From Mommy:

Mommy is going crazy right now!  She has a ton of work to do, so she hasn’t been able to help me blog in the evenings.  It’s TIME to get back to it, though, because I have a lot of things going on right now!  First of all, I got to spend the day with Grandma yesterday!   Our neighbors across the street are getting a new sidewalk put in so there were big TRUCKS on their lawn all day.  Grandma and I got to watch them for a long time.  They were digging the dirt and putting it in a pile, and then going back for more.  What fun!  Then Grandpa and Emily (who is here all the way from Texas) came over for dinner: Northeast pizza (because Texas doesn’t have good pizza) on the patio.  Grandma and Grandpa are leaving for Germany for a few weeks, so I won’t get to see them again for a while. 

I also wanted to tell you about the Please Touch Museum!  Mom, Dad, and I met Sheila there on Saturday for a VERY fun morning at the museum.  There were so many things to do, but my favorites were the full sized bus and car, the ball “zone,” the button wall, the construction site, and the steam engine!  We decided to do the transportation area first, and that was a brilliant idea.  The full sized bus was GREAT.  I got to steer using the huge steering wheel and push a ton of buttons.  I had to take turns with some other kids, but I got to go back to the bus a ton of times.  They also had a full sized car, so I drove that for a while, too. 
Next we went into more of a science zone.  Right in the middle of the room was a huge area where they had a lot of balls, and boxes.   When you pushed a button on the box it would blow air, then when you put the ball on top of the air the ball would “float”!  It was so cool.  I loved throwing the balls, pushing the buttons, feeling the air blowing on my hands and cheeks, and getting the balls to float!  I could have stayed in there all day.  I also tired the giant hamster wheel, but I think I am still too little to make it go. 
In the space room they had air powered “rockets;”  Daddy thought those were the best!  I liked the wall of buttons in the corner.  Each button made a different sound, and I liked hearing the different tones!
Then we went downstairs to the kiddo sized grocery store.  They had shopping carts my size!!  Awesome.  I was a little annoyed when Mom told me that the crackers weren’t real so I couldn’t have any.  I had some goldfish that she brought instead. 
After that we went to do some construction.  They had MORE trucks to drive!  I loved the wheel barrow that was my size, and Sheila and I stacked some bricks.  My favorite part is knocking down the stacks! 
That was about half the museum.  I was getting tired and hungry by the time we were done doing construction, but before we left we HAD to visit the train room!  I got to shovel coal in the fire box; it was totally worth it.
On the way out we also visited the toddler playground for a few rides on the slides, the water tables (which were a little too tall for me), and the carousel!  Daddy and I rode on the horse together!
When we got back to the car I instantly fell asleep in my seat.  That’s the sign of a great day!

Here are some pictures and here is the full album.

From Mommy:

We definitely have to go back to the Please Touch Museum.  There are a few more sections that we didn’t get to play in and they looked so fun!  Preston truly had a blast.  Usually in new places he takes a little while to warm up.  That did NOT happen at the museum.  He wanted to get out of his stroller from the moment we got there. 
Our morning was a little more complicated than we thought it would be because there was a major Triathlon happening in Fairmount Park.  There was no place to park, and all the roads were blocked so we couldn’t get in to the museum!  We finally found a place to park on the street a few blocks from the Musuem.  It was  a beautiful day and we were a little early, so we walked!
On downside of the museum, although it’s kind of cute, is that he now thinks he should push the shopping cart when we go somewhere.  But he is just too short!!
Everyday he does something new and cute!!  I should do a daily post so I can remember them all.
Lately I have been saying “Don’t Touch” and “yuck yuck” a lot.  So the other day Preston was eating yogurt and I dropped a glop of it onto his tray.  He pointed to the glop and said “don’t touch, yuck yuck”  (in his own way of course).  I guess he’s getting the point!  I love when I get confirmation that he’s learning the rules!  I really love this age, of course he had tantrums and gets frustrated about things, but I feel like all the good things he is doing completely outweigh the tantrums.  
The only thing that I am still really frustrated about is his sleeping.  He just does NOT want to go to sleep.  He will happily lay in his crib quietly, but he refuses to go to sleep.  The second I leave his room he freaks out, and the time it takes for him to cry himself out seems to be getting longer, not shorter.  It used to be a few minutes and then he would be out.  Now I feel like he could go on forever if I don’t go in and calm him down.  I don’t think bedtime should take an hour or more; I have to figure this on out!    

From Mommy:
I'm proud to say that Preston has very good manners.  He always says "Thank You" when he is given something, he says "Bless You" when you sneeze, he hands me his plate and fork when he is finished eating, he knows to wash and dry his hands before and after a meal, and he holds hands when we say grace!  Sometimes he'll even say "Thank You" before I give him something (I think he thinks he'll get it faster).
Lately he has even been correcting us adults on our manners.  Hence the "manner's police"!  The other day at breakfast I asked John to pass me a knife.  He did and I proceeded to spread butter on my English muffin.  From the corner of the table we hear a small "thank you."  I looked over to see what Preston was thanking me for.  John and I both realized at the same time that he wasn't thanking us, he was correcting me for NOT thanking John!  
A similar scenario played out at Uncle Joe's house last weekend.  We all sat down for  a big meal at his dining room table.  We were about to dig in when Preston grabbed my hand, and then grabbed John's hand.  We looked at each other and realized that we hadn't said grace yet.  Sergeant Manners wanted to make sure we did it before we started eating.  
Besides being taught a lot of manners, he has figure out quite a few things on his own.  For as long as he has been holding a sippy cup, he has been putting it back in the cuphold on his tray when he is finished.  He will usually sit down on the floor if I give him a snack when he is not in his high chair, and 

Phew, we have been so busy, and have a TON of things to update.  Preston turned 17 months on Saturday!  Most of his favs are still his favs.  He eats a banana every day for breakfast, uses a fork like a pro, loves to “help” around the house, hates to go to sleep, and still loves to be naked.  Every day he learns new words, and is a little sponge for information.  I think I covered all the main points… on to the fun stuff.

From Preston:

I got Grandpa in trouble a while back when I told everyone that he taught me to make awesome fart noises.  Sorry, Grandpa!  He has officially redeemed himself, though, by teaching my awesome DUCK noises.  Now I LOVE to quack like a duck!   I still like to blow raspberries and make other less than beautiful noises.  I also love to make other animal sounds like: Baa, moo, woof, meow, RAWR, cluck, and hissss. 
It’s no mystery that I LOVE my kitty, Jack.  I ask for him almost as much as I ask for Elmo, and Jack gets the most unprompted hugs out of anyone in the family.  One morning, we were all cuddling in bed, and I was touching Jacks wet nose and generally giving him a lot of love.  Mom said “Preston, can you say: Jack, I love you.”  Of course I can say that!  I looked Jack straight in the eye and said “Ack, a buh doo.”  Mommy is jealous that I said it to Jack first, but she’s knows I love her.
On Saturday we had a picnic.  It was beautiful outside, so I shared my pool and my swing with little Gavin.  We had a lot of food and played some games in the yard.  Here are some pictures  (and here are some more):

Then on Sunday it was Father’s Day.  Happy Father’s Day, DAD!  I love you!  We went to Gigi and Grandpa’s house and then to Uncle Joe’s for lunch.  After that we went to the beach to splash in the waves and play in the sand.  I loved the ocean and the waves.  We splashed and jumped and got all wet.  Then Dad and I dug a giant hole.  It was a super fun day.

From Mommy (again):
As I mentioned, Preston loves to help around the house.  He's really good at following directions, and I find that the more I engage him in what I'm doing the happier he is.  When I cook dinner I'll ask him to help me find things in the fridge and then to close the door.  When we are playing or cleaning up I'll ask him to bring me a toy or put a toy away.  Sometimes I'll hand him an object and ask him to give it to Daddy.  We have to play detective around the house now, because Preston has a silly sense of where things belong (he always has).  If I ask him to put the phone in the living room away he will put it in the printer.  
One of is absolute favorite chores is feeding the cats (as you might recall from the spaghetti incident).  He now knows to get the dindin out of the pantry, and reach in to get a handful to put in the dish.  If any spills out of the dish he picks the pieces up one by one to put them back.  He puts the dindin back in the cabinet and heads straight back to pet a kitty.  I think it's his favorite because it's the easiest time to catch a kitty.  
Another fun chore is for him to help me put the laundry in the dryer.  I hand him the wet stuff and as him to "throw it in."  He puts it in the dryer and tries to close the door after every single piece.  I have to keep reminding him that we aren't done yet.  I think he just likes to hear the door slam!

Preston is learning to climb.  He has short legs, so it’s challenging for him.  Today he climbed from his little chair onto the sofa, and he loves to climb on the new stool that Grandma brought for him.  Of course learning to climb also means a lot of falling, that’s the downside of the whole thing.

Yesterday we had a take a quick trip to the grocery store for dindin.  Our poor kitties were starving!  After finding out that my favorite cat food was 2 for $12 I turned to see Preston standing up on the seat of shopping cart!  He had a VERY big grin on his face, and looked proud of himself.  I nearly shrieked, but kept my cool.  I grabbed him, scolded him to let him know that it was NOT ok, and strapped him into the seat.  I don’t think he knew what was happening.  For the rest of the grocery trip he fidgeted in the seat and kept yelling “stuck” at me.  He was clearly not happy about being strapped in.  I’m not sure what this all means for our family trips to the store, but I have a feeling it can’t be good.

In other news, Daddy has become the crafty one around the house.  He did Preston’s daycare homework last night, and I’m really impressed.  He used a Styrofoam ball, my embossing kit, and scrapbook paper to make Preston the best “team” t-shirt at school.  Check it out:

I have a super fun day today, because I got to play with water!  It’s one of my favorite things to day.  First, Mom and Dad took me to the Promenade Shops so that I could play in the water fountains.  We got there just as they turned the water on.  I was a little apprehensive at first, but after watching a few bigger boys having fun in the water I caught on quickly!  The other boys taught me how to splash in the water and how to put my foot over the water holes to make them spray. 
We came home for lunch and a long nap!

To my surprise and delight when I woke up from my nap there was a pool in the backyard!  I have the best parents :-D  Daddy and I played in the pool for a long time!  Also while I was sleeping Daddy upgraded my little swing!  He hung it from a really tall branch of the Oak tree and now it swings really high!  It was SO fun!  We are going to have a lot of fun outside this summer. 

Lately, I like to help Mom and Dad feed the kitties.  We get the dindin bag out of the pantry and put a scoop of food into their dishes.  Then we close the bag and put it back in the pantry.  So while Mom and Dad were cleaning up from dinner I decided that the kitties needed some more dindin.  I grabbed the open box of spaghetti out of the pantry and put some in the cat food dishes.  Mom and Dad say that I am really helpful!  I love to do chores around the house.

Yesterday I had an adventure with Grandma and Grandpa.  They picked me up at home and took me with them to visit Great-Grandma and Grandpa for their 60th Anniversary!  Mom said it was strange to have me “picked up.”  Usually someone comes to stay with me, not take me away!  I had a lot of fun.  You might notice the shirt that I wore the shirt that Mom made for me WITH the shorts that Grandma made for me!

From Mommy:
Preston’s vocabulary has really been expanding lately.  He is learning/repeating/practicing new words all the time.  He’s also using words that he already knows in different contexts.  For example, he was running around on the patio in bare feet.  He stopped, looked right at me, and said “hot”!  We’ve only talked about food being hot, but he’s starting to relate it to other things.  He’s really practicing sounds now, too.  When he reaches for me, he says “uh”.  I know he means “up,” so I’ve been repeating “up” and reminding him to put a “p” at the end of “uh.”  I’ve caught him a few times just practicing the “p” sound!  A lot of things that I’ve read tell me that approaching and passing the 18 month mark is a huge time for toddlers developmentally, and I can really see that happening in Preston!   

From Mommy:

We have  had a few exciting things happen over the weekend.  Pres is learning how to spit.  And I don’t mean blowing raspberries.  He actually puckers up and spits “puh-too-ee” style.  Combined with the glamorous “fart” noises that his Grandpa loves to practice with him, we have quite the gentleman on our hands.   I am one proud mom.
On a more appealing note he has officially sung his first notes to a recognizable tune!  I know that almost all babies “sing” and coo, but it’s really exciting when you realize that what they are singing is an actual song.  I’m a little less excited to admit that his first song is…. Elmo’s Song.  GAH!  That red monster is at it again.  He took “mama,” and now he has claimed the coveted First Song.  What other small wonders will Elmo steal from me?  It is rather cute when Preston sings the song; I must admit.  We sing the first part of the song – “This is the song, la la la la, Elmo’s song – la la la la, la la la la, Elmo’s song!”  And Preston sings the “la la  la” part that comes next… in tune and in rhythm (well, pretty close anyway).  It’s a catchy little tune….
Another REALLY cute thing he is doing lately is saying “Hi!”  He likes to run around the house, pop out from a hallway or door way and shout “HI!”  Then he giggles and runs around again… and again. 
And finally, we had a silly moment this morning.  I’ve been trying to work on my (almost) beach body, and Preston wanted to work out, too.  We were doing windmill arms and lifting weights together.