Deck the Halls

My mom and I put up the Christmas decorations on Saturday. Christmas decorations are not Darrin's thing. It's not a ceremonial time for us...turn on the Christmas music and bake cookies while putting up the tree. I'm fine with that. There's even been a couple years that we didn't put up a tree at all. Blasphemy, I know. Anyway, it was so fun to have my mom's help this year. It doesn't hurt at all that she's kin to Martha Stewart.

I decided to keep it simple this year b/c I figures Miles would be a handful. I went with a tree, the front door, and Christmas dishes. That's all....no set around stuff.

At first, Miles wanted to help....

That wasn't working. So, he and Daddy went to Walmart to browse the electronics while we put up the tree. That's where you entertain a kid in the wintertime when you live in Martin, TN.

I wanted to see how Miles looked in some of our Black Friday purchases. Darrin was making fun....telling Miles that they were going to the North Pole and it was going to be freezing there.

He did a little investigating when they returned. He liked it but didn't care too much about it. Perfect.



I love how the front door turned out. Too bad it's very sunken in and most people will never see it unless they are coming to visit. Oh well, I still love it and enjoyed decorating it. Thanks for your help Mom!

Happy Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving at Darrin's cousin Heather's house. My mom spent Thanksgiving with us too. However I did a terrible job taking pictures so you won't see either grandmother in this post. Party foul for sure.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Unfortunately I'm still on my strict detox diet so I couldn't eat most of the great food. I did have a few bites of my Mom's delicious stuffing (a personal fav) and a piece of caramel pie. I was limiting myself to one bite of pie but then the wheels came off and before I knew it I had devoured an entire piece. Definitely not part of the diet. Oops.

Miles was looking out the window, longing to go out and play with the bigger kids. He's teething so lots of chewing on fingers...


Miles decided to hug Ava. Precious...

Then Ava decided to hug Uncle D...

Then I made Olivia hug me....

Miles and cousin Zoe...


Miles playing with Pa...

Aunt Crystal stealing a hug. Crystal made the turkey this year and did a fabulous job! Yummy!


Uncle John entertained Miles for a while so we could play "Things" and "Mad Gab".

Happy Thanksgiving from the McClure's!

Lesson Learned

Darrin took Miles to the park two days this week to see the ducks. The second day they took some bread to feed them. Darrin said that the ducks were all over them as soon as they saw the bread. After the duck swarming, they backed up to a safe distance and took some pictures.

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Memory Lane

We took Miles to see Dr. Bates today for his 15 month well visit. I thought it would be fun to look back at several pictures from our previous visits.

Newborn...

9 weeks...

6 months...

8 months... (and one of my favorite pictures ever!)

9 months...

Today...15 months...

Miles weighs 24lb 12oz (55th percentile) and is 32" tall (76th percentile). They don't measure his (perfectly sized) head anymore now that he's a big boy! I scheduled the visit for 11am, which is probably the worst time I could have picked. He was hungry and tired b/c they eat lunch at 10:45am and then take a nap at daycare. He did pretty well but didn't like sitting on the table at all. He just wanted to be held. We took turns while trying to carry on a conversation with Dr. Bates.

He's been drinking soy milk since he got off formula b/c regular milk broke his face out and made him very congested. Hoping he's grown out of it, we are trying milk again beginning tomorrow. Our plan is to mix it with soy milk for a couple of days to try to ease him back into it and see if he can handle it. It sure would be cheaper and more convenient. Fingers crossed.

A Few of My Favorite Things

Just wanted to document a few of Miles' favorite things. Even though it seems like I'll never forget all the things he does, I know how it goes. I want to be able to tell him about his childhood...how he acted and what he liked.

He loves to play...especially with puzzles, balls, and toys that have music & sounds. I credit him sitting at a table playing by himself to daycare. He climbs up there all the time and plays. It doesn't hurt that he usually gets marshmallows for a snack at night while sitting at his table.


He loves books. The majority of every night is spent with us sitting on the couch and Miles bringing us books to read. We'll read the book, and then he'll take it back and get another one. Right now, he's still killing me with Good Night Gorilla.....over and over and over every night. I think I read it five times tonight.

He loves vegetables. Green beans are his favorite, but he also loves peas, corn, carrots and broccoli. He's not crazy about mashed potatoes, which seems odds to me. I thought all kids loves mashed potatoes. Another meal that he loves is pasta with spaghetti sauce. I fix some type of whole wheat pasta that he can pick up, shells or ziti, and then put some spaghetti sauce on it. He consumes that meal faster than any other...right hand, left hand...shove.

He loves daycare. We've started letting him walk in every day. He knows exactly where to go and practically rips the gate down every day to get into the area where the kids are. I can tell he loves his teachers and all the kids. I dropped him off one day last week and ran across the room and threw his arms around Ms. Debra's legs. Very sweet. He's always playing like crazy before I can sign in and leave. What a great feeling to know that he loves daycare.

He loves to watch animal videos on You Tube with Darrin. It's a great way to entertain him. He jabbers and points to the screen. He loves animals. We can't wait to take him back to the zoo.

He loves bubble baths. He really likes any kind of bath, but bubbles make it very exciting! Tonight I put him in the tub the whole time it was filling up. He kept trying to drink the water as it was coming out. I definitely think he's going to love the water. Hopefully Santa will put some bubble bath in his stocking.

15 Months Old Today

...and clearly wearing 12 month pajamas.

Live & Learn

Last night Miles was super fussy from the time he got home from daycare. He usually goes to bed around 7:30pm but last night around 6:30pm he was standing at the frig crying. We thought he wanted his bottle. So, we gave him a bottle and put him to bed at 6:30pm. Bad idea. He woke up at 2:30am and was ready to party. He came to bed with us and proceeded to crawl all over the place. After Tylenol, another bottle and 2 hours of fidgeting, he fell back asleep. With babies these nights just happen, so we didn't think anything of it.

Tonight around 6:30pm he went to the frig and started crying. We were determined he wasn't going to bed early again. We decided he might be thirsty. Darrin gave him some water. He gulped it down and played happily for another hour and a half. The poor kid was just thirsty last night. It drives me crazy when he's trying to tell us something and we don't get it until after the fact.

BTW, Miles' curls have grown back & I am one happy mom!

The Latest

I saw a new doctor this week about my headaches....Dr. Bernui. A friend referred me to him. She takes her triplets to him, and felt like if anyone could help me, he could. His office is in Hendersonville, TN. So, Darrin and I dropped Miles off at his mom's house on Monday morning and drove to middle TN for my appointment at 1pm.

I had completed a ton of paperwork and mailed it in before the visit. Dr. Bernui likes to review your information before he meets with you. I scheduled this appointment in October and have been anxiously waiting for Nov. 15th. I'm so eager to feel better. On the way to the appointment I told Darrin that I was nervous. That seemed strange to him b/c he's never nervous about anything. I guess I just had high hopes, and wanted to be sure I accurately described my problems. Over the last year, it's become a lot more than headaches.....neck stiffness, body aches, fatigue, night sweats....

We met with the nurse & Dr. Bernui for almost 3 hours. He was exactly what I have been looking for in a doctor. For starters, his main objective is to find the root cause, rather than constantly treating/masking the symptoms. He asked a ton of questions going all the way back to when I was 5 years old and had mono. He asked a lot of questions about the night sweats b/c he said that indicates an infection. Every other doctor had blown right by that symptom. At the end of the visit, he said based on my symptoms, he's looking for a chronic disease.

They drew a ton of blood and plan to test for everything from my Vitamin D level to Lyme disease. I am on a strict diet between now and my follow up appointment on Dec. 28th. Since we don't know if the headaches are food related, it's best to completely clean my body out. I've thought for a while that I should be doing this. It just took a professional to tell me to.

Once again I'm hopeful that this will lead to some answers. This has been a crazy journey over the last 15 months. At times, I feel crazy, like I'm making something out of nothing. A gazillion doctors' visits can easily make you go there. At the end of the day, I know that I don't feel good and that this isn't normal. Darrin has been amazing through all of this. He's never once acted like I was crazy or been frustrated when I said "my head hurts" a hundred times a day. I don't think I would have been as gracious. Thanks babe....love ya.

Bookworm

Miles loves books. I read to him a lot to try to instill the love of reading since neither Darrin nor I like to read. This is his new ritual while I am cooking dinner at night.

He will read a book for a while and then climb down, go to his playroom, get another book, and climb back up and around to his spot. He walks around the couch to that spot b/c he can see me in the kitchen from there.

Side notes...
1) He is not wearing a dress. I was just too lazy to snap the buttons on the bottom after changing his diaper.
2) Yes, he falls off sometimes when he walking on the couch unsupervised. When I hear a thump, I immediately freeze and see if he's going to start crying. 9 times out of 10 he will carry on.
3) His nose is scratched b/c he fell on the sidewalk at daycare for the 5th time. I'm ready for the boy to gain some coordination.

Around the House Projects

I mention a few posts ago that I was organizing my pantry. It was out of control. I'm pretty sure I would have failed any health inspection due to the cleaning supplies that were also stored in there. I'm not sure you can tell much from the pictures.

Before...
During...

After...
I copied my mom and got rubbermaid containers for my flour, all purpose and self rising, and for the sugar, white and brown. I used my label maker (a gift from my mom b/c she thinks it's an essential for everyone to have) to label the containers. I also labeled the baskets "Chips & Snacks" and "Cookies & Sweets".

We had to do a huge shopping trip on Sunday to replace the stuff that was out of date. Yuck! I feel so organized, and it has inspired me to cook, which I had kind of gotten out of the habit of. This week I'm tackling my kitchen and master bathroom floors. The ceramic tile is filthy. With my mom's help, I'm going to scrub them and seal the tile. I'll let you know how it goes.

Kindermusic

We were invited to Friend Night at Kindermusic tonight. Ansley invited Miles.

Miles had a great time. However, he was easily the worst kid in the room. He's usually reserved and somewhat solemn in new settings. Tonight was definitely the exception. From the minute we walked in the door, he was all over the place. The first half of the class everyone sat in a circle and sang. Miles was in the middle of the circle most of the time. Every now and then he would walk up to complete strangers and stare at them. All the while, the rest of the kids are politely sitting and singing.

His favorite part was playing with the different instruments. We had to rotate between four stations. He did not like leaving the maracas that he'd become quite fond of at this station. Slight meltdown until he saw the next basket of instruments.

At this point, you had to pick an instrument and sit in a circle again to play along with the music. Miles once again chose to play his in the middle of the circle.

There was a table set up with door prizes. One of the prizes was this ball. All night long he kept wandering back to the table trying to get the ball. He didn't win it but the mom of the kid that did felt sorry for him when he was staring at it longingly. She let him play with it for a little while. Pure happiness.

We also danced with scarves...

Miles and his friend, Thomas...

We had a lot of fun. The teacher was extremely patient. If she was bothered at all by chaos and stray kids wandering around, you certainly couldn't tell it. It was a great night. Thanks Carrie & Ansley!

Mission Accomplished

He was so proud of himself for figuring out how to work the CD player. After the music started (and I congratulated him) he just stood there as if he was posing. He cracks me up.

He's finally better. Off to daycare tomorrow after missing an entire week. Thank you to our moms for helping us out over the last week.

Almost Better

This is definitely the sickest Miles has ever been. His fever has been gone since yesterday morning but he has no energy. He cries a lot and just wants to be held. We have obliged as much as possible. He did sleep in his bed last night for 12+ hours, which was great for everyone.

Tonight he ate a very good supper of roast and peas, and then it was time for a bath. After his bath he played in his room more than he has played in a week. It was so good to see him feeling a little better and having fun.

This is the first toy he "played" with (see here). It converts into 3 stages as they grow. We are in the last stage....obviously the way he's crammed in there.

He still likes it...

Then, it was time to pick out the perfect book. The boy loves books. I'm so glad. He still loves So Big, and has finally branched out to others such as Wake Up Little One, Goodnight Gorilla, 5 Little Lady Bugs, Little Kitten, and The Little Engine That Could.



Fun times with my baby in the cutest pjs ever. We got out of the footed pajamas during the summer but I started back just b/c I love them so much.

And now for some meaningless chatter...

1) I C-A-N-N-O-T believe the Titans picked up Randy Moss. I thought it was so funny when New England dropped him. Not so funny now that he's on MY team. I'm very upset about this.

2) I've kind of started working out this week. I'm not going to act like I'm all committed until we see if I actually am. My goal is a modest 3 days a week. No reason to set unattainable goals. I hope this is where I turn the corner.

3) I'm on Day 6 with no caffeine. It has been incredibly difficult. I knew I would have headaches (like that's something new) but I didn't expect the dizziness, nausea and fatigue. Days 3 & 4 were the worst. Yesterday I felt good and didn't have a headache. Today I have had an excruciating headache all day. I started drinking caffeine while I was on maternity leave so I thought it might be the source of my headaches. The jury is still out on this one.

4) The high tomorrow is 60. Very excited about this. I love cold weather, especially until after the holidays. Then I kind of get over it.

5) My project for the weekend is to organize my pantry. Right now it is a disaster. It's like a storage closet with food in it.

6) This guy came to speak at our church a couple weeks ago. I can't stop thinking about his story. He was abused by his father from age 5 on. Stories like this tend to haunt me for a while. It makes me sick to my stomach to think there are kids going through this all around me.

Sorry to end on a downer but I'm sleepy and ran out of things to say. Good night, sleep tight.