He Claps!

Cutie pie.

Thanks for the outfit Aunt Denise and Uncle Greg!

"Dear Jesus, Please let me crawl!"

Home Sick
Daycare called at 10:00 am Monday morning reporting that Miles had a fever and needed to be picked up. Yes, the daycare crud continues! We kept him home until Thursday when he was feeling much better and his fever broke. Mike and I did some interesting negotiating trying to decide who would take time off to take care of Miles. I stayed home on Monday and Wednesday and Mike stayed home on Tuesday. We're so happy our little Peanut is feeling better now but know that it is just a matter of a short time before the next "crud" hits...

Big News
Miles clapped for the first time this week! I was so excited that every time he did it I would jump up and down and clap excitedly too. Both sets of grandparents also witnessed this new feat via Skype. Miles also is eating winter squash for the first time this week - yummy! He's also drooling like a maniac and has clear snot constantly dripping from his nose - sure signs that teething is starting. Mike felt in his mouth yesterday and felt two little nubs on the bottom. Won't he look cute with two little teeth? Speaking of cute, I keep telling myself that every parent must think that their child is the CUTEST baby - because that's what I think. When I was looking at our photographer's website my thoughts on this were affirmed because she posted a picture of Miles on her site. To see our little model go to: http://www.legacystudiosmn.com/ and click on galleries at the bottom and then click on newborn and toddlers...

Funny
Mike and I were talking about who our celebrity look-alikes are and Mike found a website in which you upload a picture of yourself and it will tell you which celebrity you most resemble. We uploaded Miles' picture and when I saw the results I laughed so hard that I cried.... Obama and Jimi Hendrix! Hmmmm - I'm not going to share the website because we're questioning the accuracy level... Have a good week!

Steam Mop Head

What? Do I have something on my face?!?

It's prune beard!

I think that I set an all time new record for lowest number of pictures taken of Miles in one week - only four this week and all of Miles with his prune beard. Pears and prunes were the two new foods he tasted this week and boy he sure thought they were yummy! There are two main reasons I didn't take very many pictures - 1) mommy's exhausted and 2) Miles is sick AGAIN! You can't tell by the huge grin he has on his face in the prune beard pictures (he's such a good baby!) but he went off of the antibiotic for his ear infection on Monday and by Wednesday the dreaded "daycare crud" was back. Since then he's had a low grade fever, congestion, a dry cough, lack of energy and snot, snot, snot. Poor guy - sleeping and drinking are just miserable for him. Last night he was waking up crying almost every hour. We took him into the doctor again today fearing that his ear infection was back but he was diagnosed with just the plain, old winter cruddy cold. The doctor said babies in daycare average two colds per month so basically by the time they are recovering from one, another will hit their little immune systems full force. This is definitely a huge drawback of daycare and cause of major mommy guilt. Due to exhaustion and illness our family did a lot of snuggling this weekend. Miles is growing so fast but he's still little enough to want to put his chubby little hands on my face and snuggle his head into my shoulder for a cuddle.

Steam Mop
At the risk of sounding like a 1950s housewife, I bought a steam mop this week (the Eureka Envirosteamer) and love it! Funny story - my sister, Rachel, and I both independently had the exact same experience with steam mops recently. We were both nursing late at night and surfing the channels to try to stay awake when unbeknownst to one another we were each sucked into steam mop infomercials. After being lulled by their wonderful marketing strategies we both went out and purchased steam mops. I used mine for the first time tonight and our wood and tile floors look great. The steam mops clean simply by steam so I don't have to worry about using chemicals with Miles around and even better - gone are the days of scrubbing on my hands and knees! I know that I'm an adult when I'm so excited over a cleaning product.

Mop Head
Miles continues this week to say "da da da da da." Sometimes it sounds like he's almost saying "Hi-ya Dad!" When I practice saying "ma ma" to him he stares at my mouth with a look of concentration but has yet to utter those words. The hair on his head is now at least 4 inches long and consequently, more often then not, he has the wild look going on. Is it time for his first haircut?

Facebook
Yes, I've entered the 2000s and am now on Facebook. So if you're on it too and we're not friends yet - please friend me!

Transitions

Is this cuddling or wrestling with cousin Corey?

I don't like avocado!

Go Vikes!

Oh boy, this is fun!

Yum, my tootsies taste good.

Yes, my parents caught photos of me on all fours trying to crawl!!!

Won't be long before I'm all over the house.

Happy boy.

Sitting up by myself before a bath.

Changes
Wow, Miles is changing quickly! He can now sit up for short periods of time without support - although he usually is so preoccupied with putting a toy in his mouth that he isn't concentrating on sitting. As evidenced above he can now get himself on all fours and has started to make a rocking motion back and forth. He also rolls every which way so we know that it is only a matter of a few days or weeks before he gets all of these motions coordinated to crawl. I also caught him this week on his belly in his crib, with his head held high and his arm up on the crib rail. Yikes! Baby proofing is on our "to do" list for this weekend.

Miles also laughs easily and always gives us a huge smile when he sees us. Some of the teachers at his school report that he is a major flirt. He also lets us know if he's frustrated. He'll cry or scream if a toy is taken away and tonight when we were getting him ready for his bath he was grunting and kicking and giving us a look like "hurry up people!"

6 Month Appointment
Miles had his 6 month doctor's appointment this week and he is normal and healthy and recovering well from his first ear infection. His stats:

• Height: 26 1/4 inches (50%)
• Weight: 16 lbs. 14.2 oz (40%)
• Head: 44.1 cm (55%)

We had a very long conversation with the pediatrician about feeding Miles solids. Just nursing is a lot easier than tracking and scheduling all of these meals for Miles! In the next few months we will be transitioning Miles to eating 3 meals of solids a day but for now I'm going to keep him at one time per day. Once he gets started eating he usually gobbles down his fruit or vegetable with rice cereal but it is often difficult to get him to start eating. Babies are very smart when it comes to knowing when they are hungry or not so I'm going to continue to take his cues and when he seems like one meal a day isn't enough we'll gradually increase his solids intake.

We also talked about the fact that Miles is still getting up one to two times per night to nurse. (Oh, how wonderful 8 uninterrupted hours of sleep would be for mama and daddy!) At this age he's waking and crying out more because he wants to hang out with me then that he really needs to be fed so in the coming weeks we are going to try to wean him off these night feedings and night wakings.

One thing I know for sure - life with Miles is never dull!

Everyone send my sister, Rachel and baby Corey positive thoughts this week as Rachel transitions back to work and Corey to daycare. I know how difficult this change is!

Not feeling well =(

Sarah is not feeling well so the she'll update the blog tomorrow.

The Good, The Bad, and the Adorable

Ruby! (For all you doubters, I do still love my dog...)

Recovering in mama and daddy's bed.

Miles convalescing.

The Good
We all survived Miles' first week of daycare! Despite everything (read "the bad" section below) Miles did really well at Children of Tomorrow this week. He napped, drank his bottles, ate his rice cereal and bananas, played and got a lot of attention from all of the teachers (he can't help it if he's so cute!). On Monday we probably called the daycare six times during the day to check up on him and we got good reports back. This transition is definitely harder on the parents then the babies in many ways. That afternoon, we picked him up and noticed that he was already wearing his alternative outfit. He had peed all over Ms. Janice and himself during a diaper change. Way to break everyone in Miles!

Another day we got a note sent home saying "I did my first art project today. Hope you like it." The teachers made a penguin with Miles' hand prints as the feet that is now hanging from the classroom ceiling. Another day the note home said "Ms. Josie found my tickles spot and she like the way I giggle!" On Wednesday, when Mike picked up Miles, the director of the center was sitting on the floor, surrounded by all of the babies singing goofy songs to them. Mike and I firmly believe that Miles is well taken care of here. We were very pleased by how the first week went and each day it got a little easier to say goodbye to him in the mornings.

The Bad
Daycare! I wish I was a millionaire or money wasn't so important so that Miles didn't have to go to daycare. My heart was breaking as I dropped him off that first day. We drop him off between 6:35 and 6:45 am and he's the first one to arrive at the center. That morning I took him out of his car seat and he was sleepy so I set him in his designated crib and he looked as if he would fall back to sleep. We talked to the teacher and before leaving I peaked in on him one more time and his big eyes were just staring at me as he laid there by himself. I burst into tears and the teacher patted me on the back as we left. I was not very productive at work that day thinking about him every second!

Wednesday Miles came down with a little cold. He has had one other cold before and got over it in about a week. On Friday, Rachel and Corey came over to hang out. Despite the cold, Miles was his normal self - talking, bouncing and smiling a lot. After his late afternoon nap however he woke up crying and very irritable and soon projectile vomited. He was then inconsolable for almost one hour. This is so unlike Miles - he barely ever cries. Luckily Rachel - a great sister and pediatric nurse to boot - was there to assess him and take his temperature (rectally) which was normal. She suggested we call our clinic though since his condition seemed to turn so quickly. I called and they said that we should take him to the Minneapolis Children's Hospital Emergency Room. Hearing those words, I burst into tears. By this time Miles was seemingly lethargic and fell asleep in the car.

I never wish an emergency room visit on anyone much less an ER visit on a Friday night. Miles was seen immediately by a triage nurse and all of his vital signs were normal. We then waited over 4 hours to see a doctor. We spent the time rocking Miles and people watching. You can see a lot of interesting things in an ER. We saw several babies come in with similar cold/flu/respiratory illnesses, a 10 year old girl came in only wearing a t-shirt and underwear (her mom was in flip-flops), for those not in MN the temperature that night was probably -10 degrees, and a boy who took a baseball to the nose. I also couldn't help but make the assumption that the majority of people coming to the ER that night probably were there because they don't have health insurance and this was their only option.

Anyway, during our wait Miles seemed to be returning to his normal self. When we were finally taken back to an exam room another nurse checked him and Miles was giggling as the nurse felt his stomach and ribs. Mike and I were thinking - should we have even come here? Finally we were seen by a doctor and Miles was diagnosed with an ear infection in his right ear. The vomiting and exhaustion were symptoms of his cold. We got home about 12:30 am that night and I nursed Miles since he hadn't eaten and kept any food down since early afternoon. He nursed and then projectile vomited twice more and then fell asleep. We monitored him all night and started him on Pedialite (per doctor's instructions) in the morning. After getting about 1 ounce down he decided he had had enough of that and refused to drink anymore. I called the doctors' office again fearing he would get severely dehydrated and they were concerned about this too and suggested nursing him often but for short times. We did this throughout the day and he was able to keep that down. Saturday we basically just cuddled him all day and he slept and ate. Today, he seems to be recovering and as you can see in the video below is getting back to his normal self. To be on the safe side and to let him recover even more Mike will stay home with him tomorrow. What a week!

The Adorable
At this point Miles is changing so quickly! He can now easily roll across the floor and pick objects, like his Soothie, up with one hand, pass it to his other hand and then pop it in his mouth. He also is babbling - the word of the day today was "yah-yah-yah" over and over again in the cutest, sweetest little voice. For the record, he's so active now that almost all of his hair on the sides and in the back has rubbed off. It is very thin and short - he still has a full mop on top though (I debated about putting this Miles fact in "the bad" section above).

This afternoon, Mike and I heard him waking up from his nap so we peeked in his room. He was in a push-up position in his crib and as we watched he tucked his legs under him and was on all fours. He started to make a crawling motion forward and promptly did a face plant. Mike and I stared with our mouths gaping - it's only a matter of days before he's crawling everywhere.

Getting back to his normal self.

An Arizona New Year

The youngest grandchildren on the Gray side - Allan, Sarah and Miles.

New Years' Picture with the Grays.

Miles' Aunt Denise as the human high chair.

Family picture in Arizona -
we needed to capture at least one with Miles' first cactus!

Happy New Year with the Gray Grandparents.

Happy New Year everyone!

Party!!!

Happy baby with his fortune cookies.

Miles' first bath in the big boy tub.

Wow he's little!

An Arizona New Year
We returned yesterday from a week long trip to Arizona to visit Mike's parents, Mike and Mariann. We stayed at their house in Apache Junction and every morning woke up to a view of the Superstition Mountains and NO SNOW! Miles thoroughly enjoyed his grandparents' undivided attention all week as he played with Grandma Gray on the quilt she made him - showing her how he can inch his way on his belly along the floor (pre-crawling) to reach his coveted Alaska moose or plastic ring toss toy. He also spent quality time on Grandpa Gray's lap computing on the Mac and listening to his many sayings.

Besides looking cute and enjoying time with this set of grandparents Miles also went out to dinner a few times - once to Serrano's, our favorite Arizona Mexican restaurant. He also was a hit at a Chinese restaurant where he was the youngest patron by about 30 years and got a lot of attention. The waitress even gave him a special double fortune cookie. His grandparents were very proud as everyone in the restaurant admired our "beautiful baby." We rang in Miles' first new year with some festive hats at about 5:00 pm. Miles lasted until about 8:30 pm and we adults rang in the new year on east coast time.

Other highlights from the trip include: a king crab leg feast, sleeping in, Mariann and I beating the guys in the card game "shoot the moon," spending time with Mike's sister and her family - Denise, Greg, Allan and Sarah, and seeing friends we don't see often enough - Frank, Beth and family, Cathy, Corey, Kristen and gang. The weather was in the 60s and we spent a little time outside with Miles and Mike and I went hiking once on our own. We had a wonderful time but before we knew it it was time to pack our many bags and fly home. Miles was an angel, as always, on the flight. He was so good in fact that I'm thinking ahead to next year when he'll still be able to sit on my lap for free but he'll be 1 1/2 years old. I wonder how good he'll be then!

New With Miles
Everyday Miles is such a delight and brings so much joy to my life. His newest developments include: rolling, rolling, rolling across the floor - sometimes it is hard to keep him on a blanket, picking up objects with both hands - he is so coordinated now - it is very impressive to see him pick up a toy and put it straight in his mouth, laughing and giggling when you play peek-a-boo and jumping up and down all the time on your lap. He also is starting to kick his legs and inch his way along the floor to reach a toy when he's on his belly. He may be slow but he gets there and we're sure it is only a matter of time before he figures out the whole crawling thing. I better baby proof the house asap!

No Good at Goodbyes
I hate goodbyes because I always feel sad to part from people I love and this weekend has been especially tough because we not only said goodbye at the Sky Harbor Airport to Mike's parents, who we won't see until this summer, but today we also said goodbye to my parents who will hit the road to Rockport, Texas tomorrow morning for the winter. No baby should have to say goodbye for now to both sets of grandparents in one weekend!

Both sets of Miles grandparents have helped us so much since Miles was born and been so wonderful to Miles that it will be hard to be without them for a few months. As I told my mom today I'm trying to emotionally distance myself from thinking about missing them otherwise I'll cry.

Speaking of Crying...
Tomorrow Miles starts daycare at Children of Tomorrow in Chanhassen. My little man will be on his own in a new place tomorrow. That is all I'm going to write on this tonight. Please send our family positive thoughts this week as we make this transition. Goodnight!