Preston Santiago

Preston is 14 1/2 months old now and I cannot believe it. Time truly flies! He is such a sweet little thing. He and Dylan are similar in some ways and completely different in others. I love getting to know him as he shows more and more of his personality. He is at such a fun age too. He's doing more tricks and learning more skills every day. I thought I would share some of the fun things he does.

• He has always been so loving, but is getting more affectionate every day. He gives the best hugs and snuggles ever! His "pats" on the back are a little excited, but are meant to show love, not frustration.


• He has such a tender touch. Ever since he was a newborn, he would reach up and touch my face so softly with his little hand. He loves to touch people's mouths and Marcos' goatie. It's cute! He is pretty much that way with everyone and even with his stuffed animals. He's quite caring and gentle.


• He has always had a fascination with his tongue - always! Even as an infant he would stick his tongue out all the time.  Then he got to where he would make motor boat and clicking noises.  Up until recently, he did the "dither, dither" thing. You know the one where they stick their tongue all the way out and pull it back in while they're talking. It makes a noise kind of like that. Now he does the same thing, but keeps his tongue in his mouth. It sounds more like "deeder deeder" or something like that. It's so cute though. He's quite the jabber box and loves making all sorts of noises.


• He's cautious - well about some things. I'll set him down and he stands pretty well on his own, but the moment he realizes he's standing, he dives for me or the ground. He's getting a little more confident, but he definitely likes his comfort zone. He's not quite as brave as his older brother.


• He LOVES to play in the toilet. This is a new adventure at our house. With a first child, you just leave the doors shut, but with Dylan going in and out of the bathroom all day, trying to keep Preston away has been a challenge. For the record, he loves the sink and the bathtub too, it's just the toilet that receives all the negative attention.


• He also loves toilet paper. It's not at all unusual to find the entire roll of toilet paper in the garbage from Preston pulling on it until it was completely unraveled.


• He has a few stuffed animals that he's quite fond of. He loves to watch them and play with them. He's so gentle with them. He'll often just hold one while he falls asleep. He's fascinated with their tails and will just twirl them in his hand. It's so cute.


• Since he's still a crawler, he has had to impravize to be able to carry things around the house with him. He usually sits down, sticks the object in his mouth, then flips onto all fours and crawls to his destination. I LOVE watching this process. He carries all sorts of things this way. My favorites have been water bottles (a little tricky), stuffed animals that he carries by the tail, and a little rubber worm. One day, he carried that rubber worm in his mouth all day long. He'd sit back down, take it out of his mouth, play with it, then put it back in again and take off. It's so much fun to watch.


• Dirt. Okay, with all the outdoor projects we've been working on, the kid has injested far more dirt and sand than I'd like to admit. I try to remind myself that it's a normal part of childhood. He's going to eat dirt no matter what I do...so I usually just let him.


• Tantrums. He's starting to throw tantrums every now and then. He hates to have his diaper changed.  He also fights his carseat at first. Once he's in, he's fine. I think it's the idea that he's going to be stuck somewhere that makes him mad.


• He's still not too afraid of strangers, but he's thinking about it. He'll let anyone pick him up and hold him, but before long, he's diving back towards me. Many times he can't decide who he wants to hold him and he leans towards several different people before he settles into someone's arms.


• He LOVES Dylan. Dylan will be lying on the ground and Preston goes up to him and touches his hair or pats his head or arm. His pats are sometimes too hard, but Dylan knows he's not trying to be mean. Once in awhile, he pulls Dylan's hair and then Dylan gets upset, but they're usually very cute together.


• He's a screamer. He's such a mild-tempered little guy and he's been such an easy baby. Because of this, he's had to become a screamer when he needs something, particularly when Dylan is tackling him. It's a very high-pitched annoying little thing, but I've come to adore it anyway.


• His ups aren't as high and his downs aren't as low as my extreme little Dylan, but he still has them. In general, he is just such a happy little guy though.


• He's working on his bottom two molars. The upper two came in a couple months ago. That will make 12 teeth probably in the next week or so. Luckily, he only seems to use them to eat, not to bite.


• He's always been a great eater, but he knows when he doesn't like something. He'll just spit it out or pull it out of his mouth with his fingers. Strange textures seem to bother him. He'll often assume something's going to be weird and pull it out of his mouth before he gives it a second try. He's funny that way. He doesn't like goldfish crackers at all! I've never heard of a kid that didn't like goldfish crackers.  And no matter what I try, he doesn't like broccoli.

• I love the way he sits on the bottom stair and stands up.  Sit down, stand up, sit down, stand up all day long.  I especially love the proud grin he gets on his face when he realizes he's accomplished his goal.

• He's starting to stand on his own a little bit more.  He's been pulling himself up on furniture for quite awhile, then he realized he could go from sitting on the stair to standing with little effort.  The last few days, he's been trying to push himself up off the ground to stand.  I love to watch this learning process.  He focuses so hard.  Then once he's standing, but not holding onto anything, he's not sure what to do.  He doesn't want to walk without holding onto something.  I can't help but smile at my growing little boy.

Here are a few recent pictures of Preston's life.  

Sleeping Kids

Okay, so it seems like a weird post, but there have been some unusual sleep moments the last week or so that I wanted to share.  About a week and a half ago, I snuck into the boys' bedroom to check on them.  Sometimes it's just nice to get a glimpse of my precious little children and remember how much I love them without any interference from tantrums, potty talk or general kid destruction (Preston pulled on my new scentsy warmer off the shelf today and it shattered - the one I put out of the way so he couldn't get it...waahhh!)  I walked into their room and looked down at Dylan who was lying flat on his back, with his right arm to the side and up and his left arm to the side and down.  Just a comfy little sleeping position.  I tip-toed over to spy on Preston and couldn't believe it.  He was lying just the same way...they looked like brothers.  I ran downstairs to get my camera, but by the time I got back up to their room, Dylan was lying on his side (see the picture below).  Dang it.  I figured no one would believe the story.  I walked over to take one last peek at Preston and he had turned to the exact same side.  Before I went to bed that night, I couldn't help but open the door for one last look.  Sure enough they were both lying the same way again, only this time facing the other direction.  They were definitely in sync that night.  I can't explain it, but I thought it was pretty cute - some little brotherly bond or something.  

So that was one peaceful night.  Then there are all the sleepless Dylan nights.  He's not as bad as he used to be, but sometimes he wanders into my room several times a night.  I find him sleeping on the floor by the side of my bed all the time.  I don't know if he sleep walks or just gets scared or lonely, but he's learned that waking me only leads to his bedroom again so sometimes he just pulls up a section of floor and falls back asleep in our room.  A few nights ago, Marcos and I walked upstairs to go to bed and there was Dylan with his "ball blankey" in the middle of hall sound asleep.  I guess he didn't find us in the room so he settled for the hallway.  What a crazy kid!  

The last picture probably looks typical to most of you, but in our home, car naps do not happen.  Dylan used to always fall asleep in the car.  In fact, we often used it as a tool when he needed some help taking a nap.  Preston is a little different.  If he's exhausted, he'll fall asleep in the car, but the kid just likes his crib.  He doesn't want to be held or rocked to sleep.  He just wants to be left alone so he can fall asleep on his own.  And Dylan NEVER takes a nap any more.  So this picture of both of the boys asleep in the car was one for the history books.  

A Visit With GG Betty

Last Wednesday we took a trip to GG's house.  It was so much fun to visit and the kids were very well behaved.  They played with her old box of toys for over an hour.  I did have to do some Preston-proofing quickly in the living room, but other than that, it was great.  Grandma seemed to really enjoy our company too.  After playing for awhile, we went to Village Inn for lunch.  Everyone was starving - we didn't realize how late it was by the time we started thinking about lunch.  The kids ate as much as we did.  What a great day!  I'm so glad we could go visit Grandma and that she could spend some time with the boys.  

Our Weekend

Let me just catch up here a little bit.

Friday night Marcos took Dylan on our stake's father/son campout. He also invited Tony, my nephew, to go with them. We all went to McDonald's for dinner Friday night and then they headed up to Mountain Green (Dylan later asked Marcos where they went and Marcos told him Mountain Green. He replied, "I thought it was Mountain Blue.") Anyway, you should've seen the "Mom" in me the night before. I packed up a tote with treats. Next thing you know, I'm getting chlorox wipes, hand sanitizer gel, paper towels, wipies... It was like part of me wondered how they could survive without a mother's touch or something. I'm sure all the guys thought he was such a geek with all his mommy gear, but I rested better that night knowing I'd sent them off prepared.

They had a great time. Tony said something the next day about thinking he would have fun, but that he didn't think he'd have that much fun. It was his cute little 7-year-old way of saying "Thanks, I had a good time." Dylan kept talking about camping and apparently did really well. I'm so glad Marcos went and that they could experience some true male bonding.

While they were gone, Angie came down and we worked on a video for her school. Kind of like a slideshow of the year. We worked on it until 1 a.m. and then she finally went to my mom's house to sleep. Of course I couldn't make myself stop so I was up until 3. The next morning she came back and we worked on the movie until about noon. By then, my entire house was a disaster. Marcos and Justin were in the backyard with the kids. They all ended up in the sprinkler fully clothed. Our stupid phone broke and the guy came to figure out what was going on with the line. We don't have a ladder still and our neighbors weren't home so Marcos ended up borrowing the Qwest guy's ladder. He's so funny! It doesn't bother him to ask people for stuff like that. It would kill me to ask the Qwest guy to borrow his ladder, but whatever. That's his domain. So Marcos, Justin and the Qwest guy set up the swamp cooler while Angie and I finished up the movie. Thank goodness we have air now and just in time. It's getting pretty toasty around here. After they all left, I went to work. I cleaned like a mad woman. It took awhile because I had gotten pretty behind with my busy month, but man does it feel good to be closer to caught up. I was so exhausted last night. After being up working on a movie and then cleaning most of the next day, I was so ready for bed.

Today was a great day. It was Marcos' cousin's mission farewell. He's been called to serve in Argentina, where his mom is from, ironically enough. Anyway, it was a very nice meeting and the little gathering afterwards was fun. The kids played and we were able to catch up with family and friends.

We came home and everyone had a nap, including Dylan. The bad part...he fell asleep as the rest of us were waking up around 5. It took awhile to get him out of grumpy post-nap mode, but we did it. We had some grilled cheese sandwiches and then went to the park to feed the ducks! It was fun and relaxing and just a good time. On our way home, we noticed a lady driving by with a flat tire. She didn't stop so we followed her to try to let her know her tire was flat. Nothing caught her attention so we ended up following her all the way home. Okay, here's the part I've been debating. I want to share this awesome experience with all you blog readers, but some things you wonder if you should just keep to yourselves. I've gone back and forth with this, but I've decided I'm going to share it. I have a pretty tender heart and tend to want to help people and make them feel good, but Marcos has a heart of gold. That's just how he came to this world - I've been told by many people that he's always been that way. So back to the story. Marcos thought she might be nervous that we had followed her after flashing our lights, honking, etc. to try to get her attention. He told me to hop out and see if she needed help so she wouldn't be frightened with some guy getting out of the car. I asked her if she wanted my husband to help her put on the spare so she could go get a new tire tomorrow. She didn't know what to do and said she would appreciate any help. You could tell she was so happy to have some stranger willing to help her. A couple of times she asked him how much she owed him. Of course he told her nothing, but I know how she feels. It's hard to accept help. The kids and I played with some dogs next door. Preston was so cute. The dog LOVED him and was licking his face and bald little head. Preston would just giggle and push him away. It was so sweet! The dogs kept us occupied while my sweet husband helped this little old lady. Honestly, I LOVE moments like these. That is why I fell in love with Marcos. He has nothing but the best of intentions and would do anything he could for ANYONE. The lady hugged us, took our name and number and talked for awhile. It was getting close to bedtime so I loaded the kids in the car while Marcos finished talking to her. Dylan asked me why the lady didn't change her own tire and I told him that she couldn't do it and that we wanted to help her. I explained that we always want to help others and be like Jesus. He smiled and said, "Helping hands." I don't know where he got that from, but I have to admit that it got me all choked up (not that that's hard to do). It just hit me how good it was for our kids to experience service firsthand so they can learn from example. So at the risk of sounding boastful, I thought I should share our special weekend, which ended with such a memorable experience.

Hamster Update

Here is a picture of little "Hamstey".  We gave him to my nephew, Tony, who's going to try out having a hamster before they decide whether or not they can keep him.  We'll see how it goes. Dylan seems to like the fact that we can visit the hamster and tend him when they go out of town.  He was a bit sad today, but I think we're going to survive.  I thought I'd share one last hamster moment before we move on.  Dylan found out the hamster likes goldfish crackers so this was his treat before he left to go home with Tony yesterday afternoon. 

NO MORE PETS!

I don't think we're ready for pets in our house. I have always been a pretty big animal lover and swore when I got older I would have lots of pets around. Maybe that's where Dylan's love for animals came from. I was a bit like that as a kid. But something happened between my childhood and the grownup version of me that has changed my perspective on everything. It's something to do with adding extra responsibility to a pretty big load of responsibility I already feel comes with home ownership, motherhood and other grownup duties. I've decided that we are not ready for a bunch of pets around our house. This past month we have watched the five fish in the tank die off one by one. I'm sure the levels of something are out of whack, but I can't figure out what is killing them all. If we lose the last one, we'll probably get a couple cheap goldfish and try it again and then just put the acquarium away for awhile. It's just too much to constantly have to talk to Dylan about his fish dying.

And then there's the hamster. Okay, so we've decided we're probably not keeping it. Dylan is just too crazy about animals to leave the thing alone. I feel bad, but it did kind of get thrown at us...we never got to make the decision to have a hamster. Marcos and I both feel it's probably better to find another home for him. We'll see how that goes.

At least until Dylan's a little older and can help take care of the animals without loving them to death, we're going to hold off on purchasing any more pets (or taking in pets from other people). I think we're going to be pet sitters. Dylan loves when we tend Alicia's dog, Belle, so maybe that can be our role until we reach that next commitment level. Yes, the Uboldi pet sitters. We'll visit your animals or let them stay over for a night or two and then they can go back home.

Our Crazy Day!

Today was just one of those crazy days.  Anthony came over and brought his new hamster "Little Guy".  My little animal-lover, Dylan, was so excited.  He just about drove me crazy all day long getting poor Little Guy out of his cage, playing with him, putting him in his little exercise ball, making him ride in the Diego jeep and on the elephant's back...  You get the picture.  He's just so crazy about animals that trying to set limits with the hamster was just about impossible.  

It was also one of those messy days.  Some days I seem to be able to keep up on the kid messes and other days I give up and figure I'll catch up after the kids are in bed.  Today was the latter.  We had so many things out, it was rediculous.  At one point, I put Preston in a box we had out.  It became the favorite item of the moment.  It was a helicopter, train, airplane and who knows what else.  All the kids took turns playing in the box.  Minor sharing problems and I realized I could create two  more boxes with my laundry baskets.  So we played with boxes and baskets all day.  Dylan and Anthony played "animal shelter" and were animals in their cages underneath the baskets.  Can you tell where Marcos took the boys last Friday?  Yep, the animal shelter and don't ask about it.  It's a pretty touchy subject around here.   

Later, Alicia called.  Kamyn was having a rough day and I figured he would have fun with Dylan and Anthony so they decided to come down.  They all had a ton of fun, but chaos multiplied.  It was chilly enough that playing outside didn't last that long, which is always tough.  Dylan, who usually helps keep the younger kids wanting to play outside or in the toyroom was too distracted by the stupid hamster (which he has renamed "Hamstey") to be much help.  Preston was in a whiney, screamy kind of mood.  One of those days you wish kids came with a mute button.  And Kamyn is dealing with the new baby in a 2 1/2 year old acting out sort of way.  So it was definitely a lot of work.  It was way fun to have them visit though and I got a couple of cute pictures of little Kenya.  

To top things off, Anthony's mom came an hour and a half late.  We hadn't eaten and were all worn out from our day.  Because of some details I won't explain here, his mom offered to let us keep the hamster...in front of Dylan.  You should've seen Dylan's face.  He was shocked!  He froze and just kind of put his hand on my shoulder, held his breath and waited to see what I would say.  I told Dylan we'd have to see what happens the next few days because he wasn't very good about minding me and putting the hamster back when I told him to.  Marcos and I are still not sure what to do.  I guess we'll keep "Hamstey" for a few days and see if the excitement dies down to a manageable level.  Man, I'm exhausted.  What a day!  

The Stair Master

Up the stairs, down the stairs, flip around.  This is Preston's new favorite thing.  He's been climbing up stairs since he started to crawl a few months ago, but it's taken some time to get him to master the art of climbing down the stairs.  He usually just reached his arms out as far as he could and started crawling.  Now, I'm a mom that understands that the sooner you teach your kids to crawl backwards down the stairs, the easier your life becomes.  So we've been working on this for quite awhile.  He would crawl towards the stairs, I'd tell him to stop and turn around, he'd pause for a minute, think about what I was telling him, smile, then quickly turn back around and crawl as fast as he could towards the stairs.  It was some sort of game and became a little challenge for him.  Little turkey!  He even tried to climb off the couch head first.  Needless to say, he's done some pretty good flips the last few months.  There's just something about this little one.  He really wants to see where he's going.  Dylan was not like this at all.  Dylan would turn around and crawl backwards over a crack in the sidewalk or flip around to crawl backwards down a small grassy hill.  I taught him to crawl down backwards and he took it very literally.  Not Preston!  The kid just catapults himself towards the stairs and hopes for the best.  But after close to three months of solid reminders and constant pulling of the legs down the stairs first, I think he's finally got it.  I've watched him for several days now turn around all by himself.  Although he doesn't turn around and then back up like you would expect.  He crawls right to the edge and then gradually lets his foot down so his feet go down first, but he can see what's going on behind him.  I must admit, I'm  pretty excited to not have to worry so much about the stairs.  Dylan and Anthony are so used to my "turn around" prompts that they both still remind him, whether he needs it or not.  Unfortunately, Preston starts going down the stairs, gets distracted, and ends up sitting on the stairs for awhile.  That's what happened today.  He saw the sippy cup he'd left on the stairs earlier, decided to take it with him, and lost his balance.  Poor little baby had his first (well technically second) real fall down the stairs, witnessed by both mom and dad.  It caught us all off guard, but luckily he was fine.  Crazy little stair climber!

My Guys

Here is a recent picture of my three favorite guys!  I'm so lucky to have them in my life.  Marcos is such a great dad to Dylan and Preston.  I don't know what I would do without him!

 

A Day With Dylan

There are so many daily ups, downs and diagonals with Dylan.  Here's what a typical day looks like.  After breakfast, he dresses himself.  He is so excited for Anthony to be here that he doesn't ask for help.  Mr. Independent sets out to accomplish his goal and is successful at achieving it.  He plays in the sandbox with Anthony forever.  Those kids love that sandbox.  I am so happy with how well they play together most of the time.  I turn around and content sandbox playing has turned into climbing the fence to see the fish in the pond next door.  That or the garden hose, which can mean a number of things, most of which are not good for moms. Crisis control and we're back to playing, smiling, laughing, joking.  Go change Preston's diaper and come back downstairs to see the fridge door wide open.  Try to figure out what he got out of the fridge and why.  Oh, he's lugged every piece of fruit I own outside for a picnic and is cutting the fruit into small slices with his plastic knife.  Lunch.  He eats his lunch well without much of a fight and cleans up his plate without being asked.  What an angel.  More kid play.  Bathroom break.  Wait a minute...where's Dylan?  Yep, naked in the bathroom with all of his plastic animals lined up along the bathtub.  Why is it that he cannot stay dressed when he goes to the bathroom?  I will never understand the need to shed his clothes in order to do his business.  Preston and Anthony go down for a nap.  Before I can get Dylan to come hang out with me for some books and maybe a movie, he has decided to take a nap with Anthony.  Yeah right!  The kid hasn't taken a nap for two years.  I watch him haul blankets and stuffed animals as well as his binoculars to the living room for the two of them.  Then he tucks Anthony in and says a prayer so he can go to sleep.  Man, the kid can be so dang cute sometimes.  I almost start to cry at my son's little prayer.  Of course instead of using the animals to sleep, Dylan wants to use them for a safari, thus the binoculars.  I pry him away from Anthony and convince him that he should stay downstairs with me.  Another bathroom break.  I realize the silence and again go to check it out.  Yep, naked once again with the sink plugged, filled with water, toothpaste and soap.  He is stirring the entire concoction with his toothbrush.  He smiles at me and proceeds to tell me about the delicious soup he's making.  Not one thought of being in trouble.  Apparently it's his imagination and creativity and not the desire to be naughty...at least that's what I decide this time.  A little indoor playing.  I remind him 95 times not to wrestle Preston as Preston screams at the top of his lungs.  Somehow Dylan can tune out both of us.  Not long after, we get out the trucks.  The kids have been playing with their "scoopers" in the sandbox all day.  I turn around and Dylan has brought in a cool whip container filled with sand to play with inside.  It takes me a few minutes, but I successfully get him to take the sand back outside and play with the trucks in beans instead.  It's a brilliant way to play with animals, trucks or just about anything.  We get out the dry beans and the kids scoop and play with their trucks and some dinosaurs they find.  Another lapse in mommy attention and Dylan has Altoids out launching them through a piece of PVC pipe.  Dylan disappears to the basement (a place he rarely goes alone).  The kid wants Popsicles.  I decide it's a great idea and bring up a few otter pops so the kids will a variety of colors to select from.  I get Preston situated in the highchair with one and cut off the ends of two Popsicles for Dylan and Anthony.  I start cleaning up some of the mess from earlier.  Before I get anything done, I realize every Popsicle has been cut open and they've eaten them all.  Honestly!  Grocery trip.  Nothing too extreme, but about 15 people chuckle for one reason or another.  He tries on some sunglasses and asks me if he looks blue.  He's such great entertainment.  Later, we have FHE and talk about the liahona.  He is so excited about the idea of a compass and asks lots of questions and wanders around the house talking about camping.  Close enough.  At least we got a real lesson in.  He keeps us on our toes all day long, but we have fun and laugh so much too.  Anything to do with water, dirt, wrestling, jumping, running, climbing, rolling, scooping, shooting, fighting...  it's all Dylan territory.  We have such beautiful, tender moments and such crazy, destructive boy moments every single day.  And that's just the 4-year-old.  What a wonderful life!

Millicent Lee (Milli)

This is sweet little Milli.  I was able to slip away this afternoon and meet her for the first time. I held her for awhile while I talked to Laura about the birth.  It's amazing how tiny brand new babies are.  I love the baby smell, their soft skin and their little noises.  They are just so precious!  Milli has quite a bit of very light hair, which surprised everyone.  She is eating well and doesn't fuss much.  She is a healthy, happy and very loved little baby.  Laura (Marcos' sister) is doing well.  She and Dave are so happy and excited to have their little baby here.  What a miracle!  Congratulations to the entire family!  P.S.  I'm loving all the pink and purple bows and headbands.  Something so foreign to a Mommy of boys!  

Kenya Marie

I put these pictures and a few more at web.mac.com/mariauboldi They load quicker there and can be viewed in a slideshow.  

Baby Girls

Today was such an eventful day. Alicia, my youngest sister, and Laura, Marcos' sister, both had their babies. They were both due on May 8th and ended up being induced, although they were in different hospitals. It was such an exciting day. I was watching Kamyn, Alicia's 2 1/2 year old son and could not wait to hear another update from one family or the other. Around 4:00 p.m. Preston woke up from his nap and was still grumpy so I decided I would load the kids up and take a little drive. While I was putting shoes and jackets on the kids and packing up the diaper bag, my mom called and said it would probably be soon. Alicia was dilated to an 8. I decided our little drive should be to the hospital. I called from the waiting room and could hear the brand new baby in the background. She was probably born when we were in the parking lot - about 5 minutes before my phone call. It was perfect. We waited for them to finish up the medical stuff and then Kamyn was able to go in and see his brand new baby sister. She was born at 4:53 pm, was 7 lbs 2 oz and 20 inches long. They named her Kenya Marie.

I hadn't heard any news from Marcos' family so I figured Laura had a ways to go and thought I might be able to make it to the hospital soon after her baby was born. Marcos came to meet us for dinner and I asked if he had heard from his family. He told me Milicent Lee "Milli" was born at 5:07 pm, was 7 lbs 13 oz and 21 inches long. I could not believe it! Two nieces in one day and they were born only 14 minutes apart. What a fun day for an aunt...and they were both girls. Two girls to even even things out a bit.

Congratulations to Laura and Dave and Alicia and Nate. Moms and babies are doing well. I was able to see Alicia's baby, but have not seen Laura's yet. I'm hoping to sneak away tomorrow for a few minutes. I'll keep you posted! Yeah to today!