Miles at 4

Here's a peek at Miles at 4. Daddy's trying to get him to say "slappin' the bass, mon", which is a line from the movie "I Love You, Man". Then Miles decides to tell a story, then play air drums. Enjoy.

sack race

preK halloween party!

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playground fun

Halloweenies

Sorry, grandparents, I didn't get the annual Halloween photo taken and mailed in time for Halloween this year. This will have to suffice...I'm still studying, Thursday is the big day. After that all my stress will be on writing the perfect "personal statement". Oh wait, first stress will be throwing together Miles's costume in 48 hours. We didn't buy the official "iMovers" suit (cough...$100...cough) and I only found the blue jumpsuits in England - couldn't get it here in time. So we have blue pants, got a blue T-shirt and I will be printing iron-on logos and applying red duct tape to the legs and sleeves. With a little prior planning I could've found one on esty, but oh well.

Arrrrr, mateys!

The first concert

Since Miles is such a music lover we thought he should enjoy some live music. He keeps asking us to take him to Green Day or Foo Fighters but, um no that won't happen until he's a teenager. When leaving the Black Crowes a few weeks ago I noticed a poster for the Imagination Movers and got tickets for the 2 of us. It was on a school afternoon so Audrey could stay a full day while I took Miles downtown. It was so much fun! They came into the crowd and were all over the place. Very high energy - they had Miles bouncing and shouting along, I'll admit I did some dancing too. They bill themselves as "Beastie Boys meets Mr. Rogers" so yeah, I liked it. If you want to listen to some songs, click here. He's considering being Mover Rich (usually the drummer, but lead singer in picture) for Halloween, but we'll see.
Here he is shouting his favorite snack. He shouted "raisins!!" but then whispered in my ear "Actually my favorite snack is popcorn with candy corn and m&ms." Good taste, my friend.
Little Miss Thing is still full of life. One of those full body tantrums led to a chipped front tooth, but it's not too bad. Because of that we had her first dentist visit, joy. He scraped some tartar from her teeth (which she hated) and he showed me why we needed to ditch the pacifier now. She's been paci-free for almost a week, but is not happy about it. Every day is better than the last.

I made this growth chart for her with some leftover cabinet trim I found in the garage. She's about 2.5', and yes her hair is super curly & red. I wonder what will happen as it grows out. Actually not ALL of it is curly, she has an area on the top of her head that is straight and therefore longer than the rest. She also has one straight area at the nape which gives her a rat-tail. So her first haircut got rid of the mullet and the second will get rid of the rat-tail. Maybe it won't be long until her Farrah-do grows in.

I have some exciting news, I'm in the process of applying to graduate school. I'm going to get my MS in Information Sciences, which is the new-fangled name for a librarian. It's not just books, you know! So the first hurdle is the GRE which will be next week - pray for me, please! I've been reviewing all the geometry and fractions that I used to know & even love. Truly, I loved geometry. But now? Audrey's puzzle just doesn't cut it. So Miles has been helping me study, I have my GRE book and he has his letters/numbers book and we work while Audrey naps. Although he did tell me, "Mom, you can't be a librarian, you're already a mom!"

After the GRE I have to write a "personal statement" as to why I want to do this and then in January they start reviewing applications. If I get in, I wouldn't start until next fall. But I'll update as anything exciting happens!

Who wants to be a millionaire?

The one dollar allowance brought on the million dollar question from Miles... "Why do they want us to buy that?" Actually it was more than the dollar, it was also the free Handy Manny tattoos we got at the Disney Store last week. Miles wondered why in the world they were giving them away?

What a wonderful door for a mama to open! We started talking about our/his money and how we have the power to choose how to spend it or NOT spend it. We talked about advertising, TV shows, magazines, and even signs on the street calling us to buy something. And then we talked about what he does want to spend his money on, and oh boy, he'd better start saving those dollars. He wants to go to the Eiffel Tower, Alaska, the Taj Mahal, the Golden Gate Bridge, Machu Picchu, the North & South Poles and the Trans Siberia Railway. Okay, so he was eating dinner on his world place mat at the time. But he does want to travel to a lot of those places.


I guess everyone is talking about money these days. Heck, even Gwenyth sent me an e-mail about it (you know we're BFFs). As nerdy about money as his mom & dad are, we figure it's not too early to teach him the ins and outs of savings. And now when he asks for Chick Fil A for lunch or a toy at the store I just say, "do you want that or.... to go the Eiffel Tower?" And he usually says "Eiffel Tower!" Wonder when he'll wise up on that trick.

And sweet Audrey, I seem to have left her out over the last few posts. She's entered the terrible twos in full force. We're getting the full body flailing on the floor, screaming, pinching & scratching (I'm the main receiver of the pain). Joy. She has been teething something terrible this week and has had all the fun stuff that goes with that. She's into everything, check out her hands in the photo below. Um, that's magic marker. And it was all over the floor and a cabinet too. And while she has given up napping with her pacifier at school (they are so awesome) she refuses to do that at home. Or maybe it's that mommy & daddy are wimps. It could be that.

But ohhhhh my goodness how she can make your heart melt with her "iwa wubna oooo mom-eee" {translation: I love you, mommy}, or dad-deee, or Mouwse, or Chechee & apaw-woh. such a cutie! We've been working on please and thank you, so she'll randomly pipe up with "tank ewe, mom-eee" or "peas!" But the best are the sneak attack hugs, usually targeted at Miles, but they are absolutely the greatest, sweetest thing in the world. Both of them!

Just got paid

He earned his first allowance this weekend! He went with Wayne to Kroger and wavered between a Hot Wheels car and M&Ms. The candy won.

Wayne said he handled his own transaction and he was so excited when the lady gave him some coins AND candy! He thought he hit the jackpot. Too bad it was only a dime and some pennies.

Big Guy

Miles graduated to a booster seat. I cannot believe he is old enough to use a seat belt! He loves it. We got the same seat that his cousins have, so of course it's the coolest thing ever. And it has TWO!! CUP HOLDERS!!! Don't worry, we already broke them in with some Cherry Limeade after school today.

He has grown up so much, even since his birthday 6 weeks ago. He's very independent - when it's time to get dressed he goes in his room, shuts the doors then emerges fully dressed a few minutes later, most of the time. Sometimes he comes out and streaks around the house a few times first. Not to jinx myself, but he hasn't thrown any big fits lately. He's been diligently working on writing his letters and spelling words. He got a Magna-doodle for his birthday and uses it to practice his letters: "Mom, how do you spell 'football'?" We're even working up a chore chart so he can earn some money every week. So far we have 1) feed the dogs 2) bring in trash cans 3) empty top rack of dishwasher 4) pick up toys/clothes.

I am kicking myself for not having my camera, but he & Audrey were the cutest things ever after school yesterday. For pick-up, I entered school in through his room and said "hi" but then went to Audrey's room first. I let her walk back to the 4-year old room and she was shouting "Miwes? Miwes?" all the way. It actually sounded a little like "Mouse? Mouse?" She walked right in, went over to where he was sitting for story time and climbed in his lap for a hug. He sat there snuggling her and grinning for the rest of the story. So, so sweet. If only they could be like that all the time, right?