Miles' One Year Pictures Finally Done!

Well, I finally got done editing Miles' One Year Photos. I had a few other clients that I needed to get done first, so these are about a month late, but they are finally done. This is just a taste of some of his photos. It was a rough day and poor timing so, the smiles were few and far between. :)

Happy Father's Day

Well, today is father's day. Dustin got to take a big, long nap today, which is pretty much a thing of the past in this house these days. While he was napping and I was incessantly chasing Miles around the house, I was able to appreciate the Fathers that I am surrounded by. I consider myself SO lucky, for only ever knowing amazing, loving, and helpful dads throughout my life.

So I'd like to wish them all a Happy Father's Day...

To my grandfathers who both are and were some of the kindest and most loving men I know.

To Dustin - it's his first Father's Day and he got up at 3:00 am to comfort a distraught little boy. I knew the minute I married you that you would be an amazing Dad, but I didn't fully understand just how amazing you are. I know that I'm not always the easiest person to parent with, because - well let's face it - I seem to always know best :) - but you continue to work so hard. And when you come pedaling home all sweaty and tired from a long day at work and an uphill bikeride home, you take Miles from me so that I can work on my own schoolwork. You know how to make both of us laugh, and I know it kills you when Miles is sleeping in and I won't let you go say goodbye to him before you leave for work. All of these things are what makes you a great dad and a fabulous husband. You have no idea how much we love you.

To Gail - My father-in-law. Since I have joined your family over six years ago I have felt nothing but loved from you. You laugh at my jokes, even when you can't hear me, and you have such a sensitive quality that I truly cherish. I'm so glad that you can be a Papa to Miles. And besides all that, it takes a great father to raise a son that becomes such a great father. So thank you, for raising a husband that has nothing but love, devotion, and laughter to give his family. More of that comes from you than you realize.

And lastly - to my own father. It is hard to live so far away from you and mom - especially now that we have Miles. My whole life I have heard stories from friends about their dads and never once felt jealous. If anything, I always felt sorry for others because I always knew that I had the best one. A dad that would work two jobs and not miss a volleyball game, and would only ever tell me how proud he was of me. A dad who taught me how to work hard and about the importance of humility. Us four kids had something very special and I will ever take for granted the life that you and mom gave us. And now, seeing you as a grandpa to Miles makes me so happy. It's obvious that he adores you. I love you dad!

That's right....three posts in one day...

And trust me, it's not like I have the time for this. I just had one little thing that I thought of posting as I was putting Miles down for his nap, and I wanted to do it before I forgot.

Miles has a favorite book and I think it is so cute. It is actually one that Matt, Amy, and the boys gave to him and I love that it his favorite book because it is one of mine too. How do I know that it is his favorite book? (I always wondered how parents of toddlers that can't talk actually could claim such things.) I've long been suspicious of it being his favorite book because it is the only one that he sits ABSOLUTELY still for. Then, today while I was reading him stories he saw it sitting out on the pile and REFUSED to listen to any other story until I read that one. And then when I finished he wouldn't let me read any others.

It is especially fitting because it talks about babies that come from all over the world and how they're all different, but they all have ten little fingers and ten little toes. It is so cute, and I highly recommend it to ANY parent - especially one who has adopted their child - domestic or international. AND it rhymes! Which I always love. :)

The name of the book is Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes.

Almost Forgot!

I almost forgot to post the most important happenings!

Miles now has his first words - "Ball" and "Byebye". He also has started "meowing" like a cat when he sees a cat in a book or anywhere.

He also has started walking at least 50% of the time on his own. It is very exciting!

New friends, old friends, sandboxes, and rain barrels

This week has been full of meeting new friends and reacquainting with old. Miles and I spent last weekend in Indianapolis hanging out with my college friends. It was so much fun. Miles loved all of his honorary aunties and his new best friends.

Here are two photos of Miles with his new best friends, Roman and Jack. It's funny how we can have three boys so close in age that look so different. They are all within four months of each other.

As far as reacquaintances with old friends, Miles has been dishing out hugs like it's going out of style to the members of our household. For Dustin and I - get the real thing - head on shoulders and all. We love it! However the animals get a bit of a different type of affection. Usually the cats get a little smiling boy coming at them - squealing no less - who then flops his head on their bellies (they're usually right at his height - lying on a chair). Needless to say the cats do NOT handle this well. However, Cooper has been a real trooper. I've included a video of Miles trying to cuddle with Cooper. This could easily go on for five or more minutes, but this will give you an idea of their love hate relationship. Notice how Cooper won't leave the room - even when the door is open. :)

Here are two photos of Miles in his sandbox that he got for his birthday from us. His favorite thing to do right now is have us fill the bucket with sand, and then he dumps it on himself. (And even eats a little of it.)

And now for a video from his long-ago birthday. I was downloading the video of Miles with Cooper when I found this and realized that I forgot to download it. Which symbol did he choose??? Just to remind everyone - a pencil means he will be scholarly, money means wealthy, and a string means he will have a long life. I was going to also include the video of him eating his cake - an American tradition, but it was like 10 minutes long.

This photo is purely for my parents' benefit. These are the barrels that they acquired and stored for us so that we could build our sweet rain collection system. The overflow pipe that you see on the left runs straight into the fish pond when we get a lot of rain - which is the combination of today and yesterday. The last few days have really put it to the test.

This is a picture of Miles watching me take a photo of the rain barrel system this morning through the sliding door. It must have been pretty exciting. :)

The house is quiet

For the first time since we've been back from Korea, the house is quiet. Temporarily missing are the sounds of the whirring ball throwing machine playing those songs that inevitably get stuck in your head, in addition to the 'thump–whack, thump–whack" sound of a child crawling on a hardwood floor with a plastic building block and the excited shrieking young voice followed by a loud meowing hiss of a cat in distress. Cooper doesn't have anyone to roll around on his pillow with him (and he certainly misses all of the food handouts...he's looking a bit thin), and I have (or is it get?) to eat my meals in front of a magazine or tv without anything to distract me. It's amazing how the smell of baby lotion can mask the odor of a dog with bad breath—which is a good thing, I suppose—I much prefer the lotion smell.

For the first time since we've been back from Korea, I have gone more than eight hours without seeing Miles. I've been able to go to bed whenever I want, roll out of bed whenever I want (come to find out I rely on him as my alarm clock!), and sit in one place for more than three minutes. However, his absence also means, among many other things, that there's no one to tuck in at night (I've been doing that to myself for years and it's not nearly as exciting), and no one to smile at me first thing in the morning (Tiff certainly does not do this, never has and likely never will). 

Tiff has gone to Indianapolis to visit with her college roommates, and Miles tagged along to make new friends. Although I know it's not true, part of me still wants to believe that this was an evil plot by Tiff to 'allow me time to get things done around the house.' Unfortunately, she comes home today, and the list somehow gotten longer instead of shorter. I'd better cut this short and get to work.

Needless to say, our lives are much more interesting and complete with Miles around!

My favorite time of day...

This is the face I see every morning.  It doesn't matter if it is at 8:30am or 6:00am.  I can hear Miles in there talking to himself - usually for about 20 minutes.  When I walk in the room he is standing there smiling as big as can be, while Monkey lays limp - thrown on the floor.  For some reason I got a morning person on my hands, which makes me even more of a morning person, because this has turned in to my favorite time of day. 

Miles is still sleeping - gasp!

Disclaimer....I wrote this post last Wednesday, and am just now posting it....go figure.

It is officially 8:43 am as I write this and I can't believe it, but Miles is still asleep. That is exactly 1 hour and 42 minutes past is usually body alarm clock that seems to be inalterable. I'm already showered and sitting down with my tea....this is the life I pictured when I thought about staying home. That is exactly why I am going to package it up into my memory, because I'm sure it will never happen again. :) Although I will admit that 10 minutes ago I went it to make sure he was still breathing.....he was - obviously.

We've had an exciting few weeks of birthday celebrations with our families for Miles. Like I mentioned in the last post, we went out to Ohio to visit and then celebrated with my parents out there. Then this weekend, on Sunday we went to the Shedd Aquarium with Dustin's family to celebrate, and then to Rainforest Cafe. It was also Wyatt's birthday - he was turning 7 - so it was a pretty cool birthday for him too I think. I have never been either place in my many trips and even the brief time I lived in Chicago, but it was a lot of fun to watch the boys experience all of it, and to see their reactions to the animals in the Rainforest Cafe. Miles didn't know what to think at first, but it definitely didn't deter him from eating his french fries....like anything really could. :)

In other news, I am almost finished building Miles' sandbox. It's nothing special, but after seeing him outside, I know he'll love it..... if nothing else, he'll love eating it. :) I tried to convince Dustin that he would also LOVE a big underground pool, but Dustin doesn't seem to think that is in the near future. Until then I guess Miles and I will just have to splash around in medium sized tubs of water outside. :)

Well, by the time I actually upload photographs and post this I'm sure Miles will be awake and that it will either be much later in the day, or actually tomorrow.

Miles loves water so much that when I was working on his sandbox I decided to fill a tub with water for him to play in.  

Collin and Becca sent Miles a cute Little People Farm Building set for his birthday which he LOVES!  He loves stacking things and the blocks go along with some of his other Little People toys.  

Thanks Uncle Collin and Aunt Becca!

Miles playing with his new dump truck from Nana and Papa courtesy of his birthday!

He was so excited that he started whining before we could even get it out of the packaging.

We also have video of Miles chasing the remote control car that his cousins and Uncle Matt and Aunt Amy gave him.  He loves chasing it around and even pushing the button himself.  That will have to be posted later.