Miles Is 2!

The year went by too quickly! Since his last birthday, Miles is walking, talking and charming us with his sweet and silly personality. Here are a few pictures from his party yesterday:

He loved the balloons so much that he carried them around the house and yard.

"What was the best part of your party, Miles?" "Cake!" he said.

Cupcakes with the cousins

Silly Grandpa

A new water toy? Yes, please!

See all of his monthly photo here.

23 Months

When we weren't looking, Miles turned into a little boy. His vocabulary has exploded, he climbs, he jumps. Other developments in the last month:

• He uses three-word sentences, such as "I want eat" and "No play G." 
• He counts to 5.
• At the airport on our way to Telluride, he stood by the moving walkway, waved and yelled, "Hi, people!"as travelers went by, which got him lots of attention. Which he loved.
• He also says "Hello Daddy" and "Hello Mommy." 
• He climbed halfway out of his crib at home before crying for help, but he climbed out of his travel crib in Colorado again and again.
• He knows many of his colors thanks to Grant, who loves to teach him. 

Previous monthly photos are here.

22 Months

It's hard to believe we're nearing an end to Miles' first two years. He's grown so quickly from a sleepy baby to a busy, crazy toddler.

New this month, Miles:

• Had his first real haircut.
• Has been waking up several times a night, simply to snuggle. He howls until we come in his room, then demands that we "rock, rock" in the chair. After a minute or two, he points to his bed and says "night, night." This routine is making everyone a little tired. 
• Has been interacting more with Grant, not always in ways we like. He often walks over to Grant, smacks him on the head and runs away. He has also learned how to argue with G. A typical conversation:
• Grant: "Miles, should we go to the park?"
• Miles: "Uh-Uh."
• G: "But I want to go to the park!"
• M: "Uh-uh."
• G: {Crying} 
• Is starting to string words together into his first sentences, such as: "Momma bye-bye," "More please," and "Da-da, up."
• He also has lots of new words, including "elephant" and "apple."
• Is impossible to discipline. When I speak to him in a stern voice, he bats his eyes and smiles at me, and I laugh every time. 
• When he sees someone new, says "Hi-i-i-i-i" in his cutest, flirtiest voice. 

Previous monthly photos are here.

21 Months

Lately Miles has been an explosion of words {though maybe only Kent and I understand them}. He's finally at a point that he expresses his needs quite well.

Also in the past month, Miles:

• Mimics our sounds and words. For example as I was changing his diaper recently, I said, "Oh my!" which he repeated over and over perfectly clearly. 
• Has other new words including: up, down, more, please, thank you and choo-choo.
• Had his first major fall. He tumbled out of his wagon head first onto the pavement. He had a nasty looking gash on his forehead and chin, but otherwise was fine. It is sure to be the first of many falls.
• Tells us when his diaper needs to be changed. This is supposed to be a sign of potty-training readiness, but I am so not ready.
• Is wearing clothes that Grant was in just last year.
• Climbs over the couch, swings on the underside of the table and climbs the big-boy ladders on the playground {See accidents waiting to happen, above.}
• Is still extra sweet on his momma. He plays hard, but takes breaks to give me big hugs and kisses.
• Runs as fast as he can down the street anytime we need to go somewhere.

In short, he is a chatty, sweet handful.

More monthly photos here.

20 Months

New this month, Miles:

• Has a number of new words, including "I did it!", "splash" and "ocean."
• Has shown that he is a nap-fighter, refusing sleep while on vacation, probably afraid to miss anything.
• Has become a major momma's boy. When in need of comfort, he lays his head on my shoulder and fiddles with my hair. He also has abundant hugs and open mouth kisses.
• Drinks from a big boy cup just like his brother. There are a few spills, which are often intentional -- an excuse to "splash!"

Previous monthly photos can be found here.

19 Months

What's new with Miles:

• He has multiple new teeth, which seemed to sprout overnight. 
• We've been taking Baby and Me swim classes recently. He loves it, especially blowing bubbles and jumping in the water.
• His new words include "giraffe" and "book."
• His two favorite things are playing with trains and reading stories in the chair in his room.
• We trimmed his crazy blond curls; thankfully the curls remain.

Previous monthly photos can be found here.

18 Months

My wild child is 1.5! The bigger he gets, the bigger his personality gets. He is loud, silly, rambunctious, ornery and fearless. He's also loving and extremely helpful.

In the past month, he:

• Cut two molars, finally.
• Loves to lay on the floor on his tummy looking at picture books. It's just about the cutest thing.
• Is able to climb on most furniture by himself.
• Loves to push the small stick vacuum around the house, and insists that we also mop when we're done.
• Often wants to pull out the kitchen stool while Kent or I am cooking to "help" with whatever we're doing.
• Has developed some sweet dance moves. Pictures to come.
• Is really into trains.
• Has a few new words, including "uh-oh," "choo-choo" and "tiptoe" {from a favorite book}.
• Hit Grant one day, and immediately went over to the step to put himself in time out. {Maybe he's seen Grant do this a few times?}
• Has grown quite a mop of blond hair, which I just can't bring myself to cut, even though he is often mistaken for a little girl when we are out and about. His crazy hair seems to fit his personality at the moment.

Previous monthly photos can be found here.

Update from his 18-month checkup: He weighs 24 pounds (42 percentile) and is 33 inches tall (62 percentile).

17 Months

In the past month, Miles:

• Played in the snow for the first time and hated it.
• Has been emulating his brother in more ways. A few examples: He likes to sit at the table like a big boy, wants to dress himself in the morning and pretends to use the potty.
• Has unfortunately become a biter. We think this is either a sign that he's teething {he hasn't gotten any new teeth in many months} or he's found a defense mechanism.
• Has a few new words, including "sorry" {see above} and "thank you." 
• Continues to have very strong opinions, ranging from what books we're reading to what we're having for dessert.

Previous monthly photos are here.

16 Months

Another month older! This past month, Miles:

• Had his first haircut: just a trim.
• Has added a few more words to his vocabulary, including "ball," and several animal sounds like "moo" and "roar." But his favorite word seems to be "no."
• Has grown attached to a soft white blanket, which he sleeps with at night and insists on carrying around the house. Grant has his thumb, Miles his blanket.
• Started to do more climbing: on chairs, couches and tables. Occasionally as I'm cooking dinner, I'll look over and see Miles standing on the dining table. 
• Has grown more interested in art materials, especially Play-Doh, crayons and chalk.
• Is interacting more with Grant. Not only do they play together, but they have conversations, which often sound like this: 

Grant: "Miles, are you my friend?" 

Miles: "No!" 

G: "Mom, Miles is not my friend." 

Me: "Of course he is; he's your best friend." 

G: "Miles, are you my best friend?" 

Miles: "Yeah."

15 Months

Miles continues to keep us busy and make us laugh. This past month, he:

• Seems to enjoy reading books with us more and more. He often picks a favorite book from the living room shelf and plops down on my lap to read. Current favorites include Go Dog, Go!, Goodnight Moon and That's Not My Puppy.
• Worked the room at baby storytime at the library when we went a few weeks ago. He walked around to each child in the room, touched him or her on the shoulder and bent down to make eye contact and smile. He is proving to be more social and fearless in social situations. 
• Had his first real sickness other than a cold. A viral infection in his throat left him feeling pretty miserable and unable to eat anything but ice cream for four days. He whined a lot and wanted to be held most of the time. We felt his misery.
• Is a great helper around the house. He cleans up after meals by picking up crumbs under his highchair and throwing them in the garbage. He also helps put dishes away by handing them to me from the dishwasher.
• Very distinctly says "mine, mine" and "no"--often when his brother is present. 
• Is taking more interest in TV, especially Sesame Street, which he'll watch for 10 minutes or more sitting on the couch next to Grant. As much as I've tried to protect the kids from too much TV time {especially Miles}, it's so sweet to see them sitting side-by-side enjoying something.
• Has finally adjusted to just one nap in the afternoon, and as a result is sleeping longer at night.

14 Months: Growing and Changing

This month, Miles weighs 21 pounds and has seven teeth. He has been out-eating Grant at every meal, clearly trying to catch up to his brother. In other developments:

• He's in the process of dropping a nap: from two to just one.
• He's getting very good at going up and down the stairs -- and wants to do it all the time.
• He's obsessed with dogs.When he wakes up in the morning, he wants to look out the window at the neighbor's dogs; when he goes to bed, he waves good-night to them.
• His favorite toy is a wooden racetrack. He loves to drop the little cars and watch them zig-zag down the ramp.
• Meals are extra messy as he's working on his pitching arm. We've all been hit in the face at least once by a grape, banana, bowl or spoon.
• He thinks his "Da-Da" is the funniest, most fun guy in the world. But he still loves to snuggle with his mama.

13 Months: All Personality

Miles won't sit still enough to pose him in the chair in his room anymore, but the monthly updates will continue. He's still changing and growing so much each month.

This past month:

• He started walking.
• His word recognition and communication skills have grown. He points, nods, yells and follows simple directions. 
• He wants to do exactly what his older brother is doing. If Grant is sitting on the couch, Miles must sit on the couch. If Grant is eating with a fork, Miles must eat with a fork. Right. Now.{And he's actually pretty good with the fork!}
• He does his own version of "Crazy Baby."
• His personality, and more specifically, the feisty side of his personality has shown itself. When angry, frustrated or simply in need of something, he often screams and throws himself on the ground until help is secured or his need is met. Maybe this is a survival tactic of a second child.

12 Month Baby M

It's true what they say about second children: they grow up faster than the first. We can't fathom that a year has already gone by. He weighs 19 pounds, 2 ounces (16th percentile), and measures 30 inches (55th percentile). He still has six teeth, and seems to be working on a few more. He amazes us with his awareness and sociability.

What he's been up to this month:

• He gives kisses and hugs.
• In addition to climbing up the stairs, he now climbs down them.
• He takes about three steps at a time before falling down. 
• He seems to understand more and more of what we say: He responds to words like water, hungry, ball, etc., with a nod or head shake. He also can identify his nose, mouth and hair.
• He's enamored with dogs, mimicking their sounds and reaching out whenever he sees one.
• He's proving to be quite opinionated, letting us know with no uncertainty how he feels about something. 
• He still loves to eat, especially fruit like peaches and blueberries.
• One of his favorite things to do is put basketballs in the hoop in the playroom. He seems to have a natural inclination toward balls and sports.
• These days he likes books, but mostly ones that have interesting textures or animal sounds. He has little patience for stories.
• He is quite social, and always has smiles for older women.

11 Month Baby M

He can't possibly be nearly 1! A few developments this month:

• He scoots along furniture.
• He loves to walk around holding hands or pushing a walker.
• Not only does he want to go up the stairs, but he loves to go down them holding our hands.
• He's becoming more expressive and opinionated: pointing when he wants something; whining when he doesn't.
• He says "duck" and "dog," which basically sound the same. 
• He nods his head, "yes," and shakes his head, "no."
• He helps put toys away. When we say, "time to clean up," he puts toys into his toy basket.
• He loves to read books, as long as he can turn the pages. Current favorites include "Barnyard Dance," "Goodnight Moon," and "In My Tree."

Past monthly photos:

10 Month Baby M

This picture is basically 10 months in a nutshell. Miles is much too busy to sit still these days. He stands up at every opportunity: in his crib, in the bathtub, on the changing table. He's starting to find his balance and will occasionally stand with no hands. He recently spied Grant pushing his wagon in the front yard, and so Miles crawled over to a walker-toy and pushed it, grinning, across the yard. Just like Grant.

He weighs between 17 and 18 pounds. He has two more teeth, bringing his total to six. He's down to only two feedings a day, and eats mostly table foods. He waves and blows kisses.

9 Month Baby M

Miles weighs 16 pounds, 15 ounces (9th percentile) and is 27.75 inches (24th percentile). He's keeping us on our toes these days. New this past month, he:

• Cut his first FOUR teeth in the span of about three weeks. This made him pretty crabby.
• Crawls faster every day, but wants to do nothing more than stand up.
• Figured out how to climb the stairs. Oh boy.
• Babbles "da da," "ma ma" and I swear he said "Grant" the other day.
• Loves playing peekaboo.
• Waves bye-bye.
• Mimics our actions, like playing drums on the table.
• Is very interested in his brother's toys. Forget baby toys; he wants the big-boy stuff: trains, cars and Teddy Bear.

Earlier:

8 Month Baby M

He weighs about 17 pounds and still has zero teeth. New this past month, Miles:

• Started crawling.
• Learned to move from a sitting position to a crawling position, and vice versa.
• Pulls himself into a standing position at the base of the stairs.
• Has become impossible to dress because he wiggles so much. It's like trying to lasso a bull.
• Has started feeding himself Cheerios and other finger foods.
• Has been eating like a champ. Grant has always been a great eater, but we can hardly keep enough food in the house to feed Miles. He loves everything, even cauliflower and asparagus.
• Claps his hands.
• Does "so big."
• Has started to mimic the sounds that his brother makes. This makes for very noisy mealtimes some days.
• Smiles, smiles, smiles.{Ok, this isn't new.}

One of these days I'll have to publish some outtakes from these monthly photo shoots. Here's a favorite from yesterday:

And here are the previous months' photos:

7 Month Baby M

This month, Baby M weighs about 16 pounds. He's perfecting many of the things he started last month like sitting up, eating and moving around. He's sleeping better--going 8 to12 hours many nights. {Bliss!} Still no teeth. And while we worry every day that he's going to crawl, he's hasn't figured it out quite yet.

6 Month Baby M

How has it been six months already? This month Baby M weighs 15 pounds, 7 ounces (13th percentile), and is 27 inches tall (68th percentile). It feels like so much has changed in the past month:

• He can sit up on his own.
• At night, after laying him down on his back, he rolls over onto his tummy and sleeps on his stomach. {But he's still getting up once or twice a night to nurse.}
• He recently has been getting up on all fours as if he's going to crawl. {And I'm literally begging him not to crawl. Not yet.}
• He's been tasting solid foods. So far he's had pureed apple, banana, avocado, sweet potato, butternut squash, zucchini and pear.
• He loves bathtime with his brother. We put the baby bathtub in the tub with G, and M concentrates as hard as he can on kicking and splashing.
• He's becoming more vocal. We're so used to hearing G talk and talk and talk, and all of a sudden, M is making more sounds of his own. 
• He's more aware of familiar faces, and more wary of strangers.
• He's getting more hair. It looks like it's mostly blond like his brother, though he has a shock of brown on top. His hair was brown when he was born.
• He's obsessed with George the Cat. Whenever he is in the room, M follows him with his gaze, giggling, smiling and cooing at him.

5 Month Baby M

This month, Baby M weighs nearly 15.5 pounds. He is obsessed with his toes, baths and his big brother. If the two boys are near each other, M grabs for G and giggles. G thinks it's quite funny too. In other developments, M entertains himself for longer stretches of time, happily chewing on any toys he can get his hands on.

{This post is a few days late because we took our first family vacation last week--pictures to come.}