Just wanted to pass on that I've updated Miles's photo album... the link to the right (more photos of Miles) or here's the link for updated photos. 
When we got home she said they played for a while. Then well before when we said he'd go to bed he started putting his head down on the floor. She put him in his crib and he waved bye-bye to her. Little guy was ready for bed!! So she had it pretty easy, but he liked her - the next day we'd say "did you have fun with Ali?" and he replied "Ah!" (yes? Ali? I don't know, but it was happy.) I'm sure we'll be calling her again.
Last year Miles graciously posed in the cutest costume I could get my hands on. When I saw it I had to order it, knowing how much his daddy loves him some hot sauce. Of course on the actual Halloween night he was sound asleep through all of the foot traffic. We kept an eye on the street so the puppies wouldn't raise a ruckus with every ding-dong and trick or treat. 
2. He's sleeping so great, a full 12 hours at night and 2 good naps still. When he's ready to sleep he lets us know. This weekend I went in because he was making noise during one of his naps and he waved "bye bye" to me. He wanted to sleep some more! And any time he's going to sleep he stands there waving to us as we leave the room. 
3. When he wakes up, he'll just hang out and play. The fun game this week is dropping everything out of the crib. All the little animals (yes those are the Higglytown Heroes on the floor), his blanket and even both socks ("ock" in Miles-speak). When it gets cold, we'll have to put him in the footie pjs so his feet don't freeze!!
While entertaining Alice, Miles also played with BeeBe & PopPop. PopPop had a really cool car to ride around the yard. 
Later that night Miles entertained lots of family from my mom's side. Aunt Connie had come in from Texas, so of course there was a party! Miles got to see his other nonagenarian grandma (yes he has two at 90! will he live to 110?), 3 great aunts, 1 great uncle, Mimi & Grandpa, uncle Kiley & Megan and cousin Hunter. Whew! He knew he was the center of attention and stayed up an hour past bedtime to cheer for the Vols against Florida. 
Alas, uncle Kiley was the only college football fan of the family proudly wearing his colors on Sunday. 
We made the drive over all in one day, which was long but not so bad. On the way back, however it was better to stop and have playtime with his cousins for a couple of nights. Last time we were there he wasn't quite walking yet, so it was a real treat to see them interact. Kate still tried to make Miles her baby-doll and buckle him into her carseat. But eventually they worked out a division of chores. Miles happily took over vacuuming!!
Our visit was lots of fun. Kate and Evan successfully exhausted Miles so he zoned out or slept the entire drive back. And he took 2 long naps today. Yay!
It's still officially a week away, but today was a promising preview of the fantastic fall to come. I didn't plan Miles's outfit well and he ended up sporting a gator all day, grrrr. I didn't even notice until I saw a lunch special of "gator wraps" posted on the sidewalk. We had lunch at Tomato Head with our friend Elise, and afterward Miles wandered Market Square, chasing pigeons and gazing longingly at the fountains squirting up from the sidewalk. Sadly, right after I snapped this shot in front of Bliss, he took a header on the sidewalk. Thankfully it was just a little scrape, no blood, no purple protrusion. But it ended the lunch date pretty fast (sorry, Elise!!). 
Miles is a goofball. For real. He's silly and giggly and walks around with a can of peaches. Or sometimes tuna, just depends which one is eye level. Yesterday he started rockin' out to The Scorpions while we were eating lunch. And for your most updated Miles to English translation entry:
Today we went for haircut #2. Miles played it like a cool kid the whole time. I mean, he is a pro now. We sat him up on the booster and he slung his arm across the back of the chair like he was driving a big ol' Caddy and left it there. "hey baby, wanna ride?" Then he got all James Dean-cool on her and just stared off into the mirror. Maybe he liked her leopard print smock. She was a tad more hip than the last stylist we saw.
After, while I'd liked to have strolled up the sidewalk for a nice cold 'rita we headed the other direction for some family fun at BN. I grabbed a book thinking I could do a little pipe-dreaming but should have known better. He was for a short time completely entranced by the Thomas the Train table and the two cuties with curly brown hair. But he soon realized he was in his own practically private section of the book store and it was filled with things for him!! He discovered the Boynton section and pulled it all to the floor. Then he saw all the stuffed animals but thankfully passed on by. I finally steered him to the storytime area with the platform and a mini Hundred Acre Wood tableau where we wore out the rest of the day until dinner.
After writing about such a fun event as a birthday, the everyday stuff seems too ordinary to blog. How can Miles just being his goofy, cute self compare with cupcake smashed up his nose? It may be mundane but such is life. Wait, who am I kidding? 
I can also audibly follow him: the tinkle of piano keys, the rat-a-tat of the drum, and various toys vocalizing "hi I'm farmer Tad," "Lightning is ready", "purple cow," and a cacophony of barnyard noises. Thankfully the house is childproofed enough so everything is his or I don't care if he messes with it. He's usually in the food cabinet, pulling out his snack-size peaches and mandarin oranges. He carried around some oranges for about 30 minutes yesterday.
Ah, the big event has come and gone. The first birthday party was a smashing success and I think mommy and daddy have finally recovered. Miles ate up the attention of six doting grandparents while trying to play with his cousins, whatever they were doing. Evan had several jam sessions on the drums, and Miles was his cymbal-taping sidekick. Kate was the go-go dancer! And not wanting to leave Kate out, Miles was very content to play dolls, pushing her baby stroller all over the house. Of course he did prefer to tip it over and spin the wheels a little too.
Presents? What presents? Although there was a den full of exciting boxes and tissue paper, Miles preferred to toddle around the house and play with other things. So mommy got the very willing cousins to help open all his fun gifts. He got lots of great books, clothes and some trains and cars to keep him going. After some yummy burgers and hot dogs, the birthday cupcake appeared! This time he knew exactly what to do (not that he hesitated much on the 1st one!) and he tore right in. 
Bebe & PopPop came in town yesterday and we hit the zoo for the late afternoon. He does love the kids area!! We got up close and personal with some goats, sheep, pigs and chickens. Even saw a beaver swimming around by its dam. We caught some elephants, zebra, kudu and meerkats before it was time to turn around. It was kind of hot and pushing dinner-time!
Okay, so it was actually the neighborhood 5K. The 2nd mile winds past our house, so at about 8:07 am the police car with light flashing rolled by, followed by the leader who had a 4 house length lead on the next few speedsters. Miles got lots of waves and even cheered for the runners, especially the lady pushing the baby-jogger. I had thought about entering but it's just been so hot!! Maybe the Komen 5K in October will be a better, cooler race!
Well, maybe you do have a job, but I know you'll take some time to enjoy these videos!! I guess I was making up for slackin' all week.
As promised... today he officially took off. The first steps were a couple of weeks ago but now he knows he can make it so he's off. Pretty funny here what entices him to walk: antibac wipes? Ha!
Now that it's almost next weekend, it seems the right time to finally share some pictures of last weekend. :)
And the toys!! We spent the weekend with his cousins and Aunt Elizabeth sent us home with so many fantastic toys. Most were ones that Kate and Evan had outgrown, but some had been repurposed into stunt props and needed to go. Like the police rocker, Kate can stand up on the seat and rock back and forth!! Great skill, but uh-uh. And the little car with the push handle, which Miles loves to push up and down our hall? Let's just say Evan thought he was Lightin' McQueen. And on top of those, lots of trucks and shape sorters and such, it's been "birthday" every day!
There was a request for more video so here is Miles enjoying a whole banana at Aunt Elizabeth's this weekend. That's cousin Kate you hear in the background. There will be more pictures, but enjoy this for now!!
Miles got a new room! I guess it's his big pre-birthday present. We realized the former "guest" room was a few feet larger than his nursery and would give him better space to play. And since it was the only room in the house that we'd never painted, it was due for a facelift. We had these shelves put in to store all his toys and books and painted it two shades of bright blue. I realize I didn't take a picture of the color, so I'll have to update this later. But he's been having a great time crawling around and playing with everything. The wide open room is perfect for pushing a diaper box!!
Since the entire house is his playground now, I don't really know why I keep the playmat down in the den. We're never in there anymore. If we try to sit there, it's merely a launching pad for racing to the front door, dumping boxes of blocks or heading for the kitchen. I'd like to say his favorite stuff in the kitchen is everything I've collected in his very own cabinet but I'd be lying. No, his favorite desitnation in the kitchen is the dog bowl area. They only eat at night, so it's not an issue of him eating their food or messing with chow time, but the water bowl is there too. In this heat it would be inhumane to close off their water all day!! So after many a repeated "no!" (mostly without tears) he's starting to look at me like "I'm gonna do it, aren't you supposed to say no?" Maybe if I add more enticing things to his cabinet? 
