Miles is 18 Months!

Which means...NURSERY!!! To quote Dave, "This kid was made for nursery!" I walked ever so carefully to the nursery room where I anticipated there to be crying, protesting, clawing, and fighting, and there was, but not from Miles. There must have been at least three kids screaming their lungs out when we walked in, but it didn't even phase the kid. He immediately spotted a toy he wanted and went for it. I said goodbye, and he barely acknowledged I was leaving.

I checked in every time they made a rotation (from toys, to lesson/coloring, to music, and then to snack), and each time I peered through the window in the door I saw my little baby happily participating. At toys he was ever so focused on the toy he was handling, at the lesson he was coloring happily at the table and not eating the crayons, at music he was up and dancing and clapping along with the music, and at snack he was *gasp* eating the cereal and crackers and drinking from his sippy cup! When I went to pick him up, he looked at me like, "What do you want?" He actually wanted to hang out with his new buddy, one of the male nursery workers. One of his teachers said he did so great and the he was "such a laid back kid!"

He also got his first dental check up this week. Nothing really invasive, just a check up because he takes a bottle in his crib (because it's the ONLY thing that will get him to sleep...sometimes I wonder if dentists remember what it's like to have babies). His teeth looked great and then they quickly put some fluoride on his teeth. Afterwards he got a bouncy ball for being so good.

Miles has grown a lot this past month. He is starting to say more words. He will say shoes, socks, swing, and ball. His receptive language is uncanny and he follows directions pretty well. He is good at pointing at things he wants or recognizes. He has started grabbing my hand and leading me places to communicate that he wants something or to go somewhere (usually outside).

He still loves to be outside! He will spend the morning whining and crying and all I have to say is, "Want to put on your shoes?" And immediately he stops, sits down, and sticks his feet out. He LOVES shoes! Shoes mean OUTSIDE! FUN!

Miles love to imitate and do everything his brothers or Mom and Dad do. He always wants to vacuum when I vacuum. Last week it took me about a half hour to vacuum just the play room because he had to push and pull the vacuum the entire time. So I decided to just get the kid his own vacuum. Who knew I'd find one that looked EXACTLY like mine?! It's actually pretty awesome. The hose actually sucks so you can pick up small pieces of paper or popcorn. The little balls in the canister swirl around as well when you have it on the vacuum setting. It even has the attachments for the hose just like Mommy's!

Miles still is my picky eater but if I can get him to try something, he usually likes it. He'll drink water out of a sippy and he finally learned how to drink out of a straw, which comes in handy from time to time. Lately Miles LOVES balls! Even if they aren't balls (like oranges, avocados, balloons, pretty much anything with a roundish shape). He will get upset if he sees me cooking and finds that I've cut a lemon or something that he could carry around that would pass for a ball. When we are outside he likes to steal the neighbor's basketball even though I bought him his very own.

I'm sure I've told you about Miles' pouty face...it's my favorite:

But he's generally a happy kid. He loves to snuggle and play. He loves to be included when his brothers are doing things, and lights up when Jett comes into the room. In fact, Jett is his best friend these days. When we were bed shopping, Jett would keep an eye on him, hold his hand and walk around, and even pick him up and carry him. We're all big fans of Miles.

It's kind of tragic that time goes so fast. Childhood is the shortest period of time in a human life. With every bigger shoe size, every new pair of pants, and every birthday cake, a little part of my heart breaks. I love to see them grow and learn new things, but I just wish it would go slower.

New Bed!!!

Our bed is a hand-me-down that was already worn out when my parents gave it to us. We've been sleeping on that for the past three years and recently it's gotten to the point where I wake up more tired than when I went to bed, my back hurts and my body aches. I finally told Dave that I was boycotting our bed until we can get a new one. Luck has been on our side since we finally got the restitution money from our neighbor for poisoning Lucy, and RCWilley is moving their store from University Parkway to the University Mall and has all their floor models on clearance. So yesterday we grabbed Jett & Miles (Cruise was at school) and our money jar (the one we throw cash and coins into so we can spend it on something big like a vacation or a bed) and headed to Orem to get us a bed! We had a little over $1,000 in the jar and didn't want to spend too much more on a bed.

We got to RCWilley and found that they only had two King beds left and they were the pricey ones (like $3,000 after 40% off). So we had to go with a Queen. After an hour we finally decided on a Beautyrest that is adjustable (the head and feet go up) and one side is soft and the other is hard (I like soft, Dave likes hard). So we pulled out our cash and paid for the rest of it (plus the mattress protector) with a credit card. So we ended up putting a little over $600 on the credit card for the bed. But boy oh boy was it worth it! The only downside was they don't deliver the floor models, so we had to carry it up the stairs ourselves. The mattress wasn't too bad, but the frame was extremely heavy. The bed doesn't really have a box spring since it's adjustable. So the underside is like a very thin boxspring with the frame built into it with the motor and everything. We got it upstairs and I was thankful we got a comfortable one because my back killed! 

Because we had to move from a King to a Queen we had to buy new sheets and a comforter. And as luck would have it, Target was having a Home sale that very day! So I ran over to Target and was able to get a nice sheet set (600 thread count) and a comforter set that was for a really good price! 

Today I woke up and my body didn't hurt and I actually felt rested! I slept like a log. And I haven't done that in years! I told Dave that it feels like we're on vacation in a nice hotel but we get to keep the bed. Yeah, it's that good!  

I am so grateful to finally have a nice comfortable bed! Thanks Dave!

Bowling Night

Last Friday my sister-in-law Linsey was having her art show at BYU for her photography. So we thought we'd drive down to Provo and make an evening of it. We got to see Linsey's photography of India which was, of course, beautiful. Then we walked next door to the Wilk and took the kids bowling and let them play in the small arcade they had there. We actually got there and realized neither of us had brought cash for the arcade and had to break it to the kids that they couldn't play any of the games and would just be able to bowl. An older couple who were there with their grandkids handed us a twenty dollar bill and explained that they made a good living and knew that it was financially tight for young parents. They wouldn't let us refuse, but we were so grateful and the boys were happy to get to play. I hope to be able to do that for another family some day.

It was funny watching the kids bowl. Cruise either freezes in some strange position as he anticipates his ball to reach the pins, or he dances around, moving in front of the lanes to each side of ours (clearly in the way of other bowlers). Jett would walk all the way to the back of our little table and get a running start. Then he'd just sit as his ball rolled down the lane. And Miles just liked playing with the balls.

We stayed out way past their bedtime, but I guess you can do that every now and then.

Blizzard is Gone!

Every year the weather gets more and more strange and unpredictable. Just a few days ago it was snowing and hailing and not the nice kind. We're talking sideways snow. But here we are, two days later and it's t-shirt weather! We definitely had to go do something outdoors with the boys, so we visited the farm at Thanksgiving Point. Always a favorite. It's Miles' first time being big enough to run around, feed animals, and enjoy the pony ride. It was just nice to be out with my boys.

I thought it would be a good idea to have the boys stand or sit in front of the donkey pen...that way it could come up behind them and goose them.

Every time we go to the Farm Country, the boys always have to buy a carton of chocolate milk. I guess because there is an exhibit on pasteurization and how milk ends up at the store. So it just makes sense to buy some milk.

I hope the nice weather stays for awhile.