Daily Life in January

 Preston still loves to help me cook. He is getting much more independent about it too which can be good and bad. I had these cans waiting to be opened for spaghetti sauce. He came in, saw them, went to the drawer, found the can opener, and tried to open them. He hasn't quite figured out how to attach the can opener but I was impressed that he knew what tool he needed and that he needed to turn the handle. He has even whipped up egg whites all by himself with the hand mixer. I love that his helping is actually becoming helpful.

 

 Preston will take pictures with my phone every chance he gets. It's usually pictures of fingers or the floor but he's getting better. This is one of his first "successful" pictures. 

 He loves his blocks. One of his favorite things to do with them is make trains. 

 A recent favorite activity is coloring. The coloring books don't cut it though. It has to be either pen and paper or dry erase marker and white board or mirror. That's where mom and dad color so of course Preston has to do it like them. 

 Preston insisted he and daddy switch hats one Saturday. Jared would switch them back and it wouldn't take long for Preston to trade again. Even while daddy is trying to talk to the sales guy at the flooring place. For some reason the hats also had to be backwards. 

 Any time we have salad for dinner Preston has to be the one to serve everyone so he can use the tongs. I got out some cotton balls one day and a couple bowls so he could use the tongs all he wanted. 

 Like I said his independence in helping me cook isn't always a good thing. He was a bit too anxious to turn the mixer on full speed right after I put the flour and coco powder in.

 Berry smoothie face. Figuring out that his socks help him slip on the tile

 Our next door neighbor had several hot wheels cars that don't get used anymore and was so thoughtful to give them to Preston. This boy can never have too many cars. He plays with them all day every day. 

 

 One of his new favorite positions while playing

 I told Preston daddy was coming home soon so he ran to get the stool to watch out the window. 

 Jared and I have been doing so well with our eating and hadn't had dessert in several weeks we decided it was time to treat ourselves to some of the best banana splits we have had in a long time. We headed to Smiths to get some ice cream and toppings. We saw this kid size cart and since we were only getting a few things and there were two of us to make sure Preston went where he was supposed to we let him be our cart boy. He was so happy to be such a big boy. He would open the freezer doors pick out some ice cream and put it in the cart, making sure it was standing right side up. Then as we were looking for some medicine we turned around to see he had filled his cart with several boxes of band-aids. 

Our bed time routine has to include laying on mom and dad's bed for some stories. When daddy is around it usually has to be daddy reading and cuddling with Preston.

 After we have read stories we say it's time to go to Preston's bed and he will immediately lay on the pillow and pretend to be asleeep. He closes his eyes and snores. The best part is watching him with his eyes closed and a little grin on his face because he knows he's being funny.

 Talking to Grandma Heath on the phone. He loves to talk on the phone but it's usually just because it's an excuse to have the phone to himself to push buttons and carry it around. When Grandma was on the other end he was content to just listen and quietly give his response. It was very sweet.

 I left Preston with a movie while I went to get ready one morning. This is what I came down to find. I guess watching the movie was best from the counter.

 I hate taking pictures of myself but I did want to document this pregnancy. This is me at just a couple days shy of 38 weeks.

 Preston just started recognizing letters and words. He has learned what E and O are so far and he loves to point them out EVERYWHERE. As we were walking across the parking lot he pointed to the street and informed me it was an E. Sure enough, even though it was a bit distorted he saw it. 

What better way to end an afternoon in the snow than with hot chocolate?
My little brother Gideon has been in the hospital for the last week for some heart complications. Sicne mom was with Gideon and dad had to go to work I went to spend a day with my siblings. It was great to have someone else to take Preston out in the snow while I stayed in the warm house.
  

It happened to be time to go grocery shopping when Gideon was unexpectedly admitted to the hospital. Since my mom was in the hospital and unable to do it herself I made a Costco run to make sure there was food in the house. It was quite the trip. With a strategically packed cart, 16 loaves of bread, 8 gallons of milk, 5 bushels of bananas, 2 boxes of oranges, and various other items I hoped it was enough for at least a weeks worth of snacks, lunches, and a few dinners for the nights the ward didn't bring something. Such is the life with 14 kids at home.