This Shouldn't Be Funny

Darrin picked Miles up from daycare today. There was note on his sign out sheet saying that he got in a little trouble. Apparently he decided to throw toys off the shelf in protest of Ms. "Nee-nan" leaving the room for her break. Ms. Lee Ann told him to stop throwing toys off the shelf b/c he needed to be a good boy. She turned to walk out and he told her that she was mean. She then told him that he is not supposed to talk to adults like that. She reminded him to be a good boy and turned to leave for break....at which point he told her that she needed to go to time out. Absolutely not funny that he disrespected his teacher, but aside from that major fact.....extremely funny.

One of Miles' favorite things to do right now is to cover you up with pillows. I actually really like this game b/c all I have to do is lay on my incredibly comfortable bed and he does the rest.....quite relaxing. My mom was his willing subject last weekend....

A close up of his sweet face in the same picture...

...the same sweet face that told his teacher she was mean and tried to put her in time out.

Lesson Learned....For Who?

Wednesday night during dinner, Miles kept climbing up & down from his chair. He was warned several times that we would take his plate away if he got down again. Being the tester that he is, it didn't take long for him to see if we would actually do it. We did. He had a little meltdown & then we went to church.

During playtime at church, my friend, Carrie, said "Uh Jennifer" and pointed to Miles...he was biting chunks out of a Nerf ball.

The other side was equally bad...

I'm confident that it was purely coincidental that he decided to pull this little trick & that it really had nothing to do with dinner, or the lack there of. If he had been really hungry he wouldn't have been climbing up & down in the first place. It did make me think twice about taking his food away again!

Wordless Wednesday (ok...maybe a few)

His mean face...



Not to be confused with his poop face...

Memories

Just a few things I want to remember about Miles...

1) His answer to everything is "because"....but it comes out "be-tuz". "Miles, why didn't you eat your breakfast?"..."be-tuz". "Miles, why did you bite your friend at school today?"..."be-tuz". For the record, he's not a biter, but he did a random incident last week. The teacher said that she wouldn't have known about it but he told on himself.

2) He is the sweetest, most loving child. He randomly tells us that he loves us. He can be playing in his playroom by himself and he will say "Daddy, I love you". Or, while driving to school he'll say "Momma, I love you".

3) Last night was the first night that he sleep in underwear....and he did great. He's taken a few steps back on potty training, so his teacher suggested that we stop the Pull Ups at night and commit to underwear 24/7. He did great! It also carried over into today. It was the first day at daycare and home that he didn't have a single accident all day. I am so happy....the mismatched clothes and Walmart sacks full of wet clothes from daycare every day were about to get the best of me.

4) He wants a little sister. I hesitate to type this b/c I don't want to invite any questioning. I promise, there's nothing to talk about. He just wants a little sister....not a brother....a sister. He's very consistent and seems to know what he wants.

5) He doesn't use a high chair anymore, at home or at restaurants. For the most part, he does a pretty good job of sitting at the table and eating. Here are a few pictures from dinner at Outback that I took over the weekend. I love the look he's giving Darrin.


6) He must be going through a growth spurt. The child is eating so much. He's still a great eater, especially fruits & vegetables. His favorites right now are oatmeal, grapes, & marshmallows.

7) The bedtime woes that I talked about several weeks ago are gone. Thank goodness. That was not a fun spell but it reminded us once again that persistence pays off. We also moved his bedtime back an hour. It's now between 8:30-9pm instead of 7:30-8pm. I really struggled with this decision b/c I am such a believer that kids need a lot of sleep. It really seems to be the right thing for him. He's still getting 9-10 hours and we get to spend more time with him. Win, win.

8) He's the greatest. That's all.

Didn't See That Coming

This is how Miles chose to watch Dora today. Lately he's been playing with pillows & blankets a lot. He likes to make forts, and he also likes to hide. He's always saying "Mama come find me" or "Daddy you find me". He usually follows it up with "I in here" before you have a chance to look. So, I just thought he was just playing with the pillows & watching Dora.

When he got up I realized he was covering himself up b/c he had peed all over the couch. He knew if I saw it he would have to stop watching Dora and go change. Sneaky, sneaky.

Boys Night Out & Girls Night Out

Darrin took Miles to see Beauty & the Beast today. I got an email just before I left work...the subject line was "First 3D movie" and it had the following picture.....one of the greatest ever.


I went to eat dinner with some friends...for 2.5 hours...it was great. As soon as I walked in the door, Miles ran to greet me and told me all about the movie...and the popcorn. He spent last night with Darrin's parents, so I was extra glad to see him. I think it's safe to say that the feeling was mutual. We snuggled in my bed and watched Dora.

I just tucked him in bed with 2 plastic stirring spoons that he calls "drumsticks", Rumpelstiltskin, his teddy bear, and a Little Book of Prayers. These things are in addition to the four Angry Birds, one dinosaur pillow and two flashlights that stay in his bed all the time. I think he's set until morning.

Wordless Wednesday

Safari Park

Darrin and I both had the day off today. He was supposed to recruit this afternoon and tonight in Memphis, but turns out he didn't have to. So, we decided spur of the moment to take Miles to Safari Park. The weather was windy, dreary and a little cold, but since you ride in the car most of the time, it didn't matter.

On the way there, Miles wanted to wear his sunglasses like Daddy...

We did the walking part first & fed a few of the animals...



Wind anyone?

A little better...

Then, we drove around the park twice and fed some of those animals...

This guy followed us for some food for a little while...

Llama, Llama...

I think Miles had fun...

The fact that he didn't have a nap set in when we got home and he was a little stinker for most of the afternoon. It was still worth it, and I'm glad that we all got to spend the day together.

Another Headache Update

Tired of them yet? I am. But anyway...it's been a little over a year since I was diagnosed with Lyme disease. Since then, I have learned so much about Lyme, among other things. I've also met other people with Lyme which helps so much. One thing I've learned about Lyme is that it can literally make you crazy in the head. Not just emotionally, it physically messes with you mind, your memory, your ability to concentrate, as well as your emotions. Talking with other people that confirm your feelings, and that can totally relate, is comforting.

The last year has been a slow process of getting better. The homeopathic treatments & supplements I've been on can be very hard on your body. There have been a lot of ups and down. Right now, I am very happy to say that I am experiencing a lot of good days. I never thought the day would come when I would feel normal again....when I wouldn't need pain killers to get through the day...but 4-5 days out of the week, I'm there. Don't get me wrong, I still have headaches and my body is quick to remind me that I have Lyme. I am however much closer to my old self than I have been in a very long time.

I started working out of again and that feels great. My body hasn't made me stop yet. I love it. I said if I ever got through Lyme I would never take my health for granted again....and that means working out like I used to, and enjoying it. I didn't feel like going to the gym tonight, so I got the following workout off of Pinterest. It's brutal. I mean really, really bad. Far worse than I expected. Darrin & Miles cheered me on, and Miles even tried to do a lot of it with me. His favorite part was the water break b/c that meant getting to drink out of my water bottle. Heck, it was my favorite part too.

The main thing I've learned from Lyme is to take your health into your own hands. If you know something is wrong with you, don't stop until you find out what it is. Also, don't be satisfied with prescriptions. I strongly believe that a change in diet or lifestyle can fix a multitude of health problems. Treating my Lyme has been a hard process and to say that it's expensive would be a gross understatement, but it was the right way to treat it. I can't help that insurance companies don't pay for it.....it's still the best treatment for me....and health is worth far more than other things that we could spend our money on. I didn't really intend to go here with this post, but maybe someone needs to hear it. Off my soapbox and onto the couch. Good night all & thank you God for the good days I've had lately.

It's Going To Be A Good Year

Darrin and I love to make plans. I love to make plans b/c I always like to know what's going on, what's going to happen, how much it's going to cost, and exactly what I can expect. Granted...just b/c you make plans doesn't mean that all those things work out like they are supposed to....doesn't matter to me...I still love to plan things. Darrin likes to make plans b/c he likes to have something to look forward to & that's really the only reason. I'd love to say that I've converted him into a diligent planner over the last 10 years, but that would just be a lie.

Here are a few of the things that I'm planning & that Darrin is looking forward to...

I'm planning a girls trip to the beach with this chick. Super excited about digging my feet in the sand and not doing much else. The same week, Darrin is going on a golf trip with a bunch of guys. I don't have any pictures b/c guys don't take pictures.

Darrin is going to be a groomsman in Matt & Ashley's wedding in Nashville. We love these guys and are very honored to help them celebrate their day...

Darrin is also going to be in Jason & Christy's wedding in New Orleans. We are so happy for them & can't wait to be part of their wedding too. The plan is to make a vacation out of this wedding since we are already traveling a pretty good distance. We might take in New Orleans or drive down to the beach for a few days. Still planning, but sounds fun to me.


I'm also going to a Women's Conference in East Tennessee with our church, and we want to plan a weekend trip with Miles since sadly none of the above includes him. Shame on us, right? It makes me a little nervous to think about being away from him for any length of time b/c up until now that hasn't happened. I know it's good for all of us so I'm pushing on... It's going to be a busy spring & summer, which will get us back around to volleyball season....can I get an Amen!

All this fun begins in April....that's the good news. The bad news? Recruiting season begins tomorrow. Yuck! It's my least favorite part of Darrin's job, but it must be done. At least we have tons to look forward to.

Wordless Wednesday

The Highlights

Posting our Christmas pictures has been hanging over my head. Darrin informed me last night that "it was about time I updated the blog"....and he's right. So, I'm going to hit the Christmas highlights so that I can get on with normal blogging about all of our thrilling day to day happenings.

His first gift a few days before Christmas....

It was from Stephie, and it was a big hit...

Breakfast on Christmas Eve morning...



Can you tell that Olivia and Ava got iPod Touches for Christmas...



Miles and Darrin's cousin, Taylor....or Ta Ta as Miles says...

Love this...


Miles' first experience with Pop Rocks...

....and he liked them!


Miles & cousin Weston...

Sprinkling our reindeer food before bed on Christmas Eve...

Looks like Santa came...

These are the gifts that Santa left...the Angry Bird was the first thing he noticed...




Hard to tell if Darrin liked his new jacket??

Miles taking a Christmas Day nap with Uncle Dave...



Ava never disappoints with her looks and/or poses....




The girls both got helmets & knee pads for Christmas, so Granny managed to dig this out of the closet for Miles. He wore it for the rest of the night...



Merry Christmas! Now let's get on with 2012...