Preston's first step?!

I put a question mark in the title because I am not sure if this counts. Preston was all dressed up in his pumpkin costume Friday night and we were getting ready to go to the fall festival at his school. I was video taping him and all of a sudden, he pulled up on our chair, let go, stood there for a few seconds and then took ONE step, with his right foot, stood there another second and then sat down. He hasn't done it again since, but I am so counting that as his first STEP :) Way to go Preston!!! Oh and excuse my voice, I was WAY excited...just hit the mute and watch it.

Crazy hair day

Last Thursday, it was crazy hair day at Preston's school and he sported the MOHAWK!

His hair is so curly when it's wet that it didnt stick up very straight, I still think he looks adorable :)

Preston's first trip to the pumpkin farm

Last Sunday we took Preston to Hall's Pumpkin Farm in Grapevine/Colleyville and joined the hundreds of other families who were on the hunt for the perfect pumpkin!

Preston had the best time and aparently really loves pumpkins. Somehow I managed to take 90+ pictures of the extravaganza and even though it was so crowded and the sun was blaring in our faces, we managed to get some great pictures! Preston was awesome and let mommy pose him at EVERY SINGLE place so she could snap a pic :)

Preston carried this little pumpkin around for like an hour, he loved that thing!

We ended up getting the baby pumpkin for Preston and two gigantic pumpkins for the front of our house, which by the way, we will never get around to carving LOL. This is definately a tradition we will repeat!

Beach vacation!

Our week started out a little rough since Preston was getting over being sick and considering it was supposed to rain the entire trip, I didn't expect to be able to do a whole lot once we got to Galveston. Instead of driving the 6 hours from Fort Worth to Galveston, I had to drive three hours to Longview to meet up with my mom, memaw and sister THEN drive about 5.5 hours down to Galveston. It was a looooong day and it did rain off and on the entrie trip to the coast but we made it. Here is a picture of what we had to drive through just as we got to Houston in rush hour traffic...fun!

We had a blast and Preston loved the beach. We played in the sand and found seashells and even fed the masses of seagulls! I bought Preston one of the sun blocker shirts from http://www.uvskinz.com/ so I wouldnt have to stress about his pale baby skin burning. I love the shirt, it did it's job and made our days at the beach so much easier!!!

The island is still so devestated from Hurricane Ike so alot of things like the duck tours and the trolley that used to tour you around the island are shut down. Even Moody Gardens didn't have all the exibits going. The aquarium was still fun even if there were alot of things missing.

We took a cruise to the harbor and went by oil rigs, fishing boats, the coast guard station but most importantly we got to see dolphins...and lots of them! Preston loves boat rides and was so intriqued by the water and dolphins swimming next to our boat. We could have spent all day on the boat and he wouldn't have cared a bit!

My mom, grandmother, sister, nephew, Preston and I had a really good time at the beach and it was so special to be able to go on another "family" vacation with all of them! Of course Brian and I were both bummed he couldn't be there but we drew him a note in the sand to make him smile :)

At the end of the week, this sums up how we all felt! It was good to get away, but definately exhausting!!

Even H1N1 can't slow Preston down...

The past 24 hours have been an emotional roller coaster...yesterday Preston woke up with a high fever so I took him to his pedi's office and after telling them his symptoms (high fever, runny nose, sneezing, fussy baby and loss of appetite) Dr. Terk wanted to do a flu test. Of course I realized how rampant swine flu had become, but for some reason, I never expected our family to get it. Preston fell asleep in my arms as we waited for the test to finish. He was so weak and I could tell he did not feel well.

I knew as soon as Dr. Terk walked through the door that Preston had H1N1 flu, the look on his face said it all. And given Preston's background with prior respirtory problems, I knew this could be a dangerous mix. He reassured me that Preston's lungs sounded fine and that we would immediately start him on Tamiflu twice a day for 5 days and that we caught it early so there is no reason to be alarmed. Preston slept most of the day yesterday, Brian left work early so he could be with Preston and I. It just didnt seem fair that our baby, who has been through hell and back, now has to suffer with the swine flu.

Well no need to worry...the swine flu can't slow my baby down!!!

This morning as I was making breakfast, Preston figured out how to open our cabinets (which I have soooo procrastinated putting baby locks on). Guess that means he no longer gets to play in the kitchen and bathroom until mommy and daddy baby proof the cabinets.

He seems to be doing better today and is eating and drinking a little better also. So far it seems like the swine flu is nothing more than a cold (knock on wood). I know there are alot of people out there praying for him and I just want to say thank you so much!

Our crazy wonderful life

I thought the title fit our lives perfectly. Although crazy, busy and sometimes full of struggles; it is a wonderful life and I wouldn't change a single thing about it. I absolutely love every moment! Just like every family, our life has it's ups and downs but I really do believe that God has blessed us. If you look hard enough, there is always a rainbow after the storm.

If I had one super power, it would be to slow down time. I feel like the past 11 months since Preston was born have flown by. I am saddened by this but excited for the future and what it may hold. I sit here and think about when I was still pregnant, how it seemed unreal at times that Brian and I would be bringing a baby into the world. Once Preston arrived; our whole lives were changed forever. Being a parent is the best feeling in the entire world, knowing that you have created such a tiny life and realizing what a huge responsibility it is to care for such a small baby. A daunting, but wonderful challenge!

January 11, 2009 will be burned in my memory forever...after only one week of being in daycare, our 2 month old baby was rushed to Cook Children's where he was diagnosed with RSV, a common but sometimes dangerous virus that affects a child's small lungs. As much as I try to block every second of those three horrible weeks out of my mind, they always return. In just a few short hours, Preston went from playing at home to being so sick he couldn't breathe on his own. His lungs were so infected and he was so sick, he could no longer breathe for himself. In the early hours of January 12th, Preston was placed on life support, intubated and placed in a medical coma so that his lungs would have a chance to heal. Our hearts were shattered, we were so afraid. Our sweet baby, laying there in the bed in the Pediatric ICU, with IV's in every arm and leg, a feeding tube in his nose and tube down his throat. We stayed in the PICU by Preston's side day in and day out. Everyday we would look at the xrays of his lungs and the doctors would show us where the infection was and that he was slowly getting better. We knew that we were not promised another day, but prayed that God would heal our son. After more than a week of being tubed, he was woken up and placed on oxygen and eventually after a few weeks, he was well enough to come home again to continue his recovery. The only thing that got us through this was prayer and we knew that God would take care of our family. We had enormous support from our family and friends and without their love and prayers, we would probably not have remained as strong as we were.

Preston is now a happy healthy 11 month old little boy and by looking at him, you would never know he had been sick a day in his life. He is the smartest, most handsome baby I have ever met and although I am biased, I think most people agree!!! He has the best personality and we truly are blessed to have such a wonderful baby.

I share this to remind people that we are not promised another day on this earth and to take advantage of every moment we are given. It may be crazy from time to time, but if you focus on the chaos you may miss out on some wonderful opportunities!!