7 months old

Preston turned 7 months old this week. I'm always so shocked at the things they do and how quickly they grow month to month at this age. Our youngest niece Paisley is just a few months younger than Preston and it's so fun to watch her do things just as Preston is figuring out and trying something new.

We didn't have a doctor's visit this past month so I'm unsure on weight and length. He is wearing mostly 9M clothes now and most of his late spring and summer things I'm assuming will have to be 12M. 

He has tried lots and lots of new foods this month and seems to like just about everything. He is becoming less and less interested in his bottles and always whines during meal times if we aren't giving him anything. I am making his baby food like I did for Lily because really it's just so darn easy to do and I like knowing exactly what he's eating. Foods he's had so far include; avocado, banana, puffs, yogurt meals, sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, apples, and pears. He's also had little bites of yogurt, cherrios and crackers at times. He's still drinking a bottle every 4 hours or so except in the night as he now sleeps through the night!

Sleeping we have really gotten him a good routine and one that is working well for us all. He naps between 9:30 and 10am every morning and sleeps for at least 2 hours. He then lays down in the afternoon between 2:30 and 3pm and sleeps a little bit shorter, usually an hour or an hour and a half. Then he's down for bed between 8 and 8:30pm and asleep until 6:30 or 7 am the next morning.

Right after I got back from Chicago we decided to let him cry it out and after a few rough nights it is so much better. He is sleeping through the night which I know equates to better sleep for him, and for us! 

Other new things for him include; reaching to be held - LOVE!, rolling all over the place to get to certain toys, going up on his knees when on all fours, playing peek-a-boo with a blanket, making lots of baba and mama sounds, tons and tons of drool but no teeth yet - I can see the bottom two peaking through, feeding himself puffs or other small foods, and feeding himself his bottle.

He continues to be a happy and sweet baby that loves attention and lots of loving. I often get frustrated when he cries if I leave a room but remember that they are that way for such a short amount of time that I need to just embrace it and love on him as much as I possibly can! He loves to laugh at his sissy and continues to brighten our lives with joy. We truly can't imagine our life without him and we thank God every single day that we get to call him our son!

still rockin' those chubby legs!

smiley boy

cool dude

surprise trip to chicago

So right after Jimmy and I got back from Cancun I had one day to unpack, enjoy time with the kiddos, and then repack for a surprise birthday trip for my mom to Chicago for the weekend.

My sisters and I have been planning this trip for months and we were so anxious for it to finally happen! It all started when I saw that Kari Jobe and Chris Tomlin were going to be in concert in Chicago the weekend after my mom's birthday and thought that my mom would love to go - it also happened to be at Willow Creek Church, which is a partner church to our home church, and I knew my mom would love to just go there too. So, one a limb I sent an email to all my sisters saying, what do you think about doing this as a girls trip to Chicago? To my surprise they were all on board and completely excited. Even my sister in Colorado was hoping to make the trip.

So the plans begun - I found us a hotel in a suburb semi-close to the hotel, airport and downtown. The others starting looking into great places to eat, things we could bring along, and the details all this trip would entail.

The most fun part was that we left everything a complete surprise until the morning of! Her morning started with a bright wake up from my dad and sister in law Kristle, she was handed a packing list and told that she had an hour to pack and get ready. From there she and Kristle took off and headed towards Iowa City. Meanwhile, Jacinda and I were leaving Des Moines and had a 10am meeting time with them just outside of Iowa City. We parked in the Wal Mart parking lot and waited for mom and Kristle to join us. As they pulled up Jacinda and I were dancing outside the car and mom was shocked! It was so fun to see just the genuine surprise on her face! So they hopped in with us and we were off to Chicago. 

Mom kept thinking she knew where we were going. With Kristle she thought they were going to Cedar Falls, then it was Cedar Rapids to fly somewhere, then when they met with us it was staying in Iowa City, then Quad Cities, then Galena - she was positive it was Galena once we crossed into Illinois, and then finally when we were about an hour away she figured out that it was Chicago.

Once we got to Chicago we checked into our hotel and told her she had 1 hour to relax, get settled, and get ready before we were off. We all showed her what we were wearing so she'd have an idea of what to wear and then we were off again. Next stop was to grab Subway for dinner and then to the airport to pick up Kirsten. Out came the blind fold and ear plugs so she wouldn't know once we got to the airport!, and we ended up having to drive around a bit longer than planned, we kept tricking mom and throwing her off by opening and closing doors, driving around in circles, and after trying to figure everything out she finally relaxed and actually said she got sleepy with the mask on :) So when Kirsten finally arrived, flung open the door, and yelled "Happy Birthday" mom was completely shocked and at a lose for words! She truly couldn't believe Kirsten was there too. Funny thing when Kirsten pulled off mom's mask her wig flew off with it:) we all had a good laugh about that later on. So after some tears, some explanations, and lots of hugs, we were off to the concert. Mom again was surprised at where we were and who we were seeing and the concert blew us all away. It was so fantastic and entertaining - we were all so pleasantly surprised!

The next day we had planned to walk around downtown for some site seeing and shopping. It was a little cold so we were a little light on the site seeing, and time outside, and heavy on the shopping - which was fine by me! We all found some good deals and had fun just enjoying the time together and kid free! Later that afternoon/evening we had dinner at the Rock It Bar and Grill and it was so yummy - except that Kristle's burger may have made her sick later that night! We hit up Ikea on our way back to the hotel and then spent the evening talking, laughing, drinking wine and just having fun!

It was such a wonderful weekend with my mom and sisters. My mom is so very deserving of something like this and we were all so excited to give it to her. The genuine joy, shock and surprise she had was so worth it. All our hubbies and my dad were so wonderful to be 100% on board too - I think some of them were a bit jealous they didn't get to come and just as excited as we were - so cute! After weekends like that I am reminded how wonderful my family truly is and how blessed I am to be a part of it!

blind folded and in the car on the way to the airport

the concert at willow creek

happy birthday with nothing but Scratch cupcakes!

the bean downtown chicago

rock it bar and grill for dinner

one last shopping stop at Ikea!

cancun

Jimmy and I just got back from an awesome trip in Cancun! We stayed at an all inclusive, adults only resort right on the beach and loved every minute of our time together.

We left very early on Wednesday morning and were laying on the beach by 2pm that afternoon. The hotel was called Live Aqua and it was fantastic. Having traveled quite a bit for both of our jobs I'd say we have turned into a little bit of hotel snobs. I have a hard time dealing with bad service and/or unclean hotel rooms, blankets, towels, etc. But this hotel definitely exceeded our expectations and any previous place we've stayed before. It's a spa type hotel so the halls are filled with aromatherapy and it was just very relaxing and calming.

We literally spent our entire days just relaxing on the beach and/or by the pools. We sipped pina coladas and I enjoyed the Mexican beer, we swam in the ocean and in the 7 different hotel pools - all of which were a different temperature!, we ate plenty of fresh guacamole, salsa and tacos, and just genuinely enjoyed being together. We had conversations that were hilarious, deep, and full of discovery - funny how you can learn something new about someone after you think you know all there is to know, isn't it?! We slept in and rarely knew what time it was! The original time difference was 1 hour but then they had their day light savings right after we got there so it made us all sorts of confused. But that's what vacation is for right - it didn't matter!

While we, of course, missed our babies and talked about them often we knew they were in wonderful hands spending time with both of our parents. We actually figured they were having more fun with them than they have with us at home :) I know Lily at least gets away with eating a lot more cookies with Grandpa and Grandma than she does with Mommy and Daddy! :) 

Overall we had an absolutely fantastic time and vowed that we will do it once a year. Although we decided that Jimmy gets to plan our next one, which may be, ok it WILL be, a little more action packed. While this was my ideal vacation, and he no doubt enjoyed it, his ideal vacation would be camping in the mountains. Bringing along mountain bikes, kayaks and lord knows what else and seeing how many ways he can attempt to get us killed! :)

at the airport ready to go

our hotel

poolside

enjoying the sun

dinner date

my view our last day

easter

We had such a fun Easter week and weekend this year. 

We started at home with a few fun Easter activities that included; dying eggs, playing with baby chicks (pretend ones of course), reading Easter books, and coloring Easter pictures.

Then late Thursday night we hit the road to Jimmy's parents and spent the next few days there. Friday Jimmy was able to spend the day helping his dad on the farm while I worked on my first sewing project!, and Grandma and aunts got lots of play time with the kids. Friday night we had our Easter dinner with Jimmy's family, followed by an Easter egg hunt and a movie night. Saturday morning was spent hanging out and then after lunch we hit the road to my parents for the rest of the weekend.

The Saturday afternoon plan was to join my family at a local farmers open house that was basically like a petting zoo for the little ones but due to the rain, Lily falling asleep in the car on the way, and Preston being on medicine for a cold we decided to forgo the outdoor adventure and head right to my parents place. They arrived shortly after us and then we hit up a local favorite, Peppers for dinner with my brother and his family. Sunday morning we went to church with my family and then had a yummy Easter dinner with some extended relatives as well. Another Easter egg hunt and a final stop at my brothers place to see their new baby goats helped us wrap up the weekend. 

Then it was back home to get unpacked, do laundry, get ourselves resettled for a few days and then Jimmy and I are off to Cancun and the kiddos to Grandpa and Grandma's! This is our first time away overnight from Preston and we have only left Lily one time for one night so it is much needed - hopefully I won't think about that too much and we can enjoy ourselves and the warmer weather!!

I had trouble keeping my pictures in order so they are out of place....

Grandpa & Grandma Davis with Preston (6M), Lily (23M), and Paisley (4M) 

Jimmy & I with little man

Lily playing pin the tail on the bunny

Dying Easter eggs at home

The finished product

Helping mommy make Easter egg rice krispy treats

Easter egg hunt at Grandpa & Grandma Grover's

Little man getting in on the action

Our Family of 4