Cheers to Health

Watching for dad out the window.

There he is!

Wagon ride on a beautiful fall day.

Sweet boy.

Mr. Independent would rather pull the wagon than ride in it!

"Yes, I'm a big boy!"

"I love walking so much that I insisted upon wearing shoes with my pjs!"

"I love my shoes (and crayon)!"

Picking out pumpkins.

Oh boy!

We had a breakdown on the way home from pumpkin picking

and had to call roadside assistance (thanks Grandpa Nickolay!)

Miles was a wonderfully healthy boy this weekend. After what seemed like a long stretch of nasty colds we saw the twinkle back in Miles eyes, the sparkle back in his big, toothy grin and heard his chatter and giggles throughout the house. Besides the typical weekend warrior house and yard chores we had a low key weekend of playing, reading books and snuggling. Other highlights included Miles and I starting a new ECFE class "World of the One Year Old" (boy are 12-24 month olds busy and constantly changing little people!), we spent time outside for walks and wagon rides, picked up gorgeous, orange pumpkins for the front patio and crunched in the leaves (a new experience for Miles).

Our topic at ECFE Friday was language development so I thought that I'd take this opportunity to record Miles growing list of impressive communication skills so far.

• Spoken language: mama, bye-bye, hi, dad, da (for dog), uh-oh, boo (for peek-a-boo)
• Animal/object sounds: dog (makes panting sound), elephant, horse, turkey, truck
• Sign language: more, milk, please (his teacher at school reports him to be a very polite toddler, always using the sign for please when he wants something)
• Receptive: follows simple one and two-step commands, points to people and objects and his nose
• Other: lots of gibberish, especially when "reading" books

This Tuesday is Miles surgery to get tubes placed in his ears. Please say a prayer for him that everything goes well!

All About M

Reading books in his favorite chair.

(Pre-haircut)

"Boo!"

"Yes, I look darn cute with my new haircut."

Playing ball in my playroom.

Looking at the goats at Deardorff Apple Orchard Saturday.

Pumpkins!

Miles looks a little too happy for just making his first crayon mark on the wall!

Coloring with Grandma and Grandpa Nickolay

Oh boy these crayons are fun!

Horsey ride from Grandpa.

The Amazing Mr. Miles

Boy, Miles is a mover and a shaker now. His primary occupation these days is walking everywhere. Up and down the hall, up the stairs, around the playroom with his vaccuum popper. He puts on many miles a day and so do the rest of us following his every move. If we're not watching him every second he will probably a) have his hands in Ruby's water bowl, b) be trying to press the buttons on the carbon monoxide detector or c) trying to break down the babygate by shaking it vigourously.

Other things that keep this little man busy include:

• peaking around corners and saying "boo!"
• pretending to sneeze (very dramatic)
• reading books constantly - this is usually done either while walking around or snuggled into his little stuffed chair
• hugging Ruby
• reading books to Ruby
• making funny faces
• signing "more milk please" (3 different signs in a row)
• cleaning surfaces with his washcloth

He also very clearly says words and phrases like "bye-bye," "hi dad," and "ma ma." We have figured out that mama has several different meanings including: calling me, he wants something or he's hungry. It's very cute when he's walking up and down the hall looking for me he'll really draw the word out - "maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

How much more can the kid take?

It's been a rough week in the health department for our little man. The least of his problems was waking up one morning with several mosquito bites covering one side of his face and neck. He still has the chronic snotty nose in part now because his molars are cutting through. One huge one on the bottom is in and the others are starting to poke out. I can only imagine the pain this must cause him. He also started to run a low-grade fever last Thursday and was not himself. We took him to the doctor but his ears were clear of infection. His fever persisted through the weekend and on Sunday he broke out into a rash all over his body. Sunday night he was really feeling horrible and was inconsolable for nearly 1 1/2 hours. Mike and I were feeling really horrible too - nothing we did seemed to comfort him. Miles and I went to the doctor again where he was diagnosed with a virus - aka - we don't know what your kid has and we're not giving you any medicine for him so you'll both just have to wait it out in misery. Luckily grandma and grandpa Nickolay have been around to take good care of him during the day so that he hasn't had to go to daycare.

We scheduled Miles' appointment for surgery to get tubes placed in his ears for next Tuesday morning. Many parents have told me that tubes helped to clear up their children's cold symptoms and ear infections. We're hoping it also works miracles for Miles. This will be a long cold and flu season if illness is hitting him hard already. I must say, although his temper has been a little shorter (meltdowns are the norm the last few days) and he's clearly not been feeling well he still plays through it all and is a sweet child. A clear sign that he has been sick for too long happened this morning when we were getting him dressed for school. He grabbed his thermometer and actually put it under his arm and held it still there. Fingers crossed that this latest virus kicks the bucket soon!

Wonderful Wedding!

Celebrating together at the rehearsal dinner.

Miles snuggling with Godmother Rachel during some down time.

Miles and Corey enjoying lunch out with the girls on Friday.

We just returned from a wonderful weekend in Fargo/Moorhead where we were honored to participate in all of Matt & Janelle's wedding festivities. My little brother is married! And to a beautiful woman who I am so happy to call my new sister. The ceremony and bride were absolutely beautiful. I found myself choking up several times throughout the day - I was a proud big sister. The reception was a joyful celebration in which everyone exhausted themselves by dancing the night away. We had a blast and I can't help but feel sad that it's over. Congratulations Matt and Janelle!

For most of the festivities Miles and his little cousin Corey were tucked safely away with babysitters in the hotel where they stayed on schedule with naps, meals and playtime. Although we would have loved to have them at the party they are just a little too young. We're looking forward to attending weddings with Miles in a few years where he'll be one of those little, hyper kids cutting a rug on the dance floor.

Independence

Laundry delivery

Miles pushing his vacuum popper

This week's blog entry brought to you by wonderful guest contributor, Mike. (Thanks for the blog break honey!)

Now that Miles can walk he is an independent man, which keeps mommy and daddy on their toes. As soon as he is up in the morning he is ready to go go go.

Don't have time to change my diaper, forget about getting me dressed, just put me down so I can do some stuff. Mostly walk, nowhere in particular just don't pick me up because I have doors to close, books to carry around, laundry baskets to push, toys to play with and I like to pet the dog too.

Walking like a zombie

Walking like a big boy (non-zombie)