Cut...it...out

First of all...no, I did not suddenly become SuperMom and make time to blog every day. Jason was at the Butler game Wednesday night, so I spent the whole evening catching up on my blogging. I hate being one of those people that writes a novel for each post (even though I know I am), so I figured I'd break it up...save some excitement!

Did you notice Miles' new haircut in the previous posts? Yikes. We took him back to the kids' barbershop, thinking he could handle it. Well, this round was worse than his very first cut...screaming, squirming, spitting, you name it. I asked the lady to keep it longer on top, but can you really blame her for even being able to cut anything in that situation? Looks like we're back to sitting on Mommy's lap at SportClips for another year or so...



The funny thing is that I kept lamenting about how cute it was long, how we shouldn't have cut it, blahbetty, blahbetty, blahbetty. Jason kept reminding me how shaggy it was, but I just kept holding on to the memory of my beautiful long-locked son.

Then, I got his school pictures back. Eek. Good riddance, tresses!



I would like to add the disclaimer that his hair didn't look quite like this when I took him in to day care that morning. I think the photographer must have spit on a comb and run it through his hair seconds before the shot. Either that, or that bacon grease made a repeat visit.

The funniest part about this picture is that it was the very best shot! And I thought we had issues with his Christmas pictures. He actually had two rounds of pictures. The day care director told me it was because they took the pictures, then realized I had brought clothes for him to change into, so they took them again. FALSE. These are from two different days...I think they saw the first round, decided they were a dud, and wanted to try again to at least get a decent shot for the composite.

I originally had all of the pictures uploaded here, poised to make snarky comments. I decided to delete them instead. Figured there was a chance I might not go to hell for making illegal scans of the pictures...wouldn't want to jinx it by completely humiliating my poor son as well.

So, instead here is the best of the first round. Use your imagination for the other two poses:



I also find it interesting that I was just blogging about the 70s picture flashbacks in Wednesday's post, and we have all these fantastic poses to go along with that theme. Add a shag carpet square and feathery mullet, and we'll be all set to do the Time Warp again!




Photogenic or not, I sure do love that boy!!

Happy Birthday, Nana!

So, remember last year when we had all kinds of issues with our Christmas pictures? Looks like Christmas picture disasters might turn into an annual occurrence.

You might be wondering, "Um, that's great and all, but what does that have to do with 'Happy Birthday, Nana!'?" Well, this year we did Christmas pictures on the sly as a surprise birthday gift from Miles and his cousin Lyla. The plan was to make the trek down to Lexington the day after Thanksgiving to have a joint session at Portrait Innovations.

Before making the trip, we gave Miles his bath. Approximately 37 minutes after his hair dried, Miles decided to rub his breakfast plate - complete with bacon grease - on his head. Within the next 15 minutes, he puked all over himself and Mommy. Now - we're definitely not dumb enough to dress him in his picture clothes beforehand - but it did set a bit of an ominous tone for the rest of the day.

Miles and I both were at the start of a cold (still working on getting rid of it), but we decided to pack up the car and drive to KY anyway. Sure, we were super happy to see the Kolb family, to check out their new house, and to help a little bit where we could...but the main purpose of the trip was for the joint photo shoot.

At first, it looked like things were going according to plan. Miles and Lyla both had their naps, seemed to be in good spirits, and managed to keep their clothes in good shape. We arrived a little early to find - not surprisingly - a zoo at the picture place. Despite the craziness, they were able to get us into the studio right on time for our appointment. (Insert plug for Portrait Innovations here...love 'em!)

The problem was - Miles didn't really have much time to adjust the chaos. When I set him down next to Lyla in their matching Christmas jammies, he immediately freaked out, clinging to me like a baby monkey. Throughout all of this, Lyla was cheesing for the camera. After many songs and goofy faces, we decided to ditch the cute jammies look and try again with the dress clothes.

I thought maybe having me disappear for the next shot would help Miles not be so clingy, so I moved as far away as I could and kept peeking in, trying to adjust myself in a spot where Miles couldn't see me. I just couldn't stand not being a part of it, so when Kari peeked her head out, I asked, "Do you think it would make things worse if I went back in there?" I knew it was bad when she replied, "I don't think it can get any worse..."

We were having no luck, so I finally asked the photographer what she could do with me holding him. We got all of two smiling shots - one goofy maniacal smile that didn't look like Miles at all, and this one:



Sure, he has a tear in his eye, a blip of snot bubble, and a Christmas tree ornament behind him that makes him look like he's wearing a crown. And forget the fact that you couldn't see his entire outfit - including the perfect shade of grey pants to match his sweater...the ones I searched every kids' department in Indy for. For all the drama, we got at least got one good shot!!

The picture people were able to take that shot and do a 70s-ish floating-head montage with Lyla for Nana's present. Nana reports that she loves it. Then again, she also said she started crying before she even opened the package, so I'm sure she would have loved the screaming version of the Miles picture too. The little collage do-hicky probably worked out for the best, because the chances of getting Lyla and Miles both smiling in the same shot were slim to none.

The great part of all this hubbub? We found Supermodel of the Year for 2029...Lyla Anne Kolb! Just check out this face:



I accidentally mailed my copy of the other cute smiley one to Nana...I want that one back, Nana!

Because we didn't want the matching cute jammies to go to waste, we recreated the scene at Casa Kolb the next morning. Yes, there are DVDs in the background, our fancy set includes a sheet on the ground, and we had to bribe Miles with Cheerios. I think it's cuter this way - the bedhead is authentic!

November in a Flash

Has another month really flown by? No more marching band on which to blame my delinquency - I'll blame it on painting and tiling the kitchen instead. Here are November highlights:

Playing in the dirt during another warm November day:

As the weather has gotten cooler, Miles doesn't understand why he can't play outside. He'll grab his coat and his shoes and look longingly out the door. Thankfully he hasn't quite figured out how to open the doors...yet.

Hanging out at Hinkle Fieldhouse after a Butler basketball game:

Miles seemed to have just as much fun wandering our way back to the car as he did watching the game. He thought it was great fun to pick up and throw the landscaping gravel under the trees. I'm not sure how many times that day we heard "rock" and "leaf"...yep, he made sure to tidy up the area around the carillon by clearing the pathways of leaves as well.

Munching pumpkin biscuits with Grammy on Thanksgiving:

We had a lovely low-key Thanksgiving this year with Grammy and Grandpa Ron and Uncle David and Aunt Hilary. Miles didn't get his full nap and was therefore pretty cranky when it was time to sit down to eat. He would not eat a bite of anything...and Mommy didn't get too many bites either since he didn't want to sit in his high chair. Luckily, Happy Miles returned at dinner time, and he was able to enjoy Round 2 of the turkey with the rest of us.

And the Grand Finale...O-H-I-O! It took a little bit of time to get Miles to say "Go Bucks!" (ok...so it really just sounds like "Guh! Guh!"). So, I decided to start working ahead of time to get the O-H-I-O ready for the Rose Bowl. Much to my surprise, he picked it up on the first try.

Simian Scenes

This Halloween was nothin' but monkey business (buh-dump-bump).

A trial run of the Halloween costume gave us little hope that Trick-or-Treating would be a success:



We had to find a few ways to stop a complete meltdown on Halloween. Of course, there was always the option of taking the boy out of the monkey...



But what would Halloween be without a costume?! So, we tricked him into the costume and set out into the neighborhood, keeping our fingers crossed and hoping to adapt along the way. We soon figured out how to keep him from throwing a fit.

Step One: Keep Miles' head free and clear.



Step Two: Shove candy in his face.



Step Three: Provide free transportation from door to door.



Once we made it home, Miles was much happier out of the suit. He even decided to recreate the Thriller dance for Halloween. Guess seeing it twice at the Butler football game that day really moved him. Enjoy!

Five Little Pumpkins

Miles has been really getting into the Halloween spirit lately! His favorite new song is "Five Little Pumpkins". I know everyone does it differently, but here's how we like to sing it...

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate...


(At Waterman's Orchard)


The first one said, "Oh my, it's getting late!"


(Goofing off before bedtime)


The second one said, "There's a chill in the air..."


(At Daddy's semi-state contest last weekend...brrr!)


The third one said, "Well, I don't care!"


(Displaying apathy for the hay ride)


The fourth one said, "Let's have a little fun!"


(Going down the slide all by himself at Morristown Elementary!)


The fifth one said, "Let's run, run, run!"

(He runs with the ball, he "hikes" the ball, he throws the ball, and he kicks the ball!)


So "whoosh" went the wind and out went the lights,
And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.



(Picking and rolling pumpkins at the pumpkin patch)

Ketchup

Just because it's marching band season and we don't have time to write doesn't mean we haven't been having fun! We've been busy:

Exploring IKEA with Janelle and Will:



Fishing with Papa:



Watching Daddy's band...of course!




Trying new foods - black beans are a favorite!




Filling Daddy's shoes:




Attending Miles' first wedding and dancing to polka bands (thanks Kellie and Tim!):




Discovering he could reach the water dispenser on the fridge (the shirt) and hanging out with Grammy on Wednesdays (the old-man Steve Urkel pants hiked up to his armpits):



Miles is also learning lots of new things! He loves singing "Five Little Monkeys" and now has a full-on obsession with sports or anything having to do with a ball. He's also getting really good a shaking his head "no"...oh man. Miles says new words every day - some of the latest are "star", "brick", and "Elmo". "Amen" is also a new favorite...we thought it was a fluke when he said it last week for the whole church to hear (and laugh at), but Daddy heard it again after his evening prayers. Should we convert to the Baptist church? ;-)

Walkin' Man

I'm proud to say that Miles is officially walking! Sure, we say he took his first steps August 3, but it wasn't until this past week that he's really been going long distances on his own. He's such a big boy now!

We also had a visit to the doctor last week...and this time thankfully wasn't due to illness. Miles measured in at 32 1/4 inches tall (80%) and 24 pounds, 2 ounces (50%). The doctor asked us if we thought Miles would be on track to say 5 words by his 18-month appointment. Of course, we told him all about what a genius our son is and how he's far surpassed that number already. ;-)

Since the last post, Miles has had quite a few exciting experiences! On our trip up to the lake, Miles got to spend some time with Great-Grandpa and -Grandma Woodling for their 60th wedding anniversary party. We all pulled over a pretty good surprised on them, and Miles got to meet and reunite with all kinds of aunts, uncles, and cousins. We all had so much fun and even got to hear some fun stories we'd never heard before about Grandma and Grandpa.



We also got to watch the sun set on the lake:



And eat some chili fries at Netty's:



Some more big excitement came when Miles made his first trip to Cedar Point. He wasn't so excited by the kiddie rides - clung to Daddy on the Snoopy Train, cried on the carousel, and tolerated the rub-a-dub-dub tubs. However, he seemed to really like the petting zoo (although he got head-butted twice by a goat), the big train and the antique cars.



He also loved spending time with his cousin Lyla, even though he made her cry by biting her toe! Nana is no longer playing the "I'm gonna bite your piggies game." Here's a pic right before "the incident".



Miles also had a fun day last Saturday with Grammy. Daddy had a contest in Cincinnati, and Mommy was visiting with U2 in Chicago, so Miles spent all day keeping Grammy on her toes. She must have been coaching him all day, because it wasn't long after that that he started walking!

While I'm piling on the pics, might as well add this cute video from a while back. Miles sure does love his pup.

The Short of Things

Too beaten down to write complete sentences.

Miles is still sick. (Complete sentence count - 1). 103 degree fever last Wednesday - virus the whole family can enjoy. Made it through Sunday with only a 99 degree temp - thought we were in the clear. Call from day care this a.m. - fever's back. Visit to doc...again. Sinus infection and problems with his lungs... again. Sad nebulizer mask is back, and screaming baby is back too. Much harder to hold down a 24 pounder than when he was 6 months old.

Better news - Miles loves to talk. (Complete sentence count - 2). Words he can say:

• Mee-mee (Mommy)
• Dada
• Pup
• Ball
• Nana
• Lyla
• Ash
• Pop (Papa)
• Baby
• Buh-bye
• Bear
  
• Bop (His Jumpstart Baby computer game - he's obsessed.)

Noises he makes:

• Gug-gug (drink)
• Ooh-ooh-ee-ee-ee (monkey)
• Pant, pant, pant (doggie)
• Pfbt! (elephant)
• Hop, hop, hop (bunny)
• Quack, quack (duck)
• High-pitched chirp (bird or cat)
• Tongue clicking (clock)
• Vrrooom (truck, bus, car, airplane...even a poor lady in an electric wheelchair at the fair)
• Mmmmmm (That tastes good - sentence 3 - or a cow...which also tastes good)
• Baaaaa (sheep...but also just sounds like he's laughing)

Non-related picture - Diaper heads!


Gestures:

• More
• All gone/all done
• Can point to his feet, hands, eyes, nose, head, ears, mouth, and belly.
• Getting pretty good at "Where is thumbkin?"
• Bounces up and down every time he sees a horsey, donkey, or zebra

Last few non-related pics - after swimming (finally liked it!) and zonked out in his king-size bed.

Steppin' it Up

Miles officially took his first steps on August 3! I wouldn't exactly say that he's walking now, but he did take 3 or 4 steps unassisted. Nana and Papa and I were walking him down to the pond with his Tonka truck walker. We thought something might be coming when he stopped, put his hands on his hips, and did a little twist. Nothing much happened until about three houses down when he stopped again. I pushed the truck out a little ways, and he walked three or four steps on his own!

I don't have video yet, so here's an old one of him last month with his Tonka truck.

That day was also Miles' "Baptism Birthday". We lit his baptism candle, sang "Jesus Loves Me" and got him a little cake. There were lots of "mmmmmmmmmmm"s to be had!


And a new favorite close-up:

The Whole Fam Damily

It's been a busy couple of weeks! We only had one night in the last fifteen where someone wasn't staying at our house. I'll be putting up the neon "vacancy" sign soon. We loved having the visitors, although Miles probably won't like going back to not getting his own way every second. First, the Kahls came up from Kentucky. Miles had his first experience in a real swimming pool, but apparently watching the big girls like his Aunt Ashley didn't persuade him to be too adventurous. Poor Granny - she got him in his trunks, lathered him up with sunscreen, and he didn't even like putting his feet in the water. Luckily, he did have some fun watching the cars go around Monument Circle, and we even went to the Indians game. Miles loved watching Rowdie (the big red dog mascot) and clapping whenever the crowd went wild.


Next up - baby cousin Lyla, Aunt KK, Nana, and Papa came for a visit. Miles wasn't quite sure what to think about having to share his papa with Baby Girl:



Finally, Uncle David and Hilary came up for State Fair Band Day. Miles was entranced with the sound and colors of the flags. I thought he'd only make it to see Daddy's and Uncle David's bands, but he watched a whole slew of them...and slept through about 7 or 8 in the afternoon.


We also played miniature golf at Rustic Gardens yesterday. Here's Miles, giving Aunt Hilary some pointers on how to play the hole.

More to come in the next post...some exciting "miles"tones!

Boys of Summer

For most people, mid-July is the height of the summer. For a band family, especially a Hoosier band family, it's the end of all free time. Jason started up his marching band rehearsals again, so he's back to being a working dad. He's only going three days a week now, so Miles and I are savoring our waning hours with him before band camp blows summer out of the water next week.

While Jason was home this summer, he made the best stay-at-home dad. I have to admit, I was jealous of all the fun things they got to do together. I think I missed Miles less when he was at day care. When he was out cruising the town with Daddy, I just kept imagining all the cool things I was missing. They went to the Children's Museum and rode the carousel and played and played and played. They went to the zoo and Miles showed off his new-found animal noise-making skills. They rode the train, although, by this picture, it looked like he was thinking..."How banale..." I prefer to believe he was just wishing his mommy was there.



On the weekends, we did get to do some fun family activities. We brought a picnic to the Irvington Farmers' Market and were so pleased with what a happening gathering it turned out to be. Here we are, Miles goofing off as usual.



Miles makes this face often lately. He learned how to pant like a dog, and has been doing it for about half the animals he sees. For the other half, he bounces up and down, like he's riding a horse. He's been reading lots and lots of books, too. Grammy's alphabet books have been his favorite because he can do motions or make sounds for most of the objects in the book. He loves making an elephant noise for the E book, brushing his teeth when he sees the toothbrush in the T book, and making a "tick tock" sound when he sees the clock in the C book.

I'm a bit partial, but I think he's turning out to be a pretty smart kid. It's so exciting to see how jazzed he gets when he discovers something new. Here's a fun pic from this morning - Miles discovering his shadow.


Happy summer to all!

Fourth Fizzle

Thanks to the constant drizzle all of July 4th, we spent another Independence Day watching fireworks set to glorified elevator music on TV. I'm not sure it even reached 70 degrees that day - Miles was very confused when he had to wear pants for the first time since May.


To be honest, I was somewhat relieved that Miles would be missing the show...I was nervous about whether or not he'd be afraid of them. And what can you really do at a fireworks show when a kid freaks out? It's not like you can turn off the TV, shut the door, or, as we tend to do at church, take the kid out in the narthex. Nevertheless, we had a pleasant day hanging out around the house. We even went out to a fancy dinner with Jen and Eddie. Apparently, that was enough excitement for the evening for Miles:


We did manage to have a beautiful day on the 3rd, so we went up to our old stomping ground to Carmelfest. We listened to some bands, watched the big kids in the bouncy thingies, and, of course, ate horrible fair food. Miles even got a hat from the fire station:


Miles is growing into such a big boy! He's eating all kinds of foods (he discovered a love of black beans tonight), repeating words and noises (Ack! Vroom! Moo!), and even making up some new words (babonga...kind of like aloha, it means hello or good-bye). He's already getting pretty good at walking with just one hand on something or someone - he'll be an official toddler before we know it!

The Cuz - Little Lady Lyla

Introducing...Miles' new baby cousin:

Lyla Anne Kolb

6 pounds, 12 ounces
18 3/4 inches long

Lyla made her grand entrance a 1:55 P.M. on June 24. As much trouble as she had given her mommy in the past, all made it through the day happy and healthy. The new Kolb family of three is now home from the hospital, and Lyla is treating her parents well...a good sleeper and eater!

Miles got a sneak peek of Aunt KK in the waiting room before the surgery - he had to give his cousin a good luck smooch before coming into the world!



And here he is the next day, meeting her for the first time. You can't really tell from the picture, but he was grinning from ear to ear. Granted, it could have been his normal hamming it up for the cameras - there were only about a half-dozen onlookers aww-ing and taking pictures. However, I'm convinced that it's only because he loves his baby cousin!



I'm writing today's post about my boy with a heavy heart...sitting in the airport, ready to leave him for 3 days to go to Denver for work. It's the farthest I've been away from my little dude, but it hurts me more than it hurts him!

Here's one last picture from this weekend - trying to go swimming and not really liking it.