I managed to carry my camera around yesterday, along with a little baby, a car (the plastic kind), a toddler and sometimes a bike (not pictured). Life's sure full, and lazy and crazy all at the same time. Happy 10 on 10!
September 11, 2014
August 13, 2014
July 10, 2014
10 on 10: July
This month we are essentially staying at my mom's house while our kitchen is being remodeled. It's been a blessing for sure--Miles loves his Nana. But today was also one of those days--full of tantrums and exhaustion (so I thought, why not capture it too?). We are lucky to have our friend, Lizzy, in town and just around the corner though. Hopping in to little Fin's 2nd birthday celebration was certainly a light at the end of the day. :) Happy 10th everybody!
June 22, 2014
Pregnancy This Time
Sometimes I wonder how I haven't yet documented this pregnancy, but then I see photos like this. This little guy keeps me busy. But, wow, I'm really at 32 weeks already!
It is also true that pregnancy seems to go by a little faster the second time. At times I truly forget that I'm pregnant (not as much these days though). This first bump shot was around 22 weeks, not too long after we found out that we're having a girl.
We were pretty excited to find out that Miles will have a little sister. Steve and I both had a feeling she was a girl, but would have also loved the idea of brothers. Of course, now that we're getting closer, we're all pretty thrilled to have a little girl join our family.
It wasn't until recently that Miles started to seem to understand what we mean when we talk about the baby. He now points to my belly and says "baby" and sometimes "sister." We point out other young babies to him, and although he doesn't show a great interest in them, we're hoping that he will find his own little sister more intriguing.
This pregnancy has been different in some ways. At the beginning, I felt a little sick throughout the day, especially when I had little food in my stomach. Gatorade and hard candies helped, and thankfully, I never really got sick to my stomach. It was just a little more "blah" than I had felt with Miles. I was also very tired. Those waves of fatigue are tough, especially when watching an energetic toddler. Frequent bloody noses returned (I had these with my first pregnancy too), and I finally decided to get my nose cauterized (it would be the third time in my life). Not a fun experience at all, but it's been worth it!
I had pretty vivid dreams and craved ice cream, Asian noodles, and other sweets (Talenti gelato bars are my favorite). These were the same things that sounded good to me when I was pregnant with Miles, and, if I'm honest, sound good to me pretty much all of the time. :)
Just like they say, the second trimester was the best. I started to feel better, had more energy, and loved feeling the baby move more. I noticed that she rolled and kicked the most when I would lie down at night, and I started to look forward to this "time alone" with her. While lying in bed, I imagine what she'll look like, how she'll be the same or different than Miles, and what it will be like to have a daughter.
When we went down to Santa Barbara last May, I had Steve snap another bump shot at the beach. It was fun to compare this one to a very similar shot in Hawaii, about two years ago. I was around 25 weeks in each of these.
Ah yes, and then there's the third trimester. This was a few weeks ago, at 30 weeks. I just look tired. And that's pretty much how I sum up how I'm feeling when people ask me: good! But tired. Overall, I have nothing major to complain about, but since this is a chance to document (and I want to be honest, right?), my tailbone and lower back hurt, and it takes a lot more effort to carry myself and the extra weight around. Now that summer is here, I am looking forward to starting a new plan--one that includes lots of walking, yoga, and massage (hey, my doctor gave me a prescription).
I'm also hoping to have a little time to rearrange Miles's room, and eventually turn it in to a space that he can share with his sister. It will be a little while until baby girl sleeps in her own crib, but I'm having fun thinking of ways to keep the room mostly neutral, with a little bit of pink thrown in. I'd call my inspiration "geometric." :)
So, the countdown is on. A little less than 2 months to go. On my to-do list: packing up the kitchen for a remodel in a week or so, and beginning to organize/store baby clothes. Here's to a productive, fun, hopefully-relaxing-at-times summer!
June 20, 2014
Catching Up: 19-22 Months
I'm catching up on many months with Miles, who, I must say, is a true toddler. Over the past 3-4 months, we've seen him grow and change more than ever before. There's so much to love about this age, and at the same time, it's incredibly exhausting. One thing I never knew about toddlers (or maybe chose not to hear) was that they may abuse you. Pulling hair, grabbing your face, or accidentally smacking you in a tantrum is a real thing. And those tantrums can be hard to predict--sometimes even harder to solve. But the heartwarming and awesome moments definitely (usually) outweigh the bad. Many nights, Steve and I feel like we need to debrief the happenings of the day with Miles--the new words, the tantrums, the parenting choices, and the funny moments. There are so many at this stage!
First, some basic, estimated stats. Since he hasn't been to the doctor since 18 months, I'm not sure how much Miles weighs. He does have a long torso and wears mostly 2T clothes. He eats like crazy one day, and hardly wants to touch his meals the next. His favorite foods are Lara bars, rice cakes, berries, smoothies, most meats, beans, peas, corn, pizza, and milk. Not much has changed there, and I'm always on the hunt for new foods for him to try. The other night I succeeded in getting him excited about his broccoli ("look! trees!"), and at least for the time being, this is also a favorite.
Miles is still pretty serious, but laughs the most when we tickle him or say words that he thinks are funny. He'll repeat the word--like "scoot"--over and over, cracking up as he says it. He has a few funny faces, like his scrunched up nose face and furrowed brow.
At the end of April, Miles and I took a trip to Arizona to meet up with my grandparents, mom and sister. Surprisingly, he loved the pool (he had seemed skeptical the last time we tried) and talked all the time about "Nana" "swimming" "kicks" and "purple" (the noodle). I don't know what it was about the trip, but by the end of the weekend, Miles's vocabulary was beginning to take off. He started repeating what we said, naming characters (he loves Richard Scarry books about "Huckle"), and recognizing some letters and colors.
While in Arizona, we found a little farm in the middle of the dessert. "Tractor" became the newest obsession, and Miles still talks about "driving" it in Arizona.
Just a week later, we headed to Santa Barbara for Steve's sister's graduation. After back to back weeks on airplanes and at airports, Miles really became interested in planes (and any other vehicles really). He loves all things with wheels--taxis, buses, planes, trucks, diggers, motorcycles--and carries his toy vehicles with him everywhere we go. The beach in SB was also fascinating to him, and without Steve holding him back, Miles would have taken off, right into the waves.
One of my favorite things about being a parent is watching Miles get excited about new things. When he's amazed by something, smiling, laughing, or desperately trying to tell someone else about it, the happiness is contagious.
Miles has also become more affectionate and asks for hugs and holds our hands often. These signs of attachment are endearing, but also problematic when we leave for work. Lately, he says "Back!" (come back) and "Hug!" "Promise!" usually getting a little teary as we go. Other times, it like he's the boss of the house, shouting commands like "No! Don't!" or "Get it!" and "Kiss it!" (when he bumps or falls). I'm trying to take advantage of these moments and teach him to use please (he says "peeeeeeas" in a high pitch voice) and thank you ("tank too").
Overall, I'm the most amazed at the speed in which Miles is learning and changing each day. He remembers so much, wants to talk and narrate everything he does, and is better able to adjust to new experiences (something that has been hard for him) as long as I get him excited about some aspect of it. For example, we've been really trying to get him to transition out of his too-small whale tub. It dawned on me that getting him excited about swimming could do the trick. Now at night we get ready to "go swimming" in the big tub and he hops right in.
Miles's interests are really changing all the time, but right now, he's a huge fan of "mowing" (when he first received this toy mower, he spent at least an hour straight mowing the lawn in the back yard), "driving" (sitting the in front seat, playing with the steering wheel and listening to music), "gee-tar" and "pano" (strumming the guitar and playing the piano). In the last few days, he's been loving his stuffed animals as well, asking for each one to read with him, or "nap" with him in his crib.
He really cracks us up. Miles loves to talk about people he knows and associate particular experiences or sayings with them. When we ask him what his Aunt Robin says, he exclaims, "whaaaat??" and "hi bud" for his Uncle Josh. He'll introduce himself to perfect strangers, patting his chest and saying "My-wuls" multiple times. He points to shiny trucks on the street and says "Nice! New one!" as if admiring them. And of course there are the funny words that he's somehow picked up (probably learned from his dad ;) ) like "bum" "naked" and "toot."
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