Zoooooooooooooo

A beautiful day to go to the Kansas City Zoo! We went with The Nelson crew, and I'll admit that it wasn't an easy trip. You would think that a 2 child:1 adult ratio would be ok, but it was tough. Still a fun day, though!

BTW, if you don't have kids and are thinking about having them, going to people watch at the zoo could be GREAT birth control. Lots of kid wrangling, NOs, sweating, swearing under your breath, and frantic parents chasing after their children. (And you would have seen that just watching US today!)

Click this first pic to see it all.Sea Lion

Just Jack

Pondering Preston

Mini Mallory

Cutie Kate

Probably my favorite pic of the day...Me holding Kate while entertaining Preston...Jack eating his snack, and Erin feeding Mallory. Ahhhhh-so relaxing!

Elephants!

Teamwork makes the dream work!

Preston telling Kate it's ok...don't cry

Busted

Did you know that elephants eat peanuts AND oatmeal?? I didn't. But if Preston says it, then it must be true. He IS pretty smart.

Tent

No explanation necessary...

Me Want Cookie

Another peaceful meal here tonight. (SARCASM DRIPPING)
I have recently bought in to the Ellyn Satter Division of Responsibility, per a friend's recommendation. The basics are as follows: I'm responsible for WHAT, WHEN, and WHERE he eats. Preston is responsible for HOW MUCH and IF he eats. So tonight I offered him chicken, cheese, green beans, and grapes. He also had the option of finishing his oatmeal and yogurt from breakfast. He ate the grapes and refused everything else.

Dessert choice was either fruit snacks OR a cookie.
He chose fruit snacks.

And then this happened.

Sigh. BUT I stood my ground, and he got no cookie. I'm going to take the blame for this flip-out, though, because I don't think he has quite grasped the concept of OR. Cookie OR fruit snacks probably means BOTH to him, so that's why he was so mad.

At one point he was screaming sooo loud and it was sooo piercing that the cat flipped out and ran upstairs. And I had to leave the room to gather myself, truth be told.

Oh well. Tomorrow is a new day!

PS- At bedtime he told me he was hungry and we went back down and he ate the oatmeal. I'll take that small victory...

Nummy Nummy

Kosi-Man came to play again yesterday. Preston LOVES him! The first thing he said in the morning when I went into his room was, "NOW KOSI COMING!" Thanks for being such a good role-model for him, Kosi!

Today we spent some time at the Deanna Rose Farmstead again. Got there at 9, thinking it wouldn't be too hot.

WRONG.

So.Hot.Can't.Breathe.

Here is Ellen thinking, "Ahhh...the wind in my hair feels great!"

And Preston thinking, "Girls are weird."

Jack telling us, "This goose is loose!"

CHOO-CHOO!

And a little movie for your entertainment. They all liked feeding the baby goats, and Preston thought the goats enjoyed it too.

"Nummy Nummy!"

Maybe next time it won't feel like 115 degrees and we can stay for more than an hour...

Ode to Dada

Ode to Dada

I really love Daddy.

You are really fun.

You are the best daddy-

Yes, you're number ONE!

I giggle with Daddy.

And run through the house.

We play and we play

But not quiet as a mouse!

I'd like to thank Daddy

For all that you do.

I'll hug you and kiss you

Because I love you!

xoxo, Preston

Bath time with Dada last night- SOMEhow the quack-quack slippers were still on and Dada didn't notice...Oops!

And every kid should go try to catch fireflies post-bath/pre-bedtime with Dada!

Happy Father's Day!

Rising Star Offspring

We had multiple visits with some of my friends from work today and their babies.

Started the day with a visit to Eva and new baby brother, Noah... SUCH a big boy!

Then off to play with Lainey...

And little Madison.

Preston really enjoyed the indoor "playground" and had a great time!Weeeeeeee!

And here is a misc video from the other night. I have been spending some time at Jack's house lately, so Preston really wanted to go there...

Fresh Beets

One of Preston's favorite TV shows is called 'The Fresh Beat Band". In honor of them (and the fact that he still won't eat one.single.vegetable), I decided to dive into Deceptively Delicious and try a new recipe. What better than one including the use of fresh beets?

The process is a little time consuming, but not difficult. I DID have bright red hands last night from peeling the beets after cooking them.

Throw them in the food processor... Portion them out after pureeing for future use...

And use some in the Pink Pancake recipe! (Also includes ricotta cheese, grated apple, cinnamon, vanilla, and other yummy stuff.)

The verdict is still out as to whether or not it was worth the effort. Mine most definitely did NOT look like the ones in the cookbook,but he ate about half of one pancake. I guess SOME beets is better than NO beets, right?

BTW, I hate beets, but don't tell Preston!

To top off the night, Preston went pee-pee in the potty for the first time! Never thought I would be so excited to see urine in a little plastic bowl, but I sure was!

Toot

This is what dinner time is like when you are surrounded by boys.

"TOOT, DADDY! TOOT!"

I'll admit, I was egging it on because it made me giggle, too.

Toots are funny!

WT and Pool Time

Every kid needs a video like this, no? Classic WT with no shirt, camo shorts, and giant Homer Simpson slippers, aka Quack Quack shoes. And TPing the house is always fun.

We joined the Westwood City Pool today, which is Woodside Country Club's pool. Frankly, I was a little disappointed in the TINY baby pool, but I think the adult only pool that serves mommy's favorite beverages will make up for it on the days I don't have Preston with me!

Notice the blue part in the middle of his lower-lip. He was shivering so bad, but still didn't want to go home! Have I mentioned that I LOVE summer???

Splash

Kosi came to play today, and we went to meet the Cruz boys at the Loose Park Spray Park. It was busted when we got here, so we had to wait around for about 30 minutes...

Click this first pic to see the whole day.
"Come on...where is the water??!!" "I don't think it is coming."

"I have faith- it is HOT and I need to cool off!"

"YAHOO!!"
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!"

"So cold!!"

Preston thinks he is one of the big kids.

Check out my Buddha belly in this pic- HA!!

Kosi had a great time!

Misc kid in spider-man undies. Awesome.

Video footage of the madness.

And EVERYONE loves Preston's Quack Quack Shoes- even Kosi!Thanks to Kosi and the Cruz kids for a fun day!