MILEStones

Miles has changed so much lately! He's sleeping much better and is much happier (think maybe those two things are related?!) He loves his exersaucer and playing peek-a-boo. He is so ticklish and talkative and it's been so fun lately to make him smile and laugh.

We tried giving him rice cereal a couple of weeks ago, but he just didn't know what to do with it. So we dropped it and tried again recently and he took to it immediately! It's amazing what a difference a few weeks can make developmentally.

So I'm excited to break out his high chair and the food processor and start making some baby food!

I love this one! Caroline was so happy to feed her little brother and she did a great job.

Animal Day at the Library

Every year for our library's summer program, a wildlife biologist comes and shows us the new and unusual animals he's acquired over the year. It's our favorite activity and we look forward to it every summer!

He had two little hedgehogs that were sooo cute!
This is a "silky chicken" - it looked like it had fur! He said they were really great pets, and while zoning doesn't allow you to raise chickens in the city in the farming sense, you can have silky chickens and call them pets - they just happen to be pets that lay eggs!

I love this picture! You can see how incredibly uncomfortable Caroline is with the "legless lizard" so close to her. The animal handler walks around with the animals so that you can see them closely, which is fun (most of the time!)

His last animal was a baby Kangaroo!!! It was SO cool! This kangaroo actually lives in his house!

I'm so glad that we live somewhere that has fun things to do for kids in the summer. We've done library activities, gone to museums, the sprinkler park, and the movies. After living in small towns for so long before we moved here, I really appreciate the variety.

Grandparent's Visit & A Confession!

We were lucky enough to have a visit from Dave's parents last weekend. Caroline was SO excited and wanted to make a special cake to welcome them (and you know me, I can't say no to a baking request!)

The Nana, Grandpa and the kids before church on Sunday.

And now, for a big confession. Prepare yourself because I'm about to admit something that may make you think less of me:

This is our first-ever family-of-four picture!

I realized a couple of weeks ago that we did not have one single picture of the four of us together! Awful! I told Dave, "You know, if one of us dies tomorrow there is no evidence that our entire family was ever in the same room at the same time!"
We didn't get to have that first-meeting-in-the-hospital-room moment, which made me sad that I never got that picture. From then on, I have no excuse! Why have we not done this for four months?! Not even a quick snapshot! And as Dave says, "And this picture is the best we could come up with?" Yes, at the moment it was. But at least all four of us are in it!

More To Love...

I took Miles to the doctor yesterday for his 4-month check-up. He weighs a whopping 17lbs and 15 ounces! Caroline was 20 lbs when she turned one, and Miles is going to be there at 6 months I bet! The doc gave him some medicine for his poor unfortunate skin problems so hopefully that will help him out. Today at the library a man said that Miles looks about the same age as his son. He asked how old Miles was and I told him he was 4 months old. The man's eyes got big and said, "Oh! My boy is 8 months old! I thought he was big!"

It's true, Miles is one of the bigger babies I've seen and my back and arms are killing me, But we just love his chub! I call him my "squishy".

I read a statistic recently that said "33% of all 9-month old babies are considered obese." I thought, "Are you kidding me?" Can a 9 month old baby be considered obese? I mean, all they eat is strained fruits and veggies and they still can't walk yet! So it's not like they can do much about it! I think our society is just so obsessed with labels. Maybe I'm off here (must be because I have an obese 4 month old, right?) but I think it's called "baby fat" for a reason. A friend asked me if it offends me that people always comment on his size, and no, it doesn't. He's a baby and I'd be a lot more worried if I had a baby that people kept saying was too small. So we will just keep kissing those chubby, chubby cheeks because some day he will be a scrawny, ornery teenager and I will miss them!

Same Jersey

This is a video that Dave's dad showed us while they were in town. It's about two high school athletes from the Gila Valley - where Dave grew up. It's also where he and I met, went to college, and where Caroline was born. So the subject of the area is special to both of us. The video is really well done - it's one of those Mormon Messages you can find on Youtube. Watch it and share it!
And they're not kidding about the rivalry - it borders on ridiculous ;)

Kiddos

Miles has discovered his thumb. He loves it, but I still have to swaddle him to sleep and cover his hands when I'm not holding him because he rubs/scratches his face so much still. He's got a dr appt soon and I'm hoping they will give him something for his skin. He has the most sensitive skin and breaks out in these rash-like patches on his face, poor guy.

I dare anyone to hold this boy for 15 minutes and not kiss those cheeks! It's darn-near irresistable!

I'm so glad that Caroline still loves him so much and it wasn't just a "honeymoon phase". Lately, he's been smiling when he first sees her in the morning and after each nap - he just lights up and she loves it!