The crush

I think I've said this before, but I get writers block when I wait too long to post. There's pressure to write pages and pages of what's been happening, when in reality, not much is going on. I guess I should be thankful for that... relative calm. We've just been hanging out, doing the usual: playing, "driving" Miles in the Big Red Car, working out at the Gym, eating at Qdoba or IHOP or Calypso Cafe. In fact that is Miles showing off his spoon prowess at Calypso on Sunday after a trip to the mall. Wayne and Miles needed new shoes (mommy does too, but I'd rather get these) so we headed to Over-Consumption Mecca. Miles wasn't so hip on leaving all his toys to go shop, so we enticed him with a promise of seeing TRACTORS!! That meant a side trip into Sears. He got to test drive 2 models and loved it.

Since he was so great at the mall, we hit Calypso for dinner. Miles loves black beans and sweet potatoes, and their Boija muffins are pretty great too. But that evening the thing he liked the most was our waitress! He was too funny, making shy faces at her and grinning from across the restaurant. He wouldn't stop watching her! When it was time to go, she was seated at the counter near the door. He literally stopped in his tracks and wouldn't walk by her, just hung onto my leg and stared. Here he is checking her out while we ate:

Evan's big day

Sorry for the delay in posting from the weekend. We had a big weekend. Evan turned 5 and had a big bash we had to attend! Miles partied all night long! Kate wore lipstick and walked around in my heels all weekend! Oh yeah... and the new Harry Potter book came out!!!!!!

I'll start with Harry: no we didn't go get it at midnight, yes I have already finished it and yes it was fantastic, although the epilogue was a bit light following such an epic story. My boss <swak> had given me the day off Thursday, so I caught the matinee of HP5 movie, then on the drive to Nashville I skimmed book 6 to be ready for the excitement of book 7. I have shelved them all now, but really look forward to reading them to/with Miles here in a few years.

Back to reality... Evan turned FIVE!! He's such a big kid now. He had a fun party at Pump It Up and got a bike, baseball bat and glove, and some other cool games and toys. Miles had never been to a Pump It Up place before, so we warmed up in the big bouncy room before tackling the obstacle courses and 20' slides. But he did it all, and laughed the whole time. About halfway through they had us change rooms to play on some new games and he thought it was time to go home. I thought he was going to start crying until he realized no, there will be more fun! After all the playtime Miles had cake and ice cream but definitely preferred the ice cream. That seems to be the theme for this summer!

Kate's a funny girl too. She was obsessed with getting me out of my shoes so she could wear them around - even the flip flops! And she had some Hello Kitty lip gloss she liked to smear all over her face. We tried to convince her that she is so beautiful she doesn't need makeup but she replied matter-of-factly, "No, I need my lipstick." Ah, Uncle Shay and Aunt Elizabeth have their hands full!!

Brown Cow Rules!

Poor little booger bear! He had a couple of miserable days last week, including one 3 hour sit at the pediatrician's office. He came home from school Tuesday feeling puny and started running a fever that evening. Tylenol kept it down through the night, but it kept coming back. The doc did the strep swab and a blood count test (looking for white blood cell levels) but he seemed to be fighting a viral infection. So we sat home Thursday and by the evening he was almost back to normal. Thankfully it was just a 24-ish hour bug! He shared some germs with Wayne and me, now we're suffering through a cough that wakes us up at night. Argh!

But Miles felt great by Friday, so we made our Little Gym class and lunch out with the girls. That evening we hit The Pizza Kitchen, hoping to expand his palate a bit. He's never eaten pizza, but he knows cousins Kate and Evan love it, and one of his favorite songs talks about pizza. But alas, he would have none of it. He would much preferred to play with the Edwards kids sitting around the corner!

Saturday YaYa and B came to visit for the day. We had a yummy and fun lunch at Calypso Cafe and on the way home we passed a humongous cow in our neighbor's driveway. No fear of stray Jerseys, our neighbors won a party from Mayfield Dairy, complete with the big brown cow! So after naps (and some sweet cow dreams for Miles) we strolled down the street for the fun. Lots of neighbors were in attendance and Miles had a blast with the big kids. I love our neighborhood! We're starting to get lots of young families in the area and all the activities are really picking up. (Oops, as I type I realize we missed the potluck in the park tonight. Oh well.) It's hard to beat 3 playgrounds, a walking trail and a YMCA with pool all within an easy stroll! Not to mention multiple playdate and babysitter options. Now if only we had the nice flat back yard that some of the other houses have. Hmmmm......

Happy weekend

Daddy surprised mommy with the best present ever on Saturday morning. He got up with Miles and the two of them went out for pancakes while mommy slept in! How nice to sleep past the 6:30 reveille that we've been getting lately. Even though I didn't make it much past 8:00, it was still a refreshing extra hour. [Thanks to Aunt Elizabeth for suggesting it.]

While they were out, daddy and Miles went by to visit PawPaw Stan, Wayne's dad who passed away almost 20 years ago. He would have turned 63 last week. Miles has been to visit before, but this was his first time to run around on the hillside.

Later that day, Wayne's college friend, Marshall, stopped by on his way to a week-long kayaking school. We had fun catching up and Miles had fun entertaining him with all his trucks and his ABC flashcards. After Miles' bedtime, we (the guys) cooked chicken and veggies on the grill. We made a recipe that our neighbors made for us last month - delicious both times!

After another pancake breakfast - this time including mommy and Marshall - we hit the playground to burn some calories. Even in the mid-morning hours it was HOT so we traded outside for in and hit the mall kids area that afternoon. Fun as usual, and cool for all. Unfortunately, though, we're pinning the blame on the mall for the way Miles feels this evening - he had a slight fever and just wasn't in a happy mood. He did manage to drink his dinner - a milkshake made with some fresh fruit and yogurt. Hopefully and good night's sleep will find him back to his usual self by morning. Maybe later than 6:30 am.... please?

Big boy rules

As promised, here's a peek at the early birthday present from BeeBe & PopPop - Miles' Big Big Boy bedding! We're sad they couldn't stop back through town to see it, but BeeBe injured her shoulder and needed to get back to the orthopedist pronto.

I started to put the new bedding on while he played after school today. It didn't take him long to notice and he got absolutely giddy. He bounded onto the bed and started cozying up on the pillows. He noticed his name on the throw pillow and started saying his ABCs. He grabbed his bears and pretended to sleep. He just grinned and grinned! We've been talking about the big boy bed since it's in his room already. We've done diaper changes and gotten him dressed on it since birth, so he's used to being on it. But now I think he's realizing that it will be HIS bed someday!

Not too soon though. He's still fine sleeping in his crib, so we figure, no need to push it. We've started to discuss the "Big Boy Bed Rules." I think I saw them on a mom chat room somewhere:

Rule #1: Stay in bed.
Rule #2: GO TO SLEEP!

We've started to recite the rules and I've told him when he learns the rules he can sleep in the big boy bed. So we'll see how that goes!

Other than that, we've just been relaxing and having fun. The fourth was fun, spent hanging out with friends. Sadly, I didn't take any pictures, so I'm hoping Raven got some cute ones of the kiddos. We didn't even try to go see fireworks, but there was a big show near enough to get the dogs riled up at 10pm.