Sleepy Smiles

Preston has smiled in response to us smiling at him for a few weeks now, but he has smiled when falling asleep since he was born. It is the sweetest thing to watch him smile as he drifts off to sleep. He is a precious little boy and we love him so much!

Pictures

We have had two professional photo sessions this year. Our first one was in the spring. We had maternity pictures made, as well as pictures of Evan and family pictures. We were very pleased with Kylene's photography skills and the pictures turned out great! She was not available to take Preston's pictures once he arrived, so we asked Courtney to take pictures for us. (Courtney took pictures for us at Preston's birth.) She did a great job and got some cute pictures of Preston and some of Evan holding Preston as well. (This was quite a feat. Evan was not really in the mood to have his picture taken when Courtney was here!)

Here are a few of our favorite pictures from both photography sessions.

Kylene's Photography

Courtney Ellis Photography

Carl's Broken Foot and The 4th of July

On Monday, July 2nd, Carl was running around in the backyard and hurt his foot. It was very painful and quickly became swollen, but since all of the urgent care facilities were closing, he took some pain medicine and decided to wait until the next day to get it checked out. On Tuesday morning, Carl's foot was less swollen and felt better, but he went to the urgent care center just to make sure it was o.k. Unfortunately, he called me and said he was coming home because his foot was broken AND sprained. The doctor at the urgent care center gave him a boot to keep it from moving. Carl made an appointment with a specialist to get more information and additional treatment, but since it was a holiday week, the earliest appointment we could get was on Friday. In the meantime, we decided to get a scooter to help Carl get around and to continue with our plans to celebrate the 4th of July with our friends.

Wednesday was the 4th of July and we started off the day by swimming with Susan, Carl and Clara at our pool. The pool was super crowded, but it was lots of fun. There was music, games, snow cones, etc. I stayed with Preston who mostly slept, but he did take a dip in the pool with me for a few minutes. Carl, Susan, Evan, Carl and Clara spent most of the time swimming. Later in the afternoon, we came back to the house and Travis, Ashley, Trevor, Ashlynn, Aunt Rachel, Uncle Teddy, Caroline, Grandpa and Bonnie Mom joined us for our celebration. We decorated the kids' bikes and headed up to participate int the parade. The kids' had lots of fun, despite the heat and being told that there would be no fireworks due to the extreme heat and lack of rain. To make things fun, after the parade we came back home and played with water balloons and bubbles. The kids also had fun playing on the play house and Evan FINALLY decided that he really could swing all by himself! Grammy and Granddaddy joined us later in the evening and brought some sparklers, which were lots of fun.

On Friday, we went to see the specialist about Carl's foot. Carl had done a lot of research and found out that there were lots of treatment possibilities. Treatments ranged from a walking cast/boot to surgery. We were hoping that Carl could get the walking cast/boot! Unfortunately, the doctor said that Carl would heal best with a cast. He was told no walking, driving, swimming, etc. for at least four weeks. What a disappointment! This meant that things would be challenging for us all and that we could not go on vacation. BUMMER!

We are currently adjusting to life with a broken foot. We have changed lots of things around the house so that Carl can be as independent as possible and help when he can. We have also decided to go to Key West during Thanksgiving week. We are all also trying to work together and to keep a positive attitude!

Preston had fun relaxing at the pool.

Evan enjoyed his first snow cone.

Preston got dressed up for his first 4th of July. (Evan wore the same onesie. I was excited that they both could wear the same outfit!)

The kids had fun decorating their bikes for the parade.

Evan was proud of his bike!

The parade was lots of fun! Evan, Carl, Clara and Trevor enjoyed riding their bikes.

Carl was a good sport and decorated his scooter for the parade!

Carl and I enjoyed the 4th of July festivities.

Water balloons were fun for hours.

Carl and the bog boys enjoyed making really big water balloons! (Carl got very wet after he landed on this giant water balloon!)

Evan liked the sparklers. (He was not at all afraid of them, which doesn't surprise me. He is not afraid of much!)

Granddaddy had lots of fun helping Evan with the sparklers. (Evan was happy to get to see Granddaddy, who had been doing mission work in Belize for 2 weeks.)

Here is Carl today (7/10/12). He gets around pretty well with the scooter and his crutches. (He evens goes on walks with his crutches!)

"I Love You Preston!"

Evan absolutely adores Preston. He continues to amaze me with the way he cares for Preston. He gives him hugs and kisses all the time, even as just passes by Preston going from room to room. He loves to hold Preston and really likes to "play" with Preston on the bed. He cuddles him and talks to him and it is one of the sweetest things ever. This morning as he played with Preston he said, "Take a picture of me with my bother!" Of course, I had to comply!

Father's Day 2012

We really enjoyed celebrating Father's Day this year. On Friday night we took Granddaddy and Grammy out to dinner at Austin's. Both Evan and Preston did great at dinner and when we got home, Evan and Granddaddy had lots of fun playing with trains, cars and trucks in the basement. On Sunday, we had a very relaxing day. It was raining a lot during the day, but we enjoyed hanging out around the house and just having family time. Carl was also able to run 10 miles, which made him very happy. Grandpa got back from Key West on Sunday afternoon, so we went to visit him after everyone had a nap. Evan had lots of fun playing in the hot tub, playing Link on the Wii and playing Star Wars outside with Grandpa.

Father's Day Celebration with Granddaddy

Father's Day Celebration with Grandpa

Preston's First Trip

We took Evan and Preston to Tennessee last week to visit Grandma, Aunt Karol, Uncle Larry, Jamie, Sarah and Marlee. It was Preston's first trip and he did very well traveling. (Evan also did well traveling and only had a couple of brief moments of being cranky.) Everyone was very excited to meet Preston. He enjoyed being held by everyone and was very sweet the whole time we were there. (Of course, he is always sweet!) Evan really liked playing with Marlee. The two of them wrestled, rode bikes, played in the pool, played on the swings, and much more! They both had so much fun together and both were VERY sad when it was time for us to go back home. As always, it was really good to see our family. We had a lot of fun and we are looking forward to going back to Tennessee in just a few weeks to see Jamie and Zack get married!

Grandma enjoyed feeding and holding Preston.

The boys love Grandma and Grandma loves her boys!

Evan and Marlee always have so much fun together. They really love each other!

Memorial Day Weekend Fun and Preston's Baptism

Memorial Day weekend was filled with lots of fun and excitement. Evan and I started the weekend off by attending a birthday party for one of his preschool classmates. Evan loved going to Quinn's pirate party and he had lots of fun with his friends. Later that afternoon, we all went to the pool. It was Preston's first time at the pool and although he got dressed for the occasion, he just slept and ate. Evan had fun playing with Uncle Teddy, who threw him high in the air while playing in the pool.

On Sunday, Preston was baptized. I was so happy that Rev. Bishop was able to baptize him and I was also very excited that so many friends and family members were able to come to the service for his baptism. It was a very special morning! Carl and I attended Abbey Road on the River on Sunday night. We had lots of fun seeing some of our favorite Beatles tribute bands, as well as a couple of new bands.

Preston and Evan had a photo shoot at our house on Monday morning. Courtney came to the house and photographed both boys. She was so kind and patient and the session went great! We then spent most of the rest of the day back at the pool, where Evan and Carl spent lots of time playing together. It was a great, relaxing end to a wonderful weekend.

Both Evan and Preston had fun at the pool on Saturday. (Evan actually enjoyed the water, while Preston just enjoyed sleeping, eating, and looking adorable!)

Preston's baptism day was very special. He is a special blessing and I am so happy that he is a part of our church family. (He was very cute during the ceremony and made everyone laugh as he moved and stretched.)

Abbey Road on the River was lots of fun. Carl and I enjoyed hearing some of our favorite Beatles songs. (We are looking forward to going again next year. We hope to make it a double date night with John and Terri!)