A Day in the Life of Miles...

Hi Everyone! It's me, Miles. Since I don't have a job or go to school, you've probably been wondering, "What does that guy do all day?" So here it is, a description of a typical day to satisfy your curiousity. Enjoy.


I wake Mommy up between 6:30 and 7am. We snuggle on the couch while I enjoy a delicious baba and mommy watches the news and weather. Then we eat breakfast and mom takes my sissy to school. All these morning activities are pretty exhausting so I take a nap around 9.

One of my favorite activities during the day is taking things out of boxes. Clothes, toys, books, whatever. I simply enjoy emptying containers of all varieties.


I hate baby gates. They may keep me out of the kitchen and off the stairs sometimes, but they will not keep me quiet.


I also help mommy with chores. Mom thinks I need a second nap around 1pm, but I disagree.


I've recently discovered a diabolical portal used by the kitties. I put my hands through it, but then they get stuck. One of these days I will figure this thing out.


Me and mommy play every day. This is one of my favortie toys. It's a Playskool Busy Ball Popper. Pretty sweet, huh?

If the weather is nice, me and mommy take a walk to pick Sissy up from school. I wear my sweet shades and enjoy the adoring looks from other mommies.

I get really excited when Daddy comes home from work. Then we have dinner. I really like mashed potatos.

If I make a big mess, I get a bath. So that's usually my goal at every meal.

Bedtime is between 7 and 8pm, but first I get one more delicious baba. This time I get to snuggle with daddy and if I'm really lucky a kitty will join us. I love kitties. Just like my dad.

Then I sleep with my blankie. I'm a good sleeper - it's a talent I've worked hard to develop.

All in a day's work.

A trip home...

The very next morning after Christmas, Miles and I flew to AZ for my grandpa Bud's funeral. Grandpa Bud had been living with my parents for the last several years and was the last of my grandparents to pass away. His health had been declining and so his death was was not unexpected in anyway, but still a sad event to go home to.

Grandpa Bud and his sweetheart, my Grandma Madeliene. They have the best love-story ever. Really, someone in my creative-writing family should write a screen play based on their story :)
Grandpa Bud was too young to get married, so they tried to elope. When they went to the courthouse, the secretary recognized Bud and said she knew his family and that he was too young to get married! So instead of waiting... they drove to the neighboring county where no one would recognize them and got married on the fly! So romantic :)



My dad is the smiley one in the middle - love the bowties!
It was pretty neat to go through all of grandpa's old stuff. He had A LOT and it wasn't even a fraction of what he and grandma had together before they moved to AZ from Utah. Grandpa Bud was in the Navy during WWII. He had saved all the letters he and Madeliene had written back and forth to each other - they were so sweet. So many cool old photos and treasures.


There was a whole stack of old newspapers:


The funeral was really good. It was a true tribute to an amazing life. Grandpa Bud was involved in some very serious battles during the war and recieved veteran's honors at his burial. I honestly felt very proud to be one of his decendants - he had such a wonderful and fascinating life.


And of course it was so nice to see my family! It had been over a year since I'd been home, so none of my family (except my mom) had ever met Miles!


We played "telephone" with some seriously giggly girls! So fun :)

Miles had his first Eegee! A true milestone for any Tucson-connected baby :)

It didn't take Miles long to realize that Grandma likes to eat snacks in the living room, and if you beg, she's likely to share!

Miles did as good as could be expected. He had a hard time sleeping, so that kind of threw him off for the first few days. Ok, he was a bit grumpy. But he started to figure things out and we had a good time visiting family. I was SO nervous to take him on a plane (on account of his constant wiggley-ness) but he did pretty good. He fussed a little here and there, and he slept about half the time. We sat next to some very kind and understanding strangers, so that was helpful.

Fun with Uncle Joe :)

I tried getting a picture of Miles with cousins Jenna and Adam, but it was difficult - none were very interested in having their picture taken!

I'm so glad I was able to go. We were all reminded of a truly amazing life - one that we're all so proud to be connected to. I love my family!

So very behind...

It's been a while since I posted anything, so I feel like I have lots of catching up to do! First, Christmas!!!

Santa Came!

I thought this might be the year that Caroline started to question ol St. Nick, but she held firm to her beliefs all season long, which was fun. Miles liked opening presents and see new toys, but mostly he liked tearing and trying to eat all the wrapping paper!

It was a great Christmas. The kids got gifts from Santa, then we went to church, opened gifts under the tree and then went over to our friend's house for a delicious dinner. Great, great holiday!

I got a keyboard! We all have enjoyed it :)

Also in December, Miles got his shiner...

And Caroline entertained us with a new trick...

Random pictures from last month...

Ok, so isn't this the funniest picture?! It's actually a pretty common expression around here lately. Is he showing off his teeth? Growling to get more cheerios? Who knows!

So Thanksgiving was pretty interesting this year. Our oven broke earlier in the week, so we weren't sure if we were going to be able to make our own dinner or if we were going to have to go to a restaurant. At 8pm the night before we got a replacement oven and I started cooking! Caroline was excited and made a centerpiece and name cards for us all.

I made some homemade cranberry sauce and decided to give some to Miles in his little self-feeder (those are so cool by the way) and he loved it - and then he got a bath!

So when it rains outside, I move the dinner table out of the dining room and let the boys I babysit run around and race cars. Sometimes they like the dining room more than going to the park!

Look at my handsome men!

Visiting Santa!

I couldn't wait to post these! Every year we go to the library for a special pajama night storytime and Santa makes a visit at the end. They have hot chocolate and cookies and tables set up to write Santa a letter. We never miss it because this Santa is the best! He takes time to talk to the kids and his beard and rosy cheeks and nose are real :)

I almost didn't put Miles on Santa's lap because I thought he would freak out and I hate seeing frightened screaming babies forced onto a strange man's lap just so their parents can laugh and take pictures. It's just not right!

But I gave him a shot and I'm glad I did! Miles was mostly just curious and then Caroline kept making him smile, so he stayed on Santa's lap for a minute or two before he wanted Mommy.

So cute!

The Nutcracker

A neighbor told us that their dance studio needed extra dancers for their production of The Nutcracker ballet this year and asked if Caroline was interested. Um... YES!

So Caroline has been going to practices for a little over a month and has really enjoyed it. The performance was this weekend.

Here's our Heavenly Angel:

She was SO excited to wear make-up. She was probably just as excited for the make-up as the dancing!

Of course she made some friends at dance class. After our first night-time rehearsal where we sat around for hours waiting for her turn on stage, we got smart and started bringing crayons, coloring books, and board games to keep them entertained backstage!

It was great for Caroline to experience being on stage and taking some classes, but we also learned about the cost and time that can be poured into these kinds of things. So I'm glad she was able to do this temporary trial-run just for fun :)