Bond of Brothers

For the longest while after Miles was born,

I wondered if these boys would ever get along.

I mean, I know a newborn can't do much

besides eat, sleep, and poop

(which are mostly independent activities)

but Max was not the most, well...kind to Miles.

It seemed he thrived on poking/pushing/hitting Miles until he cried.

(For the longest time, Miles just tolerated it which only made matters worse.)

But in the last month or so, a switch has flipped.

Seriously, these boys are now pretty inseparable.

(Well, except for the fact that Max can totally walk away...)

 

 We still have our moments, though.

Just the other day Max intentionally pushed Miles,
and afterwards when he was getting "the talk" in time out,
Clay asked him what he liked about Miles.
Max replied, "I like that he makes me laugh."
*melt*

Miles has been (mostly) sleeping at night in the crib in their room 

for over a month now.

On the mornings Max wakes to find the crib empty, 

he immediately comes to find us with a very distraught 

"WHERE DID MILES GO???" :)

It will be very interesting once Miles is able to weigh in on things...


My prayer is that the Lord will bond these brothers together with the purest and strongest love,

that they will refine each other "as iron sharpens iron"

and that the Lord will use them to teach each other new things.

It can only get better from here. :)

Eight Months

Was that the shortest month or what?!!!

I cannot believe we are already celebrating

the eight-month mark with this busy boy:

 

 

 

These days Miles tips the scales at about 21 1/2 pounds.

My guess is that he is approaching 30 inches long.

Clay has advised me not to purchase any more size 3 diapers.

They still fit Miles, but it's nice to have a little extra room in the 4s. :)

Also, I pulled out the 12-month summer clothes the other day,

some of which ALREADY FIT YOU. I am in denial.

For whatever reason, Miles started sleeping better this month.

We had three (or four?) nights where he slept from bedtime about 7:00pm

until 6:30am without so much as a peep. And in the boys' room!

Then RSV hit and the cough that won't go away (which is still plaguing you)

and an ear infection and THREE new teeth... but we will call it an improvement!

Naps are still going really well - even when you decide to practice

your pulling up skills in the middle, you will usually go back to sleep.

Solids have taken a bit of a hit this month with all the sickness.

You are just about back to your pre-sicky amounts

but I feel like these days you don't want to mess with the mushy stuff.

I have been giving you more and more finger foods -

small cubes of canteloupe or blueberry halves, crumbly biscuit pieces or pancake strips,

even some soft sweet potato fries or roasted broccoli florets.

You really enjoy feeding yourself, even if more of it ends up in your bib pocket than your mouth!

He is BUSY. Oh so busy.

It wasn't long after Miles started crawling

that he decided pulling up was his new fave.

Crawling is now only a means to get to something

which he can pull up on.

I am sooooo out of practice with childproofing

and really have to watch Miles - we might have less face plants

if Mama would be more vigilant.

Miles has learned to shake his head no,

which is pretty hilarious...although slightly less so

when I am coming at him with a spoonful of food.

He is also pretty good at copying Big Brother's

less-desirable habits (like banging on the table).

This little guy is also starting to exercise that voice of his.

"Da da" is the most popular, but we've been getting all kinds of other consonants.

Oh, and the squeals. (Again, we've got Max to thank for that one.)

Although Miles is becoming more independent,

he still has many moments where he DOES NOT want to be far from

Mommy or Daddy's arms. And we are okay with that. :)

 

 

What a spunky little chunk!

We fall in love with this blue-eyed babe more each day.

Seven Months

This last month has just flown by

and I cannot believe our littlest man is

already seven months old (two weeks ago...)!

By my estimation, Miles weighs about 20 pounds

and measures about 28 inches long.

I dress him in primarily 9 month clothing,

though that may not be for long!
He is about to outgrow size 3 diapers too.

Miles nurses 5 times a day.
We dropped the dreamfeed for a week when Max went to Abilene
but decided to bring it back as a little insurance
now that the boys sleep in the room together.
He takes two good naps a day,
and sleeps from bedtime about 7:00 until 6:00-6:30.
I would like it to be later, but I can't let him babble happily
in his crib for 30 minutes since he's got a roommate now. :/

Eating, as you can probably tell, is one of Miles' strong suits.
He LOVES solid food and eats 3-4 ounces at breakfast, lunch and dinner.
We've given him a few finger-type foods
(steamed green beans, broccoli, very ripe pear or banana slices
in addition to the standard puffs, yogurt melts and mum mums)
and he's done really well with that.
I'm excited to try more finger foods in the coming month!

Life in the Rich household is truly a whirlwind these days,

especially since this cutie is on the move:

 (Please excuse our dusty floors. Yeesh.)

Miles is so very curious about the world
now that he can go investigate things for himself.
He mostly likes to crawl over to things
so that he can pull up to STANDING. Yikes!
I know it is still a looong way from walking,
but I'm not ready for it!

The relationship between Max and Miles has really blossomed this month.
It is so sweet to watch them interact with each other -
even if most of the time Max is trying to scoot his toys away from Miles
(only to have him crawl right over to them again)
and Miles is trying to pull up on Max by grabbing a fistful of hair.
Max has the ability to make Miles giggle like no other
and for absolutely no reason! It is hysterical to watch
and I will try to get a video of the cuteness. :)

So many firsts this month:

-First bath in the big tub and then with big brother!

-First tooth (lower left central incisor)

-First night in your crib and now Max is in the room too

-First cold :(

-First time sitting up in the shopping cart

-First (and second and third...) bump on your head

  

 

We fall in love with this easygoing cutie more and more each day.
Seven months with him have passed much too quickly!