Fun with Photos

Just thought I'd share a bit of the cuteness that is Miles. Enjoy! :)

Mmmm! Yummy fingers!

Playing with my bear, Bram - a gift from Dracula!

And, flashing that world-famous smile. :)

Ridiculous Revelation

I realized something today.

My perception of my mommy skills is entirely dependent upon Miles and his mood.

When Miles has a good day, and is a smiling, happy boy, I am Super Mom! I can do anything! I can work! And care for my own child! And keep my house (relatively) clean! And if I want, I can even bake cookies!

Today was an exclamation point sort of day. Miles played with pots and pans and wooden spoons on the kitchen floor while I made dinner. During his (two!) long naps today, I sorted through two years worth of filing that had to be done. My husband came home to a happy wife, a smiling son, a clean house and dinner coming out of the oven.

But when Miles has a bad day, and whines or cries all day, I am Bad Mommy. I can't seem to do anything. I can't work. I can't make my child happy. My house is a disaster. Forget cookies, I'm happy to just get in a shower.

Yesterday was that sort of day. Perhaps it was the teething. Perhaps it was just a bad day. Whatever it was, Miles literally whined for about 80% of the time that he was awake. He whined when I held him. He whined when I put him down. He whined because he was tired, and then whined to keep himself awake. He whined because he was hungry. He whined because the bottle took too long to make. He whined. And whined. And whined. My husband came home to a grouchy wife, a cranky son, a dirty house, and no dinner. In fact, he ended up having to cook while I comforted the baby.

I have tried to find the magic combination for creating an exclamation point day, but I'm sad to say, I haven't found it yet. But, then, it took me five months to realize how directly my son's mood was affecting me so heavily, so it could take awhile. :)

Snake Saturday

Yesterday, Miles participated in his very first parade - the Snake Saturday parade (to celebrate the day St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland).

It was about 40 degrees, and misting throughout the entire parade, so Miles' adorable little gypsy outfit was not visible under the layers of period-appropriate blankets I had wrapped around him. Which, of course, he kept trying to break out of. As we rounded one corner, there was a lady with a microphone announcing each of the sections of the parade. She noticed Miles, and said, "And that gypsy has her baby along!" With his ever-perfect timing, Miles broke out of the blankets and flashed the crowd one of his world-famous smiles. I quickly covered him, but my ham had already managed to steal yet another show. :)

As always, Miles was a trooper. He never complained once. Until we were on the last half of the last block of the parade, when he suddenly decided he had had enough of the cold, and screamed the rest of the way to the car. Once we had gotten him warmed up, though, he was back to his happy, playful self.

All the same, we skipped out on the second parade of the day, and decided to nap in the car while Daddy participated.

What Was that Wizzing Sound?

It was the sound of Miles speeding through Milestones.

Apparently, sprouting two teeth more or less simultaneously is not enough for Miles. He wants to take over the world, so of course, he has to accomplish everything. Now.

His latest?

Yeah, Miles has decided that it's time to sit up. All.by.himself. And boy, is he proud of himself.

After this picture, he sat up for another 20 minutes or so, before deciding that he had other things to do. He leaned himself back, one arm on the toy to brace himself, until he was lying on his back. He immediately rolled to his belly, and started trying to figure out how to scoot or crawl.

Apparently, he still has high ambitions. :)

Good-bye, Gummy Grin

So, yeah, I know I haven't written anything about my beautiful son for almost a week now. But, I'm a Bad Mother, so it's no surprise that I'm a Bad Blogger, too, right? :)

The biggest reason I haven't written in so long is a little white bump in Miles' gums. Yep, his first tooth finally broke through the gums on Saturday. He's still having some trouble getting it the rest of way in, but it is definitely there. If you don't believe me, allow him to chomp on your finger. :)

The funny thing is, it's still not the top one that we have felt for over a month, now. It's one of the bottom center ones. Crazy kid. Just when we think we know where to look, he bites us from the other side. :)

Luckily, he's been pretty happy in spite of the teething. He's very clingy and only wants Mommy or Daddy. When he's sleepy, he cries a lot. But really, the rest of the time, he's still the same happy boy as always. Although, now that I say that, I'm sure I'm in for a day of screaming. :)

The weird thing is, it made me a little sad to see that little white bump. I'm going to miss that gummy grin. :(

Oh, well. Time for the toothy smile! :)

Huzzah for Sleep!!!

So, Patrick is a genius. I'm sure you all knew that already, but seriously, he's a genius.

The night before last, Patrick put Miles to bed. On a lark, he decided to try turning off the night light we've had on for five months straight (literally, I don't think it's been turned off once). Within minutes, Miles was fast asleep, and only woke once to eat. He slept from 11:00 - 5:00 and from 5:30ish to almost 10:00.

Not wanting to jinx it, I told no one.

Last night, Patrick put him down once more. Lights off. He was asleep within minutes, and slept from midnight until 8:30 this morning. It was glorious.

I'm just hoping this trend continues. I was starting to lose my mind from lack of sleep. :)

Quick Update

We are finally getting over the cold!

Today, Miles was back to his smiling, happy, cooing self. Complete with dinosaur noises. :)

Sleep is still elusive, but what can you do?

And, my son is amazing. Today, while eating his squash, he grabbed at the spoon. Out of curiosity, I gave it to him. He put it in his mouth, and sucked the squash off of it, then gave it back to me for more. He did this twice! before realizing that Mommy could shovel faster. He dropped the spoon and opened his mouth, just waiting for me to do the work for him. Silly boy. :)

That is all for now, as I have a massive headache. Which is sad, since I have all sorts of fun stories about Miles craning his neck to watch out the car window on the way to work this morning. And making dinosaur noises while I was on the phone with one of our performers. And playing with Maestro at lunch. And several more that I will try to remember to type up when my head feels less like exploding. Good night, all!