Preston is a food shopping master.  I (daddy) and Preston had to go to the food store after school to get some odd and ends.  Mommy was out doing “Hot Yoga”.  Usually Preston insists on getting a “toot-toot” shopping cart - essential a shopping cart with a car attached to the front - this time he was way more interested in getting a shopping basket.  Preston managed to carry the basket all around the store picking up all sorts of goodies.  At times he would stop and say, “Heavy”, but when I would attempt to help, he would refuse “…I get it”.

We stopped at the deli counter and Preston picked out some “noo-noos” (noodles) and put them in his basket, and in the dairy isle he wanted to take home every package of mozzarella cheese; I made him put all but one back on the shelf.  He also helped pick out a cod fish filet since it was right at his level.

Once we were done shopping I told him it was time to check out, but by this time the basket was too heavy for just him to carry, so we each took a handle.  At some point he saw another kid in a “too-too” shopping cart, and he wanted to join them.  I told him “next time,” and that we needed to go home to feed Jacky.

At self-checkout I put the basket on the machine and showed Preston how you have to scan the box (listen for the beep) and then put it in the bag.  After 2 or 3 times he was a pro.  The employee at the self-check lane thought it was so cute; she invited her coworker over to observe.

After everything was scanned, I let Preston slide the credit card through the machine.  At first he had it the wrong way, but after a quick correction he did manage to swipe the card.  It won’t be long until he is going to want a card of his own.

Preston then ran over to the coin drop - a funnel shaped contraption that you drop a coin in, and it spins and spins around until it’s going so fast towards the middle, then drops in a bucket.  It’s tradition now to put a coin in it, so I gave him one, but he wanted “again”.  I was out of coinage, so he was sad we couldn’t do it again.

We left the store and held hands going to the car, then he managed to climb into his car seat all by himself, and I buckled him in to go home.

It was a fun night with Preston, he is a great helper!

A few exciting things have happened in the week since my 2nd Birthday.  We’ve gone swimming TWICE, once on my birthday, and once for swimming lessons!  I’m getting better at swimming lessons now.  I like to go underwater and kick!  My teacher says I need to work on paddling, and then coordinating kicking and paddling, so that’s what we’ll focus on next time! 
On Thursday night I didn’t feel well; I managed to go to sleep, but I woke up in the middle of the night and threw up… 3 times!  Once in my bed and twice in Mommy and Daddy’s bed.  They got smarter by the 3rd time and put towels down so they won’t have to change the sheets… again!  I was feeling better in the morning, but not better enough to go to school, so Daddy stayed home with me.  It was Mommy’s BIG day at work.  She had to do the preliminary round of the Schadt Competition.  She had judges flying in just for the occasion, so she couldn’t reschedule.  Daddy and I went to visit her at lunch time, but I was getting sleepy, so we didn’t stay for long.   Here's a bit of trivia for you.  2 years ago, on January 14, Mommy was VERY pregnant at the preliminary round of the Schadt Competition.  The very next day she went into labor!  She says she has NO idea how she managed to pull together the preliminary round while super pregnant.  It's an exhausting endeavor as a normal (unpregnant) person.  
This morning I had my 2 year old check-up with the doctor.  I passed all my behavioral screening tests with flying colors, and the doctor was impressed with my vocabulary.  I had to get a shot; which I hated!  And then they gave me a band-aid, which I also hated.  But then I got a green “boo-boo-bop” (Translation: lollipop), so all was well with the world again.  I didn’t want to stand on the scale, even though Mommy showed me how!  So she had to pick me up and we got weighed together.  I weigh 31 lbs 3 ozs, and I’m 35.5 inches tall.  That’s 50% for height and 75% for weight!
Today Miss Lisa and I called Mommy on the phone to tell her some good news!  I tinkled on the potty at school!!  My teachers gave me a special certificate to celebrate my big accomplishment!  Then at bathtime I went on the potty again!  That’s twice in one day!  Mommy and Daddy STILL aren’t holding their breath, but they are proud of me!  

And here are some bonus pictures of me ON my second birthday:

From Mommy:
That’s right, I’m talking first this time!  Preston and I are very excited to announce that we have our first giveaway for you!  It is perfect timing, because we have a LOT to celebrate, and we want to pass the celebration on to our readers.  Not only is it Preston 2nd Birthday, it is also the 2 year anniversary of this blog.  I started it right after Preston was born so that I could have an easy way to share cute stories about our new addition with family and friends.  I’m also |thisclose| to having 200 followers on twitter, so maybe we can put me over the top?  Maybe?  Either way, I’m thrilled to be able to share a part of Preston’s birthday with you.  Enjoy!

From Preston:
I want to introduce you to a new friend of mine.  His name is Nugget, and he’s a loveable little dog who reads stories with me at bedtime.  We also do a lot of snuggling, and he LOVES to be under the covers with me. 
Nugget arrived with his very own story book!  Do you have a book written about you?  Nugget is so lucky.  When we read his story he follows along with Mommy and me.  Sometimes he laughs or barks and he told me that his treats were the yummiest thing he had ever tasted.

Nuggets story is about his first trip to doggie school!  At first he missed his people, but he soon made friends with some of the other dogs.  He got to play with a Frisbee!  That’s his favorite toy.  And he tasted some yummy treats.  At the end of the day his people friends picked him up again, and he was so glad to see them!  He loved school, though, and knew he would have a great time again tomorrow.
I don’t ever plan on sending Nugget to doggie school, but I DO want to take him to school with me on show-and-tell day!  All my friends will love him! 
Do YOU want to read stories with Nugget, too?  You do!?  Awesome!  Because Mommy and I are going to give away one of Nugget’s brothers to one of our lucky readers!  My birthday has been super awesome so far, so I wanted to share some of the fun with you. 

All you have to do is follow the easy steps on the Rafflecopter entry form.  Good luck!  Here are some picks of Nugget and me on the eve of my birthday.

From Mommy (again):
This giveaway is live from Preston’s birthday (January 16th to the birthday of this blog January 21). 

I really love the Hallmark Story Buddies.  We actually have TWO; we also have Bigsby the friendly monster.  I love that they are not your typical stuffed animal, and that they make reading fun for kids!  Don’t be skeptical.  They work like a charm and are very responsive to the reader.  It’s pretty cool technology if you ask me.

Ok! Get to it!

It’s almost my birthday, so a lot of exciting things have been happening!  On Saturday Mom and Dad had  a birthday party for me!  My Great Grandparents, Grandparents, Uncle Joe, and tons of friends were all there to help me celebrate!

The party started at lunch time, so Mom and Dad had a busy morning of party preparations to do.  That meant that I got to spend the morning looking at Choo-choos and throwing rocks with Grandpa! 

For my birthday party, we had TACOS!  Mom and Dad finally figured out that I am a hard shell taco guy.  Mommy tried to give me a soft shell, so had to ask her for “chips.”  Then I piled the meaty-meat and all the other toppings onto it.  For dessert, Mom and Dad made ducky cupcakes!  I normally love to blow out candles, but when 20 people are staring at you, it’s more difficult to focus on the task at hand.  Luckily, Kai and Akira were nearby to help me out!  (Check out the awesome “2” shirt that Mommy made for me – it had 2 ducks on it, too).

My real birthday is on Wednesday, and we have a special blog giveaway that we’ll announce!  So stay tuned.

From Mommy:

Preston was so worn out from his morning adventure and his birthday party, that he went to take his nap before most of his party guests had left!  

This morning we all got up early so that I could go to my first swimming lesson!  Now, I’m no stranger to the water.  When we are at the lake or at the beach, I LOVE to be in the water.  Mom and Dad think that I should learn a few skills so I am safer in the water. 
Swimming lessons were SO FUN!  There were at least 10 other kids with me and we all had an adult to help us with the activities.  I was shy at first, but it didn’t take long for me to get into the activities.  We started with a splashing song to get warmed up, and then the teacher, Miss Susan, threw a ton of balls into the water.  She taught us how to paddle, and then we were supposed to paddle around the pool to get the balls.  That was my FAVORITE activity of the whole class, and I could have done it the whole time.  But then we had to practice kicking.  I was good at that, too, and we tried it a few ways: with a pool noodle, boogy board, bar bell, and just with Mommy holding me.  My legs got tired so we went back to paddling for the ball!  We had to practice climbing out of the pool, and I can get out totally unassisted (Mommy was there to make sure I didn’t fall, but she didn’t help me one bit)!  I did it three times, but I always wanted to get back into the pool!  Finally, we got to stand on a platform and reach for some toys that were underwater.  From outside the water it looked like I could reach them with no problem, but I didn’t want to get my face in the water, so eventually I just asked Mommy to get the toys for me.  She said no!  We sang a few more songs, and splashed some more, too.  I was so sad when we had to get out of the pool.  I wanted to swim in the water some more!  But Mommy had to get to work, and I had to get to school.  I got REALLY sad when Mommy put my shoes on, because I knew there was no chance of me getting back in the pool.  Mommy promised that I could go swimming again next week.  Daddy is going to take me!!

I can’t wait!

From Mommy:

When we got to the pool we were mostly dressed and ready to go, so we just had to put our clothes in a locker and head to the pool!  But as we got to the pool I realized that I still had my watch on, so we had to turn around and head back to the locker to get rid of my watch.  Preston didn’t get too upset, but I could tell that he was worried.  He kept saying “Mommy, water!  Get in water!”  The poor guy thought we weren’t going to get to go swimming after all.  I’ll remember to take my watch off before we leave the locker room next time!

Tonight we are bringing you breaking news - you'll hear it first here on Thingstodofamily.com.  Reporting from Preston's room is Daddy:

Daddy:
"Thank you, Carrie!  I'm here is Preston's room where he has just tinkled, for the first time ever, on his potty.   What began as a tiny accident on the floor quickly turned into the biggest moment of 2013, when I grabbed the naked toddler and placed him on his potty.  He excitedly proceeded to finish his business, and then wanted to do it "again!" This could be the beginning of an new era, but as parents suspicious of one-and-done successes let's not get our hopes up.  It was an evening of celebrations.  
This is Daddy John, on TTDF News."

So there you have it.  We have a tinkling toddler.

We got a lot of bubbles last Saturday.  You know, the white stuff that falls from the sky when it’s cold.  Mom calls it snow, but she’s wrong.  I’m almost 2, so therefore I know everything, and that stuff is not snow!  It’s bubbles.

Anyway, by the afternoon we had enough of the stuff on the ground that Daddy needed to shovel it off the driveway.  So Mom helped me to put on my red snowsuit.  And then she said the dreaded word “boots.”  I HATE those things.  But you will all be glad to know that, for the greater good (and the opportunity to play outside) I reluctantly allowed her to help me to put my boots on.  They were terrible, but I forgot about them once I got outside. 

While me feet were warm and dry, my hands had another experience entirely.  The bubbles/snow is COLD, and mittens are just as terrible as boots (and much easier to remove by myself).  Despite freezing cold hands, I still managed to have some fun playing in my house, sledding, and making  a snow angel.  Mom tried to get me to put my skis on, but she needs to realize that I can only compromise so much, and that putting on boots was my limit!  

From Mommy:

Two year olds are terrible.  I guess that’s why they call it the terrible twos.  But they are also adorable, loving, funny, helpful, and smart!  It’s funny how there is an exact balance of goodness to terribleness in babies and toddlers that makes them perfect, and as a parent you are still so in love! 

Preston’s vocabulary has exploded, and his pronunciation is spot on.  He says words like vacuum, Mickey Mouse, dump truck, and choo-choo train, with startling clarity, and he’s really good at r’s!  He is using tons of words together, starting to describe things.  He’s also picking up some not so braggable phrases like “GIMMEE”  “Go away, Mommy” “NO helping” “Stop it” “No Mommy, MINE” “Don’t want it” “Don’t like it,” and many, many demands.  He also likes to give us directions while we are driving (usually in the wrong direction from where we are trying to go).   

Last night we were having a dance party after bathtime, and Preston sang along to Elmo singing the A,B,C’s!  He is also picking up some awesome dance moves like arm flapping, elbow wiggling, and jumping in rhythm. 

And he likes to make all of his toys into choo-choo trains.  He lines them up front-to-back and tries to push them.  He also likes to line up his chairs, make me sit on the front one, and make choo-choo sounds.

It’s getting hard to keep up with all the new things he is doing!