Evan, Kate & Elizabeth came over for Wayne's birthday and to stay through the weekend. We're already having lots of fun! Lots of giggling and only a time out for Kate the daredevil who insists on climbing on top of unstable plastic toy tables. We had dinner at Calypso Cafe (a new fave) and only required 3 servers to help clean up our area. Thankfully we were the only people there for the early bird dinner. Pray for the rain to hold off so we're not stuck inside all week!!! 
We achieved a new record in Mommy-Miles separation this weekend. Up until now the longest span had been a workday. Wayne and I just spent THREE nights in the Big Apple! I'll go ahead and put this picture of Miles here since I know that's the real reason for your visit today, but please stay for tales from the city.
Wayne had best man duties for Robb Fish and his beautiful bride Yen Chang. The wedding festivities were at a great club right by Rockefeller Center. The club does have an alternative existence, although "alternative" isn't quite the right word for it. Wayne and I stayed at the club in a room across from the solarium, so we enjoyed this great view of St. Patrick's and Saks. The rehearsal dinner Friday was at Casa Bella in Little Italy. There was a street festival complete with St. Anthony statue draped in cash.
Other than wedding activities, we saw Jimmy Buffet on the Today Show and went to MoMA where we saw lots of Very Important Paintings. Wayne's Aunt Simone & Uncle Jim took us to dinner at The View - the rotating restaurant atop the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. 
This is the first photo I've taken where you can see his teeth! That redness around his mouth is from all the drool. I think tooth #3 will be here soon, but I can't tell if it will be an upper or a lower side.
There's no stopping him now! Not only are diaper changes more exciting, so are any times when we need him to stay in one spot. After his bath last night he was so much more interested in his toys than in getting ready to sleep. 
Home again... we're slowly recovering from the 7 hour drive home. Miles did fairly well in the car, although I did have to jump in the backseat with him as we wound through the mountains. I'm sure he was just sad to be leaving the beach. The doggies even did well, crammed in the way-back with some of our stuff. We piled our comforter and pillows back there and covered them with a sheet. They had their own feather bed! They relaxed the whole way, and Chelsea yelled at any bikers or trailers of horses we passed. Wayne & I passed the time reading DaVinci Code. Well. I read it to him. We're about halfway through, so might finish before going to see it next week.
A car full of dogs, baby, and baby gear leaves little room for much else. So we traveled Griswold-style! Our friend Hugh joined us for a couple of nights so the boys could golf. 
We spent the week playing scrabble & dominos, reading, napping and taking long walks on the beach. Did that sound like a personal ad? Ha! Our favorite "discovery" was Kudzu Bakery. They did make a fine apple crumb cake. But the best purchases were their frozen entrees. Basically a gourmet entree already prepared and frozen, all we had to do was bake. We enjoyed their Chicken Florentine and Crab stuffed Flounder. There was so much to choose from, I wished we'd gone earlier in the week! 
Oh, Miles updates... he's crawling like a champ. He sees something and goes to get it - especially mommy. I used to be able to run something to the kitchen while he played in the den, but now I return and he's halfway to me. Serious child-proofing is in order. He's also babbling some great stuff now. Lots of mamamama and dadadadada. If we can be so bold, he has a few word already. Apollo is "Oh" and the ceiling fan is "Ah". Okay, I'm stretching a bit, but he does consistently make those sounds for those things. The most exciting is the complete gymnastic event that diaper changing has become. Let's just say it's a little harder to keep poop off of me now!!
oooweeee, did we have a big weekend. It might take a while, but let me tell you about all the cool new things in Miles's world. We went to visit his cousins Evan & Kate Thursday since daddy had to be out of town for the weekend. I knew he was close to crawling, but when he saw the very mobile cousins, he was raring to go. He hasn't done an across the floor crawl yet, but he's made it a few feet in the normal crawl style. He's also very good at moving backwards and rolling to where he wants to be. So in combinations of roll, scootch and stretch he was a very big boy while playing with them.
We expanded his palate tremendously. He was not content to eat pureed peas while watching those two dine on quiche and pancakes. He didn't get the quiche, but he did enjoy pancakes, lima, green and white beans, carrots, goldfish, graham crackers, banana pieces. But the best "dining" experience happened when Kate fed Miles with her empty bowl & spoon. She stirred the bowl then held the spoon to his mouth and said "AH". And he opened wide! Then she said "Mmmmmm" and did it again! Elizabeth and I were laughing, we barely caught it on film.
Saturday we enjoyed watching Evan's soccer game. I asked Evan what position he played & Coach/Uncle Shay laughed. When the game started I understood. It was a squealing herd of kids chasing the ball. We heard the strategy from the pregame huddle loud and clear: THAT WAY! Mary Grace was the star, scoring about 6 goals. Of course that's not hard when the goalie, faced with said herd, decides he'd rather go talk with his mom.
So we're back home now, tired all around. Early to bed... one down, two to go.
So we were back at the mall yesterday since it was rainy all day. I was just cruisin' along, admiring the mother's day ideas and dreaming of all the new stuff I'll need after I wean, when Miles yelled "AH!". Mommy had almost cruised right past the "duck" fountain! This kid knows what he likes. So we wheeled back around to sit and watch the fountains. A lady with some frozen yogurt sat on the wall near us. Miles started telling her that he was fully capable of eating from a spoon and that she should share whatever she had with him. Ha!
Wish I'd started this earlier! I'm having to do the early months from memory. But never fear, there are plenty of photos to remind me what was happening then.
Another string of gorgeous days here in the south. We're loving the park near our house and Miles enjoys chillin' out in the swing. Wednesday we had to walk by 3 times before the crowd left and we could get on. Too bad there's only one baby swing in this park. 
While the days are sunny, the nights have been, well, less than ideal. But I'm not talking about the weather! No Miles has started his midnight antics again. Sometimes it's 10 minutes, sometimes an hour, but he's up and at-em'. Last night he was up multiple times. Between that and Chelsea needing to go O-U-T in the middle of the night, we didn't get much sleep. Exhaustion and driving don't mix well, so we backed out of our Easter visit to Wayne's family. Very sad, because Miles really enjoys playing with his cousins. Hopefully we can still get over there soon.
They are warning of storms again this weekend. We were amazed that Miles slept right through the hailstorm Sunday evening, and even the thunder & lightning symphony at 3am. Hopefully it will be an overnight storm again so we can still go outside and avoid some seriously muddy dogs. Chelsea does love some oozing fresh mud!
With the on-again blah weather mid-week, we returned to the comfortable climate of the mall walk. We usually park by Parisian - their automatic doors are great with a stroller! They also have a glass elevator. So we start at one end and do the length of the mall, including side legs, twice. About halfway down we'll stop by the "pond" and Miles will watch the "ducks" in the water. Although I really think he's more interested in the fountains than the "quack-quack" noises mommy makes.
eyebrows, gulping in the water over and over again. Then he'd turn to me and giggle before going for it again. It's definitely true that presentation is everything, because he'll have nothing to do with the water I try to give him in a cup or bottle!
When we did have some nicer weather, I tried to take him outside to get an Easter picture. This one is nothing like what I ended up using, so I'll share (and I'll share the final product next weekend). He went for the hyacinths, stripped each flower from its stem and tried to stuff it in his mouth. We didn't stay there for very long!! 
Here he is after naptime playing with his new favorite bedtime distraction. Really, who could resist 10 minutes of music with lights, bubble and fishies swimming about? And two fun spinny things?
And how about these cuties! Miles (today) and his daddy (from Dec. 1974). I definitely see the resemblance, do you?
Bath time is just about the best time of the day. Miles loves getting naked for the bath. In fact, getting naked and the bath are our stall tactics to avoid any late evening melt-downs before bed. We've started bathing him in the kitchen sink since he outgrew the little baby tub. Putting him in the real tub is killer on the knees and back! Anyway, he has his little ducky and a couple other small floaties but his favorite "toy" is the sprayer. Months ago he started by staring at it, then he'd swat at the stream, now he's pulling at the nozzle to get it near his face. When we rinse his cheeks and chin he makes this funny "bitter beer" face. Guess we'll need to get one of these sprayers for when he's too big for the sink.
Miles got to meet Kate this weekend. Kate is 6 weeks old and I can't believe I've really forgotten what it was like to hold someone so small. I know Miles weighed eight pounds not that long ago but she seemed so little! Anyway, she's got a head full of black hair like her daddy. In fact, they had a picture of her daddy as a baby and wow! what a resemblance. Miles got to play on the floor with lots of "new" toys. Not wanting to lose his center-of-attention status, he rolled onto his belly and started to push up onto his knees!!!!
The next exciting thing is that he's feeding himself finger food! Well, sort of. He's had his first tast of the veggie puffs - these little cereal-like puffs of sweet potatoes. I place one on his tray and he scoops it up. Sometimes he gets a great pincher and pops it right in his mouth. Other times it's a scoop into his palm and it sticks there until it falls to the floor (and some happy pups waiting beneath). When he does get it in his mouth, he grins so big as he mashes it with his gums. Yummy!
I just received a newsletter titled "Your 30-week-old." Can it really be 30 weeks? 210 days? Almost 7 months? My how time flies. We can hardly remember life before this kid came screaming into our world. Of course he's still screaming today, but for a different reason. He's soooooo close to getting his first tooth. This morning his gums look so puffy and swollen. I swear I see the white beneath the surface, but I think I've seen that for days, so who knows. I just hope his pain is over soon. At least for these first few teeth. So hopefully some exciting news will be here soon!
Yesterday we took a trip to the grocery for some dinner as well as a distracting trip outside the house. The weather has cooled off again so we can't do our usual late afternoon walk around the neighborhood. He gets to sit in the cart basket now and really likes being able to look around. His Ya Ya got him this really cool cart cover that buckles him in and covers all those grimy handles. So we strolled through the fruits and vegtables and the bakery (yum!) and the butcher's area. He liked the lobsters in the tank, even though they weren't very active.
