39 Weeks, 3 Days

Today marks the day Miles has been out of the belly for the exact same time as he was in. 39 weeks, 3 days ago, I went into labor with this crazy bundle of love.

He looks a little different now, right?  :)

Miles is all over the place and very interested in everything colorful, anything with texture, all items that rattle, play music or make other noise and anything at his reach that he can pull up on. In my brilliance, I chose toys for this month's theme. What exists in this photo? "...everything colorful, anything with texture, all items that rattle, play music or make other noise and pretty much anything at his reach that he can pull up on." Smart...I know.

So, as you can imagine, I had a small window to try and get a cutie photo of this guy while 1. looking, 2. smiling and 3. not messing with ANY of the toys that I've placed in such a way to create the perfect shot. I am proud to say, his official photo was captured in the first 10 clicks! *brushes shoulders*

To see all of his monthly photos, take a look.

The rest were just fun photos of him playing around. Out go the toys...

  

Me:  "MILES! ubububub bababa lalala HAHA"
Miles:  "huh...what's that black thing?"

Miles: "Immmm gunna getcha"

Miles: "...Heh...gotcha"

Things have slowed down tremendously, and the house is a much more relaxed lifestyle. Yes, we still have a schedule to uphold. But it's no longer bouts of crying for reasons I didn't know, feedings every 2 seconds it felt like followed by naps which only lasted what felt like a minute. (Man those 45min naps were hard...). We are now onto a pretty normal schedule with naps that last long enough for me to get things done. We've entered the sweet zone people. 

We had his 9-month check up and here as his stats for those who are interested:
Weight:  21 lbs 4 oz (63%)
Height:  28" (42%)

I asked the doc if she had any idea how tall he might be. She put my height and Stephen's height in this calculator thing and said a good estimate would be somewhere shy of 6ft. Likely around 5'10". Not to shabby bud!

What's he up to?
- Crawling on all fours with ease. A lot of times he crawls on one knee and one foot for better speed
- Pulling up on anything and everything at his level
- Can stand holding on to things with just one hand. Has stood un-supported for just a second or so
- He's crawled up one stair by himself....to then fall and hit his head on the floor.  :(  Cue the gate.
- His hand to mouth skills are significantly better. I'd say about 90% of what he wants in his mouth makes it to his mouth. The other 10%? Well...that's for Lucy.
- Eating a ton of finger foods but still about 50/50 baby food vs. table food. He loves any and all fruits except for avocados. Does not like peas or carrots unless they're mixed with something else. Eggs are also iffy for him.
- He's babbling multiple letters but the only constant we've heard is "Ya ya ya ya". Still waiting on Mama and Dada
- Can sign milk but doesn't ask for it by sign. He's started to wave his hands in the air which could mean All done, More or that he's excited. We haven't quite figured that one out yet.
- He's waved to people a couple times but nothing on demand (*so cute*)
- Wearing 12mo clothes pretty much across the board. We've realized he's tracking one size larger than his age. Ie: @ 6mo, he was wearing 9mo. @ 9mo, he's wearing 12mo.
- He's recently found plants and come to find those to be really fun. He also has found the faucet on our bathtub and the toilet... gross
- Knows his name
- He's a champ at sleeping. Goes down about 7:45pm and usually wakes up around 7:30-8am. We've noticed he wakes up about 10-11pm every night, rolls around, finds a new spot and goes back to sleep.
- Has a love/hate relationship with Lucy. The love from Miles, the hate from Lucy. She's been demoted to the laundry room while Miles roams. She can come out during his naps and at night. She's having a hard time coping I feel like, but hey. Baby before dog. Sorry Lou.
- Loves his walks and time in his swing
- Has FOUR teeth and drooling like crazy. 2 up, 2 down
- Todd has started to call him Mee-Lay (I guess a Spanish sounding version..?). Who knows but I was excited because there aren't a ton of nick names for "Miles". Who knows how long or if it will stick, but it's still fun.

Me squeaking a toy to get his attention

Him not enthused with said squeaking toy

His favorite pick from the toy basket.

Miles:  "Mama...LOOK!"  **drool runs down face**

And for those of you thinking, "Man, it would have been SO cute to see him actually sitting on that awesome rocking horse." Here's to you:

Shout out to my Dad who made that rocking horse. Dad - I'm sure he'll learn to love it... eventually  :P

I love you out of the belly just as much (or more) than I loved you in! Keep on smiling bud  :D

Deja Vu

   Miles - 9 Months                                                                                  Lia - 9 Months

 

  

 

What a Catch

We have this pond behind our house that the guys like to go fishing at. It's nothing super huge or crazy fancy, but the guys love it. They've mowed a path and a "beach" out there big enough for their cooler and chairs. It's amazing because while it seems so far, it's really not. It's an easy yelling distance away, so the girls can run back and forth without us feeling too nervous with them out by themselves. If the guys can't see them, Becky and I can from the porch and vice versa. I'd say having the park behind our houses was the ultimate selling factor. I'm excited for when Miles is big enough to run around too.

I stole these photos and video from Becky's blog because Todd had them on his phone. #Repost!

Miles is hilarious - totally fixated thinking "What is that?!"

"I want to TOUCH it!"

Usually the fish they catch are tiny...maybe a few inches. But, dang. Stephen wins. Look how giddy he is! I can just hear the cackles now :P

The girls are hunting for minnows to give the guys for bait. I'm loving Lia in her fancy dress and sweater, all wet and muddy & feet IN the water. 5 Minutes later she comes in the house and says, "I have to go change. I accidentally fell in the water." Yea right haha!

Cruising

Welp - that didn't take long.

This was Thursday:
A little wobbly, but officially on his feet unassisted. (sorry for the long video)

This was Sunday:
Definitely more confident. Now he's taking steps and moving from one object to the next ("cruising"). He's also trying to climb the stairs AND has stood unassisted for a second or two. It's crazy how quick these things happen.

#FlashBackFriday

Things got a bit crazy over the month of March and needless to say, I wasn't posting as much as I could have. A lot of little moments, cutie pics and just random day-by-day happenings got missed. So, here we go! A little throw back to get everyone updated.

For the days I need a break from the computer screen or Miles is just in one of those moods, our go-to's are 1. a walk or 2. Target. Both excellent options. On this particular day, we opted for Target. After meandering through the aisles, we made it out with the essentials = Food, diapers & *wine*. But, before heading to the checkout counter, I swiped one last thing. You would have done the same....trust me.

Once back at the house, we assumed our usual positions. Me at the computer and Miles? Well...usually here:

 There's no complaining about this office location. The view is amazing. That is true until he crawls over and tries to suck on my toe. Talk about surprising!

On most days, Miles is happy just crawling around, playing and getting into mischief.

Checking out the goods Aunt Becky picked up for him

When I couldn't find him, he was here. In the closet eating the top of a Kleenex box. 

I like to try new foods every once in awhile just to gauge where Miles is and what he might be able to handle. We've had a lot of new foods lately. Cottage cheese, fresh blueberries, toast, greek yogurt, marshmallows, puffy Cheetos, oranges, tater tots, french fries, baked beans, spreadable cheese on crackers, fresh peaches, fresh pears, lasagna, breakfast bar annnnd maybe a donut (thanks Aunt Becky) - all on top of his normal baby foods. Not counting the donut, I'd say the lasagna and breakfast bar were his favorite. Your thoughts?

Him studying the lasagna noodle in his hand. "Hm - what is this?"

"...delicious. That's what it is."

I came to regret the breakfast bar pretty quickly. It was everywhere. EVERYWHERE. Up his nose, in his hair, in his eyelashes, in his ears, up his arms and all over his face, the table and the floor. That stuff is sticky. Maybe I'll wait a bit before doing this again...

Next on the list to try when I have a little more prep time: steamed carrots, cooked sweet potatoes, steamed peas and possibly some zucchini.

A couple weekends ago, Stephen installed Miles' swing in the backyard. It's getting to be such nice weather that porch sitting will be a must in the evenings. I wanted something fun for Miles to do on the porch, so the swing is perfect. It took him a couple days, but he soon realized the swing is fun fun fun.

The funniest and most unexpected moment was the reaction Miles had to the top of his bottle. Dude, this kept him busy for nearly 20 minutes straight. So funny.

And to top everything off, a few randoms to hold you over :)

We lost power so Miles had a glow in the dark bath. Thanks Omi for the light up bath toys!