Horseback Riding... Kind of

The day before Preston's birthday my mom and I took him to a local park that has pony rides for children ages 2 and up... even though he wasn't two yet, we pretended he was old enough to participate.  Hey, it was only a day away. ;)

Preston had a hard time waiting in line.  He was so excited to be able to ride a horse.  He loved watching the other kids ride too... he was just a little impatient as always.

The pony rides are free, but they ask for donations.  Preston was very excited that he got to put two $1 inside of the red mail box.

When it was finally his turn they stamped his hand with a horse, he wasn't exactly sure what to think of that.

Then they weighed him (to make sure he wasn't over the 60 pound limit) and put his helmet on.  He LOVED the helmet!  He always talks about them when he sees anyone on a motorcycle or bike.  He might ahve been as excited about the helmet as he was about the horse. ;)

Once we actually got up to the horse his fear of heights kicked in and he decided he didn't want to ride the horse after all.  My mom was able to convince him to get on after a few minutes of whining.

Then they let me walk with him so he wouldn't be too scared.  Just like I thought, once he was actually doing it he was having the time of his life!  Oh, and I'm not wearing a dress over my jeans, that's the blanket that I have shielding Carter's head from the sun. ;)

He really did have a lot of fun and still talks about the day he rode the "forsey" as he calls it.

After the pony ride we went down to visit all the rest of the animals at the petting zoo.  Preston's favorite were the pigs of course, even though you can't actually pet them.  He kept saying "get piggy out" because he wanted to pet them... but I bet he wouldn't have liked it if he was bitten by one of them. :)

His other favorite thing oddly enough was the ducky in the pond.  No, not the real ones, the rubber one. He's a wierd kid...

When we were done watching and of course petting the animals we went up to the playground to play, and I wanted to get a few pictures of the boys together.  My mom had to help out a lot.

Mostly because all Preston wanted to do was eat Goldfish crackers.

So she kept Carter entertained.

By tickling him and making him smile.

This is our attempt of pictures together... not exactly flattering.

At least Preston was happy in this one. :)

Cute Boys Hanging Out

While the dogs were playing having fun the boys were just hanging out around the house. 

Carter worked on his exercises.  Look how strong he is already!

Preston played with blocks, one of his favorite past times.

For a while we all went outside with the dogs.  Carter loved watching them play.

I liked watching his little toes. ;)

Preston was being a goofball as usual. 

Oh, and just for the record. I usually do dress my children. This must have been one of those days that he refused to take his Robot pajamas off. He still looks pretty darn cute if you ask me.  At least Carter was dressed this time, right?

Bentley and Chipotle

Bentley had his new friend Chipotle over to play the other day.  Chip's big sister Macie went hiking with their mom Sam, and we got to dog sit for a while. ;)

For a little while Bentley and chip just looked at each other.

Then they decided to sniff each other.

That's when the craziness began.

They were both so happy running and jumping together!

Preston had tons of fun taking them toys.

After many hours Chip decided he was tired

So we went inside for naptime and he curled up under the high chair

Bentley was still hyper of course, but wanted to be near Chip so he went and laid under a chair from Preston's kiddy table, which he never does.

They are so cute together!  I'm glad Bentley has friends too. ;)

To Preston on his 2nd Birthday

To my Preston Boy --
Today is your 2nd Birthday.  I can't believe how fast time has passed since you've joined our family.  I can remember you as a tiny baby so sweet and new, and wonder how you have become the smart, energetic little boy you are today.

When was it that you learned to talk in full sentences and run and jump?  It brings us so much joy to watch you learn and grow.  Your just like a little sponge who soaks up everything.  You definitely pick up on EVERYTHING.  You love to talk about anything and everything and copy anything you hear, I think this is how you learn so much so fast.  We had to stop counting when you're in time-out because you actually liked it.  Who knew you were memorizing the numbers the entire time and would know how to count to 30 before the time you turned 2, that's quite an accomplishment.  You love singing and learning new songs too.  You'll make me sing the same song over and over again until you can sing along too.

Some of your absolute favorite things are animals, pigs and horses especially, don't ask me why.  You also love trains, cars and anything that moves.  Any kind of sport involving a ball, and of course singing and dancing.

You're are a great big brother.  Carter is so lucky to have you.  I know that he will always look up to you and want to be like you.  You are a great role model so far... so lets keep that up. ;)  Whenever Carter is sad you want to help him, so you lay next to him and hold his hand, or even sing him songs to try to make him happy.  What a big helper you are!

I remember when you were a baby wondering what you would be like as a toddler, and waiting, impatiently might I add, for the day that you could have a conversation with me.  Now I know, and couldn't have ever imagined what a wonderful little boy you would be.  I'm so glad I have that memory of you growing up and am still looking forward to watching you learn and grow.  I'm excited for the future and all it will bring, but for now, I'm glad you're just the way you are, and I want to always remember that sweet face that brings me joy every day.

I love you more than I can say.

Love,
Mommy

Waiting for Daddy

The other day I decided to take the boys outside to wait for daddy to come home.  If you couldn't tell it was kind of a lazy day.  Preston was refusing to take off his fishy pajama shirt, we weren't going anywhere so I decided to go with it.

Since daddy was a little late getting home that day we decided we should do more than just sit and watch for him to get home.

So we got out the sidewalk chalk.

Preston spent a lot of time trying to figure out what to color

when he wasn't too busy showing me the chalk.

or coloring on the side of the house

or playing peek a boo...

or showing me more chalk.  He likes to point out what color each of them are.

Of course the dog was out waiting with us too.

Carter spent his time lazily on his blanket on the grass under the shade of a tree.

He tried not to act like he was bored.

And even posed for a few pictures.

Until he decided he was done with that.

Preston was happy when daddy was finally home.

But Gabe wasn't able to sit for long.

He was lucky enough to get to color too. ;)

Blueberry Picking

My mom got here the day before my birthday and since then we've gone out and done a lot of stuff with her.  On my birthday we decided to go out and pick blueberries.  My mom and Preston were ready to go right away!

Gabe spent a lot of time picking the good from the bad.  I'm glad he's so patient, we got a lot of good berries out of it!

My mom is like a machine, seriously.  She filled her bucket in at least half the time as the rest of us!

I picked some too, but had a lot of distractions along the way.

One of them being Preston.  He picked...

and picked...

and ate...

and took more out of his bucket...

and daddy's hand to eat

until this was all he had left.  He was picking the whole time too, but they all went inside of him instead. ;)  He was also obsessed with picking the green ones.  He would say "Mmmm mummy (yummy)" every time he put one in his mouth.

I also got distracted by taking pictures, no suprise there.  Let me tell you, it wasn't easy while I was hauling Carter around!

I sure love blueberries though...

and pretty yellow weed flowers. ;)

After we finished (me and my mom, Gabe was still picking) we went on over to the sandbox.  That's right this blueberry farm had a HUGE sandbox and a swingset for the kids to play with.

Preston loved it!

and of course my mom loved watching Preston!

We're definately going back there again.  Who knew hard labor would be so fun!

My Beautiful Cousin

While I was in Utah my cousin Rachel asked if I could take some pictures of her before her mission.  We had a lot of fun together!  Check out pictures of this beautiful girl at my photo blog apieceofyourpuzzle.blogspot.com.