This is the way the baby walks...

Over the last couple of weeks, Amelia has been starting to practice her balance more and more. She'll grab onto a toy or whatnot and then let go of whatever she is holding on to that is keeping her balance. But yesterday she started to take steps on her own. While I think we are still a while away from a fully walking toddler, she is well on her way. I can't believe that this time last year, I was still pregnant with her and today she is taking steps. There are times when the infancy stage seems like it will go on forever, but I blinked and now she is walking - where did my baby go?!?!

Horse Rides

While the games I play are tried and true, the kids do seem to enjoy them. I can still play the horse game with Miles who still thinks its hysterical. In fact, it seems we've gotten to the stage of taking turns. I play this with Amelia, then Miles, then Amelia, then Miles, then... then my legs are spent!

More Fun Daddy Games

There is no one more fun than Daddy. I could spend a year trying to come up with the games that Tim dreams up on a moments notice.

...and I suppose it is just fine that we'll have to refinish the kitchen floor.

Best moment of the year

"Miles, who is your best friend?"

"Um.... Mia!"

Pito is such an important friend in my life and I can only hope that my children will have the same relationship that I have with my brother.

Early Morning with the Littles...

While in Santa Cruz, Tim and I decided to spend the night in a great hotel right on the water. After we put the kids to bed in our suite, we shared a bottle of wine and watched a movie. I had this notion running through my head like "look at us! we're the family that can do it all! fun days, hotels and wonderful adventures. We are AMAZING!"

Well, I spoke to soon. Amelia was up from about 11 - 2 and then Miles woke up super excited to be in the same room with us at 5:30 am.

"Mommy?"
"No bud, it is way too early, go back to bed."
"Daddy?"
"shhh."
"Mia. Mia! MIA!!!!"

And then we were all up. The only highlight of the morning was a fabulous sunrise over the Monterrey Peninsula - and it's almost worth it.

So big!

Where did all the time go.

A couple of weekends ago, we went down to Santa Cruz with all the Reeths for a ride on the Santa Cruz Holiday Train complete with caroling and Santa Clause. We got these pictures of the kids and I am just amazed at how much they have changed in the last couple of months. Miles' language has exploded and he is lengthening out. Amelia is on the cusp of walking and starting to grow a neck - it amazes me that this time last year, we hadn't met Amelia yet and Miles only spoke about 50 words.

Christmas comes early!

well not really...

The Sierras are getting hammered by a winter storm that is projecting to close the highway intermittently for the next several days. To avoid the bad roads and closures, we came up to Reno to visit the Reeths a couple days earlier than planned. We got in late last night and completely blew up the kids sleep schedule. They aren't much getting back on track, but I am sitting here at my computer watching Miles help Mamma make Christmas cookies. She is such an amazing grandmother who is pouring love on him while he pours Rice Krispies on the floor and marshmellos into his mouth. He has no idea how lucky he is, but its not really a surprise that she is his #1 favorite person...

Merry Christmas from Amelia and Miles

The Charleston

Disco

Mister Independent

Miles has just taken off in terms of his independence - I think it might be early onset of the 3s. His newest thing is that he is putting himself to bed. Our bed time routine had been that I fed Amelia and put her to sleep while Miles and Daddy watched TV or read books downstairs. Then Miles picks one of us to put him to bed, usually Daddy... until now. Now he declares "I can do it myself" and off he goes up the stairs. Normally Tim follows up after him, puts a blanket on him to kiss him goodnight and closes the gate. Its wonderful to know he is growing up, but it does come with some sadness that my little boy is becoming more independent.

Amelia's Baptism

On Sunday of Thanksgiving, we baptized Amelia. It was a beautiful California November day for such a wonderful occassion, and bruch for 30 at our house. The baptism was in the middle of her nap, but she fell asleep on the car ride down and got enough of a nap to be a gem of a little lady throughout the whole event.

At brunch at our house, Miles was in heaven with his cousins, all his grandparents, and most of his friends at the house. The kids went nuts in the playroom, all played great together and had a ton of fun. The food was wonderful and actually the right amount. I am famous for feeding about 100% more people than usually attend the party, but the only real leftovers were some cookies and other things I shouldn't have eaten over the next 4 days...

Amelia being baptized on the big screen

Amelia and her godparents, Sean & Christine Charmichael

Thanksgiving recap

Daddo and Beebles flew in from Connecticut for another wonderful Thanksgiving. They started their visit with us on Wednesday and we had the chance for a quiet lunch before we picked up the kids. It only took Miles about 5 minutes before he got comfortable with them and demanded a book read-a-thon. Thursday was a wonderful day with cooking, napping and eating. Little Miss Solid Food went nuts on the turkey and stuffing - I still have the weakness for the sinful mashed potatoes.



(of note... I actually really hate not being on top of posting. I know there were tons of stories and things worth sharing, but Thanksgiving was 2 exhausting weeks ago, and I can't seem to remember any.)



All that said, the best part of the holiday was the visit from the grandparents. I love having my kids to get to know my parents. When I was born, I only had 2 grandparents (of 4), and my kids are lucky enough to not only have all 4, but also 2 great-grandparents!

Little Miss Upright...

Amelia likes to stand all the time. Her life is a mix of crawling from one thing to the next and standing up on it. She isn't ready to walk yet and is getting increasingly more profficient at crawling, but I think it will happen soon. She has started to practice standing without holding on to anything, but still lunges with her upperbody first when trying to move forward.... which means she face plants.

Bed head

Amelia's hair is out of control in the morning. I probably should start thinking about her first hair cut, but I am not going to. :) I love putting her hair up in pig tails and barretts - too stinkin' cute!

It's hard to take pictures of kids

...but it makes it all worth the trouble when you do...

True Love

There is a little lady I know who has her daddy wrapped around her little finger. Any guesses who?

Weeks, and weeks, and weeks - OH MY!

Holy cow, its been weeks. Things have been a little crazy around here with Thanksgiving, Amelia's baptism, and early December holiday/shopping and needle pointing activities! (Yes, I am trying to do a stocking for Amelia like the one I did for Miles... neither of which have actually made it into stocking format.)

To get back on track, I actually went back into the old photo files and not only found some ones from the last 3 weeks, but also a bit longer. The next couple of posts (which are out of order when you read it in blog format) are my attempt to catch up. I hope you enjoy!

Happy day at the park

We took the kids out on thanksgiving day for a morning walk and last minute shop. At the park, the kids turned on their cute and just melted my heart. I didn't get "the" pumpkin patch photo that we did over the last 2 years, but this is clearly the fall favorite.

Thanksgiving Day Parade

Happy thanksgiving!! We had a wonderful day with the kids, Dado & Beebles full of playing, naps, turkey and potatoes... And our own parade. While everyone wasn't fully game, I do this is a new game we will see again!

Amelia tries the slide

We took the kids to the park today and Amelia tried out the slide. The first time down gave us a great look of consternation that we didn't capture on film. This was the next time down...

Little Miss Solid Foods

Amelia has started to go to town on feeding herself solids.... just in time. I've been getting frustrated with the whole experience of feeding her lately, it has just seemed to be one more thing to have to struggle with between her wanting to grab the spoon, objecting to anything not applesauce, and smearing food all over her face. Awesome.

On Sunday night dinner, I made the usual Roast Chicken (which makes the house smell soooo good and is super moist). As we sat and ate dinner, she was not all that excited about jar du jour so I gave her a little chicken - and it was gone. I gave her some peas, and they were gone - and of course the cheerios and blueberries disappeared! With that, I am now focusing on trying to give her some food that she can feed herself, along with the pureed mush. Last night she mostly ate a full dinner of turkey burger, baked potatoes, cooked carrots, and then more blueberries and cheerios. She happily sat in her high chair for about 45 minutes as she ate, mumbled delightfully to herself, and occasionally dropped things on the floor. I am so proud of my little Bug who is turning into quite the eater! (And I love to not have to feed her...)

It all starts here...

It seems our Little Bug is off to the races. She has been on the early side of milestones all along and this is no exception. On Friday, when we picked the kids up from daycare, we were a little surprised to see her walking by pushing the little walker. Since then, she has been walking in our house pushing both Miles' little red wagon and the old Winnie the Pooh train. It's amazing to see her just growing up!

Sweet Mia

To avoid the rain this weekend, we headed down to the Monterrey Bay Aquarium on Saturday with Uncle Yoyo, Tylie and Tody. Miles had a great time in the Kids Zone and chose to spend his time on all the kids activities, like putting wings on the sea horses and rolling Dodo Bird eggs off the cliff, and not particularly watch the fish. I had Amelia strapped to my chest, who was totally engrossed in all the activity! I don't know which was more exciting for her, watching all the kids, people or fish, but she was certainly curious... and known to stare down anyone who dared look back at her!

Snuggles with a little boy

My little boy can be a snuggler sometimes - and other times, just a happy little busy boy.... both of which were captured in the following.

LOVE HIM!!! (And looks like we need to start working on potty language...)

Imagination

Miles imaginary play has been expanding more and more lately. He now takes his little kitchen, drags it across the kitchen, so that he can stand behind it and become and ice cream vendor. Sometimes he sells pizza, sometimes he sells ice cream, and its always 2 dollars. (And sometimes he just tells me to go to bed.) Love how he is growing up, but hate how quickly it is going. I've been looking back on the blog to see Miles and Amelia's age, and it just feels like yesterday - then you look at him in these kind of settings, and it seems like he is an adult! As one of Tim's friends put it, life with kids is long days and short months - it's going so fast!!

Bath time fun

Bath time with the chickens has gotten more fun. They play really well together and I think just generally enjoy that time of night. Usually Tim hangs out with them and washed them up while I run around and get clothes to the laundry and diapers/PJs ready for bed. The nighttime routine is a busy time for us, but bath is always that deep breath before the final push.

9 Months!

Amelia had her 9 month check up last week and she is doing great! The doctor thinks she will be an early walker (not too much of a surprise) as she is hitting a lot of her physical milestones early. She is right on track for growth and development and is running in the 50th percentile across the board.

• Height: 27 1/4 inches
  
• Weight: 19 lbs 1 oz.
  

What's also been interesting of late has been her ability to respond to our words. So much is going on inside her little brain, it is just amazing. She already knows things like "high 5" and when to waive hello and goodbye, but she is also learning about kisses... our new favorite thing.

On the way back from Reno this past weekend, we also hit a new milestone which was a roadtrip without stopping! Indeed!!! We times the drive to leave before the 1:00 nap. Both kids were asleep before we hit started climbing out of the high desert and into the Sierra. For the most part, they napped until Sacramento something (Tim running over couple of the reflector bumps on the road) woke them up. They chatted for a while, and when they both got a bit irritable, I crawled into the back and gave them snacks. That was worth a good 45 minutes of entertainment, then I gave Amelia some milk I had handy in a sippy cup and she proceeded to drink it all down! We made it home from Reno in under 4 hours - and it was great to not have to stop for the ol' 45 minutes like we did this summer.

Amelia is crawling like a total champ and can now pull herself up onto everything! I came into the playroom last night and she was pulling all the books off the bookshelf - one of Miles' all time favorite activities! She's also been into the pantry and had a go at the first couple of levels. I can't imagine how we're going to keep the house tidy with 2 mess makers, but it is wonderful to see how she can get into everything.

Rain Boots

In preparation for the rainy season, we got Miles his first pair of rain boots. They were a big hit and Miles wanted to test them out right away, despite the fact that it wasn't raining that day - so we hit him with a hose in the back yard. Needless to say with anything that concerns water, he had a blast and we are really looking forward to the next rain.

Chatty Chatty

Amelia is getting more and more verbal every day. While this video doesn't quite give her all the credit, she is experimenting with Ps, Ts, clicking sounds and of course the occasional screech. She is just coming into herself and life with 2 kids is getting more and more fun!

Autumn Days

Time to dust off the vests! Fall is coming to California. We've had some lovely days (and a bit of early rain) and we're getting ready for winter. I love this time of year out here, but certainly miss the colors of New England. Not withstanding, it does small like autumn out here and the leaves are changing colors. We try and get outside as much as possible before the rain comes, and I just love this picture of my handsome boy at the park.

In other news, life has been super crazy. We just got back from 4 days in Reno with Mama and Papa to escape the cloud of poisonous gas being unleashed on our home to rid it of termites! (Ugh.) After a ton of work to get the house prepped for the fumigation, we headed up for a lovely 4 days in the high desert. It was certainly colder up there and there was even snow over the summit.

We got back last night to a fumigated house - without water! Both Terminex and PG&E declared "not me". Awesome. After the kids went to bed, Tim uncovered a broken something going into our house, and now it is just another detail we need to address.... why does it always feel like once you figure one thing out, something else breaks!!

Handsome boy

Lately we've had a hard time getting a good picture of Miles and I am not sure why. I don't think he has become less photogenic, just more busy. As soon as he is in front of the camera, he wants to see the picture, whether or not I actually got a shot off. He also is getting his last molars, so is constantly drooling with his fist in his mouth. (good times). He also has learned a "fake" smile which shows his teeth, but that's about it.

Last week we got a good one. He was doing his fake smile until I announced that "Mommy farted" (I didn't), which just lit him up and we got the Miles-Sparkle to translate into photo. I just love my handsome boy!

The wiggles...

It only seems fitting that my kids went as Wiggles this Halloween: Miles loves music, and the guitar so Murray was a logical fit. Amelia, who hasn't yet seen the show, but adores her older brother and is a wiggle herself, seemed like a natural Dorothy the Dinosaur.

We had several Halloween events, including the parade down Burlingame Ave, a party at Mama Sue's and of course the Trick Or Treating event on Halloween itself - talk about a holiday with a lot of legs - and Miles loved every minute. He started out a little shy with the hole knocking on neighborhood doors, but by the end of it, he was targeting which houses to go attack and boldly walking up without either of us. He was so excited, he even woke up on 11/1 asking when he could go "Frick o Freet" again and doesn't get that the holiday is over... why should he - it last for 3 weeks!

Here are some pics of our various events...

Halloween party at Mama Sue's





Halloween Night - trick or treating...

Funny Blues

I seemed to have captured a moment here in mid expression - and it just makes me smile. While I think Amelia looks amazing like her big brother, she has much bigger, rounder, and bluer eyes.... not a bad thing!

While in Cary...

Tim did an amazing job holding down the fort with the kids while I was gone for the whole week - leaving Monday and not getting home until Friday. The trip was tough on me, super long days, lots of stress, but good overall that I was there. The hardest thing was being away from the kids. Tim kept saying to relax and have a nice time, get some sleep, etc. While I didn't do any of that, I did enjoy not getting woken up at all hours of the night by my Sweet Bug. Tim sent this along to me early in the week - notice Amelia waving!


In tangential news: Traveling and nursing doesn't really mix - but it seems as if Airport Security is used to having women like me come through declaring gallons of milk...

Pics off the iPhone

So, it's been ages since I posted. Life has been crazy with travel to North Carolina, getting the Cary Croup (my code name for the illness that went around the NC office) and the holiday celebrations - more on that to come. But while things are still super crazy, I am eager to get some of the memories off my iPhone and out of my head. Life is good, super busy, but wonderful.

If you're happy and you know it...

Amelia seems to be blowing the doors down on milestones. We have started calling her Queen of the Rose Parade because she now waves to everyone. Her newest trick is she has learned to clap for herself - she seems particularly delighted in this...

Did I mention her hair is long enough for pig tails!!! (stinkin cute)

Miles and the goats...

2 weeks ago, we did our annual pumpkin patch outing with the cousins. This was the first year that Miles really got into the goats. I think my favorite part of this video is how Miles actually takes the time to feed all the goats - not just one. Super sweet to make sure all of the over-fed goats got their share.

Just a stroll in the park...

(Also a couple of weeks old)

Amelia is starting to play in the park with all the kids. Ok, not really, but she loves to stand up and walk. I needed to crop the video a bit to make it work, but I just LOVE her facial expressions in this one. She has this great scrunched-nose smile thing that just lights me up. So funny!

Babies everywhere

Outside on our lawn as we set up for Halloween. Tim was lining the tree with purple lights, and I watched after the kids...what a wonderful way to spend a Sunday! (...like 3 weeks ago, I know, I know... I need to blog more!)

8 Months!

Amelia has blossomed lately and I find myself really enjoying her company these days. A couple of call outs on her milestones:

• Vocally: There is suddenly a new voice in the house. She is much chattier than she has been and is exploring getting attention any way she can. She still adores anything her brother does - all he has to do is fake laugh to get her to real laugh.
• Mobility: she is everywhere and up on everything. She is full blown crawling everywhere, can kneel without issues, and pulls herself up on most things if it is low enough, sturdy enough, and there is traction on the floor. She has a bit of an issue on hard wood floor, but that is to be expected. She has gotten just as comfortable putting herself down as she is pulling herself up - so she no longer gets stuck standing in the crib (which is nice). Given, her dismount is more a product of gravity than grace, but at least she can do it.
• Teeth: she has 2 (picture below) and seems to be less in pain lately.
  
• Eating: man can she. We haven't had any problem introducing new foods and we haven't found anything that she won't eat yet. I am sure we will, but for now, feeding her is very easy. She has been very good with the teething biscuits so we started her on finger foods and Miles thinks its hysterical as she flicks cheerios off her tray, but she's starting to pick them up and is really enjoying eating them.
  
• Motor skills: like Miles at this age, she is starting to figure out waving goodbye and high fives. it's really fun to get that level of interaction with her.
• Overall communication: she is pretty good at telling you exactly what she needs. The other day I needed to take a phone call while I was carrying her so I put her down. She literally crawled after me crying. It couldn't have been more clear if she had put it in sky writing that she wanted me to hold her.
• Object permanence: she's got it. You can see her drop a toy off her high chair and look for it over the edge. Seriously cute.
• Temperament: she is a wonderfully determined and happy little love. She seems very eager to keep pushing her boundaries, but will also sit back and just enjoy herself. She is quick to belly laugh and is loving that she can now get our attention through means other than cries.
• Sleeping: its better!!!! It may be her age, or that she has gotten over the excitement of some of her new tricks, or that her teeth are doing better - but her sleeping has gotten much better. She still gets up some, but not as often. She will sometimes go 10 hours without waking. Last night she was asleep by 7, woke up at 4:30 for a quick nurse, and then was back asleep until 7.... a schedule I can keep in perpetuity.
  

I adore my little bug, and can't really imagine a time without her. She has established a very firm place for herself in our crazy household, and our family is whole. Happy 8 months, Sweet Girl!!

TWO TEETH!

Ready, set.....

Amelia seems to be in a big dang hurry to get moving. It feels like just last week (and it was) that she learned how to kneel, and now she spends hours standing up. She is completely cruising all around her crib at bedtime and at 5:30 in the morning. (Back to not sleeping through the night.)

Last night, was the first night that she and Miles played in their room until they both tired, Amelia "laid" down (ok, she let go and fell) and then went to sleep. But at 5:30 this morning, she was up, cruising, and chatting. By 6 she was waking up Miles so I got out of bed to nurse her (keep her quiet), and put her back down at 6:30.... 15 minutes later the 2 of them went apey again. Oh well. She is quite pleased with her new tricks, and it feels like she is going to be walking before Thanksgiving. Who knows if that is true or not, but she sure is in a rush to get going...

Finally!!!!!

Amelia slept through the night last night. I started waking up around 5 to make sure she was still okay, and she was, but she slept great until Miles woke him up at 7:00. It might have something to do with the monster dinner she had last night, or a cough that's coming on... more likely the latter. I just really hope she isn't getting too sick going into the weekend.

Source of Comfort

Amelia is my snuggle bug. When she is feeling exhausted or upset, I am honored to be a source of comfort to her. It's amazing how much she just relaxes into me and how quickly I can sooth her.

Amelia's Latest Photo Session

I spent some time on the floor with Amelia this past weekend snapping photos. She is clearly teething (everything was straight in her mouth), but I am amazed at how strong she has gotten (obviously). She sits up great when she isn't off to the races somewhere. She is getting really proficient at crawling and is otherwise a healthy and super active little love.

Mr Demille, I am ready for my close up

Couple of shots of my cuties being goofy... love them!

Kneeling at the activity table

Here are the promised photos. Miles wanted to get in on the action, so he jumped in for a few, too!

Assertive little man

Miles' new game. "I be mommy and you be Miles". I say "okay", but them I am not sure what is supposed to happen. I sometimes say things that he says, but he looks at me all confused.

The other night he told (not asked) me to change seats at the dinner table. I explained that I wasn't going to move, and he told me I was going to get a time out.

Miles is certainly exploring his independence these days. While in his two's, I would in no way describe them as terrible. He is a wonderful little boy who is learning about the world around him. I love catching glimmers of the world through his eyes - what a wonderful view.

SLOW DOWN SWEET GIRL!!!

Oh my.

Last night, I put Amelia down in the playroom after dinner. She crawled (on all fours) over to her activity table and pulled herself up to her knees to play. She was so pleased with herself! She is finally getting herself off the floor and is experiencing a whole new world and new set of toys to play with. I jumped up and grabbed the camera to capture the moment. (Photos to come.) While I was looking through the pictures I just took, she stood up. On her feet. All by herself. She was even more pleased with herself, right up until she bailed and toppled like a stiff tree.

The fall irritated her as she bonked her head and I expected her not to try it again anytime soon. I was wrong. Twice last night, I had to go into her room as she was standing up in her crib. We lowered the crib a bit on Monday to account for the knees thing, but we didn't expect standing to happen quite so quickly. Miles was about 9 months when he first pulled himself up, what is she doing?!?!

Slow down, Baby Girl, you're growing up too fast!!!

Amelia Practices Her Pincher

One of the upcoming milestones for Amelia will be learning how to pinch small objects. Once she does, we can do all sorts of fun things, like Cheerios! She is ahead of the game for starting to explore this skill, and while she hasn't mastered it, she clearly has an interest. So fun to see her changing so quickly and learning so much.

New Milestone

Amelia is cutting her second tooth today so needless to say her sleep patterns have been a bit off. I fed her twice last night and she didn't go down after the second feeding. About 30 minutes later, Tim was on duty trying to give her orajel and calm her to sleep. At one point he left the room to see if she would fall asleep. She didn't. Instead, she figured out how to get to her knees and look over the crib rail and wail until he came back, which he did, and was startled to see her little head peaking over at him. She finally fell asleep, but it was a hard night on us all.

Needless to say, we were kind of hoping she would forget how to get to her knees, but she didn't and not only disrupted her nap today, but also Miles'. He couldn't help himself, and I can't blame him. She would stare at him, he would preform, she would laugh, he would keep going. Finally after about 90 minutes, we took Miles downstairs and he slept in the pack 'n play in the guestroom. I am sure the two of them will figure out her new found trick and get back to sleeping, but right now the world is too fun and sleep is taking the brunt of it.

We ended our weekend with a bottle of wine with a new family the we met at the park last weekend. They just moved to Burlingame (literally last weekend) from San Francisco, and they have a son about 6 months younger than Miles and a new one on the way in January. It's always wonderful to meet new folks, and this was a lovely family who we are likely to see again soon.

Big Saturday

We had a very big Saturday this weekend. On Saturday was the annual Burlingame Pet Parade. We have never been, but we decided to check it out this year and it was a wonderful event - the type that makes you fall in love with your community even more. Basically, Burlingame comes out in force with bands, kids, and pets, all dressed up to the nines - think Halloween for pets, or super eager families who want to get a jump on it. We saw 2 marching bands, and the San Mateo Elks band that remained seated. We saw lap dogs dressed up as flowers and a doggy bag. we saw a great dane as a horse. Before the parade started, Miles and Dad had fun in the street.

After the parade, we headed up to San Francisco for Kidaroo - a kids concert benefiting a local school with a string of kid-rock bands on the little marina green, right by the Saint Francis yacht club where my parents had their wedding reception 42 years ago.

This weekend was one of those San Francisco September heat waves - there wasn't a cloud in the sky and it was 85-90 degrees. We don't have much of a summer, but our September is amazing. We tried to get Miles to take a nap during the concert in a little tent, but it was too hot and we didn't much want Miles soup for dinner - so we opted to skip the nap. He was mostly well behaved, but clearly on his 3rd, 4th and then 5th wind by the time we left.

Miles had an amazing time and was asleep before we left the city. We had a quiet night at home and an early bedtime. In fact, Tim and I were in bed at 9. What a wonderful (and tiring!) day.

Kids say the darndest things...

Some of the more recent ones:

"Miles, which sweatshirt do you want to wear? (Brown hoodie full zip or orange fleece half zip.)"
"Ummm... deez one (brown). Miles look fat in dat one (orange)."

Touching the mole on the side of my cheek by my ear.... "Mommy nipple right there."

Love it.

twitch, twitch, twitch....

My eyelid is twitching out of control today. I have heard this happens from stress and lack of sleep. Check. Check.

Miss Amelia still isn't sleeping through the night. We have slightly changed our approach of late, introducing formula into the dream feeds and having Tim try to treat her for teething. I'd like to say that I think it might be helping, but it's Friday afternoon again and I think I could fall over. Last week I was tired by Friday that I literally drove home to get an hour nap in before the kids came home, and I just might need to do the same tonight. It's been another frantic week at the office with working at home at night -- and then being up twice a night doesn't help either. I imagine that this is a time of my life I am likely to not remember - which means its all the more reason to be active on the blog. But I am just so tired....

Happy, but tired.

Oh my....

Tonight was just one of those nights.

Tim had the kids in the bath as I organized things like laundry and laying out clothes for tomorrow - and all seemed to be perfect in our little house. Until Amelia pooped in the tub. Nice. We got Miles out of the tub as quickly as possible, wrapped him up in his towel, and put him on the chair in the living room. We then got Amelia out of the tub and I started to get her changed on the couch in the living room with Miles. Tim, unfortunately got the job of cleaning the tub.

But wait, there's more!

While I was dressing Amelia, and Tim was cleaning poop out of the tub, Miles announced that he peed. Naked. In his towel. On the chair. Double-nice.

Sometimes it's so bad, it's just funny.

Calling Mama & Pop-pop

Miles has gotten very into the phone lately. Sometimes he plays shy at the end, but he has been known to insist on calling Dado, Beebles & Bynnie (the dog) or Mama and Pop-pop. Last weekend, he picked up his toy phone and was determined to call his grand parents. We're so lucky to have all of the grandparents in our children's lives - and that they know how loved they are by the preceding generations.

Fifi

There is a new little girl at Mama Sue's who is in love with Miles. Apparently she won't do anything without him. The other day, he was sitting down to eat and she made a huge fuss about sitting next to him. He didn't realize what she wanted, and thought she wanted to sit where he was sitting, so graciously, he got up to move and switched his seat.... at which point she followed him and continued her fuss until the adults moved who was sitting next to Miles so she could sit there.

Just this morning on drop off, she was playing in the playroom waiting for Miles to come and eat. As soon as we arrived, she ran to the kitchen to eat her breakfast. Apparently she just can't bare to eat without him.

However, Miles doesn't much like her back - I am sure it is the first of many unrequited crushes. :(

I have never heard him say anything bad about anyone, but the other day he announced that "Miles no like Fifi". I haven't quite figured out the full story (apart from her obvious clinginess) but apparently, she also pronounces his name wrong and calls him something closer to Milo instead of Miles. As soon as she says his name, all the little kids who can speak say "No! MIYOS!". While none of them can really pronounce his name, they are all fiercely defending him.

Tiguh Tumin'!

A while ago, Miles invented a tiger that follows us home from Mamma Sues. About 1/2 way home, he'll announce that the tiger is coming and that we need to go faster - super fast in fact. We then get to an intersection where he decides which way the tiger is going to go and which way we will go home. We then make the turn, say goodbye to the tiger and go along on our merry way.

I love that his little imagination has just exploded. You can see it in his playing at home, or with things like the tiger. He also has a game where he turns one of us into a tiger - who then has to chase him. As soon as you get too close, he turns you into a giraffe. No idea - but great fun for all!

Boing!

It seems like the bouncy chair has been the only milestone Amelia hasn't hit earlier than Miles, but she finally has it. She loves being upright, in the center of everything, and bouncing away. As often as Miles amuses her, she amuses herself with this - and certainly entertains the whole family with it, too!

Party Tricks

Last weekend, we went to Half Moon Bay to celebrate Natalie's 3rd birthday. Natalie was a little girl at Miles' daycare who just graduated. He always had a thing for her even though she was the one who bit him. Miles had a blast on the ponies and went nuts in the bouncy house. More interestingly, however, was all the little girls who went nuts on him in the bouncy house - they were literally tackling our little Bubs who mostly took it in stride.

As we left, each of the kids were given a party bag. We didn't do much with the party bags until this past weekend when Miles figured out the little horn blowy thing... much to Amelia's amusement.

Some vids from Soda Springs

I was just clearing out the video camera and uncovered these. For whatever reason, closing weekend was a super magical time, and I still feel that when looking at these videos. I just love how much my kids love one another and how much they love Soda Springs. (Ok, Amelia may not know that she loves Soda Springs yet, but she'll figure it out soon enough!)

2 1/2 years!!!

I can't believe it, but Miles is 2 and a 1/2 years old. Sometimes I look at him, and he is still my little baby, but mostly I see a little boy. His language is exploding and we now talk all the time - real conversations. I am totally surprised by his little memory, and he is picking up concepts really quickly. Some snippets:

• "Look Miles, a school." "Yeah, people going Kindergarten there." "Yeah, kindergarten." "But Mamma and Pop-pop are too big for Kindergarten." "yes, that's true, Mamma and Pop-pop already went to kindergarten. Where are mamma and Pop-pop now?" "On a boat!" (Cruising in Alaska.)
• "Miles, are you done with your blueberries?" (he, looks) "No, just have a little bit left".

He is amazing with his little sister and is constantly jumping out of bed to say goodnight or good morning to her. He is a wonderfully polite little boy and says please, thank you and your welcome all the time. He has even started to say "bless you" when someone sneezes, including himself.

When I count my blessings, I count Miles twice.

Miles wearing his hair like Amelia

And one more guitar one because they ROCK