January 8th=5 Months Old!

Preston turned 5 months old on January 8th. He is getting huge! I estimate that he was around 18 or 19 lbs. at the time. He really started getting around all of a sudden too. The week that he turned 5 months, he started rolling around like mad! I'd find him 5 feet away from the blanket I laid him on!

I left him on the floor in my bedroom while I took a quick shower, and he rolled 10 feet into my master bathroom onto the tile floor next to the shower. Crazy kid! I really have to watch him now. He does NOT stay in one spot anymore.

I love his rosy cheeks and big smiles!

He's pretty serious and I'm pretty tired.

Loving his rings as usual!

Taking a nap with daddy.

The best part about this age is that Preston started sleeping through the night. I think it has something to do with how much moving around he can do now! He slept through the night for 3 weeks in a row. HOORAY!

Here are a few fun things I want to remember:

We started 8:30 a.m. church on January 1st. It's been quite the adventure trying to get us all up and ready for church. Preston occasionally sleeps until 9 a.m. so sacrament meeting can be rough! If I am lucky, he will fall asleep. And Michael plays the organ for the meeting, so I am single-momming it!

On January 2nd, we took Preston to his first movie in the theater: The Adventures of Tin-Tin. He did really well. He watched some of it and slept for most of it.

On Michael's birthday, I scored a huge deal on an adorable pair of boat shoes for Preston. They are technically his "first shoes." They are still too big, but so adorable. He matches his daddy now!

Preston is almost 6 months now, so I need to hurry and catch up! AHHHH!

Five Years of Wedded Bliss!

Michael and I celebrated our fifth anniversary on January 5th. We always feel a little pinched money-wise on our anniversary since it's right after Christmas, so we decided to just go to dinner a few times instead of something big. Also, it's hard to go on trips when nursing a baby!

On the actual day of our anniversary, Michael had a roundtable for scouts, so we made a quick trip to one of our favorite restaurants: Teriyaki Kitchen. They have the best rice bowls! We got our usual large Tokyo bowl to share. Currrrry. Yum.

The babe was being way cute so he monopolized the picture taking again!

Our second fifth anniversary dinner was at Charleston's. We took Preston and he was so good even though it was really busy. It was technically his second time there since we went there for our anniversary last year too! I was 9 or 10 weeks pregnant at the time and could only eat soup because I was so sick to my stomach! Memories, memories!

I love Michael and cannot believe that time has flown by so quickly. It's really hard to remember what it was like before we were married. I am so grateful that we get along so well (we've never had a fight!) and that we are best friends. This last year has been the most challenging for us from car accidents and injuries to becoming new parents. It is the best to feel loved and supported at all times. The hard times seem more bearable and pleasant. I have the best husband!

Michael's 27th

Michael turned 27 on January 4th. Yes, the day before our anniversary! I had no idea what to do to make it special for him, so I decided to spend a bunch of money and surprise him with Mario Kart. He's been wanting to get this game forever but I kept telling him that we didn't need another video game.

He was legitimately surprised, despite his fake-looking cheesy faces!

Look! A picture of me! That's rare!

Daddy is teaching Preston the fine art of Mario Karting.

It was a little too much for our little man!

I made some chicken enchiladas for dinner and then Michael had to go! Michael and I were lucky enough to both have birthdays on Wednesday, so Michael went off to mutual that night. It was a good day, even though we didn't get to spend the evening together.

Happy Birthday, Michael! Love you!

Ringing in the New Year

On New Year's Eve we threw a mini-party at our house. We had the Joneses and the Kleislers over for nachos, hot wings, pigs in a blanket, cookies, brownies, veggies, and Martinelli's! We ate and watched TV and I put Preston to bed at his normal time. We started lighting fireworks around 10 p.m. and I went inside to find some matches when I heard Preston crying. Something had woken him up--probably the fireworks--so I got him out of bed to enjoy the rest of them.

After the fireworks, I put Preston back to bed and we played Battle of the Sexes and watched the ball drop. It was such a fun night with our friends!

I know it's February now, but HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Merry Christmas 2011!

This post is SUPER overdue. Whoops. Whatever. It's my blog. So there!

Christmastime is always busy and tiring! Preston agrees. He really loves his linking rings! He never lets go when he's in his car seat!

Here's Preston on Christmas Eve. He was the best gift that we got!

Michael on Christmas Eve. Wearing his festive red shirt to match our couch.

Me (and Preston) on Christmas Eve. We went over to Michael's parents' house for Christmas Eve dinner and to get our jammies. We were there with the whole Reynolds fam: Pam, Trent, Michael, Melissa+Blake, Miriam+Bryce, Malachi, Max, me, and Preston. It's always crazy when we're all together.

Here we are all spiffed up on Christmas day before church. Preston got an adorable outfit from my parents for Christmas and I got one from my parents for my birthday. Since Christmas was on Sunday, we got ready and went to the Reynolds' house again to open gifts before our ward started at 12:30. Michael's parents took a bunch of pictures, and I didn't take any. Dang it. Preston got some books, linking rings, a glow worm, a monster truck, a playmat, and a quilt! Michael got some money and gift cards to get a gun cabinet. I got the Hunger Games Trilogy boxed set and some clothes. We also got Rock 'em Sock' em Robots!

Preston got these cute PJs from his Grandparents Reynolds for Christmas. Here he his rocking them after the festivities on Christmas Day. We had the Kleislers over for Christmas dinner. Sarah, Keith, and baby Luke brought over the whole dinner! We had a great time. Yet again, I didn't take any pictures!

We had a wonderful Christmas and are so blessed. I am so grateful for the Savior and that we get to celebrate His birth. I know that He lives!

Christmas Party, Neurosurgeon and Temple Lights

My friend Amanda had her annual Christmas party on the 15th. Preston tagged along, but napped for most of it. We got to meet Amanda's brother and see her dad again. Here's the sweet picture of Michael and me at the party.

On Monday, December 19th, we had our appointment with the neurosurgeon to get Preston's huge, long head checked out. We were kind of nervous going into it, knowing that there was a possibility that Preston would need surgery. The doctor looked at and measured Preston's head. (His gargantuan cranium is measuring 17 1/2 inches!) Then he sent us from his office to get x-rays. Getting x-rays only took about 20 minutes. The wonders of modern medicine!

Newborn head... Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull? Of course he looked perfect to me until the nurses pointed it out and said his head would get better after a while.

Michael went in with Preston to get the x-rays. They swaddled Preston tightly in a special x-ray outfit thingy and then Michael held him in different poses. Preston HATED it! We were able to see the images and have a consultation with the doctor right away. It was kind of funny to see Michael's hands in the x-rays of Preston's skull. Right away the doctor said that he had good news. Preston had wide open sutures! (Click HERE for info about baby skulls and sutures.) I started singing "Wiiiiide open sutures!" to the tune of the Dixie Chicks' "Wide Open Spaces." Obviously I was a music major in college. ha.

Almost 5 month-old head. I definitely see improvement, don't you?

If his sutures had begun to close prematurely, then he would have needed surgery to prevent his head from getting worse and worse, leading to . (And to make room for his genius brain to grow!) So we have a follow up appointment in February to see if his head shape is improving. If not, he might need to have a helmet. I hope not because those things are suuuuper expensive!

On the 20th, we went to the Mesa Temple to see the Christmas lights and the nativity display in the visitors center. I've tried to be a stickler about making sure Preston gets in all of his "firsts" but he usually sleeps through all of them! This was no exception. Hopefully it will be wayyy more fun the next time we go! We walked around and enjoyed our time with Keith, Sarah, and baby Luke.

4 Months on December 8th

I put a Christmas stocking on his head. He loves it. For sure.

I am sooo behind. What's new? Preston turned 4 months old on the 8th of December. We had an eventful week prior to that. Preston had a really goopy eye so I made an appointment for the 1st with the doctor. Of course the goopy eye was gone the next day. HOORAY! They weighed him anyway, and he was 16.9 lbs! CRAZY! I also wrote down that I tickled his toes for the first time and got a giggle that day as well.

Looking serious after church

On the 5th, Preston took his first trip to the E.R. with mom and dad after I fell down the stairs carrying him. He was a little scared and started crying, but I cradled him and sacrificed my body to keep him safe! Luckily nothing was broken, but I am still feeling my back muscles and tailbone. OUCHIE. I feel so blessed it was not worse. This whole thing happened just a month after Michael sliced his finger open with a knife and had to get stitches. I think maybe we are both clumsy when sleep deprived...

Relaxing on the couch after getting home from the ER

The weekend after he turned 4 months, his Grandparents Reynolds moved from Mesa to Gilbert. We also had our ward Christmas party on the 10th and I sang "O Holy Night" in our ward the next day.

Starting to enjoy the bumbo chair

Monday the 12^th, we went to see Santa Claus at Bass Pro Shop. It was suuuuper crowded and we were there for an hour and a half. Preston slept the whole time until 10 minutes before we saw Santa (OF COURSE!). He started to fuss but luckily we got a decent picture of him. Santa wasn’t very happy in the picture. Haha. It was a good time.

Not feeling it, obviously...

On the 13th was Preston's 4 month checkup. He had gained half a pound in 12 days! He broke 17 pounds. What a BIG BOY! Not so good for mommy's sore back. He got 4 shots that day and it was pretty rough for both of us. Preston cried and cried for at least 5 minutes. Pooy baby. At least this time I had given him tylenol beforehand so that he didn't get a fever and felt better afterwards. Also, PA Bill was worried about Preston's head shape and recommended that we make an appointment with a neurosurgeon to make sure the plates in his head hadn't fused too early. I made the appointment for the next Monday. (More on that later!) That night we went to YC's Mongolian Grill to celebrate my birthday since we didn't know if we'd be able to the next night.

Anticipating bathtime

On my birthday Michael had a Gilbert Public Policy Committee meeting after work and then had mutual that night. Luckily, his meeting let out earlier than expected and we were able to go out to dinner again at Buffalo Wild Wings. It was really yummy and we were glad to be able to go out twice that week.

Blurry, but the BEST cheesy grins from both of us.

Taken on my 27^th birthday! I am so old!

It rained and rained all week long so we had to keep putting off getting a Christmas tree. I love having a real tree and we've had one every year except for the year we moved into our house (we moved in right before Christmas that year). Finally it was clear enough to get one on Friday the 16th. We tried for an hour to get it straight and got tired of trying, so it stayed crooked. Oh well! It was a beautiful tree. We decorated it the next day.

Well, that’s the first half of December for your reading pleasure! More to come, hopefully before next Christmas gets here! Yikes.