(Two) New Little Cupcake(s)

Sunday with Apple and Grandpa Lou

2012-02-05T15:10:00.000-08:00

We've been having a great visit with Apple and Grandpa Lou! This is just one morning's worth of fun, if you can believe it.

Noah loves eating what the big people eat.

The Menfolk.

Check out these potty skills!

Noah Notes ... Nine Months

2012-01-19T16:22:00.000-08:00

Well, if you've got a calendar, you'll know these should have been taken and posted the day after Christmas, when Noah turned nine months (more time on the outside of Mom than he spent inside Mom!) Yeah, these are late. They were taken this weekend, so they are really 9.5 month photos....the lateness, however, does not impact the cuteness!

At eight months, Noah:

-- weighs over 25 pounds. He's mostly wearing 18 month and 24 month clothes.

-- can drink from his own bottle. I've just about phased out morning nursing sessions, so most days he gets most of his milk from bottles. We're only nursing in the evenings, for the most part.

-- is ALL ABOUT finger foods. Puffy stars, frozen peas, bread cubes, Cheerios, he loves them all. He's also very good at snatching the food you don't want him to eat off a plate or out of your hand. He knows how to cram the contraband into his mouth quickly, before you can get it back. In this way, he's tried peanut butter and jelly and chicken nuggets.

-- is starting to learn about Cry It Out. After several sleep setbacks with teeth and colds, we've started to let him comfort himself in his crib. It's not any easier to do with the second child, even though we know how well it worked for Miles.

-- MOVES. He's a pro at the commando crawl (which he often does with his fingers laced together,) he pulls up on the ottoman and is starting to cruise, and he's even attempted a more traditional hands and knees crawl. We had to put him on this stool for our photo shoot, because it was the only way we could keep him in one spot long enough to take a picture.

-- claps and waves.

-- is getting much more vocal...particularly when he's frustrated. He's a very determined litte fellow and is content to try things over and over again until he's mastered them. When he does get stuck, though, he'll let you know.

-- says things that sound like "Mama" and "Dada" and "Hi."

Cheerios

2012-01-14T22:11:00.000-08:00

We gave Noah his first Cheerios this week. Of course, Miles then experienced a renewed interest in Cheerios as well.

Love these boys!!

Riding the Train

2012-01-11T10:18:00.000-08:00

Before our "big bacation" ended, we took our First Family Trip on Caltrain. We live very close to the Caltrain station, and the sights and sounds of the trains are part of our daily routine. But, shocking through it is for a family with a few serious train enthusiasts, we'd never gone for a ride! So, a few Fridays ago, we hopped on the train, rode to San Francisco, hopped off, hopped on a different train, and headed home. Such fun!

Miles helps Dad get tickets.

A train comes by going the opposite direction. While we were waiting, we ran into Lucy, one of Miles' classmates. It was her first ride on the train too. As it turns out, she is also a big fan of "Dinosaur Train."

Noah is feeling skeptical.

All aboard!!

Guess who fell asleep?

Snack time!

On the way home, Noah was mostly awake (and reading the train schedule.)

Here, Miles is collecting Dad's tickets. He is punching them with his toe claw, the way Mr. Conductor from "Dinosaur Train" does. Miles did this over and over for about a half hour.

Folks didn't get squirrelly until the *very* end of our ride Here's Noah trying to eat the entire diaper bag, bounce and climb, while Miles explores under the seats. It was good to say "Next stop is us!"

We will definitely be doing this again!

Added Christmas Cuteness

2012-01-03T16:52:00.000-08:00

Some random extra goodies from our holiday season, in no particular order.

Noah, in his Christmas jammies.

Waiting in line to see Santa. The boys are chowing down on star puffs. We don't go anywhere without star puffs these days.

Lisa helped us take our Santa photos.

Miles, showing off the candy he got from Santa. Bless Santa's heart, he pointed the bag of candy out to me and said in a whisper, "There are Ghiradelli squares buried underneath all the candy canes. Go dig for them."

One of my favorite things about our "Big Bacation," as Miles called it. Miles finally got into the habit of getting out of his bed without one of us coming to get him, so in the mornings, he'd wander into our room and snuggle up. Noah was usually already there, because between his stuffiness and teething pain, he's ended up in our bed a lot.

The boys decide to play in the "basement" of the exersaucer.

Noah's first time on the swings!

Miles is making Chicken with Brown Sauce.

The boys play with the new airport.

Nathan: "Ooohh, look at all the pieces!"

Miles was THRILLED to help Daddy build something.

Miles snuggles his new cement mixer.

Super snuggly throws were a huge hit.

Noah plays his drum.

Christmas Card Photoshoot

2011-12-25T15:40:00.000-08:00

Here are the outtakes from our Christmas Card photoshoot....Hope your day has been merry!

Our visit with Santa

2011-12-24T08:56:00.001-08:00

Happy Christmas Eve....

Apple and Grandpa Lou's Visit!

2011-12-23T12:21:00.001-08:00

Apple and Grandpa Lou came to see us at the beginning of the month. We had such a fun week hanging out with them. Each boy had a special day at storytime with Apple and Grandpa Lou, we saw Christmas Lights, and we celebrated Apple's birthday. And, of course, there was plenty of time for snuggles.

Apple and Noah get reacquainted.

Iron Chefs in our Kitchen.

Noah and his Grandpa Lou. These two became good buddies. Noah took some epic naps on Grandpa Lou's lap.

Miles visits "Wonderful Ones" Storytime. Here, he's straightening my hair with a squishy block.

Miles is Happy and He Knows It

After storytime, we went out to lunch.

Mama and Dad went out for a night, to Dad's work party.

We ate cake for Apple's birthday!

Dinosaur Christmas Lights!! RAWR!

Noah's turn to visit Baby Storytime!

Thanks Apple and Grandpa Lou for such a nice visit!! We're looking forward to seeing you again in just a few weeks!

Noah Notes...Eight Months

2011-12-17T23:37:00.000-08:00

Though I'm posting these very, very late, they were taken near the eight month mark, so you are still getting the true-to-life, Noah-at-Eight-Months experience.

At eight months, Noah:

-- I'm not sure how much Noah weighs, but he does seem to be slightly less round. He's still a big guy, but it seems like he's getting longer and just a touch sleeker. It'll be interesting to see where he's at percentile-wise at his next doctor's visit.

-- is practicing feeding himself a bottle. This is handy. Miles, who always seemed hungry, wanted to be in control of his bottle early. Noah has, until recently, preferred someone else to do the work.

-- continues to sleep well, except for the teething. We had a week of Noah in our bed while Apple and Grandpa Lou visited, and it was funny to experience how he sleeps. He's a squirmy sleeper, and likes to grab onto things in his sleep.

-- pushes up onto his hands and knees and rocks.

-- LOVES to stand and bounce. We're all getting toned arms.

-- recently discovered how to make a clicking sound with his tongue. He cracks himself up.

Noah had a great visit with Apple and Grandpa Lou this month (pics in the next post.) He warmed to them quickly and was soon taking epic naps on Grandpa Lou's lap. Apple took this video of his Eight month photoshoot. Check out this special behind the scenes footage.

Black Friday

2011-12-11T22:27:00.001-08:00

After grazing on our Thanksgiving leftovers (cupcakes for breakfast!) Grandma Susan, Miles, Noah and Mom took our friends to Los Gatos for a little Black Friday shopping. It was fairly peaceful in Los Gatos, none of the craziness I associate with shopping the day after Thanksgiving.

Geared up and ready to shop.

We found a store with a model train. We stayed in that store a long time.

Then we watched the train from outside. Miles got so excited every time the train would circle back around (which happened about once ever 10 seconds...) He'd jump up and down and clap. He was also pretty sure one train was going into the tunnel and a different train was coming out of the tunnel.

Quick rest break.

Chance to enjoy some flowers.

And some puffs!

Miles sits on a bench. He walked a good part of this shopping trip, which is pretty unusual for him. I think he wanted to be closer to the stuff we were seeing.

Like this bike/wind/spinny/doggie/thingie.

Kisses!Mom and Grandma Susan did zero shopping. But we such a fun afternoon out with the guys and Lynda, Geary and Melissa!

Thanksgiving

2011-12-07T11:45:00.001-08:00

(Do not adjust your monitor or your computer glasses. "Someone," our local toddler, managed to get fingerprints even on the lens of my little point and shoot camera...so all these pictures are artfully blurry. Apologies for the squinting required.)

The Laredos hosted their first Thanksgiving this year!! Our regular Thanksgiving guests graciously agreed to travel to our place this year, and we had so much fun! I've just emptied the fridge of the last leftovers, so it must be time to update the blog.

Miles got a cool DVD set of the Charlie Brown Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Xmas movies!

Sitting down to dinner.

We celebrated THREE birthdays.

Heidi let Miles blow out her candle.

I'm pretty proud of my pecan pie.

So much good food!

"If it wasn't an important game, it wouldn't be on TV."

We played Left-Right-Center for big money. Uncle Tom would say that one of the winners played a game of skill and cunning, while the other winner just got lucky.

It's not every day you can wear pants with a turkey on the tush.

The food pictures were remarkably unblurry.

Noah's evening ended with snuggles from Uncle Tom.

Both boys were really good about all the new people. I thought Miles might be shy and Noah might have a touch of stranger anxiety. But Miles was quite chatty with everyone, and let Ashley clean up his post-cupcake face, and Noah sat with just about everyone over the course of the evening. Awesome!

(We may have a Thanksgiving II post after I review Grandma Susan's photos again....)

Sven juggles for Miles

2011-11-25T18:36:00.001-08:00

First big bath

2011-11-20T16:22:00.001-08:00

Milestones...2.5 years

2011-11-16T21:58:00.001-08:00

Miles turned two and a half earlier this month. He's not old enough yet to appreciate the "half-birthday." He doesn't seem to know how old he is (or the idea of being an age in general....when we asked him how old he thought Grandma was turning on her last birthday, he said, "Four.") Still, Milestones are important to Mama, and two and a half seems like a big one. At times, he seems to be a much bigger kid, four or five years old. But he's still very TWO, insisting on independence in the same breath he's asking for help.

At 2.5 years, Miles:

-- is tall and skinny....we weighed and measured him, because apparently your height at 30 months is likely to be half your adult height. However we failed to write that information down. He can slide into Noah's pants if need be (read: he chooses his own clothes from the laundry pile before Mama intervenes) but he can also wear 4T items. He's wearing size 8 shoes.

-- can take his own shoes off and sometimes put them on...especially his rain boots.

-- is interested in how things work. He likes to watch "Howl it's Made" and "Bob the Builder." He frequently wants things opened (whether they were meant to be opened or not) and he regularly "fixes" things around the house. Tape, batteries, scissors, screwdrivers, measuring tapes all rock his world.

-- still loves to sing and dance. His teachers at school regularly tell us how much fun he has during music time. His favorite tunes at the moment are "LalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalBamba" and "Baa Baa Black Sheep have you any potatoes?" He likes to swap potatoes into all his favorite songs. Potato-fy them, if you will.

-- is getting more agile and fearless. He climbed a stair this morning like a big person, without bringing his two feet together, and this evening he climbed up onto a barstool without any help.

-- likes to play in forts. Here, the laundry basket is his special hidey-hole that no one else can enter. It took me quite awhile to convince him I could take the laundry out before he played in it. He's also developed a love of being "cozy." Sweats are "cozy pants" and most days must start with time wrapped in a blankie on the couch.

-- struggles with choices. He loves to have the chance to choose one thing or another, but as soon as he puts on the red pants, he desperately wants the green pants. Once he's got the graham cracker, he MUST have the cheddar bunnies. Bless his heart.

-- is developing an active imagination. I love to watch him play with a toy or tell himself a story "...and then Elmo was the conductor of the train, and he said 'choo-choo!' and then he got off the train and went to Google."

-- is just sure it's going to snow at our house soon.

-- is able to tell a reasonably good story. With prompting, he can relate the details of a television show or a book he's read. He can also tell you about something that's happened at school, though it's always fun to sort out which parts did happen and which parts were either made up, or from a different day, or just plain unintelligible.

-- adores his baby brother. Miles finds Noah endlessly fascinating, and most of the time, he treats him lovingly. He likes to give Noah a pacifier or food, and really enjoys entertaining him. Usually, this "entertainment" takes the form of shouting or roaring in Noah's face, but Noah always laughs. This evening, Miles gave Noah so many bath toys, there was barely room for Noah to sit in the tub.

As a Mama, I'm torn between wanting to see what comes next for Miles and wishing he'd stay this way for a good long while. You can see the makings of such an interesting little person in there, and I am really looking forward to seeing how he grows up and evolves. I wouldn't mind an end to the temper tantrums that are evidence of what one of Noah's teachers kindly refers to as Miles' "Big Personality." But I also know that every day when my snuggly, lovey little guy runs giddily across a room shouting "Mommy!!" is a two-and-a-half-year-old treasure.

"I would like to offer Baby Noah some snack..."

2011-11-09T21:01:00.000-08:00

....or "A Super Fast Way to Make a Big Mess."

Noah Notes -- Seven Months

2011-11-06T22:35:00.000-08:00

Guess who's on the second half of his onsie stickers?

See the seven?

Look quickly....at seven months, babies can....

...rip the stickers off their onsies!!

And eat them.

Sorry giraffe...you can't eat the sticker. You don't have teeth.

But I do!!! Four of them!

Yay for teeth, and for being seven months old!

Delicious!

At seven months, Noah:

-- weighs 24 pounds and closing on 30 inches in length.

-- is wearing mostly 12 month clothes, except when he's in cloth diapers, in which case he's wearing 18 or 24 months. He and Miles could share pants, if they wanted.

-- eats a variety of foods, though he has a particular fondness for oatmeal. He also like real pears in the net-bag-ring-baby-food-dispenser-thingy.

-- WAS sleeping through the night regularly, until this teething thing started. Now, we're back to one or two visits from mom in the night. (I'm sad about the sleep, but I do like bringing Noah into our bed to snuggle...at least if he's not sleeping, he's a good snuggle buddy.)

-- can MOVE. The boy can get anywhere rolling and scooching. He's great at wriggling out of places you've set him, and finds ways to slide himself across slippery floors.

-- is just starting to get the hang of sitting up. Miles sat a month or two earlier, but once he was upright, he wasn't as interested in scooting around. Noah needs to get places and things...probably motivated to do whatever his extremely mobile big brother is doing.

-- thinks peekaboo is pretty hysterical.

-- has four teeth coming in all at once. The first two broke through right around his seven month-aversary...and we noticed two more today. Poor guy has been pretty fussy. He's usually such a mellow, happy baby that we certainly notice when he's having some problems.

-- is nearly blonde. All the dark hair he was born with has either fallen out or lightened up. Wacky.

-- has a lot to talk about. "Ha da da da." "Ma ma ma ma." And if we had a soundtrack to go with the photos above, it would be a solid forty minutes of Noah blowing juicy raspberries. There was quite a bit of drool removal involved.

Noah is turning into a curious, mobile, funny little person, and I'm sure the next few months will be extra fun.

Which Dinosaur is Which?

2011-11-02T22:23:00.000-07:00

(Did you guess? Dinosaur A is Noah, circa 2011, and Dinosaur B is Miles, circa 2009.)Luckily, we managed to squeeze Noah into the costume long enough for him to visit Baby Storytime at Mama's Library. He had a great time.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T20:04:00.001-07:00

It's THAT Time of Year!!

2011-10-25T23:25:00.000-07:00

I know you've been waiting for this since last October.....It's time for.....
PUMPKINS DEPRESS ME photos!!!

In case you've forgotten, I have a strange history of taking photos of Miles looking adorable, and completely bummed out, in front of pumpkins. (See here and here for further details.)

I have to say, this year, we had a whole lot of fun getting pumpkins, so these are not representative, but I had to put them in because I do enjoy the idea of Pumpkins Depress Me photos. I'm not sure why.

Last Tuesday, Mom and Grandma picked the boys up early from school and headed down to Uesugi Farms for pumpkins. Miles doesn't really "get" Halloween yet. He has noticed that several of our neighbors have put up "Halloween Lights" (really? when did that become a thing? I mean, don't get me wrong, it's a big draw on our nightly walks, but really? Halloween lights?) I got him up to speed on pumpkins. But scary things, trick or treating, and costumes still seem to be beyond his reach. He was excited about the idea of leaving school early to go to the pumpkin patch though.

Also, he was quite determined that we would only get "teeny tiny pumpkins" and "medium pumpkins." He was strongly against the idea of big pumpkins. When his teacher, Miss Libby, said that she'd gotten a big pumpkin for her house, Miles was very upset. "NO BIG PUMPKINS. MEDIUM PUMPKINS." So we didn't get any big pumpkins.

As the official Older Brother, Miles got Noah up to speed on the pumpkin selection process. He grabbed a small pumpkin right as we walked in, and handed it to Noah. "See Baby Noah, this is a Teeny Tiny Pumpkin for YOU." Noah liked it.

We chose about seven teeny tiny, small and medium pumpkins.

And then we rode the train.

We hadn't talked about the train. Though, you'll notice that Miles had picked his own clothes that day (and every day) and was wearing a train shirt (a Christmas train shirt to boot.) As soon as we saw the little train go by, Miles stated in a very business like, I-will-brook-no-nonsense tone of voice "I want to ride that train."

Two and a half is a good age. This was a seven minute train ride, at best, around the pumpkins and skirting the corn maze, the parking lot and the highway. Mom and Grandma had a hard time getting their legs all the way in the car. And Miles could have been traveling the Transcontinental Railroad, he was so interested. When we pulled back into the station, he said, "I don't want to get off the train."

Luckily, Grandma had arranged for him to ride twice. What a great day.

Day at the Park with Grandma

2011-10-23T15:08:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from the end of my maternity leave...a fun day out with Grandma!

PB&J in the park

Noah likes to look at the sky

Miles doesn't really want to take a picture with Noah

Miles would prefer to be the photographer

Too much cuteness!

Thanks to the other Park Family that volunteered to take our picture!

Solids for Noah

2011-10-12T21:31:00.000-07:00

Noah is pretty much a pro at solid food now, seeing as he's been practicing for about a month. He didn't have the same instinct for solid food that Miles had, but he does like to eat, no doubt about it. While we were on vacation, Noah was fixated on the food and drinks the grown ups were consuming, so we started him on rice cereal the same night we got home from vacation. You can tell we were all a bit tired, and perhaps not as photogenic as we might usually be. Still! For posterity, there must be photos!!

And the experience in video form, with Miles offering a running dialogue in the background. I think we really confused poor Miles. For five and a half months, we'd been making the joke "Baby Noah, would you like some (insert name of food we're eating...) No! He's too little!!" Then all of a sudden, we started to give Baby Noah food. Miles was downright perturbed. Currently, Noah eats rice cereal, oatmeal, carrots, butternut squash, winter squash, sweet potato and pears. His favorites seem to be carrots and pears, though, quite frankly, he's easy to please.

Noah Notes -- Six Months Old

2011-10-11T14:59:00.000-07:00

It's been a big month at our house, as Mama went back to work. We've just about found our weekly rhythm. Noah doesn't seem to notice much of a change, but then, he's usually a cheerful guy as long as he's clean, dry and well fed.

At six months, Noah:

-- weighs 23 pounds and is 27 inches long. At his last doctor's appointment, he'd slipped into the 95th percentile for weight. He does seem to be stretching out a little bit.

-- is wearing mostly 9 to 12 month clothes. I'm wondering if he'll fit in the dinosaur costume from Miles' first Halloween.

-- eats solid foods!! We started rice cereal the day we got home from Yosemite (I have unblogged pictures of this event, to come soon). Now he eats oatmeal, carrots, sweet potato, winter squash, butternut squash, and as of last night, PEARS! He likes to eat his grown up food.

-- is getting better at sleeping through the night. I'd say he makes it through the night about half the time. It's no longer exactly *surprising* when he does it, but still noteworthy and much appreciated.

-- rolls, rolls, rolls.....he mastered back to front rolls a few weeks ago, and has really gotten good at front to back in the last week or two. He's at the phase where he flips over nearly as soon as you set him down.

-- doesn't have teeth yet, but does have an insatiable urge to put things into his mouth and drool on them.

-- loves the exersaurcer, he loves to "exersauce." Plenty of good pictures of that to share soon as well.

-- thinks his older brother is quite possibly the funniest thing ever. Miles got in Noah's face this weekend and said, without prompting, "I love you Baby Noah."

Back to School: Noah in the Infant Room

2011-09-26T22:21:00.000-07:00

Following in his big brother's footsteps, Baby Noah had his first day of school a few weeks ago. Sending Noah to school has been a completely different experience than we had in Miles' early days of daycare. For one thing, we're already familiar with the teachers and the classroom and we know he's getting fantastic care. For another, Noah is too young to really realize his parents are leaving him. Miles didn't start daycare until he was about eight months old, just about the time his stranger anxiety blossomed. Noah, bless his heart, doesn't much care who showers him with attention, as long as the attention is lavishly showered. Mama, on the other hand, does realize she's away from her littlest guy for the first time....and so I've been a frequent visitor. His little classroom is such a peaceful place, I love to hang out there. When I think of these last few weeks of maternity leave, I'll definitely picture sunny afternoons in Noah's classroom, giving him snuggles, enjoying the air conditioning on hot days, chatting with his teachers, and watching Baby Noah roll around on the rug with his new friends. Thank goodness Mama will still have Tuesdays and Wednesdays off when she goes back to work.

Picutres! (Again, all courtesy of Noah's teachers)

Babies on soft, fuzzy IKEA rug...I dare you to find something cuter.

Miles visits the infant room. This is Miss Nicole...she was Miles' primary teacher last year, and she is Noah's primary teacher this year. We love Miss Nicole.

Sometimes school makes a guy tired.

One of my favorite places.

Back to School : Miles the Young Preschooler

2011-09-25T21:42:00.000-07:00

Both Miles and Noah celebrated their official "First Day of School" before we went to Yosemite. Miles moved from the Toddler Room to the Young Preschool Room and Noah had his first day in the Infant Room. They were in their new spaces for just a few days before we took off for a week, and then we had to settle in all over again. Noah's transition has been super easy (pictures from Noah's classroom tomorrow) since he has no stranger anxiety yet, and seems to view school as yet another place where grown ups fawn all over him. Miles transition has gone fairly well, especially considering he has four new teachers and twice as many classmates as he had last year. He's been a trooper. I think it's Mama who has the hardest time with the changes. I miss our sweet Toddler Room and the teachers we all love so much. Eighteen young preschoolers in one room seems like a huge number, even though eight of them are our good friends from last year. And having two boys to drop off means I don't have the same kind of time to linger, to talk to the other parents as they drop off, and to just watch the teachers work their magic with the kids. Everything about the Young Preschooler Room seems bigger, and I think I'm having a hard time with all that "bigness."

Here are some pictures of Miles in his first weeks in the Young Preschool Room (all taken by his teachers):

Working with glue

Big kid snack...Miles took to wearing two hats recently, one on top of the other.

Miles and Chewie water some plants...this reminds me of his first weeks last year, when every picture included chewie, and you just knew he needed that extra bit of security and comfort that chewie brings.

Building

Small group time...the 18 kids break into groups of six kids twice a day for a focused activity.

The sound machine. Miles loves the sound machine.

He also loves sitting in this mulchy area. It's like his fort or something.

Here's his buddy Brody who has a little sister in Noah's classroom.

Every day starts with Morning Meeting, where everybody sits down, sings a few songs, and reads a book together, before discussing the options for the day. This seems like SUCH a big kid thing. Miles is sitting on Gianfranco's lap. Gianfranco is his primary teacher, and Miles has really bonded with him. When I leave each morning, Miles dashes over to Gianfranco, tugs on his sleeve and says "I need a hug!" It's awesome, and makes my departure so much easier.

Yosemite, Part VI

2011-09-17T23:24:00.000-07:00

Ah, Yosemite, I miss you. I miss being on vacation with the boys, I miss hanging out with our family, and I miss the beautiful scenery. I also have post-Yosemite stuff to blog about, so it was time to admit the vacation was over and get the last pictures off the camera. We rode on the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad on our last full day, just outside the park, which was such a nice ride. I learned quite a lot about logging in that part of the world that I have since forgotten. I also learned that Apple takes her gum a half stick at a time, that a map of "people who eat oatmeal vs. people who eat grits" might show some similarities to a "predominately Republican vs. predominately Democratic" map, and that a train ride will put everyone under the age of three to sleep in about a half hour.
As luck would have it, I had packed train shirts for both boys.

Miles discovered that trains are much louder and more intimidating in person than they are on television.

Caroline has train socks!

Look Apple!

LOOK APPLE! (I don't know what was exciting in either of these pictures...clearly I missed out on something good.)

Noah was asleep before we even got on the train.

Then Caroline fell asleep.

And then Miles crashed too.

Good times!

Yosemite, Part V -- Trees and Trams

2011-09-08T22:42:00.000-07:00

Our first tram ride was such a success, we opted to explore Mariposa Grove the same way. Nathan and I were shocked how much of the grove we missed when we hiked it on foot back in 2007. And somewhere in the middle of the ride I remembered that I had done this when I was a kid, with my Grandpa Bob and Grandma Mil, who were big Yosemite fans. It was nice to continue the tradition.
Miles looks up at the trees.

Guess who fell asleep?

Diana sharing a great story about our sassy tram driver.

Perhaps overwhelmed by all the large slabs of granite, Miles chose to focus on the "leetle rocks."

The driver's name was Bob, so Miles enjoyed several rounds of "Bob the Driver, can he drive us? Bob the Driver, YES HE CAN!"

Wind in our faces.

Sometimes too much wind.

Hooray! Noah's awake!!

Yosemite, Part IV -- Bridges and Boulders

2011-09-07T22:00:00.000-07:00

These alliterative titles are getting less easy to come by....On our last morning in the valley, four days ago now, we took a stroll through the meadows, across the Merced River, to the Yosemite Chapel.
Miles props his feet on the bridge.

New favorite family photo (Noah managed to stay awake for parts of this walk)

Then we went down to the river to dunk our feet!

Miles: "The water is COLD! More water."

Cousins in Cookie Monster shirts...(Thanks Uncle Rod for catching this shot!)

Noah wants to hold hands.

Apple and Grandpa Lou with their grandkids. (Taking pictures of three kids under three is tricky. Miles kept wandering off, I think there was a bump on his part of the log. Or he was just feeling like he didn't want to take a picture.)

Then we drove to the other side of the park, stopping by Glacier Point on the way. There was soooo much traffic on the holiday weekend that we had to wait through a bit of a holding pattern before they'd let us into the parking lot.

Uncle Rod and Baby Caroline came to visit our van.

Caroline and her Uncle Nathan are also Cookie Monster Google Buddies.

We made it to Glacier Point!!

Jenn burns off some of the great food we ate on vacation!

Lizard!

Miles: "What's the lizard doing, Mommy?"

Yosemite, Part III -- Trails and Trams

2011-09-02T22:19:00.000-07:00

Yosemite with kids is different than Yosemite without kids. It's awesome to share this amazing place with my boys, but it takes a bit of a mental adjustment...we're not just going to jet up the trail to see Vernal Falls, for instance (Okay, I don't usually "jet" up that trail, but no amount of even slow and steady hiking would get the toddler and the infant to the Vernal Falls Bridge.) On the plus side, we're doing all kinds of things I've never done in Yosemite before. Like riding trams!

We started off the day with a family hike/stroll...we had the strollers, so it may have been a stroll, but we were definitely not on pavement a lot of the time, so maybe it was a hike.

Grandpa Lou and Apple.

The kids and grandkids.

Miles: "I'm making a table with my chewie!"

The boys in their firetruck shirts.

This afternoon, we took a tram tour of the Yosemite Valley. Two hours in an open air tram, which was super cool. Well, it was rather warm, actually, but you know, very exciting.

(A few gratuitous Ansel Adams shots)

Apple helps Miles off the tram at one of the stops.

Apple and Miles and Grandpa Lou and Caroline pose for a riverside photo.

The Tram Tour Guide.

Family photo...Noah had a meltdown five minutes into the tour, and then slept through the rest of the trip.

Kevin, the tram driver, was really worried Noah was too hot, so he gave us an umbrella to use when we stopped in the sunny spots.

Kevin also had cool water you could drink from little cups.

Baby Caroline in her hat.

And Baby Caroline without her hat.

Noah's still crashed.

Yosemite, Part II -- Swimming and Sleeping

2011-09-02T16:39:00.000-07:00

Oh we've been doing all kinds of fun things...hiking and strolling and riding trams and swimming and eating and exploring and a little bit of sleeping.

The boys in their PeaPod "boats" These have been great travel beds, and the little guys just look so cute curled up inside:

And yesterday, we checked out the pool:

Miles enjoyed using the "clipboard" to float and kick

Noah actually got so comfy, snuggled on Apple's lap on the steps of the pool, that he napped. The first "pool nap" I've ever seen.

Dad took some video footage of the swimming and the napping, and the amazing scenery around the pool:

More soon, I've got the other camera's card to check out!

Yosemite, Part I

2011-09-01T14:42:00.000-07:00

Miles and Noah are enjoying their very first trip to a National Park!!! And we're enjoying our very first visit with Baby Caroline (who really isn't a baby anymore, but we still call her Baby Caroline). Plus we get to see Apple and Grandpa Lou, and Uncle Rod and Aunt Diana. We're having a great time. These pictures are very kid-centric, so if you're hoping for something Ansel Adams-y, I'm sorry to disappoint...

Miles at Lower Yosemite Falls

Aunt Diana and Baby Caroline

The Whole Family

Miles in his stroller

Noah enjoys the walk

Miles eats lunch on our porch

Noah Notes -- Five Months Old (Three Days Ago)

2011-08-29T21:50:00.000-07:00

Oh Noah, you just keep getting older and older, every month, you silly boy.

At five months, Noah:

-- weighs 21 pounds.

-- is starting to outgrow his 6 month clothes. I waited too long to use the bathing suits I got him, so when we vacation next week, he'll be in the 12-18 month suits Miles used last summer.

-- is experimenting with sleeping through the night. He's on his second night of going to bed in his own crib around 8 pm. If he goes to bed in his own crib at 8 pm, I find I don't even mind if he wakes up at 5 am. Parents are funny people, aren't we?

--has been diagnosed with eczema, which we're treating with daily oatmeal baths and lotion at every diaper change. This seems to be working, and is far preferable to the fungal treatments and the hydrocortizone. I could, however, use a vat of Aveeno lotion....then I could just dunk him.

-- is more precise in his grabbing. When I feed him now, he tends to look and me lovingly and hold my nose.

-- has started SCHOOL!! Noah had his first day of school today (okay, technically after the five month mark.) So far, only three babies have started, so much of the day Noah has one or two teachers fussing over him exclusively. He's thriving. :) Mama misses her snuggle buddy, but is looking forward to doing those dishes in the sink.

-- spent a hour over the weekend focused on his feet. Very quiet and determined to catch them.

-- smiles and laughs and sings and bubbles and drools and squeals. He really only complains when he's tired, poopy, or lonely. We're blessed with a very happy five month old.

Art by Miles

2011-08-25T14:16:00.000-07:00

A piece Miles crafted while waiting for Mama at work...this piece showcases Miles' first explorations of rubber stamps, as well as his continuing efforts with pencil and felt pen. The use of sparkly lips and slug bug stickers brings an air of youthful whimsy to an otherwise serious commentary on the work world.

From August 25, 2011

I'm Making a Skyscraper

2011-08-23T22:27:00.000-07:00

This toe-tapper of a song will surely get stuck in your head.

A Morning in the Life....Summer / Maternity Leave Edition

2011-08-11T21:56:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking of doing another "Day in the Life" post for quite awhile, because I use this blog as a reminder of how much things change from month to month to year to year. It's amazing to look back to a year ago and see just how *small* Miles was, and to appreciate how much he's really grown. But Miles "typical" day involves school and Noah and I aren't very entertaining in the middle of the day (eat, sleep, watch TV, repeat), so I'm just doing a morning story. Mornings represent a real Mommy Victory for me, as well. A month ago, I don't think I'd spent more than two to three hours total alone with both my boys. So getting into a morning groove and getting everyone where they need to be is a triumph. In the next six weeks I need to figure out how to streamline and speed up our slow paced mornings, because my friends at the library aren't going to want me rolling in unshowered at 11 am each work day. So here is our morning, August 11, 2011, in great detail.

7:32 am...

I spy on the boys from my bed. Noah is up.

Miles is up. Nathan is already at work. He's been going to work between 3 and 5 am, so he can be home with us in the afternoons.

7:40 am

Jenn is up. Finishing the morning "beauty" routine, and dressed in my summer uniform of jeans and Summer Reading tshirt.

7:43 am...

Noah smiles at Mama.

7:48 am ...

Noah eats First Breakfast while I read email and check Facebook on my phone.

7:50 am ....

Noah is more interested in playing than he is in eating.

8:09 am ...

After a diaper change and application of various lotions and potions, Noah and I go say Good Morning to Miles. Miles responds by waving a book at us and demanding a story. What a great way to start the day.

We read "I Am Invited to a Party," "Goodnight Gorilla," and "Hippos Go Berserk."

8:21 am ...

Miles is up. He's remembering that last night he decided didn't like the sunset, and that we closed the blinds to make it go away. He looks to confirm the sunset is gone. While standing in a bin of books. Noah watches Miles' every move.

8:26 am ...

Miles puts on sunscreen. This is another Mommy Triumph. The daycare teachers requested parents put sunscreen on their kids in the morning, so they don't have to do 8 applications on 8 toddlers first thing, and you are supposed to mark down on the sign in sheet whether or not your kid is wearing sunscreen. For weeks I wasn't together enough to pull this off. Now, any day I've get Miles to school with sunscreen on, I feel like Mommy of the Year.

Noah continues to watch Miles.

8:33 am...

Clean dry chewie

Miles is dressed

and downstairs with his "straw milk." I let Miles go to school most days with amazing bed head.

8:37 am ...

I run back upstairs, get Noah, and bring him down as well. Phase One has taken just about an hour. Everyone is downstairs.

Miles announces Noah's spit up and supervises the clean up.

8:40 am ...

Miles hands me my glass and says "Mommy needs more water." He's right.

8:41 am ...

Miles works on his breakfast, a little cup filled with Raisin Bran.

8:42 am ...

Noah practices sitting up.

8:44 am ...

Miles decides to wipe Noah's chin.

Noah picks up this ball all on his own, for the first time! This ball however, drives him crazy, because he wants to put the whole thing in his mouth.

8:47 am ...

Miles drives the garbage truck

8:50 am ...

Noah is now completely frustrated with the ball and his sitting practice comes to an end. I've finished my cereal and I offer Noah his Second Breakfast.

8:59 am ...

Noah doesn't want Second Breakfast, but Miles hears the street sweeper. We run to the front door. The street sweeper goes by too quickly, but Miles practices some outdoor jumping.

9:07 am ...

Miles wants "There is a Bird on Your Head."

And Noah's getting sleepy.

9:13 am ...

Mom gets sidetracked, wanting to know when the last "Day in the Life" post was. EXACTLY one year ago! I revel in the wildness of that for a moment.

Miles sees "Baby Miles" and attempts to use the card reader as a mouse.

9:17 am ...

Noah's ready to go

I put on my shoes.

9:19 am ...

Miles gets his shoes on.

9:24 am ...

Everybody is in the car. This completes Phase Two of the morning, and it's now almost two hours from when I got out of bed.

9:34 am ...

We arrive at school. Miles usually needs a few minutes to warm up to his classmates, many of whom have been at school for over an hour already. They yell "HI MILES" as we walk in the door, and he yells "NOOOOOO!" and buries his head in my lap.

9:36 am ...

We sign Miles in. I put Noah on the couch and tell him it's not a good time to learn to roll over. I put an exclamation mark next to the part where I check off that Miles is wearing sunscreen.

9:38 am ...

Miles writes a note to his teachers. I spend a moment thinking "OOHHH, I KNEW THIS RUG LOOKED FAMILIAR when I saw it in the Ikea catalog!!"

9:43 am ...

Miles continues to ease into his day at school.

10:01 am ...

The kids go outside to play. Noah and I go along.

10:10 am ...

Miles is ready to start his day, he's settled in. I lack the energy to get up off the blanket in the yard.

10:18 am ...

And Noah is in no hurry to go anywhere.

10:29 am ...

After a two minute car ride, we're home, and Noah is asleep.

10:30 am ...

Phase Three.

Noah Notes -- Four Months Old (15 days ago)

2011-08-10T22:51:00.000-07:00

Ohh, this is a particularly late edition of Noah notes, though the pictures are only "late" not "particularly late" as we took them a week and a half ago. There were tons of pictures on two different cameras, and I had to muster a certain amount of courage to sort through them and find the very, very cutest shots. I read an article the other day about the virtues of deleting less than perfect digital pictures. I don't know about "deleting" but I am trying to winnow down these posts to my absolute favorites. So of the dozens and dozens Nathan and I took, here are my six favorites.

At four months, Noah:

-- weighs almost 20 pounds. For comparison, Miles weigh 16 pounds at 4 months. And Noah's 20 pounds are DENSE. It's like he's using a different gravity than we are using.

-- is wearing mostly 6 month clothes.

-- no longer sleeps through the night. He usually falls asleep around 8 or 9 pm, and I "dream feed" him around 11 pm. Then he wakes and cries around 3 am and eats again, though very quickly and almost without waking. I'm usually back in bed in about 20 minutes, bless his heart. Then most nights, he sleeps through till morning. There have been a few nights where he gets on an "every two hours" cycle, and those are grim, but those are pretty rare. We're a little torn. With Miles, we very successfully implemented the "Cry It Out" regimen, and Miles is such a perfect sleeper. With Noah, we can't really let him CIO, because the noise would wake Miles. And a cranky toddler disrupts the whole household. So for now, I just feed Noah at 3 am. We'll see how long that lasts.

-- still has a mohawk. His hair is getting lighter all over, too.

-- is grabby. He loves to hold things...hair, toys, burp clothes, whatever he can get his hands on. Then he likes to drool on these things.

-- is very chatty. He has a lot to say to the world.

-- practices his sitting every day. I keep telling him when he gets better at sitting, he can eat rice cereal!

-- continues to be dazzled by the brightly colored, ever moving, usually singing or squeaking, ongoing show that is his Big Brother Miles.

Noah joins Miles at his "school" in three short weeks. My baby will be heading to daycare! I'm a little sad, but mostly excited for him. I know he'll have such a good time.

MILEStones -- 2.25 years

2011-08-08T21:42:00.000-07:00

I've decided that after the second birthday, the boys will move to a "quarterly" update, rather than a monthly update (in case you're counting, I have a ton of 4 month Noah pictures to sort through.) I wonder how old they'll be when they don't want me to write about them at all? At least that day is still a few years off yet...

When I think about Miles this summer, this is how I picture him:

Dressed in his swimsuit (so he's always ready for waterplay at school) and building skyscrapers or train tracks with Legos.

Cheering himself on, and testing limits (can I stand on this ottoman?) and announcing what he's learned (Mommy! Don't stand on the ottoman! Too dangerous!)

And though he still definitely has moments like this:

...he's moved past those first few weeks of "two" when he had regularly scheduled tantrums that seemed completely unavoidable. I won't say he's always reasonable, but he is easier to reason with. And he quickly goes from sad to this:

Miles is becoming much more daring and adventurous:

...though he still tends to announce what he's about to do, and he likes it best if you join in...

He's becoming such an phenomenal little person. He has so many ideas, and he's able to share them with you. He has learned about "pretending" and likes to eat pretend food (including baby brothers,) tell tall tales (Miss Alyssa bit me!) and he talks to some invisible dinosaurs that seem to live at our house. Blocks and books have become favorite toys, and of course, he is passionate about all kinds of trucks--especially garbage trucks.

Miles is now tall enough to hit his head on the counters (which he forgets sometimes) and he's not as interested in the potty as he was two months ago. He's about to "graduate" from his toddler classroom to the preschool room at school. He'll have some new teachers, and new classmates, but he'll also have the company of his current merry band of classmates.

The question people ask most often about Miles is, "How is Miles liking Noah?" Miles is becoming a very kind and caring older brother. He does seem to have forgotten his only child days, and most of the time, he thinks Noah is entertaining at best and inconsequential at worst. Miles likes to give Noah things he might need (burp clothes, pacifiers) and announce what Noah is up to ("eyes open!" and "he smiled!") Miles likes to know what "Baby Noah" is up to at all times, and gets VERY protective of Noah when we are at daycare. Obsessively protective ("NO VIVIAN SMILE AT BABY NOAH!!!") I've heard from other parents that there's a rough patch ahead when Noah becomes mobile, but for now, I find Miles' interactions with his brother to be sweet and often the best parts of my day.

Maybe because I haven't done a post about him in three months, or maybe he just grows faster in the warm weather, but it seems to me he's made a huge leap in development these last three months. Each time I look at him, I'm shocked by how much he's grown, and impressed by what a kind and loving little guy he's turning out to be.

Boys in Hats

2011-08-07T22:11:00.000-07:00

They do look a bit alike, don't they....

Noah Wearing Octopus Pirates

2011-08-05T20:47:00.000-07:00

...and eating a talking butterfly...

Noah's working on sitting. And he's interested in eating things. Like fingers and talking butterflies.

Noah in the Elephants

2011-08-04T21:54:00.000-07:00

(Many of the upcoming posts will feature Noah wearing something he's about to outgrow. This is my way of coping with the last baby growing out of my favorite outfits. Just know that when I post two photos of an outfit, I've got *at least* thirty more photos on my computer.)

Noah in the Monkey Hat

2011-08-04T21:28:00.000-07:00

Just getting ready for a walk....

This hat was one of those items that I put away when Miles outgrew it, thinking, "It's a good thing we're planning on having another baby, because this is just TOO CUTE."

Miles reads to Baby Noah

2011-07-22T00:06:00.000-07:00

It's really very sweet, though you do have to ignore Noah fussing and Miles manhandling the library book.

Big Truck Day

2011-07-17T11:51:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to Big Truck Day at the Library! We love big trucks!

Miles drives the firetruck.

Nathan drives the stroller while carrying Miles...very high degree of difficulty.

Miles and dad on the firetruck.

Noah and dad on the firetruck.

Noah's eyes are a very cool color lately...I can't quite get it in a picture.

Library shirt!

Checking out the police car.

Mom and her guys.

Miles drives the garbage truck. That was his favorite truck.

When the trucks had to leave...

Cousin Andrew's Wedding

2011-07-09T18:39:00.000-07:00

Last week the boys went to their first wedding! My cousin Andrew got married last weekend, and we got to see lots of family!

Noah meets Cousin Alicia.

Alicia's girls and Auntie Vivian.

Megan and Baby Noah.

Miles decided to try his hand at taking pictures.

A self portrait.

Miles really liked the red sparkles on the tables.

And drinking from the "teeny tiny glass..."

Mom and Miles.

Family portrait.

Aunt Cindy and Cousin Andrew.

When we asked Miles on Sunday what he liked about the wedding, he said the "lights, the dancing, and the cake. More cake, please!"

Then we got to spend a nice afternoon with Grandpa Kirk and Tutu Joy...but it was sooooo hot, I didn't take enough pictures.

Belated Mother's Day Success!

2011-07-01T21:40:00.000-07:00

We did it!! We took a picture!! My J. Crew Model Sons dressed in their matchy-matchy outfits looking happy on our front step! Happy Belated Mother's Day (again!)

(and here's my nomination for "Official First Father's Day Picture," but of course, Nathan will have the final say on this one.)

Noah Notes -- Three Months Old (Yesterday)

2011-06-28T17:09:00.000-07:00

Three months already! For this photo shoot we enlisted the help of a new photographer's assistant...Lisa was on hand to hold flash bulbs, care for the model, and keep the kangaroo on its feet. Thanks for your help, Lisa!

A particularly good shot of Noah's new mohawk.

At three months, Noah:

-- weighs 17 pounds and 5 oz, in a diaper. Most of the random people we encounter in the world think he is five or six months. I frequently say, "Yep, he's a chunker."

-- is still mostly wearing either 3 month clothes or 6 month clothes.

-- sleeps through the night (10 pm - 6 am) most of the time. He does still sometimes get hungry or lonely around 2 am, but it happens less and less often.

-- is losing his hair. I'm going to do a photoshoot with some hair gel and spikes.

-- has become really interested in his hands. He likes to thump his fist against his leg, watch his hand wave over his face, and see how many fingers he can cram in his mouth at one time.

-- smiles, laughs and coos. He likes to be tickled under his chin, and he doesn't like to be tickled on his back.

-- is starting to experiment with the Bumbo chair (which Miles thinks is a new kind of potty!)

-- loves to watch people, especially big brother Miles.

-- will squirm in delight for an hour under a moving ceiling fan.

It's been a quick three months (hard to believe maternity leave is half over!) but Noah is definitely becoming more and more of a real little person. He's a sweetly mellow guy most of the time and we love him lots.

Mid June Odds and Ends

2011-06-18T22:52:00.000-07:00

Just cleaning out the cards in my cameras...

I spend a good deal of time contemplating the length of Noah's eyelashes...

...and thinking about the clothes he's almost outgrown.

Noah spends a lot of time looking at his fist.

Miles checks out the light in the dryer.

Baby Genius.

He's signing.

Miles got some new wheels.

He's helping dad adjust the seat.

He got his haircut recently, and ever since, he looks like he's about to start kindergarten or something.

Brotherly Love

2011-06-07T20:30:00.000-07:00

Noah's feeling skeptical.

Noah Notes -- Two Months

2011-06-02T22:29:00.000-07:00

Two months have flown by! We had a very quick photo shoot, as our staff photographer (aka Dad) was fighting some sort of illness and Noah was feeling cranky during our scheduled time slot.

At two months old, Noah...

-- weighs about 15 pounds and is 24 inches tall (or long). In comparison, at the same age, Miles weighed 12 pounds and was 24 inches long.

-- is a good eater, though he definitely has his preferences. He likes his bottles warmed, and he has some bottles he likes more than others. Even when he's nursing, he as a favorite side ... even so, he manages to eat a good bit each day.

-- can hold his head fairly steady.

-- is smiling and gives occasional giggles.

-- is awake a good chunk of the day, and he sleeps a good chunk of the night. He has slept through a few nights, but most of the time he wakes up once around 3 or 4 am, and then goes back to bed for a few hours.

-- loves his walks in the stroller or the Baby Bjorn.

-- likes to ride in the car, but doesn't like to stop.

-- enjoys watching faces, mom, dad, big brother Miles and pretty much any one else who wants to snuggle.

-- is becoming a fascinating little person!

Concert at School

2011-05-28T22:02:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we enjoyed an afternoon outdoor concert at Miles' school. The center had been lucky enough to host a volunteer who'd been singing and exploring musical instruments with the kids for several months. The kids LOVE singing with Gianfranco, and each class got to put in a request for one or two of their favorite songs. This was such a pleasant afternoon, sitting outside in lovely spring weather, enjoying music with the kids.

Miles' classmates think Noah is fascinating...

Miles thinks old tires are fascinating.

Getting ready for the music

Miles had a hard time choosing his seat

The show is underway. Miles briefly plays backing keyboards...before going to sit in the audience. (Noah and I were sitting in the shade and Nathan was filming, in case you are wondering why Miles appears to be completely without parents in this video...)

A groupie is born

Baby BElooooooggggAAAAAAAA

Baby Noah!!

Miles and dad check out the keyboard

Mother's Day Photo Shoot -- The Epic Saga

2011-05-21T22:23:00.000-07:00

(This is a long one folks, with more than 30 photos....you might want to get a beverage.)

Noah's baby book has a special page for pictures and stories about baby's first Mother's Day. And short of a particularly horrible photo of our first day home, I don't yet have any pictures of me with both my boys...I've mentioned these shots are hard to come by. So I decided for Mother's Day, I really wanted to have a photo shoot, to get a picture of me with both Noah and Miles. Well, Mother's Day wasn't auspicious for photos, so a week later, Nathan set up our home studio and we gave it a go.

Here was my inspiration shot...Check out Grandma Susan with both boys. Sure Noah's sleeping, but that's okay. Notice the boys are both resplendent in green, Grandma Susan has styled hair and no spit up on her clothes...No one needs a toy, chewie, bottle, sippy cup or television show to bribe a smile onto their faces...This was just a lucky shot. Sure, I had to crop out the kitchen, but who cares?

So believing this would be a possible task, Nathan set up for our photos.

Nathan warms up with a few photos of Miles...

I practice my smiles and feed Noah:

"Hey Miles, will you sit on the couch with Mommy and Noah and let Dad take your picture?"

"No picture, no picture, NO PICTURE!!" Both boys are screaming.

"Miles, will you help Mommy feed Noah his bottle?"

"Miles, don't drink Noah's bottle."

Noah finally gets to finish his bottle

and gets his burp.

Miles still doesn't want to sit on the couch....you'll notice I didn't coordinate our outfits. I tried to pull something together, but when I suggested to Miles it might be nice to change his clothes, he disagreed. Vehemently. So he's in red polartech pants, green camo work truck tshirt, and his ever-present Cal Trans orange polar tech jacket.

"What if we *don't* take pictures, but we *do* read E-I-E-I-Moo?"

Nope. Not falling for that either. He's getting too smart.

We need a Plan B. Or Plan C, or D or E or F.

Noah and I will try to make the couch look fun.

"What's that? You'd like to join us on the couch?"

Here's the picture that will end up in Noah's baby book. The best of the shoot.

Also not too bad, though I'm starting to look a little manic.

Miles needs chewie, and Noah's starting to fuss.

Can we try without Chewie?

No.

Miles and Noah bonk heads.

"Okay, Noah?" Miles checks in.

Then Miles falls off the couch.

Mom's close to giving up.

Final act of desperation. Chewie, Milk, Microphone, and we turned on Bob the Builder.

Miles is happy. Noah is not.

So I didn't end up with the pictures I'd hoped for. However, I did end up with a series of photos that totally make me laugh. These pictures are so representative of our lives right now. This was all in the space of about twenty minutes, and really captures life with two little guys. Happy (belated) Mother's Day to all....

Noah's Smiley

2011-05-19T10:50:00.000-07:00

Mr. Noah started smiling about a week ago, mostly after he's had a good meal. My favorite smiles are the 3 a.m. smiles...it's nice to feel appreciated by the guy who's waking you up in the middle of the night.

See how the animal onsie acts as camouflage on the animal print boppy?

Miles' Second Birthday

2011-05-17T21:45:00.000-07:00

Miles celebrated his Official Second Birthday two weeks ago on May 3rd. We embraced a parental milestone and took our first treats to his first classroom at school, where his friends and teachers enjoyed brownies and sang Happy Birthday.

We made brownies with special non-dairy, non-soy butter product, to meet all the allergy needs of Miles' classmates.

Miss Anica, Ryan, Miss Nicole, Brody, Vivian, Gianfranco and half of Mriabelle, all enjoying their treats.

After treats, we hung out in the yard to enjoy watching Miles play with his friends. It was one of those really warm days (remember those?) and so the kids were enjoying the sprinkler.

"The doggie takes a shower!"

Once he was soaking wet, Miles decided it'd be best to strip down to his diaper and make some phone calls.

Miles called Grandma.

Noah came along for the ride.

At two years old, Miles:
--has pretty much mastered his colors, though lately he's insisting that red is pink. He particularly enjoys pointing out the colors of cars. "Black Truck, Mama!" "Ride in the Blue Car?"
--is moving on to more exotic animal sounds....the zebra says neigh and the eagle, well, I can't quite type what the eagle says....
--put together a nine word sentence over the weekend, "See Daddy, Miles put the pasta in the bag!"
--points out text when he encounters it...by saying "Letter E!" All letters are "letter E" though he can occasionally correctly identify an "o" or an "x"
--is wearing size 3T clothes and *SIZE 8* shoes!!
--can no longer walk under our counter tops without ducking
--finally realized he could get out of his bed on his own, and wander into the hallway looking for a parent. He did this for about two or three days before he remembered that he likes to lounge in his bed and wait for someone to come coax him out of bed.
--has, on average, one major temper tantrum per day. Hooray for two year olds developing an independent streak. (In passing, I fully realized a few days ago that I've got a Taurus Toddler. Could there be any more determined sort of individual?)
--can't help but dance when the music starts. He was lip synching to American Idol recently, complete with microphone and dance moves.
--seems to have forgotten that there was a time when Noah didn't live here.
--is such a loving little soul. He likes to get his own way, sure, but he's also a generous little person who wants other people to be happy. He's also developing a zesty little sense of humor, and still loves his snuggles.

Happy Birthday Mr. Miles!

Monterey Bay Aquarium

2011-05-07T23:35:00.000-07:00

We've been meaning to go the aquarium for quite awhile. We knew Miles would love seeing the fish, and we while Nathan's on paternity leave, we could go during the week and avoid some of the crowds. And Apple was here, so we wanted to do something fun. Remember Miles took his first road trip to Carmel with Apple and Aunt Kelly at about five weeks of age...seemed fitting that Noah's first road trip should include Apple and a drive south on Highway One...

Miles checks out the kelp

Miles and Apple consider the touch tanks.

Apple attempts to get a family photo...Noah is in that Bjorn, you'll have to take my word for it. Miles wants the penguins to get off the rock and go swimming!!

Lunch!

Toddlers like to run more than they like photo shoots.

Miles was really into this display. It made noise when he pressed buttons. What could be better?

This was a board where you could jot down Earth Saving Tips...I loved this one in particular.

Miles had to add his two cents.

And I'll leave you with a little video of Miles watching fish.

Party! Party! Party!

2011-04-30T13:34:00.000-07:00

We had a little party last weekend so friends and family could help us celebrate Noah's arrival and Miles turning two. Grandma Susan drove over for the day, Grandpa Kirk and Tutu Joy came to see us, and Apple was visiting....(We missed you Grandpa Lou!) It was a great day.

Miles with Grandma Susan and Grandpa Kirk:

Apple, Miles, Grandma Susan, Mama:

Noah meets Dana and Chris:

Noah and Uncle Steven:

Silly Miles and Silly Grandma:

Miles was much more interested in blowing out candles than he was in eating cake. He pushed his little chair all the way into the kitchen next to the counter and climbed up on it, saying "Candles! Candles!"

Heteo gives Noah a snack:

Bubbles!! Miles shows Aunt Cindy how it's done.

"You try Lisa"

Miles shows Heteo how to fix the barstools:

Rootbeer floats!

Noah, Tutu Joy and Grandpa Kirk:

Miles helps Grandpa Kirk open his birthday presents:

Oh no!

Miles was very tired at the end of the party, but he still wanted to help clean up:

Miles crashes on Noah's boppy. Hard to believe the boppy was once much bigger than Miles:

Noah Notes -- One Month Old (Yesterday)

2011-04-27T14:29:00.000-07:00

Here we go again folks! Break out the stickers and the onsies, Noah is one month old. I'm pretty excited to get to this first month onsie picture because we've enjoyed Miles' "every month" pictures so much. It also reminds me of all the cuteness ahead for Mr. Noah.

At one month old, Noah:

--weighs a whopping 12 pounds 12 oz, with a moderately full tummy. He's hanging in around the 95-97th percentile for weight, depending on which chart you consult.

--mostly wears 3-6 month old clothes. He wears some hand me downs his brother wore at 4 months of age...

--eats a LOT (I'm sure you're not surprised.)

--sleeps pretty well. He will usually do a 3-5 hour stretch of sleeping at the start of the night, but then he wakes us up about every 2 hours after that.

--loves a snuggle. He'd prefer to spend every moment in someone's arms.

--has been lifting his head almost since the day he was born. It's still a pretty wild, floppy head, but he can lift it.

--is a lot like Miles and a lot different than Miles.

--is a generally happy baby, and we love him lots.

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T22:19:00.000-07:00

Hope you had a wonderful day!

Week Three

2011-04-17T13:48:00.000-07:00

Another exciting week at our house, and another batch of photos where there's no cohesive theme beyond "pictures we took recently that haven't yet been on the blog...." I'm sure you'll forgive my lack of creative blog writing in exchange for cute pictures of two boys, right?

From Noah's first day home, I missed this one two weeks ago...Noah meets Lisa:

Miles' school celebrated "Week of the Young Child" with a family breakfast and bubbles!!

Miles actually blew some real bubbles! He also put a lot of bubble juice on his face. And in his eyes. Twice.

Noah celebrated "Week of the Very Young Child."

Miles asked to carry Noah in the Baby Bjorn. We compromised.

His bjorning in video form:

Apple is here! We went to the Wonderful Ones storytime at mama's library:

I'm looking forward to having more pictures with both boys in them:

But those pictures are hard to catch:

Noah had his first bath! Before:

During:

After. He's a mellow guy:

The First Two Weeks

2011-04-09T22:06:00.000-07:00

Well, as of today we've been a family of four for a fortnight. We're all still adjusting, but all in all, we're doing pretty well. Here are a few random photos from the last few days.

I think Noah set a new record for being the youngest baby ever to attend a baby storytime at Mama's library...storytime at just nine days old!

Much like Miles, he couldn't survive the whole 15 minute program without a snack.

He's awake!

Mama and Miles went to the 2-3 year old storytime on Wednesday. Miles liked the cars at the playtime.

Miles and Noah snuggling. In addition to getting a new baby brother, Miles also recently got some new molars coming in. He's had a tiring few days....

And these are just a few hours old!! The whole family spent some time tidying up the yard...Dad and Miles mowed and watered, Mama weeded and collected fallen palm fronds and Noah supervised.

Miles: "Wheels go round and round!"

23 Month MILEStones

2011-04-03T22:12:00.000-07:00

(I guess we'll also have updates called "1 Month NOAHstones" when the time comes...)

Miles hits 23 months today, an almost two year old. It's hard to imagine, though he did seem to get a whole lot BIGGER when we brought Noah home from the hospital.

Miles is talking about: Some fairly complicated stuff. It's amazing to observe his language acquisition. A few months ago, he had just started pairing words to describe things. Now he can express some rather complex ideas in fairly well developed sentences or paragraphs. I mean, he's not spouting haikus or iambic pentameter, but, last week when a classmate had an allergic reaction and the paramedics had to come to their room (the little guy in question recovered quite nicely) Miles could describe the things that were most important to him. "Daniel sad. People help. Beep-beep." He's also learning a little bit about social niceties. He's *just* starting to understand the appropriate use of "thank you" versus "you're welcome." (I will miss him saying "You're Welcome Mommy" when I hand him his glass of milk.) He's also adding "How are you?" to his conversations. "Hello Noah, how are you?"

Miles is learning about: Well, being a big brother. He's doing a really good job, given how much of a surprise the whole thing was for him. We tried, but really, there was no way to prep him...babies were just too far beyond his understanding. One week in (only one week, really?) he's adjusting fairly well. He's a little clingy and needy, but mostly he's either kind to Noah or he ignores him. Miles will offer Noah a pacifier or show him something he's playing with. He'll ask to "See Noah?" and sometimes even "Hold hand?"

Miles likes to spend his time : Running!! Playing with trains. Singing with his microphone. Helping (he's usually a very good helper, especially when Mama was pregnant, he would pick stuff up off the floor!). Building with Legos (Yegos!). Coloring.

Miles likes to read : "Moo, Baa, La, La, La" by Sandra Boynton and "Wiggle! March!" by Kaaren Pixton. (He's pretty flexible though, he'll read most anything.)

Miles likes to sing : "Baa Baa Black Sheep," and "Open Donald." Plus the classics, Baby Beluga, Hoo Ha, ABCD. He continues to make up his own tunes as well. This morning he treated us to a song that must have been titled "Daddy Did It!" It went "Daddy did it! Daddy did it! Daddy did it! YAY!"

Miles while dad plays with the camera...

2011-03-28T13:29:00.000-07:00

More photos of Noah from the hospital...

2011-03-28T13:22:00.000-07:00

Miles sings Baby Beluga and Carmen Sandeigo

2011-03-28T13:20:00.001-07:00

While Noah and Jenn were napping:

Noah's first night at home...

2011-03-27T22:41:00.000-07:00

Noah born at 12:09am today

2011-03-26T00:09:00.000-07:00

Noah Elliott Laredo 10.5 lbs 22 inches long...

Baby Two's Initials....

2011-03-25T15:23:00.000-07:00

...are N.E.L.

On Jam...

2011-03-23T20:18:00.001-07:00

Nathan: (reading from a book) What is your favorite kind of jam?

Miles: Jammies.

Open Donald Had a Pig

2011-03-16T21:26:00.000-07:00

Miles revisits a favorite song from his youth...

Truck and Trains

2011-03-15T08:48:00.001-07:00

A little video of Miles playing with his toys...for once he was more interested in what he was doing than in the camera. :)

35/35

2011-02-26T22:11:00.000-08:00

Today, I hit what is known on the mom message board I frequent as the "35/35" mark...meaning 35 weeks down and 35 days until we hit the due date. Little Guy Two is as active as Miles was at this point, which is to say he's working on either his tap dancing skills or his swimming strokes (or probably both.) A few days ago, I "enjoyed" the rare experience of being kicked in the stomach both inside and out, as Miles drummed his feet on my tummy while resting on the couch. I tried to tell myself it was really quite sweet that the boys were already playing together. All in all, things are going well. It's hard to move, sit still, sleep or stay awake, but that's all to be expected, I suppose. My gut feeling is that Little Guy Two won't stay put for another 5 weeks. Miles arrived a week early, and weighed 8 pounds, 13 oz when he was born. I'm thinking his little brother will be both earlier and larger than Miles was. My prediction is nine pounds minimum, and at least a week early, if not more. I'm thinking Little Guy Two is going to be fairly large. (My doctor says that pregnant ladies are significantly better at predicting the birth weight of their infants than the doctors with their fancy equipment...but that also might be just a nice thing to say to a pregnant lady...)

Miles at School

2011-02-16T15:24:00.000-08:00

You may (or may not) remember, before Miles was born, I was pretty sure that daycare was not going to be a good choice for us. I was committed to the idea that Nathan and I could rig our work schedules so that one of us would always be at home to take care of Miles. Well, Miles came along, I went back to work, and little by little, I've come to LOVE what daycare brings to our family.

Every day I appreciate the kind, skilled and thoughtful teachers who run Miles' classroom. I am stoked that we get to be a part of the lives of seven other toddlers, who are certainly Miles' first best friends. Of course, there's the benefit of having little bits of time to myself on my days off. :) We've learned plenty of awesome strategies for embracing *certain* toddler behaviors. And lately, I've been awed and grateful for the wide variety of opportunities I would never, EVER have thought to provide for Miles, if he'd been home every day with me or Nathan.

Don't get me wrong, I think we're pretty good about exposing Little Guy to new things and letting him try stuff. Just this week, he's been to see an ultrasound of his new little brother and he's practiced aspirating both his parent's noses. But there are plenty of things I would just never think to try, either because we don't have certain materials at our house, or because I'd say "He's too little."

Last week, I was dropping Miles off at snack time, and his teacher presented him with an empty small plastic cup and a little pitcher (like you'd use for cream at a restaurant) full of water. He knew just what to do. And sure, not all of the water made it in his glass, but as each child had their turn, everybody got at least SOME of the water in their drinking glass. His teacher said "They've all been interested in pouring, we thought we'd let them practice." Yeah, I probably would have waited until he was eight or nine for that, partly because we don't have a selection of little pitchers, but mostly 'cause this pregnant mama wouldn't want to clean up the mess!

Anyhow, enough of my rambling, here are pictures of Miles learning new stuff at school...all photos courtesy of the teachers in his classroom...

Miles practices with scissors:

And plays with tape:

Still loving that overhead projector:

Okay, we did think to let him play with bubblewrap on our own:

But we never paint on burlap at home:

And we don't have these cool blocks for climbing:

Trip to the Park

2011-01-30T21:52:00.000-08:00

Just a few photos from a recent trip to our local tot park.

You wish you could pull off a bright orange fleece paired with a surfer sun hat and sweat pants, don't you?

I'm proud to report that is a mixture of PBJ and sand on his face, not a new kind of fungus.

Miles Walks in Dad's Shoes

2011-01-28T16:33:00.000-08:00

Shoes on! Shoes off!

Merry Christmas!!

2011-01-25T15:53:00.000-08:00

I figured January 25th was the last "optimal" day to post our Christmas pictures...so I'd better get them posted! Then we can really usher in the new year!

Miles and Carl show off their Big Boy Bed skills on Christmas Eve Morning.

Time to get up, Chewie, it's Christmas Eve!

Taking the fire truck for a drive.

It's always a good day when you are in your jammies at lunch time.

A delicious Christmas Eve dinner of tangerines and grated cheese. (A huge improvement over Thanksgiving's Fruit Loops.)

Merry Christmas!! I will sing you a song with my new microphone!

Such a pro!

So much good stuff...

...and yet, I really want to play with these coasters.

Snuggling with mom and checking out these flip flops.

Visiting with Uncle Tom on Christmas afternoon.

Okay folks, that officially wraps up the Holiday 2010 Season!!

Miles (and Mom) and Santa

2011-01-12T20:58:00.000-08:00

I knew the whole Santa Photo Thing was risky. Miles is definitely wary of strangers, and without any real context of "Christmas" or "Santa", Mr. Claus is a relatively strange stranger. I had a feeling that walking him up to a large man dressed in bright colors, setting him on a foreign lap and walking away was not likely to lead to good photos. Last year, Miles was young enough and Santa was savvy enough that we could snap photos in the ten second pause in which Miles was figuring out he wasn't with mom. This year, Miles can throw down a tantrum much more quickly. Still, I am not to be deterred when it comes to holiday photo experiences (and if you don't believe me, you can reference the many "Pumpkins Depress Me" photos.) So, while the photos aren't necessarily fantastic, the memories of the photo shoot will last the ages.

Getting ready to meet Santa (photo courtesy of Grandma Susan and her new digital camera!)

First attempt...high trauma rating...

The "best" shot...

Totally fine, once away from Santa, still clinging to the baggie of Cheerios...

Santa, bless his heart, seemed to have had a tough year. He was out feeding the reindeer when we first stopped by to take photos, and when we got back, we were about the third or fourth folks in line. He did a nice job of trying to get to know Miles in a short time...Santa told Miles he had been waiting a long time to meet him, and how excited he was to meet a little boy who obviously liked trains...Still, once we left Santa's chair, he began to show signs of fatigue. First he did some arm stretches and seated calisthenics...I guess even Santa is not immune to repetitive stress disorder. But by the time we had gone around to collect our photos, Santa was reaching into a little velvet bag to retrieve some pain killers...poor Santa, I guess Christmas is a really stressful time if you are Mr. Claus.

Random December Cuteness

2011-01-09T13:55:00.000-08:00

I couldn't quite think of a theme to link all these pictures together, other than that they were taken in December, and yet aren't directly Christmas related. But I knew you'd enjoy them, even without a theme.

Here are some pictures of Miles and his playdate buddy Mark, at the Tot Lot. Mark has just moved closer to our house, so we're super excited.

This was the first time the guys actually seemed to be aware they were hanging out together. On our other playdates, they've kind of ignored each other. So it was extra fun.

Miles' daycare had an open house / family night in early December, with a different sort of activity in each classroom.

Here's Miles and the Daniel. For a few weeks about this time, Miles was thinking a lot "abbooooouuuutttt Daniel!"

That's Chloe, looking at the camera, she's one of Miles' good buddies. They are playing with the brown clay, which apparently Miles enjoys much more than the grey clay. Miss Nicole (with the long ponytail in this pic) let us know that when they introduced the new, brown clay, Miles was the only (brilliant!) child who said "OOH! Poop!"

Miles REALLY liked the room where kids were "exploring light and shadow." Mostly, he liked turning the overhead projector on and off. Over and over. You can see in this video. "Light on! Light off! Light on! Light off!"

20 Month MILEStones

2011-01-02T22:51:00.000-08:00

Miles tries on some 3D glasses!

January 3 is the 20 month mark for Mr. Miles, who is growing by leaps and bounds every day...It's been a busy two months for Little Guy, since our last MILEStone update.

Miles is talking about: Almost everything. He's stringing words together to let you know what he's thinking about..."More milk. Dad. Cup." or "'Nother one choo-choo train." or "Outside Christmas lights" or "NO!!! Diaper." He's an excellent mimic and will parrot back snippets of whatever conversation is happening around him, which can be hysterical. He's mastered most of your basic farm animal names and is doing pretty well with animal sounds. Miles will repeat the names of colors as you point to things, but if you ask him "What color is this?" his answer will almost always be "purple!" So when Mama and Dad want to impress people, we stick to pointing out things that are purple.

Miles is learning about: Potties. Miles has developed an interest in potties, much to Mama's shock. A week or two ago at daycare, we were putting away his diapers, and he started to talk about the potties, and I chatted back about the various colors of the potty seats and other regular stuff. Then he sort of backed into a potty like he wanted to sit down. I freaked out, thinking about how it was probably WAY too early for potty training and how if I handled this wrong he'd be wearing diapers in kindergarten. I started to talk really loudly, hoping one of the daycare teachers would bail me out. I asked, "Miles, do you want to sit on the potty?" He said, "Peepee." And then he tugged at his jeans and said "Pants." Now I was really nervous. "Miles, if you want to peepee in the potty, Mom will have to take your diaper off. Is that what you want?" (Miles HATES diaper changes.) He replied firmly, "NOOOO!" I was both a little relieved and confused, and said "Okay, what do we do next then?" Luckily, he totally had a plan. "Wash hands!" Whew! I'm a total pro at handwashing! After this first incident, we got some potty books and his own seat for home, and while he's really fond of both, he hasn't shown any further inclination to actually use the potty. Though he does like to drop a little piece of TP in the potty after someone else does their thing.

Miles likes to spend his time : Watching "Dinosaur Train," asking to watch "Dinosaur Train," rocking out with his microphone or some similar microphone-esque toy, turning things "on" and "off" repeatedly, working on puzzles, eating cheese or grapes, sweeping, and pointing out which houses still have their Christmas lights up.

Miles likes to read : This month Miles is enjoying "Uh Oh Gotta Go" by Bob McGrath (of Sesame Street fame), and "Goodnight Gorilla" by Peggy Rathmann (a story which features both animals AND keys!)

Miles likes to sing : All of his same favorites. He enjoys a good round of "If You're Happy and You Know It," and will occasionally request a round of "Zoom, Zoom, Zoom," a fingerplay I learned from Miss Nicole at daycare. Miles' favorite part is the "3-2-1 BLASTOFF!" which sometimes comes out "1-2-3 BATHTUB!"

Other things about Miles: Little Guy is definitely a toddler, and one with a strong set of opinions. Though he's generally a mild-mannered, sweet snuggle bug, he is capable of a full blown temper tantrum at a moment's notice. He has been practicing living by his own rules by declaring "NO! NO! NO!" at regular intervals. He'll also pretend to leave home every so often, saying goodbye to everything he sees, "Bye Daddy, Bye Mommy, Bye shoes, Bye Bye stroller, Bye Bye window" and blowing a few kisses and then heading for the front door, usually with a chewie tucked under his arm. Luckily he hasn't figured out how to work the door handles yet. :)

Happy THANKSGIVING!!!

2010-12-28T13:37:00.000-08:00

Getting ready to eat a balanced Thanksgiving dinner (which would end up including only Fruit Loops.)

Well Friends, I was taking some photos off my camera a few days ago, and I noticed that perhaps I was just the teensiest, weensiest bit behind on our posts here. Namely, it became obvious that I hadn't added much since Thanksgiving. So, today, for the first time anywhere, are the (fairly mediocre) Thanksgiving 2010 photos!! Ta-da!

Sometimes you have to trick Miles into taking photos...

Grandma lets Miles play with her camera.

The Gallardos and Grandma Susan.

Lynda and Melissa and Gaery, who had just had a birthday!

An unimpressive picture of what was a very cute Thanksgiving shirt, on a cute, if grumpy, toddler.

Back at home, Miles contemplates the fake tree in the living room, while eating a bagel.

Miles gets a new toy from his great grandmother....

2010-12-12T15:41:00.000-08:00

The first thing Miles did with his new toy was take a sticker off the top:

Later he figured out how to actually scoot around...

Getting Ready for Baby Boy Two

2010-12-07T13:31:00.000-08:00

New "NewLittleCupcake" hasn't gotten a whole lot of airtime on the blog so far...but that's not because we're not thinking a lot about him. (Oh, yes, for the non-Facebookers in the crowd...."he" is a boy!) He's growing fast, and he's definitely an active little guy. And even though Miles doesn't know it, he's getting ready to be a big brother.

Miles has taken to his Big Boy Bed like a fish to water...what can I say, the guy likes his sleep, and he seems to really enjoy his alone time in his sleep space. So far, he hasn't changed his behavior at all, from crib to bed. He still likes to snuggle in his bed in the morning, play with his night light, and sing little songs to greet the day. He still will (typically) settle into his bed and nap or sleep without much protest. He hasn't quite figured out that he can get in or out of the bed himself, and waits for someone to come get him before he gets out. His crib is currently still in his room, but he's pretty much ignoring it. Mama and dad are feeling pretty lucky.

And here's a little video footage of Baby Two...in all his grotesque adorableness. We couldn't find any extra fingers or toes, even though, as the video proves, we asked the tech to look carefully for them. :)

Day Out with Heteo

2010-11-21T21:32:00.000-08:00

Miles and I had such an adventure today! We went to San Francisco, to hang out with Heteo, and discovered an amazingly cool place. The Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausalito is a super-cool, not-to-crowded place to hang out with a little person. We were supposed to have rain all day, but wow! did we get a treat of a day. Check out these amazing pictures!

The museum is at Fort Baker, amazing views of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Miles is stoked to cruise the parking lot after being in the car for an hour.

Xylophones!!

YAY! (Or, "Hello, new work computer wallpaper!")

Fear not, friends, those are plastic fish.

H and Miles count the fish.

Here's H carrying my purse and helping my kid up the steps while I take the pictures. :)

Learning to use an abacus.

Checking out some quail.

I really wanted Miles to cozy up to this sculpture, but he was too busy.

Here he is, on the "school bus."

These were giant, kid-proof waterbed "lily ponds" where little frogs could jump and bounce. Miles reclined.

Rain tunnel!

And while there are many good reasons not to let one's toddler feed themselves a half melted brownie sundae....one makes compromises when one's toddler has only had forty minutes of nap in a day. :) (Oh, and I cut my hair.)

Yay for days out with Heteo!

Miles gets ready for American Idol

2010-11-20T10:56:00.000-08:00

Wonderful Ones Storytime

2010-11-11T22:04:00.000-08:00

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

You might remember that Miles does not have a particularly stellar history when it comes to storytimes. I took him to the lapsit at my library fairly regularly when he was very young, when I was on maternity leave. Each time, he'd be interested in the first few songs, but when the first book opened, he'd just scream. And he wasn't usually a screamer.

Obviously, Miles has done a lot of growing up since then, but he's really only made it through two storytime programs without hysterics. So when Apple showed up to visit, and I suggested she bring Miles to our Friday storytime, I was partly excited about the whole idea and partly nervous. Especially since our Wonderful Ones storytime usually has a sort of chaotic vibe to it, and because I was going to be leading the storytime. Who knew?

Well, it turned out to be FANTASTIC. I had stacked the deck by choosing only books and songs that were Miles' favorites, but he did such a great job. It was definitely my favorite storytime ever. AND! Apple and Miles are coming again tomorrow, bringing Grandpa Lou with them!

Our Hello Song.

Not entirely sure what to make of the whole thing, but very interested.

He's managed to take off his nametag.

YAY!!

The wheels on the bus go round and round. Note how he's checking out his neighbor, to be sure he's doing it right.

You'd think I'd never read "I Went Walking" before.

18 Month MILEStones

2010-11-07T11:37:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe we've gotten to the Year and a Half mark!! It seems like it went very fast and very slow, all at the same time. We should have more frequent updates, now that mama is very nearly done with school. I have a couple posts queued up to go, even!

Miles can say : A lot. Nathan read an article that said kids this age can learn up to one new word AN HOUR, and we definitely see that in Miles. He has added both "milk" and "airplane" to his vocabulary, as well as "Miles." He's learned the names of his teachers and most of his classmates. He talked a lot about "pupkins" over Halloween. Sometimes, I have no idea where he learned a word...like "chicken" or "window," but then he busts out with them right in context. We also think he may be speaking a bit of Chinese, as one of his good school friends "Beebeean" (Vivian) speaks more Chinese than English, and sometimes his sounds remind us of her sounds.

Miles is learning about: Animal sounds. Cows and cats and dogs he knows pretty well (in fact dogs are either "buppies" or "woofwoofs," rather than dogs.) Most other things say "RAWR." He's just starting to think about colors. He knows some color words, but doesn't often get the right word with the right color. Though this morning, while tossing some Tazo Honey Orange tea bags on the floor, he kept saying "Ernie." I'm quite certain this is because the tea bags were the same vibrant shade of orange as Ernie (and he's brilliant.)

Miles likes to spend his time : Exploring. Miles is practicing his climbing, getting onto his step stool and onto the couch or ottoman. He's not necessarily brave or daring, but he's fairly persistent. He's interested in every nook and cranny of the house, and our walks to school are very slow, as he needs to investigate leaves and bushes and grass and puddles.

Miles likes to read : This month Miles is enjoying "Snuggle Puppy" by Sandra Boynton, "Baby Beluga" by Raffi and "Tubby Time for Little Ernie."

Miles likes to sing : Most of the same songs as last month..."Hoo-hah" (his beatboxing is really coming along), "Itsy Bitsy Spider" (which he sometimes adapts...this morning it was "The itsy bity glowy guy..." in honor of his night light, whom we call glowy guy), EIEIO, and The Wheels on the Bus, which he doesn't sing so much as mime. He's also added "Baby BaGOOga" to his repertoire.

(Miles chooses some gadgets from the offerings at his daycare center)

Other things about Miles: Little Guy didn't have a costume for Halloween, as Mama and Dad couldn't really imagine he'd tolerate funny clothes, especially anything with a hood. And he didn't seem wild about our trip to the Pumpkin Patch, so we are starting a series of photos in which Miles looks bummed out surrounded by pumpkins. He did, however, have a great time on Halloween, sitting on the porch with Mama and Grandma handing out candy to the more than 200 trick-or-treaters who came by our house. We had a visit from Elmo, which was exciting, and Miles practiced saying "Yo Welcome" to people who said thank you. He also moved candy from our big bowl into his pumpkin bag. Somehow we managed to keep him from figuring out that candy is for eating. This year.

"Pumpkins Depress Me - Circa 2010"

"Pumpkins Depress Me - Circa 2009"

(I swear, he really enjoys pumpkins...just not pumpkin photoshoots, I guess)

And lastly, a little video from Halloween, that gives a real sense of how fast this guy moves these days. If you crank up your volume a bit, you can hear a bit of "Baby BaGOOga."

Late Breaking News...

2010-10-20T20:35:00.000-07:00

...as in, "We are very late in breaking this news."

That's a sibling for Mr. Miles you're looking at there. Baby Two is due around April 2nd, and is looking healthy and growing quickly. I'm doing well, and am happy to have gotten a little bit of my energy back in the second trimester. No gender news yet, a few more weeks. It's been a challenging fall, being pregnant, working on my last big project for library school, working, and enjoying life with a toddler, but we've done pretty well, all things considered. Exciting times, folks, exciting times.

17 Month MILEStones

2010-10-06T21:55:00.000-07:00

Oh, dear, I guess I'm finally giving up on writing a 16 month post. But here's what Miles has accomplished over the last two months.

Miles can say : Soooo many things. He's an excellent mimic and will repeat almost anything you say. Notable exceptions, he still doesn't say either "milk" or "airplane," two things about which he is fairly passionate. Some of his favorites are : "up-up," all done, the end, "oh hi!," ball, more, on, off, cracker, "cool bus" (for school bus), moon, outside, Elmo!

Miles is learning about: sharing...or rather, not just grabbing something from someone else; feeding himself; putting on socks (he can't do this yet, but he likes to try);

Miles likes to spend his time : Dancing. Wow. Does this boy like to dance. Wanna see? He does this at least ten minutes a day. Usually more.

Miles likes to read : Most anything. He's interested in "Goodnight Moon," in fact his *whole* class is. I was reading it to a group of about six toddlers when I went to pick Miles up from school. I seriously don't get it, but they LOVE this book. They like the balloon. Miles really likes the moon. He also says "whisper whisper" in a funny little whisper when we get to the old lady whispering hush.

Miles likes to sing : His own songs, "hoo-hah" (which is the theme song to "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego," which, as the video demonstrates, is his dancing song), Twinkle Twinkle and the Itsy Bitsy Spider.

Other things about Miles: Miles started a new daycare center very, very close to our house. He is really happy there, (mama and dad are pretty thrilled too, but this post isn't about our milestones!) loves his teachers and has a good time with his friends. He loves the water table and the slide.

Oregon, Part III

2010-09-16T21:42:00.000-07:00

The last pictures from our trip. I guess our vacation must really be over. We stayed a few days in Portland, and visited with our friends. My picture taking sort of diminished, for some reason. We had lots of fun! But my pictures are mostly sub-standard. Don't worry, though, I won't leave you without a few shots. :)

We had a fantastic afternoon with Jim, LiAna and Brien at the Portland Children's Museum.

Playing with the water tables:

They were handing out treats to kids who could name three fruits or vegetables. I'm not quite sure how Miles ended up with a treat, as his food words include water, cookie, cheese, and apple. At least apples are a fruit. But he's clutching his prize bag in this picture:

And eating his prize here:

Lai and Brien did some shopping in the store:

Miles pounds some clay (that's a blurry Jim in the background):

There was a stage with costumes and curtains and the whole nine yards. Two girls were putting on play after play. Brien was in charge of lighting and Miles is working on sound effects:

Then Brien decided to join the play, as a vampire:

Here he is displaying his super fast vampire climbing skills:

Lai found Miles a costume, but then the guys took over the AV panel again:

Miles was a....um....Navajo Cowboy? (The grownups really enjoyed sitting down during these productions)

Then we went to the Dig Pit:

Brien and Puppy:

Working on the next stage of our plan:

Brien and Jim debate whether they can fit this cow sculpture in the trunk of their car:

We had pizza at a place with a toy corner. Awesome! Miles thought Brien was pretty interesting:

The next day we played with Jim and Brien at their house. Here, Nathan and Brien read a book about Star Wars, and Miles enjoys drinking out of the cool sports bottle that matches the one Brien has:

Miles shows Jim how to rock out on a laptop:

I didn't take a single photo of our time with Nat and Austen, arrrgggh! But they are awesome, and we had a great visit with them as well. I miss Oregon!!

Oregon, Part II

2010-09-13T21:13:00.000-07:00

Friends, I'm going to be straight with you. We're going to be slow with the pics for the next few months. There'll be a delay in our usual blog services, until about December, at which point, Mama Cupcake will be done (DONE!) with library school. We apologize for our slow service, and we do look forward to posting updates with our usual speed. We'll get you pictures and Miles updates, but they'll likely be late.

For instance, here's the second (of a predicted three) installments of our Oregon vacation segment.

Playing peekaboo with Grandpa Kirk, sitting in a big boy chair:

Check out my shoes, Grandpa:

Miles helped Grandpa stir the rice, so then he felt entitled to eat all the rice on Grandpa's plate. Two servings in a row.

Check out that light!

We visited some tidepools at Yaquina Head Lighthouse. First we looked at the pretty view:

Miles studied the fence:

And did a happy dance:

The beach with the tidepools was very cobbley. Miles liked the cobbles:

A nice lady in old-fashioned light-house-keepery clothes offered to take a family photo for us:

It was really windy:

Ta Da!

Miles read up on the local shore birds:

And "looked" through the telescope:

It was scenic:

Impromptu family photo:

Miles has to dance.

We explored the Interpretive Center. In talking about this Sea Lion sculpture, we used the word "walrus" inadvertently. Miles proceeded to walk around saying "walrus, walrus, walrus" for about five minutes. Ridiculously cute:

Playing a quick game of checkers with dad:

And working on a fish puzzle. Miles says fish as "fsshh".

Petting Foxy. He did a good job with the dogs and cat. Equal parts caution and bravery. He did attempt to eat one of the cats snacks. Apparently it didn't taste too good.

Grandpa Kirk has cool airplane books:

Sitting with Grandpa Kirk and Tutu Joy, before we headed to Portland:

One more batch of pics from Portland, where we hung out with good friends!

Oregon, Part I

2010-09-03T15:48:00.000-07:00

Hi all! We've ventured into the great green north, to visit with friends and family in Oregon. We're having a wonderful time! Here are some pictures.

Watching airplanes at the airport. Miles really likes airplanes:

Also bagles:

No hands!

Playing with toys on Grandpa Kirk's deck:

Miles contemplates the menu:

I think I'll have the quesedilla:

I'll have some salsa while I wait:

He ate salsa for about ten minutes, before he realized it was spicy. Then he got pretty upset with us.

We went to the aquarium. Miles saw lots of bubbles.

He also liked walking around on the trails:

Birds!

Here's my tummy.

In the fish tunnel:

Look, Tutu Joy, Fish!

At the Touch Pool, with Grandpa Kirk and Dad.

Family photo in front of the turkey vulture display:

The whole family has been enjoying the indoor pool at our hotel:

More photos to come, after we have more fun!

August 11th, 2010...in great detail

2010-08-15T22:23:00.000-07:00

This series of photos is a response to a challenge from the ladies on a local parenting board I enjoy (Hello Bump friends!!) The idea is to chronicle a typical day in the life of your little one. It's been on my to-do list, but the challenge finally got me motivated. So here are photos from a typical Miles day at home (daycare days would obviously be a little different.) I tried to capture something once every thirty minutes while he was awake. It seems pretty quick when I look at the day this way.

7:26 am -- Miles wakes up, drinks milk, sits with Dad, and points out the light fixtures in the living room.

7:50 am -- Miles is on the move!! Crumpet in hand.

7:52 am -- Good morning Giant Elmo. Would you like some crumpet?

8:20 am -- Miles plays with a box of tea bags for nearly 45 minutes. Mama is stunned, but pleased, as she gets to savor her tea.

8:57 am -- "And when the moon is on the rise, they all go up to exercise!" Mama and Miles enjoy "The Going to Bed Book," by Sandra Boynton.

9:21 am -- Miles, Monkey, Other Monkey, Puppy, Blankie, Chewie and Backup Chewie settle in for a nice, long, rest.

11:29 am -- Still sleepy Miles is up, and ready for some milk.

12:01 pm -- Mmmmmmmmm. Mangoes. Miles feeds himself some fruit.

12:54 pm -- Miles tries to muster enthusiasm for a trip to IKEA.

1:33 pm -- Still at IKEA. Miles is scribbling. He's not happy.

1:55 pm -- STILL at IKEA. Miles has had one meltdown, but is happy to be out of his stroller. Mama is surprised that Miles won't even taste her ice cream cone.

2:44 pm -- Finally back at home, and able to wander around. Miles celebrates with some water.

2:58 pm -- Miles, who didn't want to try the ice cream cone, IS interested in pastrami sandwich.

3:07 pm -- Giving these keys a good shake before an afternoon nap.

5:37 pm -- Nap over, dad's home, and Miles enjoys some more milk.

6:27 pm -- Time to move the shoes around!!

6:45 pm -- Miles sings and chatters and wanders.

7:07 pm -- Playing with the rings.

7:42 pm -- Miles makes sure dad gets the stroller fastened correctly.

8:11 pm -- Halfway through our evening walk

And when the walk is over, we all go to bed. :)

Day Out with Grandma

2010-08-10T12:24:00.000-07:00

These pictures are a few weeks old...Miles and Grandma Susan and Mama went to Los Gatos for lunch, a visit to the fountains, and to collect Miles' Summer Reading Prize at the library. It was a very fun day, and we were all tired at the end.

Enjoying some bread:

Ready to explore the fountain park:

Hi!

Choosing a book, holding a diaper.

Hmm. Which of these chapter books should I read today...

15 Month MILEStones

2010-08-04T16:39:00.000-07:00

Miles can say : hi, bye-bye, no (this is a favorite), bubble, uh-huh (only occasionally mixed in with the "no") YAY! (he gives himself standing ovations on a regular basis) and BOO!

Miles is learning about: using the bubble wand, the sounds things make (he's good at things that make an "ooo" or "oof" sound, trains, cows, firetrucks and dogs, all approximately the same,) how to eat with a spoon or a fork

Miles likes to spend his time : Running. He's had his first bloody nose, but he's not deterred. He likes to run around the house, kicking balls, chasing, being chased. He has also turned into quite a reader this month--his attention span is growing and he likes to hear his favorites over and over. Mama is thrilled.

Miles likes to read : "The Going to Bed Book," by Sandra Boynton (he likes to point out the moon on each page) and "My First Book of Trucks."

Miles likes to sing : E-I-E-I-O, The Wheels on the Bus, Head Shoulders Knees and Toes. He surprised me one day by spinning his "wheels" when I was singing "The Wheels on the Tractor go round and round."

Other things about Miles: He's a growing guy! He's eating and sleeping a lot, and it seems like he gets a good deal taller each morning. He may be getting over his stranger anxiety phase. He wandered up to new folks in the park a few days ago, and didn't get to squirrelly when visiting the library. When Apple arrived, he warmed to her very quickly.

Videos!

2010-08-02T14:22:00.000-07:00

Miles has been very busy lately, learning, and singing, and dancing, and practicing his running. We're all sleeping well at night. :)

One day, Miles was reading a book that has some tractor wheels that spin. I started to sing "The Wheels on the Tractor Go Round and Round." To my surprise, he started to move his hands "round and round." Guess they've been singing about the bus at his school. Also, in this video, at long last, he finally shows us his nose.

Here, Miles shows off both his burgeoning fashion sense and his ability to turn in a circle.

And here, Miles is working on eating with a spoon. If messes make you oogie, you should skip this one.

What Miles Does All Day...

2010-07-20T11:40:00.000-07:00

We get written reports from Miles' daycare teachers every day that he goes to school, telling us what he ate, the details of his diapers and what he did during the day. I love reading them. I don't know why I'm surprised he likes the same stuff at school that he likes at home, but I guess I like knowing that he's the same kid when he's out in the world. Here's what Miles did at school:

7/15 : "Miles liked playing outside on the grass and he enjoyed the airplanes in the sky and he liked playing with the toy pianos. :) He also liked popping bubbles outside."

7/16 : "Miles enjoyed playing with bouncy balls and chasing bubbles :) "

7/19 : "Miles enjoyed plying with the colored sand in the sensory table and singing 'Old McDonald.'"

Fountains at the Mall

2010-07-18T22:35:00.000-07:00

Mama and Lisa took Miles to Stanford Shopping Center to check out the flowers and the fountains. We also ate cupcakes and spilled milk all over the ground.

Fourth of July

2010-07-11T13:30:00.000-07:00

Can you hear the "whoa" going through Miles' mind in this photo? As it turned out, he didn't eat much at all of the ice cream. He did like the cookie. And he would have really liked to take the spoon and poke the ice cream, before tossing bits of it on the floor. :)

We went to Sacramento for the long weekend, to get Grandma Susan off of her dial up internet connection and onto something a little bit faster. Of course we also went to Leatherby's.

And played with trains:

It was too hot outside. Plans for a great 4th of July photo waving a flag were thwarted by heat-induced grumpiness.

Miles likes spaghetti more than ice cream.

We also had a great visit with Heather, Dana, Shelli and various members of their families. I'll have to owe you a movie of Miles playing with the air vent in his second 4th of July outfit. In the meantime, here are the girls:

uh oh

2010-07-09T20:15:00.000-07:00

Uh oh.

14 Month MILEStones

2010-07-07T22:41:00.000-07:00

We ran out of month by month onesie stickers and Miles just keeps getting older. I wanted to make some sort of monthly post to commemorate his growing awesomeness. So I think I'll take a moment or two each month (and a dedicated post) to brag about his new found skills.

At 14 months --

Miles can say : dada, mama, uh-oh, cookie, google, hi, and sometimes bye-bye.

Miles is learning about: kisses (ummm-mah!), blowing kisses, the timing on waving bye-bye (good to do it while the bye-bye person can still see you!), sorting shapes, turning lights and faucets on and off, and exactly which doors and cupboards have child locks on them.

Miles likes to spend his time : OUTSIDE! Miles likes to practice his walking, he likes to play with bubbles, and he likes to look for things in the sky -- birds, airplanes, blimps, telephone wires, tall trees, etc. He's also a fan of Sesame Street.

Miles likes to read : "Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?" by Dr. Suess and "Blue Hat, Green Hat," by Sandra Boynton

Miles likes to sing : E-I-E-I-O, Open Shut Them, and Pat-a-Cake. Also, he just generally likes to sing. He frequently adds his own soundtrack to his life.

Other things about Miles: He's just about to move into the Toddler Class at his daycare center, and he's just about mastered blowing kisses. Sometimes blowing kisses turns into a game of peekaboo, because blowing a kiss is a lot like playing peekaboo with your mouth. This afternoon he said bye-bye, waved and blew a kiss to Lisa as she was leaving. That was awesome.

WATER!!!

2010-07-02T10:12:00.000-07:00

Lisa and I took Miles on a picnic in the plaza in downtown Los Gatos. There's a fountain that shoots up from the ground, and kids love to run through it, especially on hot summer days. I knew Miles would love watching it, but I didn't know if he'd want to get close. He was so brave though!! He got right into the action.

Not a great picture of Miles, but I've been getting requests for pictures with Miles and Mama, so here y'all are:

Monkey came too:

He was so interested in the water, it was hard to get him to look at the camera:

Here's a moving picture of the same afternoon:

The Lens Cap Monster

2010-06-27T16:49:00.000-07:00

Another skill Miles has been perfecting is putting lids on things. He likes the lids to his baby food boxes, tupperware lids, the lid to the bubble bottle, soda or milk bottle lids....pretty much anything. So when he found the lens cap during our bubble photo shoot, he knew what had to be done.