Clowns and Puppies and Frogs - Oh My!

A cute clown.

Not so cute once grandma put a scary wig on.

Handsome boy post-haircut.

Carving a pumpkin.

Fun!

The frog and the puppy meet.

Our sweet little pup!

A bulky costume didn't stop our little puppy from cooking in the kitchen.

Weeee!

Bath time with Cousin Corey.

We celebrated Miles' 2nd Halloween today. Thanks to Grandma Nickolay's bargain shopping we had a couple of costumes to choose from. Friday he dressed up as a clown and today as his favorite animal - a puppy. Although we're not quite at the trick or treating phase yet we thoroughly enjoyed the holiday by carving a pumpkin and having a little party at Rachel, Graham and Corey's where we ate lots of treats! In true celebratory form Mike taught Miles how to toast and clink cups this morning at breakfast. So every few minutes Miles would hold his milk cup out to one of us wanting to cheers.

In other weekend news we played at the park and took as much advantage of 50 degree fall days as we could, completed the deck - final inspection is our last step now, Miles got a haircut and cried in terror and tried to cover his head the entire time, we skyped (or tried to) with friends and family so that they could see Miles in his costume, and Mike and I actually went out to dinner and a movie Saturday night. We saw "The Social Network" which we both liked.

In really big news Mike has accepted a new job as a database administrator at Kroll OnTrack - a software company headquartered in Eden Prairie. The opportunity is a great advance in his career and exactly what he wants to be doing. The job is also only 10 minutes from home. Goodbye long commutes for Mike and goodbye to my carpool buddy. He starts November 15 so wish him luck!

Funny Bunny

Happy 1st Birthday Corey! We love you!

Men in the kitchen - love it!

If there's a dog around Miles will find it.

Cousins snuggling in the chair we got Coco for his b-day.

What a fun party!

Thanks for the truck and Baby MumMums Godfather Matt and Aunt Janelle!

Giving teddy a ride in the shopping cart.

Gift from G & G Nickolay for Halloween.

Wrestling, I mean hugging teddy.

We made a trip to the pediatrician on Wednesday - not because Miles is sick (knock on wood) but for his 15 month well-baby visit. He is right on track developmentally and healthy!

His 15 month stats:

• Height: 31 inches (45%)
• Weight: 23 lbs 9 oz (40%)
• Head: 18.8 inches (70%)

Miles is so funny these days and we hear his giggles and see his smiles about 99 to 1 compared to his cries. Funny notes:

• He now has forward facing car seats in both of our vehicles and has discovered a whole new world of trucks and cars on the road. What a view! He loves it.
• Mike gave him a dollop of ketchup one evening which he ate with his fingers and liked. The next night I gave him what Mike considered to be a way too big dollop of ketchup and by the end of the meal it was smeared over every inch of his face. Yum!
• Another delightful discovery at the dinner table is putting raspberries on his fingers and waving them around. Food is fun!
• In the mornings when Mike and I are getting ready for work, Miles hangs out with us in the bathroom. He loves to throw the floss in the laundry basket, shake my tiny cosmetic boxes, taste Mike's deodorant container and our favorite - take kleenex out of the box, pretend to blow his nose (with sounds effects and everything) and then stuff the wadded up kleenex back in the box.
• Miles is definitely the little mimic these days and when I can't hold myself back and yell at Ruby, the dog, he is very observant. He now shakes his little finger at Ruby and says "no, no" in a very serious tone. Oh, boy - what have I started?

Oh so tired

This week's post will be very brief. This past week and weekend was the huge annual conference I help to organize and after my longest stint away from Miles (3 nights) and after many 16+ hour work days I stumbled out of the Hilton Minneapolis this morning, into the sunshine and home where big Miles' hugs were waiting for me. He had a great week of playing with daddy and Grandma Nickolay. Thank you so much to my mom for helping to care for him while I was away! At the end of this week I'll conclude 11 days of work in a row and hope to take full advantage of next weekend off of work. Now time for a soak in the tub and bed. Goodnight!

Fun with Family

Brunch and a pj party at grandma and grandpa Nickolay's.

Quality time with Godfather Matt.

Snuggling with Matt & Janelle.

Getting creative with can koozies with grandma.

Mowing the lawn like dad.

"Off to grandma and grandpa's house I go!"

Uh-oh - this little boy discovered a fun pond.

We were lucky to have quality time this weekend with Matt and Janelle and my mom and dad. We shared great meals and lots of play time with Miles. Ms. Darcy from school also came over on Saturday to babysit Miles so that we could attend my cousin Scott's wedding to Michelle. It was a lovely ceremony and I'm always a fan of wedding receptions - chit-chat, food, music, cake and dancing - the recipe for a great night out.

The weather this weekend was so unbelievably gorgeous. 70s and sunny in mid-October is a true gift! Wearing short sleeves we played in the yard, Miles discovered my parents' pond, we took a long walk and played on the playground at Lake Susan. Miles impressed us with his slide skills. A few inches from the slide he plops down on his butt, flips onto his belly and gleefully zips down the slide feet first.

Sigh of Relief

The 2 buddies hanging out by the gate waiting for mom to come upstairs.

Miles loves petting and hugging Ruby.

Pals.

Our big boy has moved on to whole apples!

Well, gnawing on the apple cores anyway.

Yum!

Ready for the park on a lazy, pj Sunday.

Tuesday morning we woke Miles up early and brought him to Ridgeview Hospital in Waconia in his jammies to have surgery to get tubes placed in his ears. We checked in at 6:45 am and were taken back to a children's waiting and recovery area. It was glass encased, so Miles could easily see out but couldn't escape, with toys and a large teddy bear that Miles gave a few hugs to. Miles received a little ID bracelet around his ankle and the surgical team came and talked to us. They were very professional and comforting and when the anesthesiologist gave Miles a high five my fears for the morning were greatly eased. At 7:45 he was taken back by the nurses to surgery and Mike and I settled into the waiting room. At 7:50 (yes, 5 minutes later) we were called back to talk to the ENT - the surgery was over. He reported everything went smoothly and Miles actually didn't have any fluid in his ears at the time of the procedure. He was in recovery and we would be able to see him shortly. At about 8:10 we went back to the children's recovery area. A nurse was holding Miles and he was crying and his little head was wavering around. They said that he was dizzy from the anesthesia. I cuddled him on my lap and he calmed down immediately. Just like Miles, he was acting like he wanted to get down off of my lap and walk around so we turned on Dora the Explorer which was a good distraction so he could recover peacefully on my lap. The nurses checked on him and at 8:45 told us he was doing so well that we could go home. Once home, Miles took a 2 hour nap and that afternoon he played and walked around like he had never had surgery. We were so thankful that everything went well and that he recovered so quickly. The experience surpassed by expectations. We received great care at the hospital and now hope that the tubes will work and we will be ear infection free this fall and winter.

The rest of the week played out like normal and we had a fairly low key weekend. Today we got outside for a long walk around Lake Susan with a stop at the toddler playground. Miles can now go down the slide (on his belly, feet first) by himself and attempted to climb a ladder (he hung out on the first rung).

Over the last week or so we've noticed that his separation anxiety has increased. Going to daycare, ECFE or a play date he'll cry and cling to me if he thinks I might leave or put him down. This is a new stage for us and Miles - up to this point he has been pretty easy going and hasn't experienced that much separation anxiety. This is however a normal stage in his development so I'm sure it will pass.