Ten Months

(Or, more aptly, 10 1/2 months. At least I took the pictures on time!)

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, my sweet Miles.

That little outfit makes him look SO BIG.

I am in denial that he will be one in just six short weeks.

Miles weighs about 22 pounds, 

and I'm sure he's grown some since last month

though I'm not sure how long exactly.

He still wears 12 month clothes and size 4 diapers.

He nurses 4 times during the day.

He sleeps from bedtime about 7:30-8:00pm until 6:30am, 

with 1-2 wakings. We had hoped to be making more progress with that,

but we have to get him pretty quickly when he makes noise at night

so it doesn't wake Max. If Mama is the one to get him...

well, he is NOT going back to sleep without some milk.

So we've been trying a bottle at night to see if that helps get rid of the pesky 3am feed.

Clay and I just keep telling ourselves we'll get sleep in the teen years...right?

Miles takes good naps, usually 1.5-2 hours in the morning

and 2 hours in the afternoon. Sometimes if we're out in the late afternoon,

he'll catch a little catnap in the car. :)

Miles eats like it is his job. (Well, I guess it kind of is.)

He has 7 teeth now to help that process along!

He is mostly on finger foods, though he has gotten pretty good

at holding those little puree pouches.

His favorite things to eat are Cheerios, peas, mango, and raspberries.

I am surprised at how many new foods he is willing to try -

this month he enjoyed his first tastes of quesadilla and a peach popsicle. ;)

Strangely, though, he is not so fond of bananas.

He is cruising around so well now, and easily transferring from one 

piece of furniture or toy to the next. Miles much prefers to be standing,

and especially likes walking behind his push walker or while holding Mommy's hands.

His new favorite thing is to do squats - to let go of whatever he was holding onto,

then squat down to the ground to pick up a toy and stand back up.

He is getting closer to walking but I am in no rush for him to get there!

This kid loves to climb too. 

I often find him perched in Max's little Pottery Barn chair

or using the potty stool in the bathroom to help him reach the toilet paper

or scaling the slide in the backyard!

He's also pretty good at climbing in and out of the sandbox.

I really have to watch him because he will attempt to climb just about anything!

Miles likes to crawl around while pushing a toy car and making a "brrrrn" sound.

It is so cute! Especially when Miles and Max are doing it at the same time. :)

Some fun things Miles has started doing this month:

Making a cheese face when someone grins at him

Gets a BIG smile on his face when Daddy walks in the room

Giggles uncontrollably when he knocks over a tower of blocks

Can wave, clap, sign "more" and "eat"

 Reaches out to be picked up

Likes to "play" his toy piano and shake the maracas,

which also double as chew toys :)

Loves to chew on spoons

Bounces to music

Likes to pat books and turn the pages

 Loves to help wake Max up by crawling all over him in bed

Randomly laughs "hee hee hee" in this silly voice

Miles is still really snuggly, which I don't mind -

and neither do the nursery workers who fight to hold him on Sundays!

 

 

We love this little bundle of joy more and more each day.

Miles is the perfect addition to our family!

Nine Months

It is hard to believe that just nine months ago (give or take a few days),

this little nugget was snug in my belly:

And now?

 

  

Well, I'd like to think he's a little happier with his current living arrangements.

(Don't let the last face fool you.)

At his well-check last week, Miles weighed in at 21 pounds, 15 ounces 

and measured 28 inches long. He didn't have to get any shots (thank goodness!), 

especially because he was up the night before with a yucky stomach bug...

which, of course, subsequently made the rounds in the Rich house.

These days, we outfit our Dapper Dan in size 3 diapers (still trying to use them up!)

and size 12 month clothes.

Miles nurses 4-6 times a day. We have sickness and teething to thank for our sleepless nights. 

He sleeps from bedtime about 7:30 until anywhere between 6:00-7:00am. 

But I can't complain too much because he is still a great napper...

although maybe that's part of my problem. :)

He eats primarily finger foods at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 

When I sit him in his highchair while we're eating dinner, 

Miles will fuss until I give him something from my plate. 

Still not too keen on a sippy cup, but I'm hoping that being more consistent 

at offering it at each meal will help with that.

This guy is all over the place! He is cruising like a boss 

and has even taken a few strolls behind his activity walker. 

There was one time I saw him momentarily stand unassisted, 

but I just keep telling myself that was a fluke. :) 

He already likes to climb - over people, cushions, the padded mats in the nursery.

Miles now has 6 teeth, with number 7 just about to poke through. 

I definitely don't remember Max being so fussy when his teeth came in - 

this boy acts like the world is ending. (And to him, it probably is!) 

EVERYthing is going into his mouth these days - books, shoes, teething rings, toy trains.

The smiles we get from this little guy are THE BEST. 

He wrinkles up his nose and flashes those little teethy nubs 

and it is so cute I can hardly stand it! And the giggles -oh, the giggles.

For some reason, Miles is not a huge fan of the jumperoo. 

I can usually get him to sit in it for 15 minutes 

before the crying escalates past my tolerance threshold - 

or because Max is trying to climb in there with him. :)

He tries SO hard to keep up with Max, which baffles me 

because Max is not always so gentle. But he's learning!

Miles is now shaking his head no in context - 

if he doesn't want to be put in his highchair or carseat, 

if he doesn't like Mommy telling him to play with something else, 

if Max is trying to be Mommy and told him "no" for something. 

And he'll often cock his head to the side like he's trying to figure it out.

He can also turn the pages of books during storytime...or when he's not trying to chew them. :)

 

  

 

 It is amazing to watch this little sponge soak up the world around him!

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.