You know, I'm happy to admit that it's been a somewhat uneventful couple of weeks. No drama...just the Kahls finally getting a chance to do normal family stuff. Jason took last weekend off from marching band - a first in his nine seasons of teaching band - and it was the best weekend. We just hung out - went to the farmer's market, did chores, and we parents even enjoyed an evening away while Grandma babysat.Miles' latest accomplishments have been 1) the discovery of his feet and 2) making raspberries/buzzing/zerberts...whatever you might call them. Daddy says he's destined to become a trumpet player now by how well he's been buzzing. Miles attends his first marching band competition later today, so he's well on his way to being Daddy's band mascot. We didn't quite get the best zerbert, but you can see Miles, his feet, and a taste of the conversations he likes to have with us:
Miles is also getting much better at tummy time, although it's still not his favorite. 
No rolling completely over yet, but he's woken us up many-a-time in the middle of the night by rolling on his side. This caused the SIDS alarm to sound because he would roll off the pad. Plus, he would get his legs and/or arms stuck in between the slats of the crib. Thank goodness Babies R Us had the "breathable" bumpers in stock and quickly delivered them...we were starting to feel like horrible parents, maiming our child for life if we had no bumpers, but exposing him to SIDS if we did have bumpers. Hooray for mesh!This week's Miles moment is a Miles/Keno moment:
Somebody call Mr. Belding, because Screech Powers is back in town! Miles' newest "trick" is making this high-pitched squeal when he's happy. It's pretty cute, but my ear drums might explode here any day now. Here's the blog's first video of him doing it, being egged on by Aunt Kari and Uncle Craig.
The biggest event of the past week (or two) was yet another road trip for yet another funeral. I know...I'm starting to sound like a broken record. I guess it comes in threes, so hopefully this is end of road trips for unhappy reasons for a while. My Great Grandma Woodling (Miles' Great-Great Grandma) passed away at the age of 102. I sure hope that I got some of her genes! Although it was a solemn occasion, it was still really great for Miles to meet some of his extended peeps and spend some more time with the Woodlings. Here are Grandpa and Grandma Woodling with their grandchildren (my bro Craig, cousin Lisa, sister Kari, cousin Scott) and their great-grandkids (Cale, Miles, and Emma).
The road trip to Ohio's Great White North with Miles was slightly better than the previous ones had been. We stayed in hotels in the bustling metropoli of Troy, OH and Findlay to break of the trip a bit. Here's Miles hanging out with Aunt KK at the Hampton Inn - apparently, Miles enjoys the Hilton chains a bit better than Holiday Inns. Maybe it's the free cookies.
We figured out that shaking a rattle and singing Harry Belafonte songs does wonders for calming Crabby Miles in the car. We also discovered that Miles does not like Johnny Cash. So, please, don't even think about humming Ring of Fire around him unless you want a cranky baby on your hands.Miles was also a good boy for Nana and Papa last week. We took another trip to the zoo. He slept most of the way through it but managed to catch a glimpse of the tigers before doing so:
We also took Miles to a free music class. He was a bit small for it, but he really liked watching the other kids. Here we are, playing with sticks. I really hope this doesn't mean he'll be a drummer...I'd like to salvage the aforementioned ear drums I still have left after the screeching phase ends.
As usual, your final Miles Moment:
So it came. It's here. And it's still coming. Torturing me. The reason why I've been a slacker at posting. Going back to work.My two weeks of working from home are coming to a close, and next Monday is the dreaded first day back to my dank, dark, dinky cubicle. I'd compare myself to Milton from Office Space, except Miles will be the constant occupier of my workday thoughts instead of a red stapler. I never thought that I could manage to create a metaphor juxtaposing my first born child with a Swingline...guess I'm just that gifted of a writer. ;-) So here's what has kept me sane - Miles' Nana, and some Papa C too [insert a tear here]. My mom came to watch Miles during the day so I wouldn't have to send him to day care just yet but so I wouldn't be distracted while I was trying to catch up. It was the perfect situation - I could sneak away for brief moments to give him smooches but still be productive. It turned out to be an even better thing to have Nana around, because Miles' Great-Grandma Bernie sadly passed away. That meant Jason had to go to South Carolina for the funeral, which would have left me alone with Miles for 5 days. Again - Nana to the rescue!! We packed up the car and headed back up to the lake for Labor Day weekend. Typical for any car seat time, the Miles doth protest too much, methinks. We arrived in Port Clinton after midnight, stopping three times to calm Miles' screams at historic landmarks such as the Warm Glow Candle Outlet, the Neil Armstrong museum in Wapakoneta, and the Lima Bob Evans. That was a cakewalk compared to the ride home - counting the overnight at the Bensons's, we made eight (yes, eight) stops. We must have been insane for even considering traveling to South Carolina with this kid. Anyway, we did manage to have a lovely time, as you can see from these pictures. Here's Papa C and his sidekick at the marina near Damon's in Sandusky:
And catching some rays with Nana at "the whale", watching Uncle Craiggy take Bud Dog for a swim in the lake.
Now, the hard part - Miles first day at "school". Even though he's not going to day care full time until September 15, he had his orientation day yesterday. Here's Miles, ready for his first day:
Wow was that hard. It got easier though as the day went on, and I'm sure that it'll be slightly better still when I drop him off for his first full week again on the 15th. Nana will be around next week again to watch Miles so I don't have the double whammy of being in the office AND leaving him with strangers at day care. We're so lucky that she decided to trade in her rowdy bunch of fourth graders for us!!Now, your final "Miles Moment":
