down the slide

this evening after supper me and Myles went to the park. The reason I took him there was to let him swing. A couple of months ago when we let Myles swing at the park he loved it and was so excited. Tonight when I put him in the swing he was ok, then when I started swinging him he wasn't happy. He started crying and reaching out for me. So I moved to the slide. Myles loved it and kept wanting to slide over and over - a good work out for mommy!

sign language

a couple of months ago I started teaching Myles some signs. It's good for babies who cannot say words yet to still be able to communicate. About a month ago I stopped trying to teach Myles just because he still hadn't said anything yet. A couple of weeks ago on a Saturday Myles and I were eating breakfast and I casually said "do you want more?" and he did the sign for more - I almost fell out of my chair! Every since then he's been picking up things. He knows 'more', 'all done' , 'eat'...all food related words of course. We're working on 'please' and 'thank you' now. This picture is of him saying "more."

daddy and me

Myles loves his daddy and they had a great time playing today. Myles will stand part way beside the couch and peep out and Luke would say "roar" and Myles would squeal and giggle. Then later Myles stared to step on Luke's feet, almost like it was another 'challenge'.

scary alligator page

Today was a pretty good day - after church we came home and played with Myles all evening. He got this great book for his birthday called the "wide-mouthed frog" and when you turn the page it's got all these pop-outs of the animals this frog meets. Well on one page there's a big alligator mouth that pops out and it scares Myles. When he first got the book when he turned 1 it didn't scare him, but it does now! It's amazing that this child can want to play on steps, run on gravel, and climb on the impossible, but a paper alligator coming out of a book - watch out! :P

Water hose

Today was one of those days you dream about - minus the heat of the summer. Me, Luke and Myles hung out at home all day, Myles even took 3 naps so we were able to get a little cleaning done. After lunch today it was hot so we went outside to play in the shade of the tree in the back yard. We got out the bubble lawn mower for Myles, but since he's still walking slow not many bubbles came out. After that we got the water hose out. One of use would hold him and run as the other held the water hose in the air. I thought Myles wouldn't like it, but he actually loved it. Luke made some awesome ribs and we also had some potatoes, my special corn on the cob and some organic mac and cheese for Myles. But of course, he didn't like it, haha. It was just a wonderful day together and we're all tired!

Myles and Leah sittin' in a tree

Tonight after work we went over to our friends, Chris and Julianna's house. Their daughter Leah was born 3 days after Myles and every now and they get to hang out. They haven't hung out since they've been walking so it was cute to see them follow each other around and play. Hopefully they'll remain friends for a long time! :)

the happy dance

I've talked about the happy dance before, well i finally got a picture of it. Myles was holding this round elephant and vibrates and sings and he was carrying it around and he got very excited. We're all good and I'm very tired.

mommy folds clothes, Myles messes them up

Myles has such a cool personality. I know I say that a lot, but he does something new and fun every day. He has this soft basketball that he likes to carry around and sit down on things. He would sit it on a box and if it rolled off he'd put it back on. Then a little later this evening he got a smaller ball and put it on top of his 'jack in the box' which has a lip on it. He kept trying to pick the box up without the ball falling off. It would roll to the corner and he would stop and put the ball back in the middle of the box, it was just cool to watch. The most fun thing Myles did tonight thought was mess up all the clothes I folded. He didn't touch the clothes on the couch before I folded them, but after they were all stacked neatly and ready to be put up he would run up and grab the things on top and throw them down. He got a couple of wash cloths and did his little 'happy dance' and ran around shaking them in the air.

Myles' # 1 fan

So...as I've mentioned a lot on this blog, we don't have air conditioner. I guess the reason I'm always mentioning it is because it affects how we live, a LOT! We have to carry around fans from room to room and keep them running constantly when we're home. Myles has a fan in his room and he LOVES this fan. We have taught Myles not to touch any fans, just because we don't want to introduce that danger to him. The fan in his room is a tall skinny fan (taller than him) and when you turn it off and on it beeps, so I think that's what attracts him to it. During our daily routine I'll hold him while he pushes the button to turn off/on the fan when needed. Tonight I had the fan in another room and he kept going over to it and pointing at it - because he wanted to push the buttons of course. So i finally went and put the fan in another room. A few minutes later Myles walked to the kitchen where the fan previously was, noticed it wasn't there, said something in jibberish, then walked to his room and found the fan. He's very smart and LOVES his fan!

the longest day of the year...

today is the first day of summer! We've looked forward to warm weather ever since the really rough winter we just had. I think we'd enjoy summer a little more if we had air conditioner or maybe even at least a ceiling fan. We don't remember it being this hot last year, but who knows. The picture today is of Myles pushing his little 'cart' as I call it. He pushes it like a pro now...he actually does it so well that he plows through anything and everything in his way on the floor. It's fun to watch him. Myles is such a sweet little boy. He knows when I'm cleaning up around the house because he'll start picking things up and handing them to me. We typically take our shoes off at the door so I was gathering some shoes up to take to the bedroom and he picked up my Crocs and carried them all the way to the bedroom. He also tore out a piece of one of his books and handed it to me, haha, I'm not sure if that's a "good" thing, but I thanked him anyway. He always wants to share his food and be kind. I just hope this 'being nice' thing lasts :)

3 generations on father's day

This morning we headed to church, then down to High Point to visit Luke's dad. We stopped by the mall in Winston-Salem first to see Luke's mom then we went on to Luke's parents house. We just hung out and watched Myles walk around everywhere. Luke's dad cooked some burgers on the grill and Ashley and Orlando came over for a little while. On the way back we stopped and got some Krispy Kreme doughnuts (yes, the hot sign was on)! It was a great father's day for Luke.

one hot spring day

This morning we drove to Burnsville to see my family. We first stopped in Bakersville at the Rhododendron Festival (you know, food, art..and very hot weather). We got to see my cousin Amy and her kids, Sydney and Ezra. Ezra was born 3 days after Myles and we wish they could hang out more. After we went to the festival we hung out at my dad and step-moms for a little while then went to my grandparents house. They had some awesome BBQ and Myles got to see his cousin David (they're 7 months apart). Since Myles and Ezra don't get to see each other much I put this photo of them 2 together on here today!

spoon training 101

Tonight I was trying to teach Myles to use a spoon. We've tried it before and we usually do it with applesauce. Tonight he had Motts, natural, no sugar added, raspberry and cranberry flavored applesauce, with fiber and vitamin c. Myles did good when I assisted him, when I didn't he usually turned the spoon upside down before it got to his mouth (see the blob of applesauce on his bib). Speaking of bibs, this monkey one is our favorite but it's time for a new one, its in almost every picture we take. We also got a funny video of Myles today. I can't remember if I mentioned this before or not, but Myles likes to dance. When we hears music he'll do one of 3 things...he'll either start stomping his feet (aka dance), clap, or sing. He really does sing, it's too cool!

another meal out

since we had so many people here for orientation this month at work we had to take them out to eat in 2 groups, so we went out to eat 2 times. Luke has been busy this week so Myles went to eat with me again. He's such a good boy - he just ate and ate and ate..

so many toys

Today when Myles and I came home he was really hungry - what's new?! I think he eats lunch around 11:30 and he also has an afternoon snack at daycare, but I guess all that playing makes him hungry again. I gave him a little snack when we got home and got him out of his high chair and he walked back to the high chair and cried, haha. So I fed him supper at 5:30. After that we played in the kitchen/den until it was time to go to bed. I organized Myles' toys and he enjoyed pulling them out as soon as I had them organized - what a perfect match we are! Myles got this phone with a long string on it (so you can pull it) for Christmas from his Grandmommy and Granddaddy Sink. I've been waiting for the day he is walking good so he could walk and pull around that phone. Well i was showing him how it works tonight and he just wasn't getting it. He insisted on making sure he held the phone up off the ground in the air. I guess he thought it wasn't right to drag his toys around (wheels or no wheels). He's so awesome!

too many pictures

This morning Myles slept until about 7 (which is late for him) so I went to check on him and he was sleeping with his hands behind his head, so I had to put that picture on here. Then tonight for work Myles and I went out to eat with a bunch of interns that are going to serve around the world for 5 months. Myles is always a good boy and he does great when he eats. When he finished eating he started talking a little so I had to get a picture of that. Myles did do something tonight that he hasn't really done yet. He kinda pitched a small fit. He was getting a little anxious after he got finished talking and eating so I picked him up and carried him around to the other end of the table and he just screamed to be let down. There weren't too many people in the restaurant at the time so i let him walk around a little, but he kept going to the door and wanting to put his face on it so i kept getting him and he would just scream and jerk and try to get out of my arms.....He's only 14 months but I feel the terrible 2's coming already, eek!

Nana and Popi's short visit...

This morning I took Myles to the doctors office because I was concerned about some bumps he has. They said he has Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease. It's a virus that's been going around his daycare class. Fortunately, he only has a mild case of it and now that he's had it he won't get it again (kind of like chicken pox). Since he hasn't had a fever since Saturday and since he only has a couple blisters in his mouth and is eating ok, they said it's ok for him to go to daycare. The odd thing is...the dr told me today that we all probably had this when we were little, but it's just one of those things that doesn't least very long and few parents write down. So take note - June 14th - Myles has Hand, Foot and Mouth disease. Today my mom and Gabe came up and we had dinner together at a Japanese place. Myles' Popi Cruz was making faces at Myles and he also gave him a couple bites of a lemon - so we got a good lemon face picture.

friends forever...

When Myles was very little he got a gift....Tad. Tad is a baby frog (tadpole) that sings and has a little sun on its chest that lights up. When Myles was still not even able to roll over we would hold Tad over him and play the music and he would just kick and smile and be so happy. They've grown up together for the past year or so (except Tad didn't really grow). Well tonight we got Tad out again and let Myles play. He LOVED it even more! Myles loves to dance and he's so cute doing it. So of course when you squeeze Tad's hands or feet or belly it sings songs so Myles dances while holding it and carrying it around.

happy wedding day!

I can't resist - I have to post 2 pics today. Today Ashley and Orlando married. It was such an amazing day. It was fun, beautiful, and tiring. I have a brother and 2 sister-in-laws, but I'm so excited to finally have a brother-in-law! Myles was a great boy today, he hung out in the room for a little while when Ashley was getting ready, he danced and had a very good time. Needless to say, on the way home...he was tired.

throwback

Well it's Saturday - but I made it look like I posted this on Friday. With all the wedding fun this weekend I didn't get a chance to post last night nor did I take ONE picture yesterday. It was a good day, just getting things ready, getting nails done, doing rehearsal etc. Myles had a little bit of a temperature on Friday night, but we think he's teething because we've seen about 4 new teeth popping through lately. So the 'throwback' picture for tonight is one from last Saturday. Myles loves his dad's iphone. We put a Sponge Bob App on there and you just poke his eyes and make him laugh etc. So we got a great pic of Myles laying back on the bed on my pillow, playing with daddy's phone.

dun dun dun....the BUBBLE LAWN MOWER

Being in my late 20's it's hard to remember many things from when I was very little, but one thing I do remember is my Bubble Lawn Mower. I still remember pushing my mower across the grass at the house on Charlie Brown Road. It was red with black on the top, and the best toy every made! Tonight we came down to Luke's parents house because Ashley's wedding is Saturday and Luke's parents had gotten Myles a Bubble Mower. Now I have to admit, I'm a little jealous of his mower, it's really cool. He just pushed it inside so we didn't use the bubbles. It's got a slick new look and it even makes a noise when you push it.

Where's Myles?

Today when I got Myles from daycare we went to TJ Maxx, Claires, Hallmark, and the Dollar General. I had to carry Myles most of the time because I didn't want to get the stroller out because it looked like it was going to rain. We got all our errands done for getting prepared for Ashley's wedding and got home around 6, just in time for supper. When we were almost done I noticed Myles kept putting his hands on his face and head, almost like he was playing 'peek a boo' so after a while I would say "where's Myles?" and he would immediately put his hands on his face - so fun!

jabbering

Tonight I have writers block. It was a pretty 'ordinary' day. I got Myles from daycare and then we came home and played. He's starting to talk a lot more. He knows that whenever dinner is over it's time to take a bath and he calls it "baa." Most things are "da da" or a form of that word like "de de" or "daa daa". He also likes to point at things. Whenever I get him from daycare as soon as we walk outside he has to find something to point at and talk to. He always points at our car when we get close to it, it's so cool how he knows things and what things are his.

Fohawk

Today when we got Myles from daycare he got a hair cut. This was his 2nd hair cut. He did great with the first hair cut, but today he got scared for some reason. He screamed and screamed, but it was finally over. The result? a Fohawk...that's right...not a Mohawk, but a Fohawk. a Mohawk is more drastic, but this isn't. It's hard to get a good picture of his hair, but basically it's short all over and a little longer on top in the middle - it's so cute! After we came home and ate supper, we went for a walk on the Greenway. We had a pretty good day!

Double Tape bubble gum

yesterday we went to the grocery store and we were in the check out line for a while and Myles got pretty anxious. You know those bright pink Double Tape bubble gum...well I gave Myles one to play with for a while and he loved it. Then he dropped it. It's a pretty thick plastic, but of course it broke making the whole roll of gum fall on the floor. So we bought some gum we couldn't even chew...but tonight Myles got the 2 halves of the Double Tape holder and played with them forever. He kept hitting them together and just carrying them from one side of the room to another. He didn't put them down for a good 30 minutes, it was cute. By the way, he's walking everywhere now!

another early Saturday morning

I think Myles knows when it's Saturday, and just for fun he wakes up extra early. We try all kinds of things to get him to sleep a little later, but it just doesn't work. This morning he woke up about 5:30 (which is about an hour earlier than his normal week days). I tried putting him back down but he just screamed. Then I rocked him with him on my shoulder and he fell asleep but when I put him back in his crib he screamed. We tried this about 3 times and then I had enough. I rocked him on my shoulder and when he had been asleep for a while I took him to the couch...thinking he could lay on me and I could sleep - except..I couldn't fall asleep. Come to find out having 25 lbs sprawled out on top of you isn't all that comfortable. So i rolled to my side and he laid on the inside of the couch and me on the outside...again, I couldn't fall asleep. So after a while I put him back in his crib and I went back to bed - but only for about 10 minutes! Good thing he's worth it!

ride a little horsey....or not

Today after work we went over to the shops on the parkway so I could get my shoes for Ashley's wedding next Saturday. They have random little..what I call "quarter rides." Any time we've ever played "ride a little horsey" on mine or Luke's lap Myles has loved it, so when I saw the 50 cent horse ride I thought he would love it. At first he kinda leaned back, then he bent his legs backwards, then came the cry. Oh well, I guess he can't love everything :)

kid tested, mother approved

Myles has always been very laid back. When he was younger it was hard for me to tell if he was getting enough food because he'd eat and never scream for more food or anything. Now that he's a little older he definitely tells me when he's hungry...and he's ALWAYS hungry! Tonight we got some KIX cereal which the box says "kid tested, mother approved." It's so cool to me to be able to give a human being different types of food for the first time. I'm taking it all in - and so is Myles...except he's eating and I 'm thinking :)

our little moments

Today was another busy day at work. I got Myles from daycare and came home. I love our time together when we get home. This evening he played alone for about 15 seconds...the rest of the time is all mommy time! He loves to be around me no matter where I go. Just a little while before he went to bed we had a good 'moment'. I call them moments because they don't happen all that often. He's almost always in a good mood, but I think the stars have to be aligned just right for these moments. We were in the living room and he suddenly started laughing and walking from one side of the room to the other wanting me to chase him. So I'd grab him and we'd both laugh and laugh. We did this for a good 10 minutes. Those moments are so special to me. It's impossible to get a picture, and no one else is usually around when it happens, so it's just going to always be one of those things I keep in my heart between me and my mr. Myles :)

funny things

Today when I picked Myles up from daycare they said he had a pretty good day but in the morning he was fussy and sat by the door all morning. I guess he kept thinking I was going to come back soon. He's always had his own personality, but as he's getting older he's really starting to be funny. Just about 2 days ago Myles developed this whine...I know when he's hungry or sleepy etc., but when he does this whine he's just trying to get attention. I don't know how he started this, but he'll first go "uhhh" then there will be a little pause and he'll go "uhh" shorter than the first one and more high pitched - you've gotta hear it for yourself. He also likes to copy the noises we make and laugh whenever we laugh. And if he does something that makes me and Luke laugh, he'll keep doing it.

This evening when we came home from daycare for the first 20 minutes or so he didn't want to be put down. I think he just missed his mommy and wanted to be close. So we sat down and had a little snack and cooled off from playing outside.