Today we went to a the playground! It wasn't my first time at a playground, but it was the first time I could really participate. I loved climbing on all the equipment, and I got super awesome at going down the slide! I see a lot of playground time in my future.
Speaking of going down the slide, Mom and Dad have been teaching me how to turn around and go feet first when I am getting down from things like the sofa and the bed. Mom also showed me how to turn around feet first to climb down the stairs. So tonight, when we were all hanging out upstairs at bedtime, I noticed that the gate was open. Clearly that was an open invitation for me to test out my new skills. Mom found me on the second to top step and spoiled my practice. She's glad she taught me how to turn around now, and that I actually used some of my skills to do it the right way. Otherwise I could have gone headfirst down the flight of stairs. Mom says it's ok to practice going down the stairs, but I should wait for a grown-up to go with me.
From Preston:
Today we took a trip to Mema and Poppop's house to celebrate Mema's birthday. We brought her a pot of yellow flowers for her porch! On the way down, Mom and Dad weren't sure where to go to find the restaurant. They kept looking it up on their phones, but I told them that they just needed a map. Lucky for everyone, Mom had a map in her purse (From Mom: I actually had a business card and a pen, and I drew a pretty amazing map on the back of the card - it had our route, a river, train tracks, a bridge, a grade crossing, and two mountains - didn't know you could fit that much on a business card, did you?). I followed the map the whole way to the restaurant. We were on the lookout for tall mountains and train tracks. There were train tracks right next to the restaurant! But no trains.
On Thursday Mom took me to the dentist. I did not want to go. Here's the thing, though, whenever I have to do something new, like going to the dentist, Mom and Dad let me watch videos about it, and read books about it, and even try to bribe me with treats if I remain tantrum free. Going to the dentist was scary, but once we were there isn't wasn't too bad. I asked Mommy to come into the room with me, and then the big scary chair was too big and scary for me, so I got to sit in Mommy's lap. After that the whole thing was a breeze. I sat there most of the time with my mouth open, they didn't even have to ask me or remind me! The lady counted my teeth (I have 20!), and then she buzzed them with a buzzy tooth brush. I didn't have any holes in my teeth, and the dentist re-counted and said they looked great. I got to rinse with cold water a few times, and the moved the fancy chair up and down a bunch. Then they painted some goop called floride onto my teeth with a paintbrush. Finally, the dentist himself came to count my teeth, and then I got to pick a toy and a toothbrush. That was it! No big deal.
From Mom:
My conversation with Preston about going to the dentist:
Me: Preston, do you want to take dot doggie with you to the dentist tomorrow?
Preston: NO! I'm not going to the dentist.
Me: Well, do you want to take Lion Blanket?
Preston: NO!
Me: You can pick any toy to take with you to the dentist: your planes, your aircraft carrier, quasi, anything!
Preston: NO! I don't want to take anything with me to the dentist tomorrow... nothing, especially not ME, because I am not going.
You can throw in a few "You can't make me"s and "I just want a treat withOUT going to the dentist"
We had Luke's parent teacher conference in Thursday, too. He's doing great a school and graduates to the big boy room in a week. He's above average in all of the test areas. Apparently he talks more at school than he does at home, but his communication has really come along way in the last few weeks. He's starting to sign for "more" and he still nods for things. We still get a lot of pointing and screeching, but hopefully that will turn into more words soon. He's clearly picking up what we're putting down, as noted by his adventure on the stairs. I'm certainly glad he remembered the correct way to go down; it was my fault the gate was left open.
Both boys are loving outside time now! We are working on cleaning up the yard and getting ready for summer, so they like to be outside with us. I can tell it is going to be a busy summer!