Miles 9-months

9-month stats:
Weight: 18lbs 15oz (25%)
Height: 28 inches (42%)
Head: 45 1/2 cm (57%)

Our little PEANUT is 9-months old and on the move. Literally, he will not sit still. Miles wants to explore everything in front of him. We were lucky enough to have Mark, Lydia, Jack and Audrey (15 months) in town for awhile.  It was so enjoyable watching the cousins interact with one another.  Jack and Audrey are walking and babbling - they are so sweet (and calm). I can't believe how big J&A are getting - we last saw them in early January. What a difference six months makes!  We are all going to Brainerd at the end of September so will get to see them much sooner than we typically would. 

Favorites: Dan. Miles loves his DA-DA. He is the favorite right now, that's for sure. Dan leaves for the Boundary Waters today for four days so my goal is to wear Miles and hold him all the time so he won't want to leave my arms when Dan returns. Muwahahahha (evil laugh).  Miles also likes looking at pictures of our family. He gets the biggest smile when we point to "Mama, Dada, Miles".  He likes walking with toys (pushing his firetruck, for example).

Nicknames: Magoo, Bubs, Buggaboo, Buggy (what the heck? Where do I come up with these?). Booboo.

Food: Miles is pretty much rejecting purees at this point. He loves chunks of baked sweet potato, berries, watermelon and anything he can feed himself. He does not like meat. We made tacos one night and I gave him unseasoned ground chicken. He just wiped it all over his tray (i.e. ended up on the floor). We have given him pieces of grilled (seasoned) chicken and he wants nothing to do with it. If he could just eat fruit all day I think he would. 

Teeth: 4 on top, 2 on the bottom. He has been chewing on his finger toward the back of his mouth so maybe a molar is coming in.

Miles provides so much entertainment for us! We just laugh at everything he does. We love watching him develop and grow -- he just amazes me every single day.

Celebrating Gramma's 61st birthday

Family pic

Meal time was pure entertainment

Miles loves his corn on the cob

Naked baby

Wagon ride

Family hike at Minnehaha Creek

'nother wagon ride

Cutest little nugg I've ever seen

Zoo day with Gramma, Grampa, Lydia, Jack & Audrey!

Looking at the fish

My fearless little boy getting up close to the bear

 

Trouble.

One night this week when we picked up Miles from daycare, one of his teachers said there was an incident that day and that he needed to make us aware of what happened. Apparently Miles "sunk his teeth in to one of his friends".  There was a written report we had to acknowledge and sign. I hope this isn't a sign of Miles Magoo: The Troublemaker. Dan has been affectionately calling bubs "Dracula". This morning when I dropped him off the other babies were about to eat breakfast and there was one spot open at the table so his teacher washed his hands, strapped him in and put a bib on him. I'm filling out his form and I hear "Miles, those aren't yours. You have to wait your turn." I turned around and I see my little gingy grabbing his friend, Arthur's, raspberries!  He's not even 9-months old so I'm sure this is totally normal and fine (and funny) at this point. I hope my sweet angel doesn't turn in to a naughty boy!!

Miles 7.5-8.5 months old

I'm a total slacker. I admit it. 

Miles started for real crawling at 7.5 months. He is FAST and wants to explore anything he can get in to.  I'm so tired lately -- in bed by 9pm for sure...


Since I slacked writing updates the last month and a half here is where he is at with everything today (8.5 month updates): 

Food: I LOVE our daycare. He is eating so many things at school (BLTs, crackers & guac, risotto with mushroom, enchiladas, fresh fruit and veggies) so it's making our confidence as new parents a little better when we feed him at home. I'm so scared of choking!  We were at my parents a couple weekends ago and JJ ate an entire strawberry and choked -- Joe grabbed him and came to the rescue but oh my...my heart stopped for a split second then wouldn't slow down for a few minutes. It was one of the scariest things I've ever encountered. Anyways, Miles, like his DA-DA, loves food.  We went to Kathy and Joe's for a BBQ on the 4th of July and for dinner he had:

• A pouch
• A jar 
• Black beans
• Couscous
• Guac
• Blueberries
• Joe's famous ribs
• Grilled corn (we gave him half of my almost eaten husk for him to gnaw on)

It's crazy to see how much he can eat!  Every time we put him in his high chair he just bounces in his seat and his arms go wild because he knows what's about to happen. I bought a ton of organic produce the other weekend and made baby food for 3.5 hours one Saturday afternoon. It felt great after but honeslty it didn't make as much as I had hoped -- and probably wasn't that much cheaper!  I think he will start to grow out of purees very soon so I doubt I will make any more. I have found sweet potatoes make the most for what you get. Broccoli...the least amount.  I think a huge stalk of it made four 2oz containers which is basically two meals.
Teeth:Top four teeth came in right at 7-7.5 months. We think he might have two more up there now but haven't confirmed because he will not sit still for us to look. Still only has his two bottom teeth - they are so cute and little compared to his top ones.

Sleep: Honestly, we struck a gold mine with this little one. He is sleeping by 6:30pm every night (sometimes even earlier) and wakes up around 6:30am.  Most nights we do not have to go in to his room whatsoever; other nights we might need to put his paci back in but that's it. We do not pick him up really ever anymore to rock him (such a naughty habit).  People always say you can't get lucky with all your kids being good sleepers so I'm sure Baby #2 will be up all hours of the night and only able to sleep in our arms, etc...I will cherish every (sleeping) moment I have with Miles Magoo.  I realize it isn't really typical for him to sleep through the night 12+ hours as early as he did (around 5.5 months). I'll thank the Gods now while I'm well rested ;)

Words: He says MA-MA and DA-DA...but he doesn't knows that Dan and I are in fact mama and dada. He just says them a lot but not to the right person :)   

He is pulling himself up on everything and will walk if he is holding on to any toy with wheels (like his firetruck, below).  He will take a couple steps around furniture but hasn't stood still unassisted yet. We have moved the baby blue bath tub in to storage and currently use a laundry basket. I think we will need to get rid of that soon though...although he just wants to stand up when in the tub and it makes me nervous he will slip and fall!  Kathy says Miles is just like Dan when he was that age. On weekends I am extra tired just chasing him around -- he can't sit still. He just wants to move and play with a different toy every few minutes (not even!).

So for some reason he thinks when we say "Peee-ew" or "Stinky" it's the funniest thing in the world. He will automatically smile and start giggling --- so naturally, whenever we want to take a pic of him we wave our hand in front of our nose and say "oooooh stinky" and he just lights up. I'd say 99% of the below pics we are saying that!

First wagon ride!

Hot weather calls for a tank top

Bugaboo before heading to daycare

Watching DA-DA play softball!

Started standing up in his crib.

Sweetest angel face I've ever seen

Loves his fire truck from Gramma

Friday happy hour

 

8-months old!

First pool day at Mimi and Poppy's

Dan at 8 months, Miles at 8 months

Water babes

In his happy place

Gingy

Miles made this tie for DA-DA at school for Father's Day!

Family pic

Staying cool in the heat

Pool day with cousins

water table fun!

Bubs loves the berries

More pool fun

So happy in the water

Hike with dad

Miles 7-months

Our little dude is on the move. He can't sit still now that he's able to move around on his own. Miles started scooting forward the day he turned 7-months old. He can go from his tummy or back to sitting up on his own. He is interested in exploring vs. listening to me sing songs or sit in his bouncy chair. If we pick him up and put him near the jumperoo he will immediately lock his legs -- a sign to us that he has no interest in being in anything constraining. He can clap and wave -- but doesn't understand that waving is for hello or goodbye. He will just catch a glimpse of himself in the mirror and start waving. I was excited to brag that my little baby made it 7 whole months without getting pink eye or an ear infection (those daycare centers are basically a germ pool)...except a couple days before turning 7 months old we got a call from daycare saying he probably has pink eye and needs to be checked out. It turned out he not only had pink eye but also an ear infection! We would have never known otherwise...it was good to get him checked out because then I get a few minutes with the doctor to ask all my other silly questions that I forgot to ask during his last well check.

Sleep: 
We have been lucky in this department. I guess that's the one benefit of formula vs. nursing...I can control the amount he is getting and know that he is getting what he needs to continue to grow.  Since 6-months old he hasn't needed to eat during the middle of the night and he pretty much sleeps 7pm-6:30/7am every night with very few wake ups in between. He will go an entire week without making a peep. Other weeks either Dan or I will need to go in and pick him up (naughty!) and rock him back to sleep (even naughtier!). 

Eating:
We introduced yogurt and eggs. He loved yogurt but didn't really care for eggs. We had a Thai chicken pasta salad the other night so I gave him a half inch of a noodle with peanut sauce on it and he didn't breakout or anything so that's good! It's so crazy how things change so drastically every couple of years. I was telling Bri and Joe how our pediatrician recommended we introduce high allergen foods sooner than later (i.e. in the next couple of months) and they thought it was crazy --- especially peanut butter. 

Favorites:
Miles LOVES scooting around these days and checking out his new point of view of the world. He likes to snuggle with his Lovey when he goes to sleep at night. He still loves facing out in the Ergo carrier when we go on walks or when I need to get stuff done around the house. He is in the stage where he just wants to be held all the time. We think separation anxiety will approach very quickly.  His cousins Audrey and Jack sent him the Baby Beluga book and he loves when I sing it to him. Miles is my little water baby. He loves bathtime. Dan will undress him and and bring him to the bathroom in his diaper and he just knows what's about to go down. We always say if it were up to Miles, he would sit in the blue tub for hours playing with his toys.

Teeth:
His top two teeth poked through right at 7 months. I love seeing his gummy smile when he laughs -- and now that he has a few teeth it's even cuter!

7 months old!

Dan took this picture when we dropped off Miles at daycare. It was "crazy hair" day! Miles obviously couldn't participate. So many mohawks from the other little boys.

Playing with his tooth brush. Taking after his mama :)

Little boy.

Going on a walk

Having fun with cousins.

Not having fun with cousins.

Getting in to tupperware at Mimi's house.

My first Mother's Day

We had such a fun weekend as a family! We celebrated Dan's birthday on Friday with presents and snuggles. Dan had the day off of work so he went golfing with Joe and some friends. Kathy and Joe came over for a BBQ and the weather was perfect! Not too hot and NO MOSQUITOES!  

Dan and Miles 5/8/15

Dan joked that it wasn't just Mother's Day...it was Mother's Day weekend so he was going to make sure I had the best "first Mother's Day" possible. Saturday morning I got up with Miles. I fed him and played. We played so "hard" he took an earlier nap than usual so I went back to bed and got some extra zzzz's.  Dan made me breakfast in bed: blueberry pancakes and coffee. It was so nice to lay in bed and relax for a few minutes. On Sunday Dan got up with Miles while I laid in bed for a half hour. Why only a half hour, you ask? Because I didn't want to miss out on any of the fun! We had Kathy and Joe over for brunch and then went to Callie's for dinner to celebrate my mom with the rest of the family.  In between the gatherings Dan and I were able to take a little snooze -- this never happens! All in all it was a wonderful first Mother's Day.  

I often come across sappy blog posts or articles written by new moms. Honestly, the amount of tears I've shed the last 6+ months due to reading an article written by a total stranger is embarrassing. I read this and I just melted....sums up my thoughts perfectly but written much more eloquently:

http://www.mommysmetime.com/i-always-want-to-remember-what-its-like-to-have-small-children/

I am beyond grateful to be Miles' mom. He is truly the best baby I could have hoped for. I honestly feel like my purpose in life is to be a mom and I'm living out my dream come true. Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day 5/10/15

Miles 6-months

6-month stats:
Weight: 16.10lbs (30%)
Height: 26.5 in (49%)
Head: 43.2cm (31%)

I can't believe how much Miles is changing every single week, no, DAY at this point! It seems like he does a new "trick" each and every day. He has been rocking back and forth on all fours for about three weeks now. He is happy as a clam scooting around in a circle observing the world around him. He can scoot back but I don't think he's doing it on purpose just yet. He's really in to spitting bubbles and making noises with his mouth right now. The last few mornings when I go in to his room after he wakes up he will just start spitting and making boooo noises. Honestly, 7am is my favorite part of my day, hands down. He is just so happy to be awake and get to play with mama and dad!  The three of us are really in to playing in our bed as of late. Miles loves having the sheet over his body and playing peek-a-boo (well, we just say "boo" but you know what I mean). The weather is finally nice enough to go on walks after work so we have been doing that. I put Miles in the carrier and he just loves exploring our neighborhood and seeing all the puppies and people bustling around.

Nicknames:
Bubsy/Bubs (not letting go of that anytime soon)
Boo boo
Sweet pea

The other day when Dan and I were walking to our car after work I asked him "Boo, did you miss Boo Boo so much today?" My nicknames are OOC. I rarely ever call Dan "Dan". Although I have been using Daniel a lot more recently. 

We've been experimenting with food lately. We've done carrots, avocado, green beans, butternut squash and sweet potatoes. I'm scared to death of him choking. I am contemplating just feeding him pureed food for the next five years. Thoughts?

Mister at 6-months

Me at 6-months!

Red, fluffy hair in the bath

Enjoying the swing at Gramma & Grampa's

Master's Sunday!

Playing in bed before bed.

My sister asked me if this was a scoop neck, 3/4 length shirt

Playing in our backyard.

Going on a walk with Mimi and Poppy

It was hot out.

Hanging with Nolan (and JJ)

old man grin, hanging with dad