Hand-some Devil

As most babies do, Miles chewed on his hand from the time he was born, which is one of the newborn's ways to signal hunger. Miles did it involuntarily, not even realizing that he had hands. Daddy's answer to Miles' cries had always been, "Feed him!" I could usually postpone things by responding, "He's not hungry. Look! He's not even chewing his hands yet!"

Well, my little excuse has backfired recently. Miles discovered his hands do indeed exist, and he's now obsessed with watching them, gumming them, and rubbing them together. I have hundreds of dollars of baby toys and gadgets in my house, and all this kid wants is his hands. He must be his father's son...this frugal boy can appreciate that the best things in life are free I guess.

I caught him in a special moment with his new friends The Hands. I thought he kind of looked like some sort of villain from a super hero movie, plotting to take over the world. I could hear the echoes of Mr. Burns from The Simpsons..."Egggggg-cellent."



In other events this week, Miles stayed in his first hotel room. Unfortunately, we had to go to Marion for Mrs. Krouskop's funeral on Friday. Since Miles hates his car seat, we opted to leave around his bed time in the hopes that he'd sleep all the way there...and it worked! The problem happened when we got to the room and he wouldn't sleep in the middle of the night. This could have been because Miles has gotten used to sleeping in his crib and was wasn't too thrilled about the downgrade to his Pack N Play. Or, it could have been that he already has discerning tastes in travel accommodations, and the Holiday Inn in Springfield just didn't live up to his standards. I'm thinking it's the latter.

Jason and I had our first date night out in two months last night - went to the Colts' first game at the new Lucas Oil stadium. I think Miles was a little mad that he didn't get to go with us. He was grumpy for Nana a lot of the night, but she said that he stopped crying as soon as she turned the game on TV. A good little Colts fan already! Here he is, wishing his mean parents would take him to the game with him.

Lazy Boy

Miles has lived a pretty exciting life thus far. Baseball, zoos, lake trips, visitors...so he deserved a week off. It's draining being so cute and entertaining all of the time, ya know?

So, last week it was mama time with Miles while daddy went back to school. We watched the Olympics (sound: off; closed captioning: on), played with toys (the newest: a rattle), and begrudgingly worked on tummy time (minutes not spent screaming: zero). The most exciting parts of the day were when we went to get the mail and the occasional quick outing. Miles really enjoyed watching trash TV in the waiting room at the oil change place, since he doesn't get to watch it at home. I swear I heard him chanting "Jerry, Jerry" during one of his latest monologues.

Speaking of monologues, Miles is becoming quite the Chatty Cathy...or would it be Chatty Charlie for a boy? He's cooing and smiling and just plain making lots of noises lately, which is so much fun!



Miles got to chat a lot this weekend with both his daddy and Grandma Misty, since I was sick with some nasty bug. Daddy took Friday off from school to stay with him, since I was finding it difficult to hold Miles with one hand and puke into a trash can with the other. Sorry - hope you guys weren't eating just now. I'm not exactly known for my delicate delivery. At least I'm not including a photo of that! ;-) Anyhoo, all three of us spent all day Friday in our pajamas, and even Keno was especially lethargic. Usually he jumps up when we go to take a picture - in this one, he could barely be bothered to stick his paw in the frame. Looks like Miles is starting to get annoyed at his dog stealing his thunder too.



I was still under the weather on Saturday when Daddy had rehearsal all day, so Grandma Misty was nice enough to spend her day watching Miles to help me get some more rest. She's been visiting in the evenings during Miles' "Witching Hour", so I was glad that she got to see him in the morning when he was doing something besides screaming or sleeping.

By Sunday, things were back to normal and everyone was all smiles:



Now, it's already another week - the last one of my maternity leave. Ugh - I'm trying not to even think about it, so my poor mommy heart doesn't explode. Luckily, I'll be working from home the next two weeks, and Nana and Papa are coming back to watch Miles. Hopefully that'll make the transition a bit easier - more to come!

Party Animal

Miles turned two months old on Thursday, and we celebrated by enjoying some time out and about before Daddy goes back to school tomorrow.

But first...Miles doctor's appointment went well - he now weighs 12 pounds (60th percentile) and is 24 inches long (95th percentile!!). The good news is that his head is a little less tiny - he moved up from 25th percentile to 40th percentile in noggin size...he must be increasing brain power from all of the staring, smiling, and cooing he has been doing at his mobiles lately. Here's a picture of Miles on his actual birthday, this time staring at the bear mobile on his pack n play. This must have been towards the end of the play session, because he looks a bit bored and bothered...can't those darn bears do something else for once?



This doctor's appointment introduced Miles to the cruel, hard world though - he got his first shots. As usual, he screamed when they made him strip down to his diaper because he was cold...if only he knew what was going to happen next. When they first gave him the shot, I thought for a second that he'd be ok...turns out there was just a delayed reaction. My heart broke when I heard the most high-pitched squeal ever out of his mouth. Luckily, Miles recovered quickly and was generally in a good mood or sleeping the rest of the day.

Later that day, Miles took his first trip to the zoo. Of course, he didn't seem too interested in the animals, but he seemed to enjoy watching the people. It was a beautiful day, so it was pretty crowded there.



Miles hasn't been out in the sun much, but now that he's allowed to wear sunscreen we were glad to be able to take him to outdoor activities like the zoo. We made sure to put him in a hat, although considering the aforementioned tiny dome, it was a bit large on him.



The best part of the day came while watching the baboons. Now, monkeys are always my favorite animal to watch - not because they eat their own puke or like to fling poop around, but because they remind me of how much like humans they really can be. The baboons had a tiny new baby baboon, and all of the adult baboons kept fighting over who got to hold it. They were passing that poor baby around like a football...kinda reminded me of last weekend at Miles' baptism when all of his grandparents, aunts, and uncles were nudging each other out to hold him. :-)



On Saturday, we went to a party at Jen's house. I put Miles in this T-shirt, not knowing that there were all kinds of older women there.



Alas, Miles was a cranky boy from the previous day's shots, so he didn't flash the necessary smile to get some interest from Meghan (9 months) or Annalisa (5 months). He did however snag a hug from a much older woman, 2 year-old Emily. Maybe next year, we can arrange a date for him at the Buffett concert, since Daddy missed it this year. Guess we just have to settle for dressing the part instead.



And, now, a final moment and a new favorite picture. Maybe one of these days there will be a pic without my fingers in it!

Miles and Fill-In-The-Blank

So much has happened since the last post, including tons of pictures of Miles with family members. Let's get the party started:

Miles took his first road trip last week to the great state of Ohio, with Nana's driving help and emotional support. First stop was best bud Heidi's 30th birthday party in Columbus. Miles got to meet his little girlfriend, a hot little number named Janelle.


Janelle was born 11 days after Miles but was 6 weeks early, so Miles looked especially beefy next to the delicate flower. They looked so excited to meet each other, eh?




Then we headed up to Nana and Papa's house on Lake Erie. We made a side trip on Saturday to Toledo to meet Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Woodling and Great Aunt Cindy. Can't believe we missed getting a picture of Aunt Cindy! Everyone says I look like Aunt Cindy, so squint your eyes and pretend it's her there instead of me. She's the picture taker of the family, so I guess she's more used to being behind the camera.



Next, Miles got to meet his Aunt Katrina and Uncle Vince. Aunt Kat at first said that she had a 1-year minimum age limit on holding babies...but she was a puddle of mush with little Miles by the time that she left.



Uncle Vince got to hold Miles too - only the second baby he'd ever held!



And a picture with Great Grandma Hornsby and my cousin Amy.



Here's Miles' first visit to the lake and Marblehead lighthouse. He also enjoyed watching his mama, Nana, and Mo eat chili dogs at Netty's. He has now requested that we return there for his first solid food. :-)



After a few meltdowns in the car seat, we made it back to Indy to get ready for Miles' baptism. We enjoyed another baseball game at Victory Field - this time against the Toledo Mud Hens. Nana kept whispering in Miles' ear that he needed to become a Mud Hens fan and Papa C kept trying to use Miles as a chick magnet...



And another cute one. My camera died half way through the game, so stay tuned for more pics from Aunt KK.



Finally, today was Miles' baptism! He was a very, very good boy! He slept a lot of the time through the service but woke up a little bit for the actual baptism. Here he is with his godparents - Uncle David and Aunt Kari.



And with the Kahls. Because Miles was such a good boy during church, he saved up his screaming for after the service, which limited our picture taking time in the sanctuary.



We luckily had a chance to catch up on a few pictures at the restaurant we went to for lunch. Here's Miles with his godmother Aunt Kari and me with my godfather, Uncle Dean.



And my side of the family with Papa, Nana, Uncle Davy, Aunt KK, and Uncle Craig.



"Miles J. Kahl's wardrobe provided by Fweggie Woodling." Uncle Craig wore this baptismal outfit at his own baptism 25 years ago.



Whew! It was so nice to be reminded this past week how many people love this little boy!

Overnight Chunk-cess

Last Saturday. 3:19PM. A momentous occasion...the exact time Miles turned 6 weeks old. I kept hearing that magic number - 6 weeks. "They" said things would be so much better by the time he turned six weeks old. So I waited for him to magically sleep through the night and spend all day long a smiley, contented little bundle of joy.

Instead, Miles decided to go through a growth spurt. He was a like a drunken college kid at frat party - chugging away bottle after bottle. We actually went through every single bottle that we owned. I even busted out the ones I had pushed to the back of the cupboard: the ones that this paranoid first-time mom could neither confirm nor deny had the evil chemical BPA. So, no, nothing magical happened at 3:19 on Saturday, but when we woke up on Sunday, it seemed like Miles had gained about 5 pounds.



So, pudge on a baby is cute, right? Sure, Miles is even cuter now, but he's also going bald! He still has hair on the sides and back, so he either looks like an old man or is growing a mullet...or should I say a skullet? The cute pudge and the new hairdo cause me to refer to him as Baby Winston Churchill sometimes. With the baby acne and cradle cap, he's a sure-fire winner to add to a baby dating site, no? Here could be his profile picture..."loves crawls on the beach, candlelit bottle feedings, and hanging out with his best friend Giraffe."




The good news is that, although he is still a bit grumpy sometimes, the smiles and periods of alertness are coming more often now. I discovered a magic invention called a Mei Tai carrier which is kinda like a cross between a sling and a Baby Bjorn. Most of the time, Mr. Cranky Pants will disappear when I put him in it. Either he loves checking out the world or he'll fall asleep in it. Even though it gives me a sore back sometimes, I can actually get some housework done!



And here is the picture that makes all of this hard parenting work worthwhile...

Smiley Grumpertons

On the Fourth of July, I got a voice mail from my mom saying that she and my sister and crew were waiting in line for the Ocean Motion at Cedar Point. I must admit that, even though the Ocean Motion scarred me for life, I felt a twinge of jealousy wishing I could partake in some coaster action at America's Roller Coast. Well, Miles has helped to give us new parents some different ups and downs since we missed out on the pee-your-pants delight of the Millennium Force for yet another year.

Click...click...click...the first "up" is that Miles is actually beginning to sleep at night! I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but I think that whole not-wanting-to-sleep-in-his-bed thing was a phase. We started to get 3, 4, and 5 hour chunks of sleep last week. Last night was the pinnacle - almost 7 hours!



Now comes the drop...Miles has been super grumpy lately. He must take after my side of the family because he does NOT like waking up at all. There's definitely no Peer Gynt playing or little birdies tweeting in the background when this sleeping prince awakens! Maybe some death metal and buzz saws would be better theme music for his waking scenes.

Now the good news again - we have seen real, actual smiles!! I started seeing hints of them this weekend, but Jason didn't believe me. Then, during the three minutes of calm amidst a crying bender on Monday, Jason and I both saw some smiles! Of course, being camera shy as he is, this is the best picture I could muster...blurry and on the camera phone...but awake and smiling!



We had some more outings this weekend - church, Wally World, and a baby party/cookout for Alicia & Suellen and Krysten & Adam. Although I hadn't seen many of the people there in awhile, we didn't need to do much catching up at the party. Most of the people there read this blog and have blogs of their own (hi guys!) so it kind of abridged many of the conversations. It was a good thing because Miles decided to go all grumpus on us about an hour in, which convinced us to leave pretty early. I consider all that screaming a public service to the parents-to-be as a sign of things to come!

Sorry for the lack of pictures this week. Not only did the batteries die on our camera, but Jason started summer rehearsals this week, which leaves me alone with Miles most of the day. The batteries are replaced now, and I'm slowly getting the hang of going one-on-one with the boy, so I promise next week will be better! Here's one more blurry half-smile for the road...

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Another week has flown by and Miles is now a month old!! After his one-month check-up, we now know that Miles gained two pounds and two inches - he's 9 pounds 3 ounces (50th percentile) and 22 1/2 inches long (75th percentile).

Miles celebrated his first Fourth of July by wearing this shirt from Jen. We were super-ambitious and caught three different fireworks displays - on TV! We thought about driving someplace to watch the Indy fireworks from the car, but the shows in Boston, D.C., and New York might have just been slightly more interesting. After all, we would have missed mediocre performances from several former American Idol contestants and over-the-hill has-beens if we had chosen to go to the Indy fireworks!



We also attempted to put on a pair of new pants we bought for Miles. Guess he has a bit of growing still to do - either that, or he's aspiring to be Steve Urkel or Ed Grimley. Can't you hear him saying, "Did I do that?!?"



On Saturday, we took Miles to his first church service. Unfortunately, we didn't think about the fact that our church's Saturday evening service is really quiet with not many kids. Luckily, Miles' 2-month-old friend Jack was also there, which meant Miles wasn't the only one making funny baby noises. Jason spent a lot of time quieting Miles in the narthex, but Miles did manage to make it through the entire sermon! Here's a pic of him in his (again, too big) church clothes, worn out from the excitement of old ladies oohing and ah-ing over him.



Miles celebrated his one-month birthday on Monday by going to the Indianapolis Indians baseball game. He was a very good boy! Contrary to my worst first-time mom fears, a foul ball did not come and land right in his car seat. ;-) Miles was awake most of the time and only fell asleep towards the very end...admit it - don't we all want to take a nap after about a few innings of baseball anyway? We were convinced we would not be able to stay long, but we managed to stay until the top of the ninth inning. Unfortunately, we left too soon. We missed when the Indians scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Columbus Clippers 3-2.