed to have them as mentors now that I am a parent.

6 months!!

Today is a very important day. It is Preston's 1/2 birthday! My little man is 6 months old today and I can not wrap my brain around it. Half a year... Where has the time gone. He is right on schedule with all of his milestones and *knock on wood* has not been sick yet. He wakes up around 6am for a bottle and an hour of cuddling in Chip and my bed. He then goes back down in his crib until 9:30 and then he is ready to start the day. He is already eating all of 6 month foods and holding his bottle on his own. Soon he will be using a sippy bottle and I'm sure I will cry during that as well. He is sitting up on his own for 5 minutes at a time and is rolling over both front to back and back to front. He is bouncing in his bouncer and loves it! He also knows which buttons make noise and how to turn the roller things on his activity center. He is starting to sleep on his stomach and move all over the place in his crib. Still no teeth, but the drool is flowing! He is pronouncing the consonants "t" and "d". He babbles "dadadada" and "ti-ti-ti". He fake coughs all the time and screams for no reason. The past few days he has started blowing air out of his mouth over and over. He personality is coming out more and more each day and he is getting a stubborn side.

Needless to say every single thing he does I take notice and am so proud of him. I love seeing who he is becoming and what his character traits will be. Thank you Preston for making these past 6 months the best time of my life. We love you!!

Baby Whispers

Every time I go into Preston's room after he wakes up from a nap he is full of smiles. I ask him if he is ready to get up and he looks at me, bats his eye lashes, and wiggles around while a huge smile comes over his face. We go and sit in his glider which I have next to the window. We rock and Preston looks outside at the trees and pool. Lately each time we are rocking, I will whisper in his ears all the things I love about him and how lucky I am to be his mom. He loves whispers. He gets super still and cuddly and hangs at my every word. Just another reason why I love my sweet baby boy!

Home Cooked Meals

I have learned how to cook from my mother and grandmother for years, and I really enjoy doing it. I know how to make all the meals I grew up with and still love to this day. I started thinking about when I was in the army and had been away for two years without being home or seeing my family. When I came home from Korea there were so many meals I wanted my mom to make for me and could not wait to have a home cooked meal again. That got me wondering what Preston's favorite meals will be when he is older. I wonder what he will ask me to cook when he comes home from college or when he brings his girlfriends (hopefully only one and the one he ends up marrying :)) over for dinner. I cook dinner almost every night and Chip has grown to love the same meals I grew up with. Lately I have been getting recipes off of other blogs that I want to try. I'm curious to see which ones become our new favorites :)

Preston's Plagio (Update)

It has almost been 3 months now that Preston has been doing physical therapy with Cathy. Cathy has been more then just his PT, she has been such an amazing support and encourager through this whole process. At Preston's initial evaluation, Cathy was very concerned. She was mainly concerned that Preston's pediatrician had not referred us to her until he was almost three months old and because of his Plagio he developed Torticollis. At our last months therapy session Cathy pretty much told me that Preston was going to need a helmet. Chip and I discussed it and were completely on board with her opinion. We went ahead and set up an appointment with a Plagio specialist for July 3rd. Yesterday Cathy came over and she could not believe the progress Preston has made in 1 month. She told me that with the progress he has made so far, and the fact that both Chip and I are so committed to Preston's exercises, that she thinks he will not need a helmet after all. This is great news. Not only for the fact that helmets are not covered by insurance and can cost up to $5,000; but because Preston will not have to be burdened by wearing a helmet 2 hours on, 2 hours off for 6 months. Cathy tells me stories of babies and children she works with that have such severe cases and the parents could not afford to have a helmet made for their kids, and every time I hear a story like that my heart hurts for those families. I wish we had the means to be able to help other families, but one day we will. Here is a side by side shot of Preston's head on his first physical therapy appointment and on of his head from tonight. He will never have a Charlie Brown round head, but the amount of improvement gives me hope it will all be over sooner rather than later.

Rainy Days (and a lot of rambling)

I absolutely love rainy days and nights, almost as much and sometimes more then sunny days. Yesterday afternoon when the storm started Preston helped me make chicken enchiladas and homemade Spanish rice (which is Chip's favorite meal I make). When dinner was in the oven Preston indulged in what I think is his new favorite food, banana & pumpkin. He always loves to eat and I have never given him him anything that he hasn't liked yet, but I could not put this combo in his mouth fast enough. It is so much fun watching him try new foods, and especially him loving it all. His typical day he will eat a fruit, oatmeal, and yogurt combo in the mornings; rice and a veggie for lunch, and a veggie and fruit for dinner. He is eating a bottle in between each meal so about 6 bottles in a 24 hour time frame. We have been having him eat in his Bumbo chair (which is the best invention ever and I really wish I would have thought of it) but it is getting to the time that we will have to switch to a highchair. I am pretty excited about that because I found one that matches our kitchen perfectly :). Preston is also talking non stop. He has always been a talker, but now he will talk back and forth with us. He will say (scream). something and then stop and wait for you to respond. Very very fun. Anyways, back to rainy nights! By 7 pm he was ready for bed. Chip got off early because of the rain and I was trying to keep Preston up until 7:30 when Chip got home but that just didn't happen. I hope Im not jinxing myself, but Preston sleeps so well when it is raining. He slept until 10 this morning!

Today we are going to do a lot of exercising. Crawling is just around the corner, I can just feel it. He has figured out his legs and has figured out his arms, but just needs to put the two together and he will be off. His physical therapist is trying to get him to crawl ad sit up on his own ASAP with the hope that once he is mobile he will feel comfortable sleeping on his stomach which would be SO great for his Plagio. But the time will come. I personally am in no rush at all for this milestone, but I do know it will be better for Preston in the end.

Tomorrow I am going to do a "day in the life of Preston" post and later today I am going to do post tons of pictures. The piles of dirty laundry are calling my name right now though!

Mommy & Daddy Mondays

Last night was great. Chip did not have work so he was able to get home from school around 6:30 (which is always a treat). The sun was still out and it was hot, but the whole pool was shaded so I decided to take Preston for a swim before his bath. We swam around and Preston's whole body quickly became relaxed while he took everything in from the green leaves on the trees to the bright blue sky. After about 30 minutes we got out and Preston had his bath, a bottle, and we rocked. After he was asleep Chip and I decided it was perfect weather to eat outside. He grilled burgers and I made sautéed onions and italian potatoes. We sat outside and ate and talked, for hours. We decided to jump in the pool, but we ended up staying in the pool for several more hours talking and laughing. We talked about everything from our childhoods to our dreams for our family in the future. It was definitely a night that reminded us of how good we really have it. We have officially declared Monday nights as "Mommy & Daddy Mondays". I am already looking forward to next week :)

J.O.B.

After a lot of time, thought, consideration, discussions, and prayer; I have made the decision to go back to work.  It is a decision that I am struggling with not because I don't want to have a job, but because I want to have a job.  My entire life I always wanted to be a stay at home mom.  I wanted to be responsible to the cleaning, cooking, and staying home with my kids.  I have been so fortunate enough to be able to stay at home during my pregnancy and also almost 6 months of Preston's life.  It has been a complete joy being able to spend every second with Preston and being able to see every milestone and watching him grow, but in reality it just isn't feasible for our family any longer.  Could we get by every month on just Chip's income? Yes we could, but every month would be a struggle.  As expensive as babies are, this is only just the beginning.  We often sit and dream about everything we want to be able to offer Preston in his life.  From being able to afford for him to participate in any type of extra curricular activity to being able to afford to get him a car when he is 16, we want to be able to give him everything.  We also want to be able to give him a sibling, and on one income that just isn't possible for us.  Chip has contemplated getting out of the golf business and getting into a career that pays quick, but that isn't his passion.  I want so badly for him to have the opportunity to give his golf dream a fair chance, because I know he can be successful at it.  It hurts thinking about only seeing Preston in the evenings and on weekends, but it hurts even worse thinking about not being able to offer him the best.  In my letter I wrote Preston when he was 2 months old I promised him I would always offer him the healthiest and best options, and that is what I am going to do.  Our hopes is that I will go back to work for a couple years and when it is time for us to have another baby we will be in a better financial situation where I can take some time off and spend it with my babies.  That may never happen, but that is our dream right now.  Chip often blames himself, but I have never been more proud of someone then him.  He works so hard.  He leaves for the day when the sun isn't out and he gets home well after the sun has gone down.  I can count on one hand the number of full days Chip has not had work or school, and he does it without complaining.  He is such an amazing father an husband and we are so blessed to have him.