Great Grandma Alice

Our Two Little Boys Beneath the Christmas Tree!

Who's Who?

Brock Is Growing

Daddy Takes Bo-Boy Fishing

"Mini Heath"

Heath doesn't see it yet but I did immediately. Brock has Heath's almond shaped eyes, his nose, and even his eyelashes are identical to Heath's. What a treat to have one son who looks like Mama and one son who looks like Daddy!

Day of Discharge from Hospital

Baby Number Two!

Christmas At Grandma Alicia's House

Muscles Like Daddy...Ears Like Mommy

Trick or Treat

We went trick or treating to 2 houses and Bo fell asleep. So the fun was pretty short lived. But, what a blast to see Bo in his cute little outfit.

Bo Wears His Wellies!

Bo In Bibs

Cute, cute, cute!

A Morning At The Lilly Pond

Bo and Mommy took a short field trip one morning to the Amana Lilly Pond. Bo has developed a love for the outdoors. So, I thought it would be fun to eat our morning bagels by the water.

Summer Fun!

Bo enjoys his new, red, radio flyer wagon he got for his birthday from Grandpa Jeff and Grandma Sue. We go for wagon rides everyday.

Great Grandma Lynn gave Bo his own swimming pool for the front yard. Once Mommy learned to fill the pool with water in the morning to warm the water by afternoon, pool time was the fun for everyone! We often attract our neighborhood friends when we get out the pool. Soon, the pool is full of wet children splashing and laughing!

Bo's New Favorite Food!

Bo enjoyed a little sweet corn this summer. We stopped at the farmers market and picked up a dozen for $5.00. Our family sat in the front yard and husked our sweet corn for supper that evening. This batch lasted us a couple weeks. We liked it grilled the best!

Putting My Two Teeth To Work!

This sweetheart even makes eating fruit look cute!

Birthday Boy!

Bo Preston turns ONE year-old today!

We celebrated with family at our home in Walford. We had half raspberry cream and half marble cake with homemade vanilla ice cream. The party was themed with red,white, and blue stars, stripes and baseballs. As everyone circled Bo's highchair to sing "Happy Birthday", he immediately covered his eyes and began to cry. With a short recovery time, the smile returned. Bo showed very little interest in his birthday cake. Playing with it was more fun than eating it and this was after lots of convincing that it was okay to get his fingers messy.

Bo received many generous gifts on his first birthday. Grandma Alicia surprised Bo with a bright green four wheeler! As you can see by the picture, Bo enjoyed his new ride very much!

Shortly after Bo woke up on the morning of his birthday, Mommy and Daddy came around the corner with a big blue truck while singing "Happy Birthday"! Bo wasn't completely sure what all the animation was about, but was excited he had something new to push around the kitchen island while Mommy does dishes.

Bo was excited to see his cousin Ella at his birthday party. He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a big open-mouth kiss!

Family Trip to Wisconsin

Driving to Rice Lake, Wisconsin was a road trip for Heath and I that was long past due. This is where I was born, and spent the first couple years of my life and

my husband had never visited. After moving to Iowa, our family would return to Rice Lake to visit every six months or so. As my siblings and I got older our

involvement in activities allowed us to be away from hometown commitments less and less. So, it was fun to be back and see how everyone was doing!

I was reminded of what a long drive from Iowa to Wisconsin can be. Bo did very well with the trip. He was changed to a front facing car seat for the trip, as he

met the requirements of 20 pounds. The entire family gathered at Grandma and Grandpa's on the evening of our departure for a big family dinner.

Thanks to everyone for coming to see us during the busy workweek! Loved See you all!

Bo Begins to Walk!

Today Bo took four unassisted steps across the living room floor. Moments later, he took 3 unassisted steps! Daddy missed the event by only a few seconds as he was just taking out the trash. Mommy screamed loud enough with excitement for he whole family! Ironically, we are without pictures or video of Bo's milestone. In fact, we have very little moments captured in the month of May. Our summer started with such excitement, it took us a bit to snap out of it!

My First Mother's Day

I worked a twelve hour shift on the Burn Unit on my first Mother's Day. I was able to come home at the end of the day and spend a wonderful evening with my family. Bo and Daddy got me an Isabel Bloom statue called "Love at First Sight". The card enclosed with the statue read: Before you were conceived I wanted you. Before you were born I loved you. Before you were here an hour I would die for you. This is the the miracle of life.

What a neat experience to have a day devoted to celebrating motherhood! Thanks boys for such an awesome day!

New to Nature

The air was still a bit cool, but the bright sunshine warmed our faces as we sat in the lawn for first time barefoot. Bo wasn't sure he liked the feeling of grass beneath his feet. He would slowly bend forward to feel the grass with his hands and would immediately grimace and pull away. Soon, he found a dandelion and was captivated by its bright yellow color. This afternoon outside was Bo's first true introduction to the outdoors. No bulky winter coat or frigid temperatures to distract his experience of fresh air.

Mama's Little Obstacles Begin!

I identify this as "the beginning". Our well approached daily routine would begin to have interesting interruptions. This is the time period that I stopped blogging because I found no time to sit and concentrate alone. These photos will illustrate only one example of Mama trying to stay on task by emptying the dishwasher. Bo has other plans for me and the dishwasher. He has turned into a natural climber. His lack of fear keeps him curious.

This of course was what he was into at that very second. Two minutes from now he will be in the pantry trying to eat a raw potato, that he plucked from the basket, with his two little teeth.

So, if anyone was wondering why it has been nearly four months since I've blogged, remember these photos in your mind. Then, pray for Heath and I that we always stay one step ahead of our little one. Also, that we stay clear headed enough to remove our son from the dishwasher before starting it.....just joshing you!

Easter

Bo loved looking at the brightly colored eggs that we dyed.  It wasn't until he was actually sitting in our laps when we thought maybe permanent dye and kiddos shouldn't get too close to each other just yet.  So, Bo went from active participator to simple observer almost immediately with this family activity.  Bo's first Easter was wonderful.  We went for an Easter egg hunt at Grandma Alicia's house with all his cousins.  He got a blue bucket and shovel to play with in the sand.  It was filled with candies for Mama.  He also, got an Easter chick that flaps its wings and sings  a catchy tune.  His Easter outfit had three spring chicks on the front, light green pants and a sweater to match.  

Burn Unit Baby Boys!

Daddy and Bo Do Laundry

Now that Bo is on the move he has tested out every new place he can find.  As Daddy was folding laundry one evening Bo-Boy crawled into the laundry basket and reclined back as if he'd been there before.  When sitting still got boring he began to help Dad by pulling the clean clothes from laundry basket and tossing over the side.  How did I grab my camera to capture such a neat moment of being parents?  How lucky we are to have such a cool person in our lives!