Where The Boys Are

Taken in February 2009, this is one of my favorite pictures of my two men.  At least once a week, this is my view of them (Preston much taller, of course) as they head out to do whatever it is my boys do!

Whether it's the park, errands, Disneyland, GoKart World, some secret boy adventure (that's not secret for too long, LOL!), or just hanging out, they always manage to have loads of fun. As they headed out to have lunch with one of John's co-workers on Monday, Preston took on a very big-boy posture (his gait was determined and confident) and he said good-bye to me in his deepest voice possible. It struck me how big he is... even though he is only four and a half... today.

Yep... today my little man is officially four and a half... headed toward five at the speed of light.  And it's really hard for me to believe that it won't be all that long before "TieBreaker" will be holding John's other hand as they all head out the door together.

There's not much photographic evidence of their outings... they're too busy to stop for many photo-ops, especially lately... but here is what they've been up to in the last several months.

I love that they got to do this together, though, I must admit, I am pretty jealous that his first professional sporting event did not include me!  There will be many more professional "firsts" that I will be a part of... baseball, basketball and soccer!

They regularly visit the Honda Cycle Shop... Preston has his rides all picked out!  Every time we drive by he asks if we can visit his motorcycle.  Now that Daddy has one of his own in the garage, riding that down the street with him is even more exciting!

Daddy needed his work boots shined and Preston got a little sprucing up on his cowboy boots!
I LOVE this!  They are so cute! :-)

After school beach dates with Daddy... even if for under an hour... are a favorite.  It doesn't hurt that they often include yummy treats like ice cream or a visit to the juice bar!

Boys and their gadgets!
This one is funny and terrifying all at the same time!
They are both completely unaware that I took their picture!
Clearly, it's a new generation.  Preston knows how to navigate through our phones, play the game apps we've set up for him (very handy in waiting for doctors!), read stories, watch his favorite YouTube videos, etc. 

Parades, Parties, Pumpkins... Oh My!

There was a lot of celebrating the last four days of October... a lot!

• Gracie's school had a Harvest Parade on Friday morning.
• Preston's school had a Halloween Party on Friday night.
• Our friends had a Pre-Halloween Party on Saturday night.
• We made Jack-O-Lanterns before we had our younger neighbors (and families, of course) over for Pizza and Pics before we Trick-or-Treated on Monday.

Gracie's School Parade

Gracie ~ as her real-life Super Hero, her Papa ~ complete with tank & Army gear!!  :-)
(Minus her boots and camo-face!)

Gracie spent a good part of Friday morning getting her picture taken by teachers, students and parents as the classes paraded through each room and then in front of the crowd of eagerly waiting families. 
She, and her decked out chair, were a hit... though she was definitely tired by the end!
Pushing Gracie is her wonderful aide, Robin. Next to Robin is nurse, Charo, whose last day was Friday.

Some of Gracie's friends and classmates

Preston's School Party

Preston and Mommy (with TieBreaker, of course!) on our way to Preston's school party.
Preston as Super Hero Avenger, Captain America.
Mommy as a witch... yes, it's a costume, not my uniform!  LOL!

Preston with his friend, Lola
Sweet...

... Sassy and Scary!!!

Jack-O-Lanterns

She, who used to have a goal to "tolerate five novel sensory tasks,"
goes to town scooping out pumpkin guts and feeling the slime!
 Preston, on the other hand, only touched for a second in an effort to prove he is as cool as his sister!

Please note the following:
- He is still ambidextrous... no true preference has emerged
- He got to draw his own shapes and do some "big boy" carving
- He is definitely his father's son!

Checking out her work

Armed and ready to carve!

Daddy's creation on the left, Preston's on the right.

Gracie's "Mr. Pumpkin Head" with our mini-pumpkins

"Bump-O-Lantern"
Yes... that's my "bump," at 23 1/2 weeks, painted as a jack-o-lantern by John with an assist from Preston!
Yes... I'm still sure there is only one baby in there!

Halloween Night!

Adam (Batman), Preston (Captain America), Addison (Strawberry Shortcake) and Daniel (Spider-Man)
All these kiddos on one street!  So fun!

The boys striking their best "Super Hero" pose!
Addie looking fabulous and adjusting her wig!

Daniel's little sister, Bella, in the only picture I could snap before she ran by! 

The kiddos with our awesome neighbor (and good sport), Diane.
She looks so cute!  :-)

Gracie loved having our friends over on Halloween. 
She was not, however, thrilled when it was time to leave!
These pics were the extent of her time in her costume. 
She started disrobing before we ever left the driveway.
As per usual, Daddy and I divided and conquered...
He stayed with Gracie while I took Preston out (or, rather, while I chased Preston)!

The whole crew... all friends living on the same street ages five and under!

Irvine Park Railroad

Last Sunday we took the kids to the pumpkin patch at Irvine Park Railroad.  
Unless he's on vacation, John works every weekend, but thanks to a scheduling snafu, he had Sunday off.  We realized that, with our busy schedules, it was our only chance to go to the pumpkin patch as a family.  This is one activity that I don't want to "divide and conquer" - - it's a family must!  So, we braved the crazy Sunday crowd and headed to the beautiful Regional Park.

We picnicked...

We spotted a lady bug...

And played with her for a long time...

Gracie spent at least 15 minutes staring at the lady bug.
I'm fairly certain it was the highlight of the day for her!

(I fiddled with my camera, which has either gone completely bonkers with the settings or is on it's last leg.  Every picture I took is grainy and has terrible color.  Considering it's a pocket digital, nearly five years old and has taken at least 25,000 pics, I'm guessing it's nearing it's shelf life.)

John and his "mini-me"
lead the way into the pumpkin patch...

Seriously... look at them! 
Look at their legs - - the way they step, the angles of their feet.
Look at the position of their hands and the way they swing their arms. 
Two peas in a pod.

We played with the pumpkins...

I compared my bump to a pumpkin!

We attempted some family pictures...

(I fiddled with my camera some more)

Too much glare on Preston's face here...

Too much glare on John's face here...

Cute... but for the glare (and my grainy camera issues)!

We took the cheesy, obligatory "face-in-wood-cutout" pictures...

The kids rode the "pony"

The pony/horse ride line was excruciatingly long, so the kids rode this instead. 
Neither of them minded too much as they weren't that keen on waiting in the line.

We went through the Hay Maze  (no pics!)

Preston played carnival games...

He won an elephant for Gracie and a sword for himself.
He then proceeded to beat her elephant with his sword!

We had some fresh-spun cotton candy...

(the only way cotton candy should ever be eaten!)

Gracie was fascinated by the texture, but because of said texture, refused to taste it.
I was so sure she'd love it... maybe we'll just have to keep trying!

We picked out some pumpkins

(and I forgot to use the coupons in my pocket... ugh!) and headed out...

It was a great family day...

(even with the huge crowd that made Daddy a little crazy!)

And the tie goes to...

We are absolutely overjoyed!
Our little tiebreaker looked great in the "big ultrasound" on Tuesday.

The tech and perinatologist were wonderful... both very sensitive and professional. Though baby boy didn't cooperate and give many good looks at his face (he crammed his little self against the wall of my uterus and put his hand in front of his face nearly every time we tried to look!) and was not in an ideal position to get the perfect view of his heart, the perinatologist did not see anything alarming and just wanted us to follow-up with our fetal echocardiogram as standard precaution. Such a relief.

We chose not to find out the gender during the scan and, instead, had the tech put the info into an envelope for us. John had a "girl" vibe all through the ultrasound and after. I haven't had a gut instinct at all... some things about this pregnancy were making me think girl, some boy. When the tech told us to look away if we didn't want to know, I was thinking "boy" because that is so much more obvious on the scan. But, because John usually has pretty accurate instincts, I wasn't sure. For the last 7 weeks, Preston has only said the baby was a girl once. Otherwise, he never wavered with how sure he was. If you asked him what's most important, he'd say, "Healthy." If you asked him what he wanted and what it was, he'd say, "A boy." That evening, when we gave him the ultrasound picture, he was so excited when he read, "Boy!" Though, really, he already seemed to know. So cute!

John and I peeked at lunch after the appointment. With a poker face, John looked first. He handed it to me and as I read, "It's a Boy," I burst into tears of joy which then set off a chain reaction in John. We didn't "care," as our only hope, of course, was for a healthy baby.   That being said, it's simply perfect and wonderful that Preston gets the baby brother he so badly wanted (and was so sure of all along) and Gracie gets another fierce protector in her corner.

Baby Boy's profile.
It's clearest shot we have since he wouldn't cooperate when they tried to get the 4-D pics!

The tie goes to the boys...
but Gracie and I know who holds all the power! :-)

Little Girl Attempts Kidnapping of Dolls In Front of Witnesses

In an attempted kidnapping last week, Edna and Baby Boy, were, by all accounts, lucky.  The two innocent dolls were snatched from their home on a quite Tuesday evening.  The assailant, Gracie Swann, was bold, committing the crime right in front of witnesses, both family members and neighbors.  She showed little regard for authority and no regard at all for her victims.

Cell phone images taken by eye witnesses were finally released yesterday. 
The accused, who will be entering in a guilty plea later today, is seen dragging the victims from their home with only the clothes on their backs. 

Once outside, the kidnapper is seen happily smiling at Edna, whom she sat up against the brick planter, only to throw her aside just a moment later. 

She then left behind the blonde Cabbage Patch doll, and continued on with Baby Boy (whose twin doll-sister, Baby Girl, was left inside, unharmed, but shaken from witnessing the kidnappings). 

Swann dragged Baby Boy down the front walkway and, after repeatedly being confronted by witnesses as to her actions, blatantly discarded the doll in the dirt, attempting to feign innocence.  

Fortunately for the victims, there were several eye witnesses and enough photographic evidence to charge and, surely, convict Gracie of the crime.   Thankfully, the dolls were not injured, but according to authorities, the victims report to have hurt feelings for being so easily tossed aside.