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.