6 Months and Counting!

My goodness, I can't believe I can say I have a 6 month old little boy tomorrow!  I don't feel like much has changed since the last time I posted but I felt like I needed to say a little something on this momentous occasion!  He is on the other side of his first year, closer to being a toddler than a newborn.  It makes me feel proud that I kept him alive for so long!  Yeah!

I do feel like he is outgrowing his crib!  He can hardly roll over anymore without hitting the sides.  All night we hear thumps coming from his monitor as he hits the side of his crib...again.  But, I know I'll be grateful for those bars keeping him in when he starts toddling!

Release me!  This is what I walked in on after a nap...

We got him a walker from Babies R Us this last week and he is surprisingly good at getting around in it so far!  I mean, until he hits a wall...  He hasn't quite figured out how to steer the darn thing.  He looks so big in it though!  We got the cheapest one since we had a gift card and didn't want to spend much over it.  It cost us $9 - what a deal!

Miles loves to hit, scratch, pull hair, and kiss (open mouth, I'm-gonna-eat-your-brain zombie kisses).  It is so...endearing.  My favorite is when he hits the loaded spoon I'm trying to get into his mouth when I feed him.  Think millennium falcon flying through the asteroid field... that's what meal time is like.  I have to try to dodge waving arms, feet, sippy cups, etc to get that spoon in his mouth.  Good times!

We also finally got some pictures of Miles in his sweet shoes from Thailand!  My friend Yok sent these to him.  In her note she said they were handmade by an indigenous tribe in Thailand that sells handicrafts.  They are a keepsake I will always treasure!

Other than that, all is well here!  Andrew and I had a great anniversary and he is settling well into school and the early morning routine.  We are so looking forward to my brother, his wife, and two kids visiting from Ohio soon!  He will be down for medical school...stuff, and I can't wait to see them!  Especially their little kids, one of which was born in May.  We are planning on doing Bradshaw family pictures while they are down, so we might get a decent family picture with our little Miles - finally!

Picture we took on our 3rd anniversary before going out to dinner - 

best hubby ever!

5.5 months!

I feel like we are on the verge of very exciting times!  Miles tried his first bowl of baby cereal not too long ago (with mixed results) and is almost old enough to eat fruits and veggies!  I get the vibe he is getting tired of his very very limited diet.  Almost every meal, he is crying for what we are eating and trying to grab things off my fork!  Don't tell Dr Mike, but more often that not we do slip baby appropriate foods in his little mouth for him to gum and taste.  Can't wait for more "approved" foods to feed him!

Obviously, he loves his cereal... Ha ha!  We started him on oatmeal, but after a few days he would just shut his mouth and turn his head and then cry if we were really persistent.  If we managed to get some in, he did all he could to spit it out!  Actually quite cute (which is probably why I tried so long).  We then switched to rice cereal, but it has been a couple of days and he doesn't seem so keen on it as he was at first.  I think the novelty has worn off!

The other day, I realized he was discriminating against some of his toys.  He was starting to play favorites and I tried my very hardest to figure out why he was rejecting some and not others.  Finally I figured out that he was only playing with the toys with tags on them, the other toys sentenced to the toy box.  He would pick up a toy, play with it until he found the tag, and then chew the poor thing to death!  So, during one of his naps last week, I pulled out some fabric and ribbon and made him a taggie blanket!  It turned out really cute, though pinning it was a nightmare!  I had to re-pin the thing three times to get it right!  If not for my retardedness, it would have been a very easy project.  He loves it and chews on it all day, giving his poor toys a break!

Miles is also getting more mobile everyday.  He rolls one way easily and the other way if we trick him to do it.  He goes after toys on his blankets and can usually scoot to them, eventually.  Sometimes I leave for a few minutes and come back to the room and he is on the other side (or off) his blanket, going after something.  He is quite often on his tummy with either his knees or his hands under him.  He hasn't quite coordinated them yet but he is quickly getting there!  He is still really young, but I have a feeling he is going to figure out scooting around better very soon!  He can also sit by himself for quite some time now, and you can tell he is getting stronger!  His signature move, however, is jumping!  If you hold him, get ready for an arm work out!  He will jump in your lap all day if you let him, and if you try laying him down, he will kick you in the stomach.  Recently, though, he has started "marching," rhythmically moving one foot and then the next.  He looks like he is walking.  When in the pool, he does this move and it looks like he is crawling across the water.  So exciting that he is getting so big!  But kinda sad...each milestone is a little sad cause it means he is growing up....  *sniff*

Andrew is on the verge of starting his next school year!  He goes back on Thursday (Aug 1) and he will have meetings and we will get his room all ready before the students start a week later (Aug 8).  Our anniversary is Aug 6, so hopefully we will make time to go on a date, though we will probably have a third wheel with us!  We love celebrating with Mr Miles! Can't believe we have been married three years!!

20 lbs and counting!

Or, Utah Trip part II

Miles is officially 20 lbs exactly!  I weighed him on my scale today (doing the old weigh myself and then myself with him).  After a couple tries the verdict is in:  20 ridiculously heavy pounds!

This next week he will hit 5 months old and I can't believe how much he is changing!  He no longer sleeps swaddled and cute in the middle of his bed sucking on his pacifier.  He sleeps like this:

 Adorable, until you see where his feet and legs are.  Baby legs + crib bars = worst screams ever!  But he is pretty cute.

As for the second half of the Utah trip, I realized after that I took absolutely no pictures of the reunion!  I don't know what I was thinking!  I will hopefully snag some from people who took pics there.  Miles really really enjoyed his first fireworks show.  He cried a little during the finale when it got really loud and bright, but did really well!  That made us happy because we LOVE fireworks!  The 4th of July is Andrew's favorite holiday :)

I did take pictures of our hiking trip though!  Miles hiked TIMP!  Well, to the first waterfall  :)  It was his first hike and I think he liked it.  He is absolutely fascinated by trees and greenery, so it was perfect.  He stared and stared and stared at the waterfall too.  We went in the evening so we had plenty of shade and it wasn't too hot either - perfect hiking conditions!  We even saw a snake out for a... slither.  That made Andrew panic, but not nearly as much as I panicked over all the bees! 

 Since we've been home, we have been getting back on decent nap schedules (Miles), working on lessons and school prep (Andrew), and finishing up misc projects (Erica).  We had a little bit of rain and it feels like August is coming with some humidity and extra heat!  The best part of the day is in the evening when we go for a walk or a swim, eat dinner together as a family, and do Mile's routine.  I just love spending time with Miles and Andrew, and bathing Miles and putting him in his jammies and seeing how happy he is makes me so glad I am a mommy.  I really do live a blessed life and couldn't be happier!

Utah Trip: Part 1

We are having a blast in Utah spending time with family and friends!  Miles is loving getting to know this side of his family and seems to be handling the trip fairly well.  We are a week and a half into the vacation and have a week to go, so I thought I would give an update and post some pictures.  We were happy to celebrate Kate and Ryan's wedding last week!  It was a beautiful thing to be in the Salt Lake City Temple with so many members of the family!  Here are some other adventures:

Playing at Bonneville Park on the grass!

Riding on Great-Grandpa's bike
(and chewing on the handlebars...)

Visiting Great-Great Grandpa and Grandma Bird in
Springville - happy to see them!

Photo booth picture from the reception
of a friend!  Miles didn't really
want to play dress up though -  ha ha!

Having fun at Hogle Zoo!
Checking out the animals;
Miles didn't seem all that interested though  :)

Not from Utah trip, but another swimming picture!
"Hey, hey, Miles the otter!"

Three Months and Counting!

We have passed the three month mark!  Miles has gone from blob baby to less-blobby baby in what has seemed like such a short time!  He can get up on his elbows when on his tummy, grab things and get them into his mouth, smile like a champion, and has even started laughing! He loves showing off his conversation skills while mommy is trying to talk, and he often surprises us when we get him up from naps by turning around in his crib or spinning in little circles or scootching across the floor, his blankets piled up where we left him.  He is also hitting that "I'm easily distracted" phase where he can't be inconvenienced by nursing, sleeping, or anything else keeping him from looking at the world.  A room he has never been in is the worst - he tries so hard to see every detail! Most recently, he is attempting to grab his toes and blow spit bubbles with his mouth.  The bubbles are coming along nicely - his favorite thing is to get a nice fountain going around his mouth and then promptly wipe it on your arm, hand, or shirt before you can get it with the burp rag!  He then smiles at you like he planned the whole thing!  He has managed to get his toes a few times but he gets so frustrated that he can't get them all the time yet.  And we have taken him swimming twice with continuing success - we will make a fish out of that boy yet!  Basically, we are really enjoying our little babe!  Every day is a new surprise, and just when we think he can't possibly get any cuter, he surprises us again. 

Andrew and I are doing really well, too.  Andrew is done teaching for now and has then next couple months off!!  We have some good solid leads on contracts for next year and will hopefully get one signed in the next week or so.  That would be a big load off our shoulders (Andrew's especially!).  We are looking forward to our Utah trip in June for Kate's wedding - we can't wait to spend some more time with you all!  Until then, we are enjoying the little things and growing together as a family.  The every day challenges get just a little easier and a little more manageable when handled together.

At the pool with daddy - good lookin' boys!

Miles hanging by the pool

Going to church...13 weeks old!  (Both onsie and pants are 12 month size...good bye little clothes...)

Love overalls!

One of many...many...many blowouts.  This one was while shopping...joy.

Getting ready to be wrapped up for a nap...now just need some clothes...

Miles in his high chair!  Yay for garage sales!

New (and most comfy-est) baby carrier!

Love grabbing and eating toys

Done a lot of sleeping the last couple months

Hanging out in the diaper

I know it's only a day later but Miles was hanging out in his diaper on the couch with Andrew and we grabbed the camera, with the following results!  So cute!  We are also including pictures of Miles after his nap.  We walked in to get him and he had somehow managed to scooch off and out from under his blankets and turn...  It was quite a surprise! Enjoy!

"Take my picture, mommy!"

Can you tell we like taking pictures of our little Miles?!  These are some I have taken randomly when he is looking all cute on blankets or whatnot - with an occasional teddy bear or hubby thrown in :)  I can't believe how fast he is growing!  I am really curious to know what his weight is now, cause he's huge!  These pictures have been taken in the past weeks so he is still little in some of them.  I will post a video soon... we are trying to catch one of him smiling (and maybe a laugh - he laughed a couple times yesterday!!)

He has hit the stage of unpredictability!  Some days he wants to sleep all day - and all night, yay! - but some days he wants to be awake for hours and hours...and hours and hours.  He decided he doesn't like pacifier, so we are working on getting him down for naps (since he used to conk out as soon as pacifier was in his mouth).  Basically he is driving me crazy as someone who likes predictability and schedules and consistency!  Mornings are best for me, with the whole day ahead.  Evenings and night-time are the hardest, simply because I am tired and over-thinking things.  He is getting better at sleeping at night, going down at 8 or 9 and sleeping til 7 or 8 (I get up with him twice usually) - but sometimes we are up all night it seems and he wants to be up for the day at 5...  Those are the days we just roll with it - ha ha...ask Andrew how well I "roll with it" :)  Anywho, he's adorable so it's all worth it!  Also (I know, you're thinking "enough already, on to the pictures!") I found a great article on parenting.com that was exactly what I needed to hear one day and I go back to it when I need a reminder.  I love stumbling on an article or a question-and-answer feed that gives me a little pick-me-up and motivates me to keep smiling (at least in public and occasionally around Andrew - ha ha!) This happens a lot with the scriptures, Ensign articles, and other Church publications as well.  And of course, one of the greatest blessings is prayer and being able to seek guidance and strength from my Heavenly Father.  He truly is the greatest source of light and peace, and I thank Him daily for my family!