Baseball and the Big Boy Bed

Miles' latest adventure in growing up? The switch to the Big Boy Bed!!



"Hmmm...", you may ponder, "that doesn't look like a very big Big Boy Bed." You would be right, Sir (or Madam). Because we have overnight guests so frequently, we decided to maximize our sleeping situation and get Miles a bed with a trundle underneath to sleep extra guests (visits from cousins, perhaps?). Rather than getting one of those funky bed rails, we're just going with the trundle bed only for a little while to give Miles time to adjust.

He's doing amazingly well and hasn't fallen out of bed once! The first night, he woke up at about 1am, asked for his friend Scout, then went back to sleep after a little bedtime music. He slept all the way until the morning and piped, "Mommy, Daddy! It's light outside! Come get me!" He's been a little more adventurous in the days following and now gets out of the bed. Then, he either pounds on the door or makes an annoying noise with the door stop until we come and get him. Next up: working on getting him to (quietly) play on his own for a while. Oh yeah, and buying some of those doorknob covers before he figures out how to bust of the joint. Don't call it cruel and unusual...we got the idea from our pediatrician.

In other news, we've been loving the baseball lately. Here's Miles usual chant:

Miles attended his first Major League game - Reds vs. Cubs. We had great seats - unfortunately, Miles/Daddy/Uncle Davy only lasted 2 innings there because of the 90+ degree heat that day. That topped my record of about 2 pitches...and Aunt KK/Lyla/Nana never even made it to the seats! We still had enjoyed out time together in the nice air-conditioned restaurant at the stadium.

We also took a road trip with the Indians to their away game at the Louisville Bats' home turf. We had fun with Uncle David and Aunt Hilary, even though they kept trying to convert Miles to a Bats fan.



Miles has taken to an obsession of playing ball at every chance he gets. He loves to pitch to you and gets very particular if you're not on your knees like a catcher. He also likes to run "the bases", which means making the circle from our family room, to the kitchen, to the dining room, and back. It's been over 90 degrees here for a very long time, so we make some creative fun indoors! He also is still loving singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and even makes up new words for different sports. "Take Me Out the to Foo-ball game...buy me some mashed potatoes and french fries too."

He should come back singing all about "Take Me Out to the Races" soon. He's there now with Granny, Grandpa, and Aunt Ashley, and I can't wait to see him and hear his stories!

Story Time

Warning: This post is for hard core Miles fans only. The following videos are full of cuteness but can get very long. You may want to skip to the A Cliff's Notes Fortnight if you're a bit timid. For those intermediate users still jonesing for a video, I recommend Caterpillar #2.


Miles has always loved books, but he recently has taken to reciting some of his favorites. The first, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, was a "gift" from cousin Lyla. OK, so Lyla left it by accident, Miles fell in love with it, and never gave it back.

Caterpillar Part I:

Caterpillar Part II:

He also like "Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?" Or, as Miles likes to say, "what you do see?" His favorite is "Ball Geegle" (Bald Eagle).

A Fortnight in Review

We all know you're just here to see pictures - who needs a long diatribe by me? So...here they are.

At "Daddy's" Parade (aka the Morristown Derby Days parade) with Aunt Ashley. Miles loved the marching band (of course), boys in cars, police cars, and was slightly amused/confused at the people throwing him candy.



At the State Fair on the carousel with Papa. Miles loved the marching bands (of course) and horses but was thoroughly freaked out when we almost crashed him into a cow with his stroller.



At the Indians game with Jen. Miles loved finally getting to eat Cracker Jacks, singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game", and eating Strawberry Italian Ice (and getting a red tongue!).

Music of Maestro Miles

It's Band Camp week, and Jason is working 14 hour days. How does Miles celebrate? By pulling out his Terrible Two toddler traits to the max, of course! I've gotten my fair share of reminders about what I don't like about being a mom - screaming, tantrums, hitting, and refusals to do anything I ask. So, I'm now going to turn up the cheese on this post to remind me what I DO like (love!) about being Miles' mom.

Miles attended his first symphony concert last week and loved it! You free spirits out there might be thinking, "Those music snobs dressed their child up in a mini-tuxedo, paraded him downtown, and made him sit in an uncomfortable chair for three hours to listen to Russian funeral music?" No. We had plans to go to Symphony at the Park - a family-friendly, pull-up-your-lawn-chair-in-the-grass, break-out-your-bottle-of-wine (or sippy of milk) kind of a show. Unfortunately, we got rained out and watched the show in the local high school gym, but that didn't mean Miles enjoyed it any less.

He really loved clapping after each song, but also he became to be quiet the critic. Strangely, he said he was scared after Copland's Rodeo, but he "really liked" Holst's Mars. He also informed us that his ol' pal Snuggie Bear thought that the Shostakovich was a "really pretty song" and "cool".

So, Miles is now connoisseur of orchestral music, but he's also a traditionally-trained vocalist. Here are some of his vocal stylings:

First, a flavor of Mozart with Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Please ignore the unfinished tune, plus the diaper-shirt combo (we were on our way to bed, people!).

Next, the Wheels on the Bus. Not quite sure why the "driver on the bus says swish, swish, swish"...

This is an interesting variation on "Old McDonald". In the version, he has a gummi bear, which just happens to be what Miles gets when he goes pee on the potty.

Now, to add a little religious fare:

And this one even includes choreography:

Miles also is a bit of a composer. A few months ago, way back when we had a harder time understanding him, Miles kept singing a song that went "Dub dub dye...sit down!" We could never figure out what it was. Miles now informs us that he and Colin made the song up. He still sings it at least 3 times a week.

Whew! I feel better now!

Hot Diggety Fourth

The 4th holiday was actually our 5th weekend traveling...out of 6 weeks! We are definitely old pros by now at packing up the car, the boy, and the pup. The cleanliness state of our car, however, has yet to recover.

We had a great down-home Kentucky 4th with the Kahls. Miles got to start the fun by dancing to the tunes that Grandpa put together for the family reunion, featuring one of Granny's "kin."

We went to the Bowling Green Hot Rods Single A baseball game. What a nice little park! Miles enjoyed the game and had lots of fun saying "Hey Batter Batter Batter!"


They had fireworks following the game, which was a major shock to Miles' system! Being that the set them off on the field right in front of us, they were ridiculously noisy - even more so for a first-timer! Jason and I immediately put our hands over his ears. When I tried to adjust my awkwardly-placed hand a few minutes in, Miles clamped down on it with his hands and wouldn't let go! I think that three pairs of hands blocking out the noise probably did better than any set of ear plugs.

The next night's attempt at fireworks was much more successful. We decided to watch them from the state park, at least a mile away from where they were setting them off. On the way, we stopped at the cutest little kitschy antique store/ice cream shop/roadside attraction. Check out the Wiener family!


Miles did much better with the fireworks the second time around, and loved playing "ball" (bocce) with the boys and Ashley beforehand. He was also so impressed by the glow necklace someone gave him. This isn't his best picture, but it shows his elusive and adorable dimple:



The weekend ended on time for Mommy and Daddy, but Miles got an extended vacation out of it! Granny had the following week off, so he stayed and hung out more with the Kahls for a couple of days - the first time he'd slept away from home for two nights! It was also the first time that Jason and I had been in our house overnight without Miles - SO weird. We missed him way more than he probably missed us. We loved hearing his stories about the sprinkler and dancing with Grover at the Louisville Science Center.

It's been a great summer so far - lots of travels but the chance to hang out with so many people that we love. We're looking forward to a quiet remainder of the summer at home!

Days of Cousins and Daddies

With all of the birthday hullabaloo, I thought Miles might have a bit of a hard time sharing the spotlight. Thankfully, he's realized that other people can get cakes and presents and special days too.

Miles got to start slowly with Father's Day. Daddy picked bowling as his special day activity, so Miles got to throw his first bowling ball (with the help of a ramp and bumpers). His first time out, he scored a 55! He did great with Daddy's help:


(Sorry about the sideways version...too lazy and too slow of a computer to figure out how to turn it.)

Miles passed the true test of sharing when we celebrated his cousin Lyla's first birthday. He only had a couple of meltdowns when the other kids touched his toys, and it helped the there were so many other people there to keep him distracted. As it turns out, Miles benefited from lots of sharing from others. Lyla's cousin Isaac shared his squirt guns - perfect for such a hot day:


And Lyla even shared her brand new birthday present - a wagon for two (or three):


Some even better news - Miles will soon have one more cousin with whom to practice his sharing skills. Uncle David and Aunt Hilary are having a baby just in time for Christmas! Miles is convinced it's a boy, but we'll have to wait a few more weeks to find out. I've loved every minute of being an aunt to Lyla, so we can't wait to spoil one more.

I Ride That!

We had a great week on vacation up at the lake. Lots of trips to the lake, lots of walks, and lots of Nana and Papa time.

One of the highlights was our trip to Cedar Point, which turned out to be the perfect day. It was supposed to rain that afternoon, so we figured we'd go for a couple hours in the morning, then head home when the weather got bad. Well, it never did get bad! Cool, breezy, and no crowds!

We didn't have horribly high hopes that Miles would be into Cedar Point, after his luke warm tolerance last year. When we first walked in, it took about 30 minutes before he even wanted to get out of his stroller. Apparently, he just wanted to take it all in. Finally, we convinced him to ride the "Snoopy Cars", and he loved it!



He was so pumped full of adrenaline afterward, that he immediately stepped out of the car and shouted, "I ride that!". Of course, he was pointing to Cedar Point's tallest and fastest ride, Top Thrill Dragster. Jason wouldn't even ride that with me (that's not saying much though).

After that, he was unstoppable. We rode the swings, and he even dug one of those horrible spinny rides with Daddy:


We were lucky enough that N & P picked Miles up and took him home for his afternoon nap. That gave Jason and me some time to ride the big kid rides. The longest we waited: 20 minutes for Millennium Force. By the time we rode everything we wanted, we were ready to see Miles again. I think we had much more fun watching him ride things than riding them ourselves! Once Miles had his siesta, Nana and G-Grandma brought him back for some more fun.

We watched "Snoopy on Ice" and cuddled with the Snoopy statue:



He rode in about every type of vehicle you could imagine:




Our grand finale was a big step in the Cedar Point bravery development...for Daddy. Being afraid of heights, I could never get Jason on the Giant Ferris Wheel. Once we saw that the "thrill rating" for the ferris wheel was less than the thrill rating for some of the kiddie rides, I finally emasculated Jason enough into riding it. Surprisingly, he admitted it wasn't as bad as he thought! He even had his wits together enough to snap this picture:



The rest of the non-Cedar Point week was great as well. We went to the Marblehead Lighthouse a few times, and there were lots of naps. Miles stayed overnight with Nana and Papa and was a very good boy while we spend the night in the exciting town of Cleveland.



"If the whole world moved to their favorite vacation spots, then the whole world would live in Hawaii and Italy and Cleveland."

Toddlers Take Over Lake Erie

I think part of the reason why it's taken me a while to post is that I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the fun things we've been doing - good problem to have right?

So, baby steps, baby steps, baby steps...a quick one about the lake fun we had with the Kid Crew.

Becky, Cory, and Will came up first - it gave Will and Miles a chance for some male bonding over a soccer game in preparation for the World Cup.


Besides sports, what else do males bond over? Techie gadgets, of course! Here are Will and Miles, checking out cartoons on the iPhone (aka Crack for Toddlers).


Heidi, Darren, and Janelle arrived a little later, and that's when the real fun with three toddlers began! Sadly, this is best picture I have of all three kids together - eating breakfast in their jammies. We were way too busy to think about taking a group photo - we were occupied with breaking up fights, soothing temper tantrums, and stopping kids from pulling down their pants (that kid shall remain anonymous).


The highlight of the visit was our visit to East Harbor Beach. I had zero hope that Miles would go in the water, but he proved us wrong! He still preferred the beach and got a little miffed the couple of times he fell down, but he didn't totally hate it either.


Janelle and Miles eating fistfuls of Cheesy Poofs - and even bigger fistfuls of sand:


Janelle's dad, Darren, will not allow her to date until she's 35, so I can't refer to her as Miles' girlfriend. Photographic evidence may speak 999 other words:


What a great time with great friends!