dedication

last night our small group had a christmas dinner and dedicated all our children to the Lord. two years ago, we were a group of 5 couples and 1 child. now we are a group of 5 couples and 7 children! it has been so great to walk together through life and encourage one another.

the verse we read for miles was 1 Corinthians 1:4-9

"I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way - in all your speaking and in all your knowledge- because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. Therefore we do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful."

19 months old

dear miles,

on monday you turned 19 months old. we are getting close to christmas, and as we think back to what you were like at this time last year, it is truly amazing to see how much you have grown in 1 year.

in the mornings, you eat breakfast and hang out with your dad until it's time to go to preschool. your teacher mrs becca always has great things to say about you, and you are learning a lot of things. every day you get to do crafts, sing songs, eat snacks, and play on the playground. your teacher says you have learned how to sit at circle time, but are still learning how to keep your food on your napkin while eating. i usually walk to come pick you up and you are always so happy to seem me and immediately start waving bye bye. you are so tired after school you make me carry you all the way home. when we get h

ome the first things you do are give minnie a big hug, sit on your truck, and ask for a snack! you have a starwars lunchbox and water bottle you take each day.

you are really talking a lot these days, even more so now that you are at preschool with some older kids. i will probably forget some, but here are words that you say in addition to yo

ur constant "chatter" : night night, bye bye, brady, minnie, car, truck, banana, snack, macaroni, book, ball, shoes, sock, mama, daddy, milk, belly button (be be!), hi, cracker, more. you know and use the signs for all finished, milk, and more - which you use to get whatever you want help with.

you love to sing songs and always perk up when i sing songs you also sing at school. you will often request that i sing certain songs as well. you know the wheels on the bus, itsy bitsy spider (eee bee), patty cake (paa paa), and if you're happy and you know it.

you love to put on your clothes and your shoes and socks. you will put your hands on your face and when someone says "Where's miles" you excitedly take your hands away and say "BOO!". you love to help feed the dogs, sweep, cook, vacuum, fold laundry, and other chores...hopefully this will last! you are a great little helper.

your #1 favorite thing right now is

to do gymnastics on daddy's and my bed or the couch. you will roll around and do head stands/somersaults foreeever and just giggle like crazy. you also go to the back door, move the blinds, and bang on the door yelling brady until he comes up to see you. you also can count...except you exclude one. you either say two two three, or just two three. so cute!

you are starting a bit of a whiny phase which i suppose is the beginning of the terrible twos, or it could be because your canines are coming in (counting them, you have 14 or so teeth). at your 18 month check up you weighed 23lb 12oz (20%) and were 32in long (40%). you love multigrain club crackers, danimo yogurt snacks, and macaroni and cheese.

your grandma and opa have hosted you overnight on several occasions, we went to san antonio for a spurs game (you loved the nachos, the dancers, and a large bubbly man sitting behind us who was kind enough to let you stare at him, and the spotlights, and when everyone clapped) and the zoo (super fun!), we spent thanksgiving in college station with the crew, and watched the aggies have a successful football season.

sometimes when you are playing you will all the sudden come up to me and give me a hug and then look at yourself hugging me in the mirror and shrug and smile.

YOU bring me more happiness than i have ever known before and i love you :)

a boy and his "boo"

miles is happily obsessed with balloons right now. he tries to say "balloon" but it comes out as "boo". so fun!

16 months old

update: i should say for the record that you have 10 teeth (4 on top, 4 on bottom, plus 2 top molars) and at your 15 month appt at 15.5months you weighed 22lbs 10z and were 32.5(??)in long.

dear miles,

last week you turned 16 months old. i never did write your 15month update so it will be obvious to everyone just how much you have changed in 2 short months. you are not a baby anymore, you have turned 100% into a toddler right before our eyes. here's what you are like right now:

-you are pretty independent. given free reign of the house, you will spend hours walking around, picking up things and just playing, playing, playing. it's so fun to watch you run around exploring. you've mastered climbing up onto the couch and love to crawl around with someone chasing you.

-you walk like a pro, even scoot sideways. you can bear crawl, put your head on the ground and look between your legs, and you often squat to look at something or play with toys.

-you sleep through the night, going to bed between 6.30-8.30pm and getting up around 8am when your babysitter arrives. you are really good about waking up happy and entertaining yourself until we come get you. one day last week your babysitter arrived to find you sitting in a corner of your crib, reading a book. on most days you will take one nap, usually 2-3hrs in the early afternoon. sometimes when you get tired, you will go in your room, get your blanket, and wait to go to bed.

some of your favorite things:

-your mega block legos. you bang them together with glee. you've also figured out how to put them together, take them apart, which you repeat indefinitely. you also love the dump truck they are stored in, you take them in and out and push the dump truck all over the house.

-books. you love to read. you've learned how to turn the books in your hands until they are facing the right way and then you "read" the book in a very animated way, turning the pages as you go. when you want me to read a book to you, you bring it to me and plop down in my lap, occasionally looking up at my lips while i'm reading. these are some of my favorite times. today you wanted me to read a book to you, but i was laying on the floor. you looked at me, confused, then came and sat down on my head!

-containers. bowls, cups, empty drink bottles. you like to screw the lids on empty bottles as well.

-your pets. the cat is your favorite, you get so excited when you see her and you have learned to pet her very gently. you also love your puppies. you play "fetch" with them and are always trying to share your toys, drinks, and snacks with them...such a nice little boy! if they are outside, you will walk over to the back door, lift the blinds out of the way, and bang on the door until they come up to it and stand there talking to them. it's so cute!

-my phone. you walk around with my phone to your "ear" (really its more like your neck) and blab away. you also flip it open and "text". you get really excited when i make a phone call on speaker phone and you actually get to talk to someone. the other day you brought me the phone and i kept giving it back to you. you kept bringing it back and then said your word for "auntie jen." so i got auntie jen on the line for you and you happily paced around the living room and kitchen for 15 minutes, chatting with your auntie.

-the broom. anytime we open the pantry you want to get the broom out. you push it around the floor, "sweeping."

-outlet covers. you have mastered the art of removing all the carefully placed outlet covers and carrying them around the house. needless to say your dad and i are going to have to make some adjustments to our childproofing strategy.

-cords. you love to go into the office and dig around in your dad's drawer of cords. you unplug the vacuum cord and try to plug it back in. the other day you carried a usb cord around very happily for almost an hour.

-your dad. anytime he is home, you are not far from him. you follow him around the house from room to room. sometimes you try to get him to chase you and he will crawl around all over the house, "chasing" you while you giggle so hard you sometimes lose your balance.

-cars. you love carrying your cars around and rolling them back and forth on the floor, making "the car" sound.

-balls. you LOVE balls. you carry them around everywhere and are quite good at throwing them (we have a lefty!). you also love to play fetch. you will come over to me, turn my hand over, and place a ball in it. i will throw it, and you will go get it. and repeat. many times. sometimes your dad gets a "double fetch" game going involving you, brady, and a tennis ball....hilarious!

things you say

ball

car

dad

brady

peyton

shoes

baby

cracker

quack quack quack

auntie jen (this one is a stretch, but he definitely makes this same sound everytime he sees her)

these are the words you say repeatedly. you have said lots of other words, but not consistently.

what we've been up to

-we've gone to the park (you are learning how to go down slides and climb up steps)

-we've gone to story time at the library. you loved all the songs and the toys they had there.

-you've moved up to the toddler room at church and really enjoy all the fun things they do

-your mom mom came and took care of you for 10 days in early august- she took you swimming at the ymca and all sorts of fun outings.

-we've had playdates with several friends from our small group. you love playing with the other kids!

-you went to work with me, and climbed in the lockers.

-we took you kayaking and you were a great sport, even though we went during your nap time.

-you went for several bike rides, sitting kangaroo style on my bike.

-we went to college station so you could meet your cousin and see family.

-we spent time with your grandma and opa

-we went swimming and hung out at auntie jen's apartment. we also took you to see some live music at a place across from jen's apartment complex and you absolutely loved it.

you play patty cake, wave goodbye (backwards), love fresh fruit but hate all meat except chicken nuggets, play peek a boo, and give the sweetest hugs. you are laid back, pleasant, and the sweetest little boy i've ever seen. we love you!

14 months old!

Dear miles,

last week you turned 14 months old! You have changed so much the past few weeks, this might just be the month that you have changed the most. This is what you are like right now:

1. you are in 100% exploration mode. If you see an open door and a split second opportunity (Such as when dad is changing a dirty diaper) you make a break for the door, army crawling as fast as you can. Your favorite place to end up is the kitchen, playing with the dogs food and water bowl. Often you can find tasty remnants of your meals in there as well.

2. you can army crawl faster than anyone I know, slithering like a little snake. But you are starting to walk more and more! You started taking steps at the beginning of the month and have been getting more and more adept and adventurous. You can easily walk back and forth between two people (your fave game right now, walking back and forth between mom and dad) and have started walking short distances towards toys in your playroom. At first you would lose your balance a lot and fall over sideways, but you are able to keep your balance pretty well, at least enough to plop down on your bum if you need to switch to crawling or if you have arrived at your destination.

3. you are a good sleeper. You sleep from 7.30 or 9pm until about 7.30am. When you wake up you play in your crib for awhile. You occasionally sleep in on the weekends. You often will take a morning nap (1-2 hrs) and an afternoon nap (1-2 hrs) but you are flexible with these if we are out and about.

4. you love to talk! Most of what you are saying I have no idea what it means, but your words include “dad”, “car”, and “ball.” sometimes you say “bee” for book and also “brady.” (the dog). I am STILL waiting to hear mama! Sometimes you make the sound, but you do not consistently refer to me as mom....hurry up already!!!

5. some of your fave things are: balls, cars, water bottles, books, milk, blueberries, strawberries, bananas, mandarin oranges, mac n cheese, crackers, banging things together, straws, phones, laptops, music.

6. You dislike riding in the car, unfortunately. You also get frustrated when you can't do something and ball up your fists and growl or scream. You did this a LOT for the first part of this month and it has tapered off some, thankfully.

7. You learned how to sit up from laying down. This was the last piece of mobility that was really frustrating to you. But one day early this month you just sat up and have been moving around like a pro ever since.

8. Two of my favorite things that you do 1. you find books and open them and turn the pages and read them in a really sweet sing-songy voice. 2. if i'm laying on the floor you will cruise down to where my head is and get really excited and laugh and turn your head sideways to look right into my face.

what we did this month

1. auntie jen lived with us and you loved getting to spend so much time with her. We also helped her move into her new apartment here in town and I know you will get to spend time with her in the upcoming months as well!

2. Swim! It's hot and we tried to cool off by going swimming. You absolutely love the pool and splash pad at the ymca. You are quite the hit with the little ladies. We also went swimming at jen's apartment with your aunt bekkie and you went swimming at leah's house as well.

3. Maddie came over for a few play times. You guys get along really well and like to stare and touch each others faces for the first 10min or so when she arrives.

4. Aunt bekkie came to see us and you loved playing with her.

5. We went to college station to see family. You showed off your walking skills to everyone.

6. I started teaching summer school so you have been playing with leah and going over to luke and lila's house some days.

We cannot believe how grown up you are. Everytime I come home I feel like you've gotten older. You seem so much like a little boy instead of a baby. This makes us kind of sad, but also really excited for what's in store! I think I write this every month, but words cannot express how much I love being your mom. I love you!

13 months old

dear miles,

yesterday you turned 13 months old. you are the sweetest boy i know! right now i'm excited to get to stay home with you all summer. here's a little bit about what you are like right now.

eat

you eat breakfast around 9am. some fave breakfasts are rice cereal mixed with baby food fruit or fresh bananas, blueberries, and a waffle. and of course milk, you love your milk! you usually drink organic HEB central market whole milk from a spill proof cup with a straw. you always push the cup out of your way onto the floor when you are through with it, though your auntie jen is trying very hard to teach you how to put it in the cupholder. for lunch you usually enjoy cheese and veggie crackers (colby jack is your favorite, you also like american and cheddar). you also love mandarin oranges and lil' crunchies. i usually offer you turkey as well but you are not so fond of meat. for dinner you sometimes eat lil' entrees or pasta pickups, or whatever we are eating. the other night i put some pasta we were having on your tray and you looked at me like there was no way you were going to eat that stuff. but then you gave it a try and loved it. depending on your nap schedule, you sometimes have a late afternoon snack as well. you still like drinking water, but we have been giving you lots more milk per your doctor, and you are not complaining about that one bit!

sleep

i'm not entirely sure what time you wake up to be honest. but you have a ball, blanket, bear, and a book in your crib. you entertain yourself with these things and looking at the shadows from the window blinds until i come to get you around 8am. occasionally you sleep (or fall back asleep?) until 10am!! you are usually good for a morning nap from 10.30-12 and an afternoon nap from 3-5. if you sleep in or miss your morning nap you will squeeze in two afternoon naps. we usually give you your bath and the rest of your bedtime routine between 7-8.30pm, depending on how things are going. you have started sleeping on your side, still sucking your fingers and holding onto your little blue blanket. you are a great sleeper!

words!

yes that's right, this month we can say that you have some words! there is no doubt of your favorite word..."ball". there is no doubt because you say it all. the. time. like a question. ball? baaaalll? ballll? until some says "ball" back and then you are so happy. you crawl around your playroom finding all the balls (there are lots!) and push them around with your hand and saying "ball."

another word is "da". you call your dad "da" and it is so cute. you also use "da" to refer to other people and even me sometimes. i'm still waiting to hear your sweet little voice say mama!

you also say "car" and can go find a toy car if we say "where's the car?"

earlier this month you would say "be de" for brady. but recently you have figured out the "r" sound and when you see him you very carefully say "brrrrrrre". so you have the "r" but then can't put it together with the "d" sound. on the bright side, you will have no trouble with your aunt bree's name!

you also have a word for book. i'm not sure how to describe it, it's something like "booa." but most often you affectionately refer to them as "be be".

what we did

after your birthday we had a second bday party for you in college station while we were there with family celebrating auntie jen's graduation from a&m. auntie jen is living with us this summer while she is working in austin, so you have had lots of great bonding time with her. we joined the ymca and you have gotten to go swimming there and use the splashpad, which you absolutely loved. we also have gone swimming a few times at a friends' apartment pool. your mom mom came and stayed for a week with you while i was recovering from having my wisdom teeth removed. you had so much fun with her, especially since she took you to the splashpad for the very first time. we also made a a day trip to cstat to meet your very first cousin! you didn't get to actually meet him but you stood on the door outside the nicu and talked very loudly to him.

things you love and do

-when you get excited you squeal and clap your hands together. it is absolutely adorable and i hope you never stop, though i'm sure you will.

-if i say "can you give me a kiss" you open your mouth wide and give a great kiss. sometimes. other times you laugh and laugh and start pushing my face away.

-you army crawl all over the place and can pull yourself up to standing if someone is sitting near you.

-you are cruisin' like crazy! you move up and down the futon in your playroom and can let go of one thing and reach for another. you can also bend down to pick things up while you are standing and holding onto something. however you don't seem very interested in standing alone. if i try to get you to stand, you just start giggling like CRAZY and fall over reaching for me.

-you love for me to read books to you. you climb up in my lap and turn the pages, occasionally looking up at me as i read. i LOVE reading books with you. you also read books to yourself, which i love to see you crawl over to them and flip through the pages "reading" them with funny baby sounds.

-you love fresh fruit, your puppies, the cat, your dad, your dad's ps3 controller, phones, laptops (in fact you have your own cell phone and laptop with the batteries removed because you love them so much), balls, cars, teeth, baths, swimming, other babies and young children, glasses (i had to go back to wearing contacts), and music ( you are still quite the dancer!)

i love you SO MUCH. i have so much fun playing and reading with you. i love to hear you laugh and see your sweet smile every day. you're the best!

miles goes swimming

miles used some of his birthday money from his mawmaw to pick out a small wading pool and some pool toys. yesterday afternoon we set up the umbrella and the pool on the deck and miles changed into his swimming clothes. he also used his beach towel from his nana for the first time. he didn't mind the cool water at all and started playing with his new toys right away. i showed him how to splash the water and he enjoyed splashing as well, except when he got the water in his eyes. his puppies were very jealous of his new set up! i think this will be a great way to keep miles cool during the next few months.