Aunt Fran

A few weeks back, we had Aunt Fran up for a visit (we know...we're a bit behind on posts and a bit out of order). She came up for cocktails, dinner and MOST of all to visit with Miles. They had a great time playing together and Aunt Fran helped with Miles' bath.

We caught a cute kiss that just has to be shared.

In other more current news, Miles has picked up a few more select words. He throws them out there when you're least expecting, then refuses to say it again when asked or on camera. Miles has "Two", "Three", "Preas" (please), "car", "hi", "bye", "Mommy" and "Daddy" down cold. He's not stringing them together just yet. We're practicing "Bye, Mommy" or "Hi, Daddy"...but not there yet.

Miles is no longer in the child/baby bath seat. He now takes baths like a big boy. Though he stands up now in the tub 20-30 times in the 10-15mins. he's in the tub. We're constantly holding his arm to safeguard against slipping and to coax him to return to his bottom. If he likes standing so much maybe we'll just turn on the shower head and see what he prefers. Any bets?

Twosday!

We've been joking with friends and family ever since "Monday" was born, that if we were fortunate enough to have a second child, its pre-natal name would be Twosday (get it??) :)

Well...no joke. We're expecting Twosday in Feb. Below is the photo we used to break the news to our family. Notice its Miles looking at our first ultrasound of Twosday.



We're happy to report that Twosday is fine and has tested great on all the tests.

Now...as I did with Miles (while he was known as "Monday"), I will offer Twosday some advice. Relax, enjoy the time you have with Mom. Its bright out here and not often as warm. Enjoy your meals as Mom is eating well for you both. Sleep as much as you can and try to let Mom as well. Be healthy and of good spirit and soul. You are loved already more than you know. We eagerly await your arrival.

Love, Mom, Dad and Your Big Brother Miles

A breakthrough?

This summer, we have struggled with Miles on the drive up and back to Soda Springs. It seems the car doesn't lull him to sleep like many kids, but it excites him and he has a hard time turning off the visual stimulation.

On Friday night, at about 9:15 and after Sacramento, Miles was still not asleep. I took a chance and put the edge of one of his blankets over his eyes and he immediately fell asleep until we arrived. Sunday's departure more or less worked the same and gave him about an hour's nap, which is long from him in the car. Now if only we could do something about the traffic!!!

Quick - change the locks!

Miles has figured out how to lock doors that just have the button lock in the middle of the door knob. Last night while I was grilling, he managed to lock me out of the house. Luckily Dad was inside and let me back in. We are a little concerned that he'll be able to lock himself into a couple of rooms in the house where it would be difficult to get him out so it looks like we will be removing the locks from several of our doorknobs!

Be warned - if you are over at our house and a door is closed - knock first! The room may be occupied!!!

Dinner Drama

The last several weeks have yielded an often dramatic dinner time. Miles is tired, and hasn't been afraid to show it. While daycare is amazing for him and he loves it (he didn't even wave goodbye to Dad this morning), he is totally zonked by the time he gets home. Apparently, he is eating really well at daycare and is actively growing - now out of all 12-18 month pants - he hasn't been eating too well at home. Even if we put things in front of him that he loves, he will fuss and cry. It's sometimes takes shoving food into his mouth while he is crying. He's pissed, but will taste it, chew it, eat it, and then be fine with dinner - mostly. We're trying now to all eat dinner as a family to show him good behavior, but sometimes he just isn't into it, here are a couple of the hurdles:

1. at breakfast you can't touch the spoon without a thorough reproach from Miles. At dinner, he mostly wants to be fed.
2. Sometimes the only thing he will eat will be baby food or something else he doesn't need to chew - but at daycare, he will eat chicken and pork adobo.
3. There is always room for fruit.

While we are trying not to make it a big deal, it is a far cry from the 12 month old who would happily sit in his high chair for 45 minutes eating everything in front of him.

Oh a good note, though, last night's dinner went great. For Miles, I made a chicken salad melt on whole wheat bread with a side of peas. Tim and I had a green salad with the grilled chicken and a side of a grilled cheese sandwich. We all sat together. Miles took great pleasure in trying to use Dad's big silver fork on his sandwich, but didn't have too much luck with the peas! After dinner, we "practiced" drinking water from a cup - an exercise that had both Miles and me in fits of laughter. I do love our little guy, I just wish mealtime would always be as easy as last night!

Crabby

So many photos of Miles is of him smiling and having a great time...so we thought it was only fair to show both sides of the story. Miles is 99% of the time happy and ear to ear smiles; whether he has a cold, cut or is hungry..ok, he's not ok when hungry. However, if he wants to...say look at the view finder of the camera (as is the case in the photo below) and he is unable to, he will let you know he's a bit more than just a little disappointed and put off.

This is the face of the noise "eeeeh, eh, eehhhhh!"

I Rock!

Almost everyday, at some point, we'd try to make it down to Ceder Lake or to Children's Beach. Miles loved (as many kids do) standing in ankle high water, chucking rocks into ankle deep water. Miles thought he was the Cat's Ass in his surfer's outfit, Greg Norman styled beach hat and ready for water sandals...and you know what??? He was!