Miles Hearts Aunt Crystal

Aunt Crystal & the girls came down to spend the day with us. I'll post the pics later in the week. Darrin has been out of town since Friday. He's almost home (a day early!) and I'm going to lay on the couch and chill til he gets here. Hope everyone had a great weekend.

By the way....Miles going to sleep at 6:30 last night wasn't a cat nap. He slept til 4:30am...I fed him...put him in bed with me...and he slept until 6am. He went to sleep a little before 7 again tonight. I think he's feeling a little under the weather. Might be teething...might be a cold....or maybe too much fun in the sun.

Stay-cation

We are chillin' at home this holiday weekend. I decided Miles needed some sort of water toy. I came across this and thought it would be so much fun for our weekend at home. Yesterday we spent the day at Darrin's parent's house where we learned that Miles does NOT like cold water....not even a little bit. He screamed and cried when we put him in their kiddie pool. In his defense, the water was freezing. So, while he napped for 2.5 hours (definitely a record for Miles) after church, I filled it up so the water would be warm when he got in. The hose attaches to the side and squirts water through holes in the center and all around the edge. It creates about 2-3 inches of water in the middle.

It took him a little while to look around and figure it out, then he loved it. Here he is just checking things out.

At this point he had warmed up to it enough to let me get out without coming after me.

I've never seen a baby that liked sticking his face in the water. He does it in the bathtub too.

Maybe we need to get a water fountain installed in the house since he still won't use a sippy cup.

Sticking his face in the water again....

He decided to get out and explore the backyard a little.

Our afternoon outside completely wore him out. He came in and played for a little while. Then I gave him a bath....he fell asleep in my arms while I was drying him off. I was still sitting the side of the tub and his eyes were shut! He's asleep in his crib now with only a diaper on. I'm sure it's just a cat nap since he fell asleep at 6:30pm. More fun in the sun tomorrow!

Sidenote...someone could make a killing it they created an adult version of this water toy. It was perfect to lay out in. I laid back in the rainbow "canopy". Maybe I should go on that inventors reality show.....

A Little Cheese....

...is okay when it comes from a kid, right? One of the teachers at Miles' daycare is leaving on Friday. She's not actually his teacher but she watches him in the morning until his teachers get there. She is so nice every morning, and has always been very sweet to Miles. I'm sure there are plenty of days she hasn't been in a great mood and didn't feel like being cheerful amongst tons of little kiddos, but you would never know it. We are really going to miss her. I don't know her that well, but wanted to give her something kind of thoughtful. Hope Miles and I succeeded.

9 Month Check Up

Miles had his 9 month visit with Dr. Bates today. He was 29.5" long (85th percentile) and 20.6lbs (48th percentile). His weight has dropped a lot in the percentiles, and is the lowest he's ever been in any category. Dr. Bates said not to fret. He's becoming more active and burning a lot of calories. He said that babies are unlike adults and need a lot of high calorie, high fat food for brain development. He already eats a lot in terms of quantity. We just need to up the calorie in take. I wish I could find a doctor to tell me that.


This is our attempt to entertain Miles while waiting.

He was good, as usual. He cried for less than 10 seconds after getting his shots. I think being pinned down was more upsetting to him than the actual shots. He's such a wiggle worm these days. Changing his diaper and getting him dressed in the morning has become quite a task. By the time we get in the car to go to daycare, I am worn out.

Lovin' It

Miles is loving his new crib hook up. I wrote here about making his bed more comfortable in an effort to help him sleep better in his crib. I'm happy to report that he LOVES his new bed. He has slept through the night every night, with the exception of one, since we hooked him up with some foam padding and a blanket over a week ago. He has also reverted back to laying down without a fight. If he cries at all, it doesn't last longer than 10-15 minutes. It's literally been amazing how instantly he changed. It's one of those parenting moments that you ask yourself why in the world you didn't figure it out sooner???


Of course, as I typed the first paragraph he was going berserk which lead to being picked up and is now laying on the couch with Darrin. Don't worry he's not going to sucker us back into that habit. I kind of feel like tonight is our fault. We went to Walmart and bought an obscene amount of groceries which took forever. He didn't get a bath and his routine was a little off. He was so good while we shopped and then fell asleep on the way home. I think he got his second wind when he woke up. So he can cuddle with Daddy tonight, but tomorrow it's back to business.

Summer Time

Darrin and I love summer time. He would prefer that it was 100 degrees year round. I like the seasons. I think that comes from growing up in Florida where there really is only one season - hot. The start of every season is exciting to me. I associate each season with things that I like.

Spring is my least favorite just b/c there are less things that thrill me about this time of the year. I do like thunderstorms and the fact that summer is on it's way. My next favorite is winter. I love winter clothes...turtlenecks, scarves and Uggs....just lovely. I also like the holidays b/c of all the family time that goes along with them. And, days that you are snowed in and get to play cards and boards games all day are fantastic. My next favorite is summer. I love swimming and sun tans. And I love, love, love cook outs, which is what we did on Saturday. We had Darrin's parents over. It was beautiful outside.

Miles and I laid on a blanket in the front yard while Darrin hit some golf balls.

Back to my commentary about seasons....my favorite is fall. Awww...volleyball and football. It's simply wonderful. I love the weather...the smell of tobacco barns when I'm driving to my mom's house....bonfires & smores....my birthday/anniversary....I could go on and on. I kind of wish my life away b/c I'm always looking forward to fall. Just the other day I saw something on TV about football and commented to Darrin that it wouldn't be long.

Volleyball is obviously a huge part of our lives. Volleyball season, August through November, is the pay off for all the work the rest of the year. For me, it's the reward for Darrin's extensive travel schedule during the off season due to recruiting. There's so much talk about volleyball in our house year round (I wouldn't have it any other way) and the season is when all that chatter plays out. You just can't beat fall. For now, I'll try to enjoy my second favorite season.

Daddy Is So Fun