Derek at 9 Months

This is such a fun age. Derek is such a little charmer! He's a very happy baby, most of the time, and loves to smile, play peek-a-boo, and laugh. He's quite the performer and loves the attention he attracts. I took him to my work Christmas party and he would hold up his hands and growl, wait for everyone to laugh, and then repeat.

He has another tooth coming in. It hasn't cut yet but it will any day now.

He hasn't taken any more steps on his own yet. He seems a bit tentative now after that first attempt where he fell forward. He cruises around using the furniture though.

He pulls himself up to standing. He loves to go to the piano, reach up, and play.

He stands by himself for short periods of time. I expect him to take off running soon.

He says Mama and Dada with intention. I also think he says "nanana" for nurse and "nononono" for no. He babbles a lot, loves to sing, growl, and yell. He's a very vocal boy. It's adorable.

He's very wiggly and active. He jumps. He looks at his cousins running around and you can see the envy in his eyes. He wants, so badly, to run around with them! He recognizes people and gets excited to see his family and friends. What a precious feeling that is, to see how excited he gets to see me.

I think he's just the cutest. Having him in our family is such a blessing.

Would You Like Fries with That?

One day I was about to go to the South Town Exposition Center with Jessica to have some good ol' fashioned Twilight fun when I got a phone call from my friend Ashley. I told her awhile ago that I was looking for a part-time seasonal job to try to get those darned ends to meet. She said that she'd talk to her boss for me and she did. (Thank you, Ashley.) She told me to come down right away to interview for a position. I was not dressed for an interview. I threw on some khakis and an argyle sweater and went to interview. I was hired on the spot and started four days later. I am now a server at a restaurant.

Good thing I got that bachelors of science degree, eh?

I've been working for a couple of weeks now. It's been good. I'm more of a "fill-in" server and only work twice, maybe three times, a week. I'll probably work a little more when everybody leaves for their Christmas vacations. The shifts are only a few hours. It's still hard to leave Derek, even for just a couple of hours at a time. He usually just chills with his Dad or with aunts, cousins, and/or grandmas. So he has fun while I'm working.

My boss is so impressed that I have all ready figured out the computer. That is the least of my problems. I'm more worried about tripping while carrying large trays loaded with drinks and plates of hot food, or about remembering and juggling the little things you have to get and do all at the same time. I think pregnancy took all the memory brain cells and turned them to mush.

I think it's a good job for me. They have a good atmosphere, everyone is really nice, and it's pretty relaxed. I feel really fortunate that I found a job that will get us through this hard time while still allowing me to be home 95% of the week (sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less). I don't know how long I will work. I don't have a plan. We'll see how things go.



PLEASE

tip your servers (well) - especially in Utah where the bulk of their paycheck comes from tips. And it doesn't just go to them. They split it with the busboy. Even if the busboy makes them do most of his job.

Thank you.

Misunderstood Gem of the Week

What Wayne thought Tyler was singing:
"Obama Derek Bear"

What Tyler was really singing:
"Oh I'm a Derek Bear"

I am still laughing.

8 Months... and a couple of weeks...

Derek is growing so fast! He's so curious and adventurous. A couple of days before his 8 month mark, he was standing by the couch, holding on and watching the Gummy Bear Song. I was sitting behind him. When it was finished, he turned around slowly, stood without holding on to anything for a second or two and then tried to take a step toward me! I was right there so I reached out and caught him as he fell forward. He really wants to start walking. He's an expert crawler now and can disappear within a few seconds. He'd rather hold some hands and walk around. We walk around our house for hours. My back hurts. He can pull himself up to standing with no trouble at all now and LOVES to turn off the TV, DVR, VCR, and Wii. I don't know why he gets such a kick out of it. I try not to react at all.

He loves balloons. He also loves to roll and chase his bouncy ball around.

He hates bananas. Every time we give him bananas, he gags. He even threw up once. Maybe we'll try again next month.

He has two teeth now, both bottom middle teeth.

He babbles a lot. He's a very vocal little boy. It's really cute.

He plays peek-a-boo and even initiates play.

He's outgrown his whale bathtub and takes baths in the "big people" tub. He loves to splash around and play. There was a minor slip where he went under the water all the way for the first time and now he's a little timid about moving around. I'm going to have to get him a little seat and some more anti-slip stickies. I'm looking for some whimsical ducks like Sheldon has.

Burned by 30 Rock

Kenneth: "I feel as useless as a mom's college degree."

Haha. What a good line. Hopefully not completely true. I hope that, maybe, someday I'll go back to school so I'll have two useless degrees.

I love you, 30 Rock.

My other favorite part was the Chinese version of "Dealbreaker" written by "Lesbian Yellow Sourfruit."

Good stuff, that 30 Rock.

Happy Birthday, Tyler!

Okay, so I'm a week late in writing this post. That does not mean that Tyler is loved any less than infinitely. I'm sorry, Tyler, for not publicly wishing you well on your special day. Better late than never? HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MY LOVE!!!!!

Tyler turned 28 last Tuesday. We celebrated with the Prestgard's the Sunday before his birthday and with Dan, Choka, Zayaa, Danny, and Ariunaa on Tuesday. Then, on Friday, Shanda, Christof, and Kensington treated us with dinner at Red Robin. So he had two birthday cakes and three birthday dinners! Thanks to everybody for making last week a great birthday-week!

We were supposed to be in CA for his birthday but had to cancel our trip. Tyler had the week off though so Derek and I were spoiled and got to spend all day every day with him! It was awesome. He's such a kind, caring, and generous husband and father. We love him so much. I can't imagine my life without him.

I hope he enjoyed being home as much as we enjoyed having him around. Everything is so much easier when he's here. He's so patient. He works so hard. Derek loves playing with him. And I think he's a gem of a man. I'm so lucky to have him as my partner.

Happy Birthday, Tyler!

We Love You!!!!

Happy Halloween!

Well, Happy Halloween! We had a fun week full of Halloweeny activities. Wednesday we carved pumpkins with Dan, Choka, Zayaa, Danny, and Ariunaa. I carved our pumpkin to match the monster/dinosaur on the outfit Derek was wearing that night. I thought he was pretty cute - Derek and the monster.

Then on Friday, Derek and I went with Kensington, Shanda, Christof, Ashley, and Tyler's mom to American Fork High for a quick round of Trick-or-Treat. Derek wasn't too impressed but he scored a couple pieces of candy for me. I wish I would have taken a picture of Derek and Kensington together. I was having a hard time holding everything.

After Trick-or-Treating at Tyler's Alma Mater, we took Derek to his first Jazz game. We went with our neighbor, Karl, and Tyler's brother, Eric. Derek was not impressed with the basketball game either. He whipped his head around every time anybody clapped or yelled. He and I spent most of the game outside by the concession stands. It was fun because he was still in his costume and most people, when they walked by, would stare, smile, coo, and such, at him. You can see us in the hallway if you click here. They took our picture for one of those websites where you can buy memorabilia with your picture on it. We went in and watched maybe the last ten minutes of the game. Jazz won. Woohoo!

Outside the Energy Solutions Arena

On Halloween, we went Trick-or-Treating at the University Mall with Dan, Choka, Zayaa, Danny, and Ariunaa. Here they are:

I love it. How cute are they? Ariunaa was especially cute carrying her little candy collecting bag around. She's a good little Trick-or-Treater. Danny was the cutest Spiderman. And of course, Zayaa was beautiful as a butterfly.

And here's one of our little family.

We also got his picture professionally taken. I couldn't resist. I think babies in costumes are just adorable. Here are a few of them:









Anyways, Happy Halloween. I love you all.

Katie Wilson, I thought of you when we were taking these pictures. I think of you every time I see a baby in an outfit with ears. Hope to talk to you soon! Miss you!

7 Months

My Derek is 7 months old today. I had just figured out how I could take a shower, get ready, do laundry, etc. and then Derek started crawling. Now I am back at the not knowing what to do stage. We'll figure it out though. I need to baby-proof. I also need an exer-saucer. It would make things a lot easier. At least then I would be able to take a shower without a baby crawling to the edge of the tub, looking up, and screaming at me until I get out.

Derek cut his first tooth! I don't know if you can really see it in this small picture, but it's there, on the bottom.
He eats some solid food now. I'm still not pushing the whole thing that much.

He crawls. I already posted a video. I was too excited to wait until the month mark to post it. He's pretty fast. I think he's chompin at the bit to start walking. He loves to walk around with the help of the furniture, mom, dad, or any other willing person with some fingers to hold on to. He hasn't quite mastered the side stepping action yet that is required for furniture walking.

He still loves the gummy bear song. That is what he's looking and smiling at in the picture above. It was the only way we could get him to sit still and smile. It's his favorite song. The Rainbow Song from the Muppet Movie is still his favorite lullaby.

He went to the doctor last week to get some eye drops. He caught pink-eye from one of his cousins. He was really good through the whole thing and is all better now.

He babbles and growls. He mostly does canonical babbling but has recently started dabbling in variegated babbling. I can't be sure if it's arbitrary or communicative, but when he cries, he looks at me and says, "Mama." I'd like to believe he knows what it means but that's probably wishful thinking.

How cute is his little face? What a doll!!

We love our little Peanut.

Wish

It is simple. I wish that Stephenie Meyer would finish "Midnight Sun".

My Baby is Crawling!

What? I know, right?

6 Months and On the Move

Derek is 6 months old! He's such a cute little thing.

We had his 6 month well baby check up yesterday. He's 14 lbs. 11 oz. (25th percentile) and is 28 inches long (93rd percentile). He's doing well and is happy most of the time.

He's babbling a lot now. Loves to blow raspberries. Loves to jump. Loves to walk with the assistance of mom or dad. He can sit up now. He sits in the high chair at restaurants now, which is fun and makes things easier when we go out to eat. He can stand up, holding on to something. He likes to do that. The first time, Tyler let him hold on to the bed frame and let go of him. I was nervous but Derek looked so proud of himself standing there on the bed (with dad close of course). He scoots around on the floor. He rolls and scoots, rolls and scoots. He's even started to try to get his knees underneath him and push. He hasn't quite figured it out yet though. If he can get his foot on something he knows that if he pushes it he can move forward and is starting to try to dig into the ground to move forward. Crawling is soon at hand! I better start baby-proofing.
He loves music. He still "sings" himself to sleep. He likes to play piano with mom. He loves the theme song of Dharma and Greg. He LOVES the gummy bear song. He gets so excited when he hears it. It's kinda funny. He loves to read books. He actually likes to be in his swing. He also loves to hang out with his cousins.

We love him so much.

For your viewing pleasure:

My Haircut

This is my new haircut. I put it on Facebook forever ago, but I thought I would post this for those friends and family who stalk me here. I really like it. It was instant self esteem. It's amazing what a new 'do can do for you.

Garlicky Spinach Tortellini Soup

Okay Megan, here it is! Sorry it took me so long to put it up. Try it. It's amazing.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
6-8 cloves of garlic
4 C low-salt chicken broth
6 oz fresh or frozen tortellini
14 oz canned diced tomatoes with liquid
10 oz spinach, washed, stemmed; coarsely chopped if large ( *I just use a bag of baby spinach)
8-10 basil leaves, coarsely chopped (or dried basil)
Grated parmesan cheese

Melt butter in a large saucepan over med-high heat.
Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Add the broth and bring to a boil.
Add the tortellini and cook halfway, about 5 minutes for frozen pasta, less if using fresh.
Add the tomatoes and their liquid, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook until the pasta is tender.
Stir in spinach and basil and cook until wilted, 1-2 minutes.
Serve sprinkled with parmesan.

Recipe and picture from thenest.com

My Baby is 5 Months and Some Stuff Happened

Well, it's been a month since I wrote. I guess I better catch up a little bit.

For Pioneer Day, the 24th of July, Tyler, Derek, Bree, and I met my dad and Samantha at my grandparent's house in Las Vegas. We had a lot of fun there visiting with family. Dad took us all to the movies to see "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince." I don't think it did justice to the book but it was pretty entertaining. I loved Professor Slughorn. I laughed every time he came onto the screen. Derek did pretty good in the movie. He growled for the first 20 minutes or so and then fell asleep.

Derek on Grandma's couch

We got to see our friend Andrew while we were in Las Vegas. He works at the "Body Works" exhibit in the Luxor Hotel and Casino and got us in for free. It was fascinating. I'm glad we got to see Andrew. It's been awhile and we just love him.

Dan and Choka came back to Utah! They got into town right before we left for Vegas. So when we came back we had some catch up hanging out to do. Mom and Samantha came to visit. Mom was very excited to have all her grandchildren in one place. We all had fun visiting together.

Derek went swimming for the first time with Danny, Ariunaa, Zayaa, Choka, Samantha, his Grandma and me. He had mixed feeling about it. He didn't really like the cold water but had fun splashing and dipping his feet in the water. Zayaa and Danny love being in the water. Zayaa, especially, has a new love for swimming. She's just learning to swim and is getting more confident. It's really fun to watch her excitement and pride in her new skill. She keeps asking her mom if it's hot so they can go swimming. So cute.

With Aunt Choka. We wore him out.

Mom and Sam left on Friday, the 7th of August, and Cory and Katie came into town later that same day. We ate at the Bombay House for a family style dinner with them and Dan, Choka, and family. So good. Then we took turns hosting dinner. We mostly hung out at Dan and Choka's but had a barbecue at Katie's parents house with her family. I got to see my former boss, Christine, and catch up with her. It was so good to see her!
We made s'mores at the fire pit. We made them with fudge stripe cookies and marshmallows and they were amazing.
When it was our turn, I made some garlicky tortellini soup to try to get everyone healthy. Choka and the kids had been sick for a couple of weeks and Tyler caught that. Then Ariunaa and Derek got something else and we figured we'd all probably get it. So I tried to nip it in the bud. I guess it worked for some of us, (knock on wood), because I haven't caught anything yet. We'll see.

Derek thought Cory was hilarious. Derek was so sick (he had a temperature of 100.8) and wasn't really his smiling laughing self that day but had SO MUCH FUN with his Uncle Cory. He would be wimpering until Cory put up his hands and started coming at him and immediately Derek would start laughing. It was pretty adorable!

Bree, Cory, and Katie left on the 14th of August. Choka and I shopped our sadness away at the mall. We mostly just wanted to let the kids play at the tree house and walk around. When I pictured having a baby, I pictured Choka and I with our kids in strollers at the mall. My dream came true. I thought it was pretty cute.

The 15th of August was our 3rd Wedding Anniversary. We ate dinner at the California Pizza Kitchen (surprise surprise). I wanted to go to the temple or to a movie or something more but Derek was still sick and I didn't feel right about leaving him. So after dinner we watched Australia with Dan and Choka. Good movie.
Three years and still happy. I'm glad I have Tyler and I hope he's glad he has me too.

The day after that, August 16th, was Derek's 5 month mark! He's such a little cutie! He was still sick that day. I got all ready for church and he was still asleep. I picked him up to wake him up and he threw up all over my "Sunday Best." Tyler went to church and I stayed home.

This last month he's grown so much. He reaches out with purpose now and can accurately grab things. He still jabbers all the time. When he cries, it sounds like he says "Mommy" and it melts my heart. He loves to jump, with assistance of course. He plays by himself for longer amounts of time and is figuring out pre-crawling motions, sticking his feet into the ground and pushing himself forward. I think he's started teething and chews on everything. He's starting to get used to his carseat and loves the stroller.

At his 4 month well baby check-up, he measured at 26 inches long (85th percentile), weighing 12 lbs 12.5 ounces (15th percentile). Tall and skinny!

Absolutely adorable.

4 Months!

My baby's four months old! Craziness, eh? He's just so cute and cuddly. I love having him around. He keeps me laughing. I don't know how much he weighs or how long he is; we'll find out on Tuesday when he has his well baby check up.


He still doesn't love riding in the car. He tolerates it when someone is in the backseat with him. When it's just the two of us in the car, he usually screams until I reach back and put my hand on his cheek. Then he'll quiet down for a few minutes. The other day he fell asleep on the way to pick up Bree from school. This is how I found him:

Isn't that one of the cutest things you've ever seen?

Here are some of the things he's up to these days:
He loves to growl. It cracks me up. He also blows raspberries and is testing out his range and lungs with screams and yells. He sings along with me. He rolls over from tummy to back and from back to tummy. He holds his head up really well. He takes him binky out of his mouth and can usually put it back in. Sometimes he'll have it backwards or sideways and get frustrated. He loves to play with his feet. Most of the time they end up in his mouth. He likes to put everything in his mouth now. He thinks it's pretty funny when I brush my teeth. He loves to take baths and kicks and splashes his "Michigander" duck. His favorite songs are "My Heavenly Father Loves Me" and "Popcorn" by Laurie Berkner. He gets the hiccups almost every time he laughs. He has an enchanting laugh. I can't get enough of it.


Do you see what he's got there? Daddy gave him a french fry to play with. He loved it. He squished it up really good. Silly daddy. Silly Derek.

Tyler Ate a Really Big Hamburger and Some Other Stuff

Mom and Woody took us to Porter's Place awhile back. Woody ordered a 1 pound hamburger called, "The Destroying Angel." He didn't finish it. Tyler later made the comment, "I think I could eat that." I told Woody and Woody just had to let Tyler try. So we went again and ordered Tyler a really huge hamburger.

And he finished it! He also ate every one of those beans and fries. He cleaned his plate.

We had a lot of fun with them while they were here. We always do. We saw, "The Proposal," which was, in my opinion, hilarious. I really liked it. It was the first movie we've been to since Derek was born and the first movie we brought him to. He was fine as long as I was standing up with him. I was very tired by the end.

I got sick the day that they left. We went out to eat and I just didn't feel right all day. It really hit me the day after they left. I was so sick I could hardly move. I woke up with a temperature of 100.4. How do you take care of a baby when you feel like erping every time you move? It was very difficult. We took a nap together and Derek woke up so I fed him. Now, normally, I change his diaper as soon as we wake up and then again after he eats, but because I was so out of it, I had only changed it once since we got up. He was eating and he wouldn't stop crying! I tried cuddling him and realized we were all wet. His diaper had leaked all over us. So he was crying and I just couldn't take it. I started crying too. I texted Tyler and told him that I needed help. I somehow mustered up some strength and gave Derek a bath. I even changed my shirt. Tyler came home to me walking around in a daze of sick and tired. I then took a very long nap and felt much better the next day.

On July 3rd, we got to walk through the new Oquirrh Mountain Temple with Tyler's family. It was absolutely beautiful! The lighting is my favorite. I love the chandeliers!!

I tried to give Kensington a jelly bean and she would not have it. I couldn't believe she didn't want candy! She asked for a piece of gum and I gave here a watermelon flavored piece. A few minutes later, Shanda came by with the unchewed but moist gum I had given Kensington. She didn't like the flavor so she just kept it in her mouth without chewing it! Silly girl! It made me laugh.

Dad came up for the 4th of July. (Happy Independence Day, by the way!) It was good to have him up here. Bree didn't want to watch fireworks, so we went shopping and saw a movie instead, "The Proposal." It was even good the third time we saw it. We also found a new favorite (one of my favorites) hamburger joint. It's called "Five Guys" and it is yummy.

Derek is doing really well. He's such a little cutie. My favorite thing that he does right now is singing along with me or the piano. He hums along in monotone grunts. It cracks me up.

3 Months, Father's Day, and Nursery

My baby's three months! This post is a little late. I seem to be a little behind in the posting. My sister, Sabrina, is now living with us while she is taking a couple of classes at BYU. We've been having a lot of fun. It's nice to have someone around to go out with or to hold Derek while I take a shower or nap. She's really good with him and Derek loves his Aunt Bree.


Here he is on the 3 month mark:


He's such a little doll. His laugh is mesmerizing. I could listen to it all day. He's growing so fast. He is into the 3-6 month clothing and can no longer fit into any of his 0-3 month clothes.
He's also become a drool fountain. Drooley drooley baby. He soaks his clothing and mine. He puts everything in his mouth. We think he might be teething. It's hard to tell because he's always so drooley.
He's becoming more responsive and playful. He smiles at his mom and dad and is genuinely excited to see us. I LOVE that. He's even started to do this thing where he doesn't want anyone but me. I am very flattered, most of the time. Today, he wouldn't stop crying so we spent about an hour swaying on the porch watching the rain. It was the only thing he wanted to do. It was enjoyable but would have been even more so if I wasn't so exhausted. I think he's going through another growth spurt because he wants to eat more frequently than usual. That means mommy is tired.

Tyler had his first father's day! Here is Tyler opening his presents:

Derek and I got him a couple of belts and a shirt that says, "Not now, I'm watching the game!" We also made him an origami dress-shirt card in primary with the reasons why we love him.

That night we went over to Tyler's parents house for dinner and we took this picture of four generations of Prestgard men:

Reed, Tyler and Derek, and Wayne Prestgard

In the last couple of weeks, I've been working on Derek's Nursery. I'm not completely finished. I still want to add a few finishing touches, hang a couple of cute kid sayings, and fix a few things. I'd really like a changing table instead of a guest bed, but, for now, here is the nursery:

It's my favorite room in the house. I love the wall colors. My wonderful husband has painted that room twice now. I was originally going to put the nursery in the other room but changed my mind after Tyler had painted what was going to be the guest bedroom. This room started out pink (when we bought it), then it was "Pooh Corner" green and now it's the beautiful yellow and blue color. The blue wall is my favorite. I love it. I love the bedding and decor theme (Nojo Jungle Tales). I also love the LOVE picture frame that Tyler got me for Valentine's Day last year. I love how well the picture Katie Carroll Wilson painted for me fits the room. And I really love the embroidered poem my Grandma made and am so happy my mom gave it to me. That hung in my mother's house when I was growing up. I love that saying:
"Cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
For babies grow up, we've learned to our sorrow
So quiet down cobwebs...
Dust go to sleep...
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep"
It's nice to be reminded to cherish the moments with my baby and to not worry so much about my mess of a house.