Happy Birthday, Preston Santiago!

Preston turned 5 last Thursday - March 15th. I can't believe this kid is 5 already. We have had so many ups and downs with him, but he brings so much joy to our family. He is loving and guileless. He is mellow and happy. I probably say this a lot, but to know Preston really is to love him.

Preston during his 5 days in the NICU

The day he got to come home (March 19th)

6 months old - with his cousin Tony during a trip to Flaming Gorge

One year old - eating licorice at grandma's house

2 years old - climbing on the table

3 years old - playing at the park

4 years old - loving sunglasses and his own sense of style

5 years old - playing with his cousin Tanner

While we're talking about Preston, I guess I ought to update you on the therapy we have been doing. After having him go through two rounds of The Listening Program I was actually talking to his Primary teacher and trying to explain his challenges. I mentioned how much progress he had made with the listening program and how excited and hopeful we were. This lead to a conversation about a similar type of therapy her good friend does. She brought me over a pamphlet and I couldn't believe the testimonials. It was expensive so we knew it would have to wait, but I knew it was something I was going to have Preston participate in. It was one of those moments where you know you were supposed to have that exact conversation. It was an answer to prayer. Well, January came and we decided to sign both boys up for the therapy. It is called Sensory Learning. The link is to the website of the founder. The lady we went through is Mae Jae Storrs. She operates out of her home in Utah and then helps her son run a larger clinic in Kansas. Her website is in the works or I'd direct you there. Anyway, it was intense. For kids, they can't go the full hour so you take them twice a day for a half hour each time for twelve days. It was a huge commitment. After that, you take the lights home for 18 more days to finish up the therapy. Essentially it combines light, sound and motion therapy for maximum results. It helps form new neural pathways in the brain. Strange, but true. I'll be honest, it has been hard. Both the boys' behavior has had many off days (particularly Preston) but as time passes, the on days far outnumber the off days. You can see changes for up to a year as the neural pathways develop and learning increases. We finished the program just over a month ago - Feb 9 was our last day of lights. And it has been incredible to see the progress he has made. His preschool teachers asked me if I had changed his medication because he is so much more attentive and seems to follow what they are doing. I told them he isn't on meds and they were shocked. He was holding an airplane in his hand and not really talking to anyone. Out of nowhere he says, "I wonder how this airplane flies. Does it change into a rocket or something." Okay, I'm sure that seems like a normal 5 year old question, but Preston does not ask inquisitive questions like that and he definitely does not connect two concepts like that either. I was shocked! The following Sunday, he handed me his paper from Primary. He has taken an interest to coloring, but that is the extent of it. I saw the paper and started sobbing. Not crying...sobbing. Poor Preston couldn't figure out what he had done wrong. I assured him I was crying because I was happy and he just looked at me like I was crazy. He had drawn a picture of two people. Heads, eyes, mouths and a stick body. That is HUGE! He has NEVER EVER drawn a picture of people in his life. Never drawn anything. He colors and scribbles, but doesn't put a concept on paper with crayons. It still amazes me just talking about it. Anyway, we have bad days still, but we are so excited about his progress. We don't know what it all means long-term, but there is a very good chance we will have him do the therapy again next year in hopes of continuing his progress even further.

Prestonisms

Here are a few of Preston's good ones from the past six months or so. He used to say or do something funny just here and there, but has become quite a jabber box, saying the most hilarious things all day long. Sometimes I wish I could just push record and remember it all, but it's impossible. There's no way to keep up with all the little things he says. But the few I managed to remember and write down are below.

• At the zoo, Preston asked me "What do the rhinos eat? What do the giraffes eat?..." The answer to most of the questions was hay, grass or trees. I said, "Most of them eat hay or leaves. But the tigers eat meat, don't they? Do you know what snakes eat?" He thought for a long time and said, "Um, um...pineapple."
• Marcos listens to talk radio a lot and many of the talk show hosts say, "The Reverend Jesse Jackson" in a very unique, deep voice. Marcos gets a kick out of having Dylan and Preston imitate the phrase. So out of nowhere, Preston says, "Jessie, the cowgirl, Jackson" referring to Jessie on Toy Story.
• I was wrapping his finger with new gauze one night and put some Neosporin on it. He said, "Is that cream, Mom? Are you putting cream on my finger?" I replied, "Yes, bud, I'm putting cream on your finger." "You're putting cream on my finger? Is it Krispy Kreme?"
• Out of the blue, Preston says, "Should we go to the dentist and get a bag of toothpaste-es?"
• Anthony was saying, "Preston's on the case." It's a phrase off of Max and Ruby that he and Dylan use as some silly game. Preston responds, "Anthony's on the loose."
• Dylan found a leftover firecracker in the road and picked it up. I told him to leave it there. "That's dangerous. Leave it there. It's a firecracker. It's called a grenade." We dropped Dylan off and as we drove away, Preston says, "That's a firecracker. It's a green egg." He paused and then proceeded to say, "It's a blue egg. It's a yellow egg. It's an orange egg."
• Preston was terrified at the firecrackers this year. I had to sit with him in the car, in the house and once hold him on my lap covering his ears. Poor thing! I asked him afterward if he liked the firecrackers and he said, "Yeah." Then he paused while he thought and said, "No, I don't like the firecrackers." I said, "Are they too noisy?" He replied, "No, they're too popping."
• I stopped to get some Scentsy flavors from my sister, Melissa. She let Preston smell one that we liked to see what he would do. He said, "Yum...that smells like good." She picked one that was too flowery and not our favorite to see what he would say to that. He sniffed the wax and said, "Ah... ah... ah chew."
• He was jumping on the couch one day and Marcos was trying to sleep so I told him to go play on the LoveSac instead. Dylan said, "Come here, Preston. You can roughhouse with me. He didn't know what roughhouse meant so he started barking like a dog, "ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff."
• He got a candy bracelet from his teacher at Primary. He was licking it instead of biting off the individual pieces. Then he would ask everyone he saw, "Hey, you want to try? You want to share my bracelet wis (with) me?"
• Preston was wigging out one day and talking about a snake being in his mouth. I looked several times and couldn't figure out what was going on. I finally looked again and saw a hair in his mouth. I guess it was a fairly good description after all.
• We were doing a science project from Dylan's "Big Bag of Science." We were using pipettes to mix colors. Preston was putting water from the pippette into a test tube. Before long, he started saying, "Look, I'm an elephant. Look at my trunk. I'm squirting my water."
• We were making food from Africa during our Africa unit. The picture on the cover of the cookbook we checked out from the library had a picture of several children on it, one who was a little black boy. He said, "Look, it's Anthony. He's with his friends. He's cooking. He's wearing a chef's hat."
• I gave Preston some veggie straws to eat. He loves them and refers to them as "edgy straws."
• Preston had a white towel wrapped around him and a baseball hat with a bumblebee on it. He jumped down the stairs and said, "Buzz bee to the rescue."
• After quiet time, he had the same white towel wrapped around him and said, "Look I'm a chicken. I'm a chicken" flapping his wings.
• I turned on some Primary music for the kids during lunch one day. After the song, Preston said, "Mommy, can we go to church now? Pa-lease?"
• Dylan was giving Preston a piggyback ride and started spinning him around and around. Preston started yelling, "I don't like it. I don't like it." After some teasing from Dylan (of course) Dylan finally put Preston down. Preston was really dizzy and didn't know what to do when Dylan set set him down. He yelled out, "Hey, Dylan, don't spin the house!"
• We were talking about moving for awhile and Dylan was pretty concerned wondering what we would be able to take with us to a new house. He would say, "Can my stuffed animals come with us? Can my bed come with us?" One day he said, "Can the door come?" I said, "No all the doors will stay." For weeks after, Preston would randomly say, "Can the doors come?" and bust up laughing. I would have to think a minute to figure out what he was talking about since it was completely out of context when he said it.
• Preston said in his prayer, "Please bless 'nee-vo-tion-nal' (devotional)..."
• He calls Joseph Smith, Joseph "Sniff."
• We were walking up the stairs and Preston said, "I'm cold." I said, "Well, let's go get in the tub then." He said, "You're hot" and I replied, "I am?" Then he randomly replied, "Marissa smells cheeto-ee."
• We were at Sam's Club and Preston was eating a churro. He looks over at me and says, "Thanks, Mom. You're the best!"
• Out of nowhere in the car on the way to music class he starts singing, "We wish you a berry Christmas. Happy you year." I had no idea he even knew that song.
• Preston is obsessed with Toy Story. He will randomly say, "I want to buy slinky dog" or "I want to buy Mr. Potatohead." One day he said, "I want to buy the evil Dr. 'poke chalk'."

Preston's Poor Pointer...finger

Every time I think life will settle down for a second, something major happens. I guess I was totally wrong. This must just be the pace of life with three little ones at home, a busy husband who works full time and part time and church callings. More to come on the rest of life later.

Last night, we had just finished eating dinner. I was doing dishes, Marcos went to put Marissa in the bathtub and the boys went out to ride their bikes on the sidewalk. Next thing I know, Dylan is running in yelling "Mom, Preston fell down and hurt himself. He needs you." I ran outside and he wasn't kidding. There was blood everywhere. It took me a minute just to figure out what had happened. At first I thought his mouth was bleeding because the blood was all over his face, but I soon realized he had cut his right index finger...bad. I had Dylan run get Marcos and a drink for Preston to try to calm him down. I took Preston over and sat him on the lawn. Blood was everywhere so I didn't dare take him in to try to clean him up. Marcos called a neighbor to take the other kids and I called the doctor's office to make an appointment. We got there and were told it was too deep and we would need to go to the Emergency Room. I thought that might be the case, but was hoping for the best. The whole time blood is gushing everywhere and I'm doing my best to hold gauze on Preston's finger while sitting next to him in the van. Marcos takes off like a complete maniac and I spent most of the drive trying to convince him speeding and crashing would not make his finger better. If you don't know us very well, I tend to be the one who stays calm in emergency situations. And that's probably the understatement of the century. The kid freaks out when stuff like this happens.

We waited for a bit in the waiting room and then were taken to triage to be assessed and admitted soon after that. The doctor who saw us, Dr. Heilaster (or something like that) was awesome. We got x-rays and found out his finger was most likely fractured and he had probably severed the tendon. All I have to say is even when things seem incredibly difficult, it's amazing to catch a glimpse of the tender mercies from the Lord. There was a doctor on call who is a plastic surgeon specializing in muscles and tendons of the hand. Seriously? How did that happen? She said that was pretty unusual. It took quite awhile for him to call, but we were grateful he was the one on call and was willing and able to squeeze Preston in first thing in the morning. His office is on a different floor at the hospital. He didn't even have the E.R. doctor stitch him up so it wouldn't heal wrong since the tendon was involved. Poor Preston finally fell asleep around 10:00 p.m. just in time to have a rude awakening now that they knew what the plan was and needed to clean the finger really well...without using any numbing at all. I had to hold him down while he screamed and was sweating from the struggle. It was a hard thing for a mom, but you do what you have to do. I held his hand, chest and head while Marcos kept him from kicking. They got him bandaged up with a green bandage over a temporary split, we waited for his first dose of antibiotic and then we headed home.

We got home to our neighbor who had Dylan and her kids watching TV and had put Marissa to bed. We have the best friends ever! Seriously! The village really is helping to raise our children. So...we are dog sitting for our other friends and Dylan assumed we had the dog with us. So the whole time we were at the hospital, there was no dog. We got home finally ready to breathe and I just about had a heart attack thinking I'd lost this cute little dog. I had to take a minute alone in the basement and just lock the door and pray and think. I knew I couldn't figure all this out alone. Everyone was walking around the cul-de-sac whistling for the dog and Marcos was in panic mode yet again. I got a flashlight and keys and headed over to their house. I had the impression the dog might have gone home and knew I had to go look. Sure enough, Belle was there in the backyard. My guess is someone saw her by my house, looked at her dog collar and took her home. Either way, I have never been so grateful for so many blessings. Okay, I probably have, but this was definitely one of those moments of intense gratitude that sometimes come. The Lord heard me over and over and answered my prayers. I know prayers are not always answered immediately, but when they are, it strengthens my testimony in leaps and bounds. I almost don't feel worthy of being so looked after and cared for during such times of crisis. I went to bed and prayed and read scriptures and cried and prayed some more. It was an emotionally overwhelming night for sure.

This morning was utter chaos. I got the kids ready, dropped Dylan off to the neighbor because he had dress rehearsal for the play he's in this week. Oh, I should post about that so you can come if you want. Marcos and I drove separate cars up to the hospital so he could go to work afterwards and my mom met us there to pick up Marissa. We waited for what seemed like forever to get called back to the doctor's office and then waited another eternity to be seen. A few minutes before the doctor was going to be coming in, the nurse came and removed the splint (which was actually his second splint since he decided to rip the thing off this morning). The doctor came in and saw his finger and knew immediately the tendon was completely severed. The good news was he thought he could do it there in the exam room with just a localized shot. The E.R. doctor the night before thought they might have to sedate him so that was way good news. The bad news was entertaining a 4-year-old with sensory processing disorder for heaven knows how long was a less-than-pleasant experience. We sang songs, we jumped, he sat on my lap, I rocked him, I tried coloring animal pictures for him....NOTHING! He wanted out of there! We promised him a new Buzz toy if he was good and multiple other bribes I can't even remember at this point. It was HORRIBLE! Marcos had to hold his legs, I held his arm, chest and head down and the nurse held the injured hand and finger while the doctor stitched him up. What a process! He screamed the whole time and was dripping with sweat by the time we let him off the table. But the doctor thinks it went well. We follow up with him next week. He will probably have to wear a splint for six weeks while the stitches and the break heal, but we feel good about the whole thing. He comes highly recommended by the ER doctor and a friend of ours who is also a doctor. So it really was such a blessing that he was the one on call and could get us in this morning.

As soon as Preston was off the table, he was happy as can be. He just didn't want to be held down anymore. We stopped at the cafeteria for some lunch since he wasn't able to eat breakfast in case they had to put him under anesthesia for surgery. He enjoyed every bite and then was eager to go find a Buzz toy. At one point I looked over to watch him dunk the splint into the ketchup and lick it off. Seriously! I had to keep reminding him to leave it alone. But...I'm a sucker and "good" is a very relative term. I figured he survived stitches and being pinned down for what I'm sure felt like forever so he ended up getting a Buzz and a Woody toy from the store. :)

He keeps trying to take off the splint and chewing on it so it's going to be a long six weeks trying to keep that thing in good condition, but at least it's done. Hopefully it will heal well and life can move on. We didn't get as good of pictures as I wish we would have with trying to hold him down and keep him from making things worse, but here is what we did manage to capture of this traumatic experience.

I wish I would have taken a side picture of his finger on the camera. I got one on my phone, but it's not great and I have no idea how to upload the pictures from my very old school phone. That cut went all the way to the bone though so it is much worse than it looks. The whole fingertip felt like it was just hanging there. And it was dangling when he tried to point and hold it out straight.

Part of our three hour emergency room wait. You can't tell, but all the spots all over him and his pants are blood...and that was after trying to clean him up. He was a MESS!

Trying to entertain the little man. We sang lots of songs since there was nothing kid-appropriate on TV and there wasn't exactly time to grab a DVD player on the way to the E.R. We could have used a movie distraction though...big time!

He finally fell asleep around 10, just to wake up screaming when they had to clean out the finger and bandage him up to send him home again. Poor kid!

The temporary split from the E.R. He was not a happy camper, but was very brave for the whole process.

Waiting for the plastic surgeon. He was spinning this tray around and around. He was bored and almost at his limit before we even saw the doctor. I knew it was going to be rough.

The nurse taking off the first splint so the doctor could look at it. It must have hurt him pretty bad because Preston is my tough little man and he was flinching the whole time.

Another crappy picture trying to show how bad it really was. Sorry, this was as good as I could get. Marcos has a decent one on his phone if I can ever figure out how to upload his pictures.

A little bit better view. It had stopped bleeding for the most part, but as soon as they took the bandage off and he moved at all it started gushing blood again.

We took Buzz to help pass the time. It helped in the waiting room but that's about it.

The only moment during the stitches we could capture. He was moving too much and we needed all hands on deck. (Sorry they got out of order. This obviously happened after they numbed his finger)

Trying to calm the kid before the real storm hit

Just after they numbed the finger

Leaving the doctor's office with the new splint on

Happy to be leaving the hospital with a full belly and lemonade in hand

Coping

If you haven't followed our saga with Preston, you're probably better off. It's long, overwhelming and at times quite dramatic. I've gone back and forth with how much to share and discuss forever. I want to protect my child and yet I have a need to be open and honest and share to help others and gain the support I feel like I need. I don't want to label my children and I don't want to make excuses for them. But understanding their abilities and limitations is important.

Anyway, at his 4 year well check, there was some break down in what the doctor was asking him to do and what he was able to do (or at least able to understand). He referred us to a Speech Therapist at Primary Children's.

Now for those who don't know, Preston didn't speak much when he was two and we had him tested and put into speech therapy through Early Intervention. His speech caught up fairly well and when they tested him at three, he didn't qualify for the special needs preschool. For us that was good news. We don't want free school for our kid who has challenges. We just want him to succeed. But there was part of me that still felt something was off, and many of the specialists at the school said the same. They just couldn't put their finger on it. It's been a LONG, FRUSTRATING, EXHAUSTING process trying to figure out what his needs and limitations are because...well...because he's a kid and can't really tell us. It's like a great big puzzle. Over time we find one piece here and there and start to piece the puzzle together little by little, but we still have no idea what picture we're even trying to build.

Back to the present. The speech therapist told us he was behind in both receptive and expressive language. We were able to rule out hearing loss as a factor because after two years of trying and testing and sound booths, we were finally able to get him to understand and not be freaked out by the test itself. And it looks like he's at least in the range of normal for hearing. Yay to some good news! The audiologist referred us to a specialist at Primary's to have him tested for auditory processing disorder though since even though he can hear he doesn't seem to process it fully. And the speech therapist referred us to an occupational therapist since many of the skills he is behind in are self-help (using the potty, dressing himself, etc) or pre-academic skills (holding a pencil, cutting with scissors, etc). The OT was able to tell us that yes, he is behind and that it is most likely due to sensory integration issues and some praxis disorder. Um...what? Ok. Yeah, I had no clue. She explained that praxis is the brain's ability to plan and organize itself and carry through the action with the right muscles (a.k.a. muscle planning). They recommended speech therapy and occupational therapy for him. Both recommended 12 sessions over 3 months and then reevaluating based on his progress and new goals we will have for him. Whoa! Slow down. The other FANTASTIC (not) news is that we have no clue if the insurance will cover the therapy. The way they word everything is so vague (probably so they can avoid paying later). So we'll just have to start it and hope for the best. GREAT!

I'm not sure how most people handle news like this, but it went something like this for me.

1. Relieved to finally have some answers and to know I haven't been crazy or paranoid all these years.
2. Freaked out at the finality of really have a diagnoses (or several) and what it means for the future of my precious child.
3. Guilt. What did I do wrong? Did I cause this? Should I have talked to him more or rocked him more or held him... How did this happen? Did I eat something or drink something... What if, what if, what if...
4. Grief. I was sad and overwhelmed for Preston and for how much harder some things will be for him in life because of these trials. I cried and cried and then cried myself to sleep many nights in a row.
5. Researcher. I'm sure some people would rather not know all the details, but for me knowledge is power. It's overwhelming to deal with KNOWING sometimes, but it helps me formulate a good plan, schedule, routine, etc. if I have read and analyzed things from every perspective and broken it down into something more manageable. Not only did I read a lot on the internet, I found a bunch of books at the library and ordered several online. Here is my stack to begin with. Yes, I'm crazy, but I'm also already well into my reading and understanding my child a bit more.

We have our first therapy session with the OT next Wednesday. I'm excited to get to work with him and get some tools for helping him, but I'm scared too. It's not exactly good news and it's not good timing at all. But what do you do? You do the best you can to cope each and every day, you pray a lot, and you try to trust that the Lord knows what He is doing and will not abandon you in your journey. Feel free to keep our amazing little man in your prayers.

The Frosting Thief

This was the leftover cake from the party my mom threw for Dylan a couple weeks ago (hopefully I will have a post on that soon). I came down the stairs to find the remainder of the cake mutilated and quickly set out to find the guilty culprit. I was feeling all Sherlock Holmes-ey and ready to bust out Dylan's magnifying glass from his "dino backpack" and solve this mystery. I was a girl on a mission. I turned around to discover there was no need to open up the case. The evidence was EVERYWHERE! Mystery solved!

Preston's Birthday Bash!

We had another fabulous birthday celebration with Preston today. The Birthday Bear came to our house and decorated everything last night. Preston was thrilled when he woke up and found Diego decorations on the wall. He couldn't stop talking about it and walked around telling everyone about every sign or decoration he found. "Is this my cake?" (talking about a sign with a birthday cake on it), "Is this my balloons? My happy birthday balloons?" I told him yes and then he'd repeat it all again. "This is Preston's birthday cake. This is Preston's birthday balloons. My birthday balloons." So cute! We started with a pancake breakfast. The kid LOVES anything with syrup on it for breakfast so I went for quick and easy. We took a bath, got dressed and headed to the train museum since it was such a big hit with Preston when we last visited. He LOVED it! I just wish we had more time to linger, but our day was so packed that we had to rush a bit. We stopped at Del Taco for a quick bite and then headed to his music class. While he was there, Dylan, Marissa and I ran to the store to buy some AirHeads to give to his classmates. Being a long, non-stop day, Marissa needed a nap big time so we headed home and Preston got to watch Toy Story 2 while Marissa took a nap. Marcos got home just after Marissa woke up from her less-than-perfect nap and we headed out the door to go swimming. If you haven't seen Preston in a pool yet, you're missing out. The kid is INSANE! There is no fear in that child when it comes to anything and everything water. We choose to leave floaties on him even though he pretty much can touch in most of the pool where we were playing. He is just too fast and crazy to worry about him losing his balance or something. Crazy! He LOVES water and is excited to be able to splash without the lecture that accompanies him in the bathtub. We swam for an hour and a half or so and then ran home to shower, change clothes and head out the door for his birthday dinner. We asked him where he wanted to eat and he said "bean burrito" so we went to Garcia's where kids eat free on Tuesday. SWEET! He was so cute and excited all day. We left the restaurant, headed home to open his presents, which were all little Toy Story figures (it's the only thing that kid cares about right now. Oh, that and Thomas the Train). I didn't do a cake because we still had cupcakes left over from the party my mom had at her house for him on Sunday so we sang to him and he licked the frosting off the cupcake (which is the only way he eats cupcakes anyway). I didn't even have any candles, but found old ones from Dylan's past parties so once again, I faked it. Preston doesn't care one bit! He just likes blowing out candles. So I put a #5 candle in one cupcake and a #1 candle in another cupcake and we had a 5-1=4 candle. :) Yep, I'm a flaky mom. But the day was EXACTLY what Preston wanted and that's all that matters to me. He knows he is loved and that we feel lucky he was born. We finished off our late evening by reading "Ladybug's Birthday" and tucking him in bed with his new toy story toys and more kisses than he could have possibly wanted. :) We love you Preston! Happy 4th Birthday, big boy!!

Preston's 4th Birthday

I can't believe my little man is 4 today. It seems unreal that he was born that many years ago. But it's true. We have had a fun morning and still have plenty of birthday partying to do this afternoon. But...Marissa is taking a nap so the boys are watching a movie until she wakes up. And that gives me a second to blog. I will post more on our fun day in another post. For now, I just wanted to reflect on the little guy we've been blessed to call our own. Preston Santiago.

March 15, 2007

For the full birth story, click here

My little man in the NICU

His first "tanning" session :)

March 19, 2007 - coming home from the hospital!!

1 Year Old (eating licorice provided by a very naughty grandma)

Looking for cookie crumbs

If you missed this story, click here

Mischievous 2 year old climbing on the table

Happy 3 year old playing at the park

Ready for his big 4 year birthday bash

Sporting some upside down 3D glasses that he refused to take off

We have had more ups and downs from our little Preston than I care to remember, but he has blessed our lives tremendously. He is one of a kind....a unique child in his own right. If you haven't heard him talk in one of his "Preston" voices or had the privilege of watching him interact with others, you might not know what I mean. He has his own way of doing EVERYTHING, which has caused his mother much worry and distress, but somehow everything works out in the end. He is amazing! He's my Preston! He is also the most loving, caring being you will ever meet. He's a healer! We can't imagine our lives without our Prestatonian!

Prestonisms

• Preston had croup and I had him outside to help open up his airway. I had him in my arms and he was kind of laying back looking up. It was cloudy and the inversion was terrible and it was cold enough that you could see his breath in the air. He said, "Hey mommy, look! I blowing the cloudies up in the sky." Even when he's sick he's got a great attitude!
• I was making bread and I poured a little oil on my hands so the dough wouldn't stick to them. Preston looked at his hands, looked at his cup of lemonade and started to tip it out onto his hands. At this rate, I will have that kid making homemade bread in no time. :)
• Out of the blue one day, Preston came in and said, "Dylan just beeped me up." I'm pretty sure he meant "beat me up" but Dylan was nowhere near Preston. Crazy kid!
• Preston thinks the little alien guys from Toy Story are named Romeo because of the part in Toy Story 3 at the end where they are acting out a scene from Romeo and Juliet. He'll see the alien (I've been informed they are called LGM - little green men) and say "Hey, It's Romeo, Mommy."
• He's also started playing with toys more. He'll bring the animals over to me to have them eat or drink.
• Preston was having his zebras eat out of my hand and said, "They want some 'yo-keys' Mommy." He was referring to gnoccis, an Italian potato-based pasta that Marcos' family loves.
• He says "ice ca-yube" and separates words with an extra syllable like that often.
• Instead of saying "Team Umi Zoomi," the cartoon he likes to watch, he will say "Toomy Zoomy."
• When Preston sees the Disney castle at the beginning of Disney movies, he yells out, "Look, it's a temple!"
• Preston often speaks gibberish. He'll put a pretend phone up to his ear and say, "Ca-lee ca-loo. No key. Ca-lee ca-loo."
• We have been reading Dr Doolittle at night and Preston refers to it as Dr. Do Livin'.
• Preston started holding the ends of his words really long. He will say, "Sandwich ch ch" or "toys s s s" and "garage ge ge".
• One day he said, "I have a dia, Mommy." I couldn't figure out what he was talking about, but thought he must be using the word for day in Spanish. I finally realized he was saying, "I have an idea."
• Preston says, "Can I hatch the egg?" instead of "Can I crack the egg?" when we're baking.
• He changes the way he says words all the time. For awhile, he was adding extra syllables. He would say, "Thomas and the ba-ig ba-ig ba-ridge" instead of "Thomas and the big big bridge." He would say "ta-rain". He would also click at the end of his words. "Ta-rain" and then click his tongue while it was at the top of his mouth from a word ending in "n."
• Preston says, "We're thank thee" instead of "we thank thee." He says, "We're thank thee for this day. Please bless Dylan. Please bless Marissa. Please bless Mommy..." He sometimes gets stuck there and just looks around and I have to help him finish his prayer. But one day he kept going saying, "and the Holy Ghost and the God of the miracles..." It was all stuff from scriptures and Articles of Faith Dylan had been memorizing. Too cute!
• Preston was really excited about Halloween this year. He kept saying, "I need my costume" but I'm pretty sure he was referring to his basket that had candy in it.
• We had chicken enchiladas and he was asking me if Anthony could have one. He said, "Can Anthony have chicka... chicka... chicka-licka-ladas?"
• Preston came over to me out of the blue and said, "Mommy, my not name is Spencer." For those who don't know, that's an inside joke at our house. Marcos' brother couldn't remember Preston's name when he was first born and in the NICU at the hospital. They were saying family prayers and when he tried to bless Preston he hesitantly said, "Please bless (pause) Spencer?..." Amy (my sister-in-law) said it was a very heartfelt, serious prayer, but was super funny that he didn't remember his name. So now Esteban calls Preston Spencer every time he sees him. Apparently Preston was confused and just wanted to make sure I knew his name wasn't Spencer.
• Preston had a sliver on his knee. Dylan was looking for it and said, "Where is it? Oh, here's the sliver." Preston pulled his knee away and said, "Hey, don't touch the slithery!"
• Preston calls me "Mommy Sister A-bold-EE"
• I was helping Preston play a computer game. He had to match up shapes that then spelled a word. He told me which shape to get and where to put it. He said, "Get the circle, get the square, get the triangle..." Then he saw a parallelagram and paused for a minute. He said, "Get that one...the shelf."

Preston's Pledge of Allegiance

Preston, Preston, Preston! Oh how I love this little monkey. He is mischievous and sneaky, quiet yet social, loving and tenderhearted. And he is a mystery to me most of the time. I try to teach him the way I taught Dylan and he just doesn't learn the same way. He doesn't answer my questions or repeat things back very often so I am left wondering where he's at and worrying probably way too much about the little tyke. But...he is doing so well. His talking and vocabulary in general has taken off since we started home schooling. We do a devotional every morning before school. We have a song, prayer, pledge and often sing a patriotic song, we look at the calendar and say what day and month it is and then find the weather on our weather chart. We read a chapter out of the illustrated Book of Mormon, a story from the Friend, and then work on memorization (Articles of Faith, a scripture, a talk for church, poems, etc.) Anyway, Preston is more of less just along for the ride at this point. I don't push him too hard, partially because he's Preston and partially because he's 3. He often holds the flag for the pledge of allegiance and usually puts his hand over his heart too. The other day I was waiting for Dylan who had decided he NEEDED something (story of my life) before we could continue. Preston was already up holding the flag and just started reciting the pledge of allegiance. It's amazing how much kids pick up just listening to and observing us. I had to get it recorded, but he doesn't cooperate very well. This is as much as I could get. Then I decided I should get him doing his ABCs too. He does actually know them, but got a bit confused during the recording. Funny kid! Also, if you haven't heard his voices, it gives you a brief look into one of the three or four interesting voices he uses. Why? I don't know, but it is so cute!

Prestonisms

• Preston tends to mix up his words and invent new ones that sound good to him. One his latest words is micro-eezer (microwave and freezer).
• Preston calls pine cones ice cream cones. Gotta love that kid!
• Preston will ask for some of my drink and say, "Can I have some of your coconut?" instead of "Coke."
• When Preston finally started to say his "l's" like an "l" instead of like a "w" he really enunciated his words. He would say things like, "Can I pa-lay with you?" or "Let's do la-etters."
• Preston loves to make statements like, "This is dee-licious!" and "This is so TASTE-EE!" He really emphasizes those words. His voice is just so cute and unique!
• Preston loves carrying things around with him. One day he was carrying a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse set of "Go Fish" cards around. There was a picture of Donald Duck with a number 4 painted on it. I asked him what was on the card and he said Donald has a green 4. Apparently he knows his colors and his numbers. That kid is crazy! I never know what he has learned and what I need to teach him. He is always surprising me!
• Preston has become obsessed with trains and everything Thomas. He loves reading all his books, talking about the "big, big bridge" and is very fond of Percy and the color green.
• Dylan had binoculars and Preston wanted them. He said, "Mommy, he can't share 'key-nock-key-ers' with me."
• Preston has said, "Can you hold you?" forever. He recently started saying, "Mommy, can you holdge me?" He finally understands the "me" part, but apparently thought the word was holdge. So cute!
• Preston says, "Can I have a glass of sip?" It's a combination of having a glass of water and a sippy cup.
• I love the way he talks. He has a few voices. One sounds like Dori on Finding Nemo when she is speaking whale. If you haven't had the privilege of hearing the kid, it's truly funny. And I'm not exaggerating. He really does speak whale! Another voice is very growly and dinosaur-sounding. He seems to use that voice when he is being tough and boy-ish. And the other is his sweet, toddler voice. Why he has these voices, I will never know, but they entertain EVERYONE!
• I've had to get a little tougher on him and start saying no when he asks for unreasonable things. He'll look at me and say, "Hey, why not?" So funny!
• He gets a lot of phrases from me and/or Dylan. On our way to Wyoming I had his portable DVD player on. It had a scratch in it and was paused for a minute. He used his deep, scruffy voice and said in an irritated tone, "Oh, come on!"
• I think Dylan must have changed the song this summer when the hose was under the tramp because Preston now refers to "Ring Around the Rosies" as "Jump around the Hosies." Pretty funny!
• His favorite colors seem to be green and yellow, although he is not nearly as picky about colors as Dylan was at this age.
• He hates having his shirt taken off unless he is going swimming. He either needs to know he'll be putting on another shirt or pajamas or he will be getting wet soon. I'm not sure why, but he gets pretty frustrated and doesn't seem to get over it forever.
• If you take something from Preston, he won't calm down forever. He tends to play with one thing for quite awhile and gets really upset if you take it from him. But if you ask him if you can play with it, he is almost always willing to share. It's all in the approach with him!
• He is really loving reading lately. His favorite books are Clifford and Thomas the Train, but he'll let me read pretty much anything as long as it keeps his attention (so basically kid books for now).
• For some reason he favors counting in Spanish. He knows how to count to 10 or so in both languages, but when he spontaneously starts counting something, he usually counts in Spanish.
• There are lots of words that he uses in Spanish instead of English. He tends to mix both words in a sentence.
• We have neighbors behind us that are from Mexico. When Preston sees them in the backyard, he will stand at the back door and yell "hola" over and over again until they answer him. Eventually someone will usually call back, "Holy, como estas?" and he will reply, "bien."
• Potty training has been a chore with Preston. The other day I watched him back away from me and go over by the piano to poop. Since then, every time I change him he says, "I not poopy on the piano." It's funny how he makes the association between the piano and pooping in his diaper that day. He says that about several other locations as well.
• Preston has been calling me Mama lately. He used to say Mom or Mommy, but now it's Mama. At first it seemed odd, but now it's very endearing.

Preston's First Bike

Last year, our neighbor gave us a little trike that their family had outgrown. It was perfect! I was planning on buying something similar for Preston's 2nd birthday and now I didn't have to. He pushed himself around on it and soon caught onto pedaling. He has gradually become a trike expert and is super fast and confident on that thing. I again contemplated getting him a bike this year for his birthday, but he still seemed so content with the trike that I decided against it. Last week, he started trying on Dylan's helmet and asking me to help him get on Dylan's bike, so I decided it was time. He really needed and wanted a big boy bike.

We went out that afternoon and picked out a little bike with training wheels for him. I had him try it at the store and it seemed the perfect size and fit and was relatively cheap so I figured it was the bike for my little guy. That afternoon we took it out for a spin at a nearby park with a track. I LOVE that park because Dylan can ride ahead of us and I can still keep my eye on him and help him if needed, I can walk behind Preston to aid him in learning to ride, and I get just a little bit of exercise, which is all I can even hope for at this point (32 weeks and counting)!

Dylan got adventurous and was riding down the grass and then coming back up. I guess he needed a challenge as well. Preston couldn't help himself and tried to follow him. My wobbly new bike rider tipped right over the moment the tire hit the grass! I have to say, he's a natural at falling though. There was an immediate tuck and roll response and after some tough mom words (You're fine, bud. Hop up! Do you need some help to get back on your bike?) he hopped right back up and started again. After that, the falling was almost a game for him. We probably had 6 falls that happened on purpose with a big, mischievous grin on his face. I guess it serves its purpose though. He's getting pretty good at the falling process. :) He knows the brakes are there and uses them randomly, but has not put together the true purpose of their existence yet. Thankfully the few places we ride bikes have very small, minimal hills. But you should've seen me break into a full run (robust pregnant body and all) when he hit the first downhill incline and I realized he was quickly gaining moment. I'm sure it was very entertaining for any who may have witnessed it. ;)

Anyway, I have to say it is probably the best investment we have ever made. Preston LOVES his bike and asks me to ride it several times a day. It's cute that he is so excited about something, and it helps get all of us out of the house, unpredictable spring weather or not. Here are a few pictures of Preston taking his bike out for a spin the day we got it.

One of the falls I managed to capture

Picking up his bike and getting right back to riding

The happiest kid ever!