Fall Already??

As fall flies by us and winter is about to rush in, I am thinking back to all of our summer memories. Of course summer memories are filled with times at our cabin. A place where our family comes together and friends wonder where we are all season! This summer was especially fun since Preslynn is now totally on the move and now she has someone to play with!!! TORI! Our Niece Toriahnna Ray was born in March and Preslynn is obsessed with everything about her. I have a feeling those two girls are going to be best of friends!

Speaking of Best Friends, my bestest had her own little bundle of joy this summer. Bjorn Moon was born to Lisa and Brian Moon. He has sure brought some craziness in to their lives, but don't they all?

Our little crazy girl is quite the ham. This past weekend my Dad called her "the Parrot", EVERTHING that comes out of our mouths is repeated... several times. She is able to use most words in the right context and this makes for interesting conversations now. She is sure to correct anyone if they are not on top of their manners as well. As we have ventured into the "cold/flu season" there are many sneezes and coughs going around. She says "Bless You" when she hears someone sneeze, covers her mouth when she coughs, says "Thank You" if someone hands her something and "Sorry" if she bumps into someone. We will see how long this lasts. ;)

Preston is still doing awesome at LifeTime Fitness - keeping people in shape and bringing home the dough. I just got a new job and am working from home! It is such a blessing, God is good! Little p is going to a sitter's during the day still and loves it! She is also in dance this year, she can show you her moves if you ask. As always life is busy around the Pettis household.

This past Friday was the one year Anniversary of my Uncle Robb's death. It is still hard to go thru the memories, man I miss him. We visited Brainerd this weekend and it is just not the same with out him there. We all miss you Robb, you were truly one of a kind.

Peace,

Mama P

Milestones

On Christmas Day our little girl turned 10 months old. 10 months already, I can hardly believe it. Last year at this time I was waddling around while people were telling me "any day now". With two months to go this was not all that fun to hear. I think back on how anxious I was and realize those thoughts were so very valid. Life now is more than I ever hoped it would be, I love being a mom.
Our little over achiever never stops. In this very short month she has just about reached every milestone expected for her first year. I guess this means she is not a procrastinator like her dear old mom. A few months back we were all amazed when she would crawl right up the stairs… now she is going back down just as easy as she went up them. No need for gates now, although she does scare me at times, but she honestly has the hang of them. She has also taken her first steps! Two to be exact and boy were they cute. She did it right in front of both Preston and I. Of course we clapped and she got all excited.
I know it will come as a surprise to you all, but our little Preslynn is a talker ;) Right before Thanksgiving she decided she wanted her first word to be "kitty". Much to our disapproval since neither of us are cat people. At this point we did however contemplate getting another cat. We started thinking back to the days of our cat Eleanor and changed that thinking very quickly, a stuffed animal will have to do for now. (Thanks Auntie Mona) A month later she now has a handful of words and everyday it seems she is adding another.
I know I was set on the fact that her first word was "mama", but I have since given that fight up. Baby, hi and nonono are the newest with the addition of dada last night as she stared at his photo on the computer. Of course I called him so he could listen to her sweet little voice say those simple little words that mean so much, dada. On another note and as sad as it is, I believe Preslynn thinks that Frank's name is "nonono". She changes her entire tone of voice when she says it, totally cracks us up.
Christmas was incredibly cute. Watching her open her new baby doll from Grandpa Johnson was just too precious. Frank stepped on the package to reveal a small part of the baby and it was all over from there. With squeals, giggles and smiles she crawled over gifts to tear open the rest of the gift. Of course the baby was strapped to the box with a million twist ties but this did not stop her from hugging it. As Preston took the doll away to get it out of the box she turned to me with the saddest little pout face and started to cry. I think we are in trouble. (Once I figure out how to get the video on my computer I will be sharing with you all.) This was the first of many gifts, laughs and smiles on our first Christmas with our little girl.
I hope you were all blessed with a wonderful Christmas making memories with family and friends!

First Word?

mamamamamama - First word, yes or no? Preston would say no but I think I have a pretty good argument. When she is hungry, she says mamama, I feed her... therefore she says mama and I respond. She knows I am mama! What a cool feeling to be a mom. It has been over 8 months now and it is still hard to comprehend that I, me, tena pettis... I am someones Mom!. Well not just someones mom, I am Preslynn's Mom... and what a cute little Preslynn she is.

I am not even sure that God has come up with words to describe how truly awesome little kids are. It's the little things that make your heart melt. Like when she makes noises with her mouth by using her fingers. She will even do it as she falls asleep, the hand is barely moving and the sound is hardly coming out, but she is still fighting the sleepiness. Or, when she crawls up the stairs as fast as she can (which is not very fast, but it sure is darn cute).

Our little bug has started her first swim lessons. She is the oldest in her class, the littlest and of course the most advanced. (okay, so I am a little biased) She LOVED everything about her first day, it was so cute! She loved the water, all the other babies, splashing, kicking... she is a pro. It is fun to see her interact with the other kids, since she does not go to daycare she is so intrigued with people her size!

The only thing she has seen smaller than her that moves is her Frank and now her new little friend Peyton Chambers. We visited Sam, Tyler and Peyton (puppies too!) on Wednesday. She is two weeks old and what you would call a peanut! Preslynn was all about her. She wanted her to get out of her swing and play! She tried talking, screaming, pulling off her blankets and even trying to grab at her... nothing worked. So she resorted to playing with the puppies and their toys... this did not go over too well. Maybe next time Peyton will play with you Preslynn ;)

Besides swimming, crawling stairs and visiting friends, we have pretty much just been living. At the end of this month Preslynn (weather permitting) is going to run a 5k with her me. Okay so I am guessing she will not be running by then but atleast riding in her stroller :) Other than all that, during the day Preslynn hangs out with either her Auntie Heather or her new friend/nanny Hanna. We love and appreciate all they do! They both come over to the house and take care of her from about 11 when papa goes to work until 5 when mama gets home. Starting in January mom will be home full time! I have the priveldge of taking 2 months off of work to spend time with my little girl. (thanks honey!) It will be time to just be mom and daughter for a little bit, and hopefully relax!

Our fall did not turn out as uneventful as I would have hoped. On Oct. 10th my uncle and God father, Robb Reed, passed away suddenly after being hit by a deer while on a four-wheeler. I am not sure I will ever understand why Robb was taken from us, but I am happy to have known him, been related to him and to have shared memories with him. Robb, you will never be forgotten and will always be missed. Love you.

Goodbye for now... More Preslynn updates to come :)

Constant Changes

In the very short week since I wrote last, we have had a lot of changes. Little Miss Preslynn thinks she needs to accomplish everything in one week. She got her first tooth, crawled and pulled herself up to a standing position. Can we say "over achiever"? She really thinks she is something now though, as she pulls herself up to stand by her piano she turns to smile at you. Like "look what I can do!"
I am just not ready for her to start moving or growing anymore for that matter. 6 months is just perfect - sitting nice and pretty with a few toys to keep her company. Now she wants to reach grab and suck on everything. Why do kids have such a fascination with phones and remote controls? I have gone many days with a fuzzy speaker on my phone, I just have to be patient and wait for it to dry out. :)
I know it is hard to believe but we have actually started to slooooow down. Not a whole lot planned for the fall which is hard to believe, considering our summer is jam packed every weekend. Preston loves his Sunday Fun Days... the couch, football and good food. Sounds relazing enough for me.
Until next time... Go Vikes!

White Picket Fence

Six months old, can you believe it? Last year at this time I was about three months along, just waiting for that dang ultrasound. People were still asking me when I was going to start showing... wow did we show them. After gaining 38 miserable pounds, Preslynn Olivia was born on Feb. 25Th 2008 at 9:38 (if you want to get technical). We are now blessed and I mean blessed by this amazingly beautiful little girl. Absolutely no one can prepare you for the emotions that run through you as you care for this precious gift. We find ourselves laughing... a lot. She cracks us up and honestly she is cute even when she cries. I thought this obsession would go away after a few months. To my surprise it just keeps getting stronger. From her little dimple to her bald head - we love it all.
We now spend most of our time hanging out, just the 4 of us. Frank included of course. He has taken quite the back seat since little Miss Preslynn has come along, but he makes sure he is not forgotten and is involved with everything that is going on. When I say everything, I mean everything. He knows when it is bath time, bedtime and even in the middle of the night he will get out of bed to come to her room when I feed her. He is her little watch dog. I am not sure he would admit it (if dogs could talk of course) but I think she has won his little heart over too.
Our hearts are full and our life is simply different. Incredibly different, but better... much better. When you think things could not possibly be more perfect - you have a child. Preston says he now has a purpose and he is right, kids give you a purpose. Now we just need the white picket fence.

The count down

Here we sit with two months to go before we welcome our little one into this world. It is still hard for me to fathom the idea of being a mom. Raising a child, trying to make all of the right decisions, sounds like a lot of pressure to me. I know some of it will come naturally but I also have a feeling "home" will be one of my most often called numbers. Mom's just seem to know everything, and well I guess more than likely they learned from their mothers. So my question is, how did Eve know? Being even a couple hours away from my own mom makes me feel a little like Eve. The very first mother, no paths to follow, no books to read, just intuition? I myself have read a handful of books regarding pregnancy. Most of the chapters are enjoyable and worthy of reading. There are a couple though that I do have a problem with... The actual description of child birth. Watching "Knocked Up" was enough for me to swallow. Showing the crowning of the babies head not once but THREE times... To tell you the truth, I do not care to know the gritty details of child birth. I would rather jump into the situation a little differently. Like going to a movie that you have yet to see a preview for. Who really wants to know about how much pain you are really going to be in. The stories from mothers that have already endured this oh so joyous moment are truly enough for me. The other day I had the pleasure of hearing all about the "back labor" that a co-worker went through. Is this necessary people? Thank you mom for not sharing this part of your 4 pregnancies with me! Well and I guess a big thanks goes out to Eve for taking a bite of that tempting little apple. Was it red or green? I think it may possibly be easier for me to understand if I knew the color.

It's a...

GIRL!

We are just a tad excited around the Pettis home. Secretly we both were wanting to hear those words - "It's a Girl!" The ultrasound was really interesting. I was told by numerous people that you are surprised at how much the baby moves around. I think our baby is just plain stuck. We watched as she moved a hand, I am sure she was waving at us and she even moved her mouth... but that was it. I do have to admit that there really is not a whole lot of room in there to be practicing backflips. The doctor did not seem real concerned that I have not gained much weight.Of course every woman that has ever carried a child thinks I should be eating more, gaining more and just plain getting bigger. My husband would strongly disagree - Let's just say the phrase "eating for two" does not go over real well around our house. Of course I say it just to get under his skin.



Getting under each others skin was not allowed this past weekend. We went on much needed trip just the two of us. (which I called our "baby moon"). Friday night after work we headed north to spend the night at the Grand Casino in Hinckley. To our surprise it was very nice. Despite the privledge to smoke in casinos, we had a good time. Strange but we have never been to a casino together. It was quite the adventure. We ended up coming out ahead, which is always good when gambling. The next morning we ventured to Duluth and beyond. The drive was incredible, the colors were amazing, God is just really cool. After our adventure on the North Shore and then down on the Pier, we went to a comedy show at a local pub. Nothing better than a good laugh. All in all we had a great time, just the two of us. (well kinda three)



Only 17 more weeks until Preston, me and baby makes three! Even though my belly is growing, my belly button is poking out and my whole body is changing... it still does not feel real. I guess it feels real that I am pregnant, but not real that I will be holding a baby that is my very own in less than 5 months! Ahhh, sometimes it freaks me out a little bit. I am so curious as to what she will look like. We are hoping she does not come out with Preston's nose and my little pin head! Ha, the mental image of that is just too funny. My hope is that she comes out like one of those "grow your own baby" where it is the size of a pill, you put it in water for a few hours and WALA you have a baby! ;)


On that note - I hope you all have a wonderful God filled weekend! I will be at the Women of Faith Conference for most of the weekend - then football!! Go Vikes!