Preston's guide to washing a mirror.

Step 1.) Crawl up to the mirror.

Step 2.) Get really really close to make sure it needs to be cleaned.

Step 3.) Wipe down the mirror. Don't even bother using just 1 paper towel, use the entire roll and beat the mirror clean.

The end.
Yes, I actually will loan him to you if your mirrors need cleaning.

Today Preston is 260 days old.
I was pregnant with him for 260 days.
(he was 3 weeks early)

Gotta say that having him here for 260 days has gone a LOT faster then the 260 days I was carrying him.

It's safe to say the baby gate is working.
And needed.

Someone got some new flip-flops today!
Also got him a Halloween costume. . . but we can't show you what it is yet!
Just know that it's totally awesome.

Look at those tired eyes.... Thats what happens when you have a 12 minute nap all afternoon.

Time to recreate an old picture!
This one was taken the day we came home from the hospital.

And today.
Same outfits.
We would have put the beanie on, but for anyone who's ever seen Preston, you know his head is indeed in the 95th percentile, and I'm pretty sure he outgrew that hat in like 2 days.
Plus I think we sent it to John & Rox for Noah.

We took Patrick's dad to a Diamondbacks game tonight for his birthday.
All You Can Eat section (of course).
Diamondbacks won (of course).
I think Preston is good luck. Both games he's been at we've won.
Dear Az. Diamondbacks, please send us season tickets for next year and we'll bring your good luck charm. Sincerely, P P & J.

By the way...Doesn't Preston's mohawk make him look like Jack-Jack from The Incredibles?!?!

Hooray for horsie rides!!!

Nom Nom Nom.... Toes are delicious!

Preston can get around quite fast now. He still doesn't crawl in the typical fashion, but he is speedy in his own way!! Also he's getting really strong when it comes to pulling himself up. I feel like a gymnastics coach most of the day because I constantly spot him to make sure he wont fall.
And finally in the video you'll see a sneak peak of how he will look when he's walking. Looks like a prancing pony!!

Someone is ready for Hogwarts!

Family rule- no casting the Avada Kadavra spell on people.

(Side note- no he's not being Ron from Harry Potter for Halloween, we actually were just playing with the props today. )

Maybe Preston will grow up to be a painter.

Did you know Preston sit's in the cart when we go somewhere now?
We buckle him up and he leans forward to grab on to the handle.
And then we spend most of the trip making sure he doesn't try to suck on the handle.

Preston had a VERY busy day pretending to be all these people.... !!!

We got a Toys R Us catalog in the mail today, and with the way Preston was looking through it I'm pretty sure he was making a Christmas list.

Poor Preston. He wasn't feeling so great today.
Took him awhile to fall asleep for his nap because his coughing would keep him up.
But finally exhaustion took over and he fell asleep.
With both pacifiers near his mouth, but neither quite made it in his mouth.
Poor poor Preston.

(by the way his face was not smashed into the blankets/pillows he was laying on, just looks that way. Lots of breathing room despite how it looks.)

We got a poster for Preston's room .
Just one more thing that makes it the coolest room ever.

We got Preston a toothbrush today.
Gotta make sure he's brushing both those teeth!

Of course sometimes he will gag himself on accident.

For now I think I'll stick to doing the brushing for him.

We're gonna need a baby gate soon.....

Preston is 8 months old today!
I KNOW.
I can't believe it either!!!
It's starting to cool off in the evenings now (by cool I mean in the 90's) so we went to the park tonight.
He LOVES the swings.

A little about Preston at 8 months:

*Goes to bed around 8:15pm and wakes up between 7-7:30.

*Eats 6 jars of baby food a day & about 18-24oz of formula. The kid loves to eat. His favorite is still anything mixed with sweet potatoes or bananas.

*Will drink from a sippy cup, but prefers for me to let him drink from a big boy cup, or to pour water in his mouth from a straw.

*Loves when people clap for him

*Takes 2-3 naps a day. 1 in the AM, 1 in the PM and sometimes a cat nap after dinner before bed.

*Thinks it's hilarious to splash and get me wet in the bathtub or in the pool. He loves water. He's also learning how to play along with games, like peek-a-boo.

*Isn't quite crawling, but moves around SO fast. Usually you can follow a trail from where he's been. And it usually ends with him at the sliding back door looking outside or pulling down the blinds.

*Recognizes the sound of the screen door closing to mean that his Daddy is home from work & will smile & look around for him.

*Wears a size 3 diapers, size 2 shoes (although they are starting to get too small), 6 month shorts/pants and anywhere from 6-9mo or 12mo shrits/onesies.

*His hair is for sure for sure red. And getting longer everyday. Eye color? I don't know. Someday's they are hazel, someday's they look blue-gray.

*Is learning how to pull himself up onto things as well as how to get down from the couch or someone's lap.

*The compliment we get the most is "He's such a happy baby!" and he is!!!!

First Cardinals game of the season was today.
They won!
Probably because Preston wore his Cardinals socks to church....

Today was our nephew Seth's baptism.
Preston loves playing with Seth as you can see!

I promise he was wearing something more appropriate at the church, not just a onesie and a bib!

We are SO SO excited for Glee to start in less than 2 weeks!!

I told Preston that if he was good today while we were at the store he could get a treat.
He was good.
He got a treat.

Preston helped me wash my car today.
He LOVED being outside, and didn't quite love when the hose sprayed us both in the face.

In our family my brother Andrew goes by the nickname of Antz. It happened when one of my sisters children couldn't pronounce Andrew and started calling him Antz and it hasn't stopped.
So all day long when Preston was wearing this onesie with the 2 ants on it I kept thinking about Antz.
Ants for Antz!

Aaarrrrr Matey!

Such a snazzy dresser!
The shoes are fantastic.
And perfect for if he all of the sudden learns to walk and then decides to go on a hike!

Time for our weekly trip to Target!

Preston's new favorite snack!

Puffs!
He's still learning on how to eat them, and having some drawbacks.
Such as:

If he tilts his head back for me to put one in (like a baby bird) he thinks he's choking on it. He's not. But the whole thing can be very dramatic.

Also, if I put one on his high chair he'll grab it and make a fist and immediately forget where it went, causing him to get fussy and think he needs another.

(check out those leg rolls!)

Guess this means we're going to need to go to another Diamondbacks game soon!!

Dear Kristi,
We're sorry that you are sad and miss Ryan.
Hopefully this will cheer you up!!!

And if for some strange reason that didn't work, maybe this one will.

Love,
Patrick, Jessica and of course Preston