We went to Siobhan and Chris’ wedding last week, and I was something called a “Ring Bearer.”  It’s kind of silly, because I didn’t even “bear” any rings, but I guess I was just there for the cuteness factor.  And that part I pulled off 100%! 
Mom will tell you that up until the moment that I marched down the aisle with my new friend (and love of my tiny life) Madelyn, they weren’t at all convinced that the march would even happen.  Two year olds are unpredictable!  Luckily, Madelyn and I got a lot of practice in, and we knew exactly what to do. 
As you know, there is usually a rehearsal the night before a wedding, so Madelyn and I showed up to do our thing.  The first time down the aisle, Madelyn was ready to go, but I wasn’t sure about it, so Mommy came along.  Then they continued with the rest of the rehearsal, and when it was done Madelyn and I could try again.  This time, Mom told  me that I was in charge of getting both Madelyn AND Me down the aisle safely.  Having been given the really important job of taking care of my new bestie, I charged down the aisle with a mission.  Then we came back up the aisle. Then we went back down again.  And again.  And again.  We had it down.
That night, I stayed with Grandma and Grandpa so that Mom and Dad could enjoy the rehearsal dinner, but before we said goodnight, Siobhan and Chris wanted to give me my special ring bearer gift.  First was a special Ring Bearer stuffed football, then a book about being a ring bearer, which I was super excited to read.  But then they gave me the gift that proves that they know me better than most people: a complete bridal party set of RUBBER DUCKIES!!  It included a ring bearer duck (me), and flower girl duck (Madelyn), and bride duck (Siobhan), a groom duck (Chris), 4 bridesmaid ducks, and 4 groomsmen ducks.  And every night at bathtime I line them all up on the edge of the tub, and we call them all by name.  I even carry around the Preston duck and Madelyn duck with me, and wanted to show all my friends at school.  BEST GIFT EVER!
So the next morning, Mommy headed off to get glammed up with the rest of the girls, and I headed off on a choo-choo adventure with Grandpa, Grandma, and Daddy.  Their SOLE mission was to get me to take a nap before the wedding, so they did their very best to wear me out early in the day.  Their efforts paid off, and I snoozed for about an hour, although it took a long and aimless car trip to get me to finally nod off. 
Then it was on to the next mission: donning me in the SEVEN different pieces that made up my ring bearer costume (shirt, pants, vest, bowtie, belt, socks, AND shoes).  Grandma thought that this was going to be a challenge, considering all previous attempts at getting me into this particular ensemble ended in temper tantrums that rivaled the one documented on video involving my snow boots.  One evening after mom tried to put the ring bearer shirt on me, I had the conversation with her that “I don’t like Siobhan’s wedding” because “I not happy.”  And just so Siobhan doesn’t get a complex, when I said that I didn’t like the wedding, what I was referring to was the *&%^ shirt they were making me wear (yes, I’m two… that’s why we sensor the curse words in this blog).  ANYWAY, I happily put on every article of my outfit without a single complaint, until we got to the socks, at which time Grandma passed me off to Grandpa, who tried to put the socks on my ears.  Why does he always DO that?  He must know by now that they go on my feet.  Then I put them on my feet.
So this is the part where we reveal the secret plan that mommy devised with the rest of the glamor girls (ie the bridesmaids): when we all get to the church, Mommy was to be kept completely out of my sight until Madelyn and I had safely made it down the aisle.   For whatever reason, they thought I might get clingy when I saw my mom.  Whatever would have given them that idea?  For what it’s worth, it worked perfectly.  I often suspected Mommy was nearby.  One time I heard her name, and another time I thought I caught a glimpse of her.  But, come on, I had a mission to get Madelyn down the aisle to her mom, and I won’t go back on my word.  I even carried a small book (by the string that was wrapped around it) down with me… and we even WALKED (instead of running). Mommy cried a lot, and looked happy/sad when she came down the aisle right after me.  She said she was proud and couldn’t believe how grown up I was! 
So that was bearing the rings.  My job was done.  Although my next job had only just begun: looking cute and behaving for pictures.  I’ll admit that this was more of a challenge, but in the end I did really well, and I loved having Madelyn around to play with while we waited for it to be our turn to take pictures. 
Then it was party time!  And I was exhausted before my dinner even arrived.  But 2 year olds don’t like to go to bed, or even admit that they are tired, so I powered through dinner and stayed for the first few dances.  Grandpa wanted to make sure he got some of the wedding PIE, but shortly after it was served I headed back to the hotel room with Gma and Gpa, and crashed for the night.
Then in the morning we went for breakfast, where we ran into Madelyn again, and I got to say goodbye, before heading home! 

Credits:
Grandma was a super star.  Not only did she make my vest, and turn my shirt into a onesie, but she ALSO made Madelyn's dress 100% from scratch (out of the left over fabric from mommy's bridesmaid dress).  She also found the belt that I could wear, AND bought daddy's tie!!

The rest of this week has been rather uneventful, as I’ve been at school, and Mom and Dad back at work.  I do have some silly new things that I say though like:
- Dishun (Air Conditioning)
- Land off (what airplanes do when they come back down from the flight: the opposite of take off)
- Castle (where we stayed when we were at the wedding – grown ups call it a hotel)

Enjoy the photos – and see the whole album HERE

Rehearsal:

Before the wedding:

WEDDING!

PARTY:

Mommy and Daddy:

You know those black dots that are on parking lots and streets?  Those are doggie footprints.  Mom says they are yucky (because they are actually gum), but I think they look like doggie footprints... just another day in my imagination.

I’m clearly exhausted.  I skipped my nap yesterday, went to bed late, and got up at my normal time.  I’m currently screaming about a meatball (and typing this blog at the same time… you may wonder how that works).  We had spaghetti and meatballs for lunch.  I only got one meatball at first, which is unacceptable, so Mom kindly fetched me another one.  Except the second one was still hot, and when I went to shove the whole thing in my mouth in one bite, Daddy yelled that it was hot and scared me.  The meatball flung off of my fork as I jumped in fright, and landed on the floor; after which I immediately burst into uncontrollable tears and have been crying ever since.  Mom even fixed the meatball for me, and Daddy helped with his tools, too, but it just wasn’t enough.  And then they sent me to bed.


From Mommy:

Preston also managed to inspect a recent pile of cat puke in the hallway out side his bedroom and announce "Jackie's throw up looks like a glove!!"  And it did.
And then at breakfast he told me the throw up also looked like a rocket ship... and it did.  I'm not saying that I would have noticed these things myself, because I just wanted it cleaned up and out of my life, but when Preston points them out I can't help but look at things a bit closer to see if what he's saying has some truth.  It always does.

Yesterday when I picked up Preston from daycare I asked him about school and if he used the potty and if he ate all of his lunch.  He told me “I can’t eat my fruit snacks.”  Which was confusing, so I asked him why, and he said “You FORGOT my fruit snacks – I need fruit snacks in my lunch.”  I did, in fact, forget to pack him fruit snacks, so I guess I was being scolded!  I won’t do that again!

Preston likes Lucky Charms…  a lot.  Except he calls them “Chex Mix.”  I have no idea how it happened, it’s just the way it has been for months now.  So this morning I asked him if he wanted Chex Mix for breakfast (meaning Lucky Charms of course), and he said “No, I want Yucky Charms.”  Hmmm… a new development.  So we went with it, and I got him some “Yucky Charms,” and as he was eating them when he got to the Marshmallows he would say “Oh, here’s Chex Mix!”  So I think he’s still trying to figure out what is what.  And I’m pretty sure that he learned about “Yucky Charms” at daycare.  I can just imagine his teachers’ confusion when they try to give him Lucky Charms for a snack and he insists that it’s actually “Chex Mix.” 


And he calls Bubble Gum flavored toothpaste "Gubble."  So cute!

Daddy took these awesome pictures of my passing thunderstorms at the lake:

I’m back!  Mom, Dad, and I have been at the lake having a blast!  And Camp Activities Director Debbie was there, too, so you can rest assured that my week was packed to the brim with swimming, boating, hiking, and trains.  
Monday was a little bit rainy, but we decided to go visit a trolley museum in Shelbourne Falls, MA.  We rode on the yellow trolley a bunch of times, and they had a little hand cart that the grown-ups could pump up and down.  I had a special spot on the hand car, where I could hold on to the railing with two hands and ride!  
There was only a short amount of track for the trolley to ride on, so everytime we go to the end of the line I would tell Grandpa that we “need more track!”  And the trolley was my FAVORITE color, YELLOW!
The museum was right next to some tracks from Uncle Ted’s railroad, so soon after we arrived a big grain train rolled by with a BIG engine.  We watched that for a while, too.
Mom and Tia Deb’s had enough of the museum after riding each thing twice, so they headed down the hill to the famous “Bridge of Flowers” in Shelbourne Falls.  The bridge was actually the old trolley bridge!  And 84 years ago, when the trolley went out of business, the bridge was transformed into a garden with flower beds on either side and a walk way down the middle.  It has some really old trees and plants on it that are beautiful, and every year the plant new things to fill in some of the bare spots.  
We met back up at when the rain got a bit worse, and then traveled to see the east side of the Hoosic Tunnel.  It was fascinating to us boys, but the women (mom and Debbie) said “So, I guess this is what an empty tunnel looks like.”

At the cottage there is a really tall ladder that goes STRAIGHT up the wall to a super secret, amazing room.  This is where the grown-ups keep all the toys, and where Tillie hides because she’s knows I can’t get to her up there.  I was trying to get to Tillie, so Mom suggested I climb the ladder!  She was sure I wouldn’t get very far, until I climbed ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP without assistance.  Things get tricky at the top, because you have to hold onto some silver handles to get all the way up, but even those weren’t a problem.  Everyone things that 2 and a half is WAY too early to be able to climb into the loft, but I did it several times (up and down) without issue.  A grown up as to help me at the top to both climb up and to get back down again, but they are only really there to supervise.  I do all the hard work myself.  Maybe next summer I’ll be allowed to sleep up there.  

Later throughout the week we did a lot of activities around the lake.  I tried out all the different kinds of boats that we have: canoe, kayak, and sailboat.  I swam EVERY DAY in the lake, sometimes with the life jacket to help me float, but most of the time in the beach area where I am big enough to touch.  Grandpa taught me that I can go out deeper into the water (supervised of course) if I bounce on my tip toes to keep my head above water!  I LOVED getting “throws” in the lake! 

On the 4th of July we went to an awesome parade down in the town of Berlin!  There were fire trucks, horses, old cars, floats, and people throwing candy.  And because I was the only child in my area, I got a LOT of candy.

From Mommy:
So more cute things that Preston’s been saying:
“I don’t like this, I want fruitinells” (Translation: “I want something else”)
“This corn bothers my teeth” (When he has corn on the cob stuck in his teeth)
“This is DELISHUS!”

When Preston was swimming in his little pool we got out goldfish for a snack.  I noticed Preston carrying the bag around with him, and when I confiscated it was full of water.  He told me “fishies swimming!”   We had to get rid of that bag of goldfish.

I was joking when I told Preston he should climb the ladder to the loft.  I pointed to it and said “Hey Preston, you can climb the ladder to get to Tillie,” and 10 seconds later he was at the top!  I couldn’t believe it!  He had no fear at all, and got back down again 10 seconds.  I remember being 3 or 4 and panicking every time I would get to the top and I would have to move my hands off the ladder and onto the silver handles.  And them coming back down again!?  Forget it.  I had to make sure that my Dad was at the bottom to catch me in case I fell.  Preston could care less – I’m the one at the bottom of the steps panicking that he’s going to fall down.  Of course he didn’t, because there was always someone there to catch him, but he was REALLY good at it.  The first time he climbed, John wasn’t at the lake yet, so I had to call him immediately to tell him.  Everyone agrees that it is TOO EARLY!

We worked a LOT on potty training this week.   I really have no idea who to report, because I don’t know what’s good and what is not good, but I do think he’s doing well.  I made a sticker chart; so he gets a sticker every time he uses the potty.  He seems to really like that.  At one point he figured out how to beat the system.  I would give him a sticker for using the potty, and then he was ask for another sticker.  I would say no – you need to use the potty again before you get another sticker.  So then he would immediately want to use the potty again.  By the end of the week he seemed to be holding it longer, and he no longer wanted me to tell him when to go (he wanted to be in charge).  He still needs reminders, and he still has accidents, but I think we are making progress.  He even woke up in the middle of the night to tell me he tinkled, and he seemed upset about it.  Of course, it was ok, because I let him wear a diaper at night, so I hope I didn’t set precedence by telling him it was ok.  Anyway, we are moving along, and I guess it will be a slow process.

Hopefully this week we will get back into our routine.  With fireworks and night and other crazy thing, Preston’s sleep has gone off schedule, and I don’t think he’s sleeping enough.  Hopefully we can reset that, and reset his toddler attitude!!