Miles Away

So many updates

2007-10-22T08:09:00.001-07:00

It's been almost a year and a half since my last post, and so much has changed. Miles turned three years old on September 24. Nearly four months ago, on June 26, Miles became a big brother to his little sister Amelia Belle. We're working on creating a new blog for family updates, and I'll post the link here. Cheers!
~miles' (and amelia's) mom

The most recent photo

2006-05-17T10:36:00.000-07:00

Granted, it's not the greatest or most flattering, but it's from this morning at my folks' house. Apparently, it was the only way they could get him into his high chair to eat breakfast.

Feeling guilty...

2006-05-09T16:48:00.000-07:00

So I've been feeling very guilty lately about not posting on this blog. Not because I think people are looking forward to reading regular updates on how my son is doing, but because I feel I owe it to him to keep a diary of what he does and how much he means to us.

These last four months have been rather crazy (literally) in our family. I finally quit a job that I had been working at for almost four years, and it was one of the hardest things I had ever done. It was the worst place for me because I was miserable being there, and I was starting to take that home with me. I now work for an amazing company as a recruiter and absolutely love it. They believe in my abilities so much that I am not micromanaged (like I was at my last job) and am getting paid almost twice what I was making.

Because I'm getting paid more, I figured it was time to move back in with my husband. He is a professional fighter and has been living and training in a small town about 90 miles away from where we had been living. Miles and I first stayed at my parents' house, then we stayed with my cousin for a few months. Living together and eating together and sleeping together and laughing together and loving together is the greatest. I can't believe we had gone eight months without it.

So, with looking for a new job, getting a new job, and moving to a new city (and state for that matter) -- all while being a full-time mom -- I have been rather busy. I have a lot of updates and pictures that I will be posting in the near future.

Stay tuned...
~mm~

Before I was a Mom...

2006-01-24T11:20:00.000-08:00

I got the following emailed to me by one of my close friends. This is probably going to seem cheesy, but this is a relatively accurate description of what it is like to be a mom:

Before I was a Mom - I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom - I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom - I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom - I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom - I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.

Before I was a Mom - I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom. I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.

From Miles' Mom to all you other moms and future moms out there (Nic, I'm talking to you).
~mm~

What's new this week...

2006-01-04T13:10:00.000-08:00

Miles has a new game that he likes to play called Mama-Miles. When he is exploring the house and I want to know where he is, I call his name. He replies by calling my name. This game continues for about five minutes with intermissions of hysterical laughter by all listening. Unfortunately, there is no Dada-Miles game yet, but Richard is working hard to change that.

Here a list of new vocabulary words and how he pronounces them:

BALL - pronounced booh
I LOVE YOU - pronounced aa-iiee-oouu
AGAIN - pronounced uh-yen
DOG - pronounced dooh (it used to be just as it sounds, but our cousin has a dog named Blue combined with our dog Doug comes out dooh)

Here's a picture of him after waking up in house that was about 50 degrees:

Happy New Year to all of Miles fans!! May 2006 be as wonderful to you as I hope it will be to us!

~mm~

2005-12-27T16:50:00.000-08:00

Miles had a fantastic Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve at our party at home, where he got to say hello to a lot of people he hasn't seen in a while. We woke up Christmas morning and opened our presents, and the auntie DeeAnn made eggs benedict from scratch and even used lemons she's been growing on her own tree!

After Miles, Daddy, and Doug took a nap, we all ventured to Gramma and Poppa's house to open more presents and sit down to a delicious dinner. We didn't get home until after 10pm, and we were so pooped! Miles got so many great presents from friends and family! Santa gave him a hand-painted toy box and some books. Mom and Dad got him a lot of clothes, Gramma and Poppa got him snow clothes and books, Auntie Meghan got him the Baby's First Words DVD, and Auntie Val got him a Power Wheels Ford F-150.

I think he'll have a better grasp next year of what Christmas really is. Right now, he's just coming off of a sugar rush and trying to get back into his sleep routine.

Here are some pictures from my folks' house:

Dirty cookie face!

All gussied up for the big holiday!

My big boy!

2005-12-20T15:03:00.000-08:00

It absolutely blows my mind how quickly my son is growing. We took pictures for our Christmas cards (that I just sent out today... yikes!) on Sunday, and Miles looked like such a big boy! Here's a picture for proof:

He can now play, much to the delight of my husband, Dada-What. We all have such a fun time playing, that all the family members want to play. Miles can only say Mama and Dada right now, but he can recognize the names of everyone.

Like if I tell him to give something to Papa, he'll go right to my dad, and he knows exactly who Gramma is. He can somewhat say Papa, but it mostly sounds like a quite "puh" sound.
He has recently added "ball" to his expanding vocabulary list, except he pronounces it "booh!"

As always, he can still say our dog's name, Doug. And Doug knows that's his name because he always comes when he's called.

I'll have new pictures after the holiday, so stay tuned. I wonder what Miles is going to get from Santa Claus...

MILES IS WELL!!!

2005-12-07T09:39:00.000-08:00

Miles is finally better after being sick for almost three months will all sorts of illnesses. He has slept through the night for three nights in a row! I'm so ecstatic I don't know what to do with myself. As I've mentioned before, there is nothing more frustrating to a parent than to have a sick child, so I've been going insane for the last few months. I have my sweet little angel back and couldn't be happier.

So, Miles has a new game that he loves to play. We call it Mama-What. Here's how it goes:
Miles: "Mama."
Me: "What?"
Miles: "Mama."
Me: "What?"
Miles: "Mama."
Me: "What?"
Miles: "Mama."
Me: "What?"
Miles: "Mama."
Me: "What?"

We could be in the car, in the grocery store, at the dinner table... anywhere he feels like playing. It's quite amusing for about two minutes, and then it starts to irritate any bystanders. It especially irritates my husband, who for the last three days has tried to get Miles to play Dada-What, but Miles isn't having it.

Last night, we were over at my cousin's house for dinner, and Miles picked up our friend's fishing hat, which looks more like a brown camo hat. He loved it and wouldn't take it off, until of course, I tried to take some pictures of him. These are the only two that sort of came out okay.

What a ham!

Laughing at Auntie Joy.

Thanks to everyone for the well wishes for Miles to get better. They worked!
~mm~

Thanksgiving...

2005-11-28T10:27:00.000-08:00

We visited Richard's family in California this weekend and had a great time. There were over 30 people there!! Miles had a blast playing with the kids and making us grown-ups laugh. He likes to wrestle the kids and dance with the adults. I love that he is so totally outgoing.

On Friday, we visited some friends in Pleasanton and then were off to San Francisco. I was craving some crab cocktails (which is weird the day after Thanksgiving, I know), so we were off to the wharf. We also got clam chowder in bread bowls that Miles loved.

We walked up and down The Embarcadero and did some window shopping. This picture was taken at the coffee shop inside the bread factory.

We were going to come back to Reno on Friday night, but there was a storm passing through the mountains, so we crashed at my cousin Susan's house just south of Sacramento. Miles had fun playing with her two dogs and kids.

He was so great the entire trip! I thought he would be miserable in the car for hours at a time, but he proved me wrong in the greatest way possible. I couldn't be happier. I wonder how he'll be on an airplane...

Pre-sick photos

2005-11-22T11:10:00.000-08:00

Here he is with his little camo hoodie and his fat face.

Waving at the camera! Say cheese!

When will he be well!?!

2005-11-22T10:09:00.000-08:00

His impetigo has since gone away, but now Miles has a mild touch of bronchitis and had the stomach flu this weekend. I feel bad because Richard gave him the bronchial infection, and I'm the one responsible for the flu. I had it so bad that I was completely evacuated of any stomach contents within three hours. That was no picnic, let me tell you.

Richard, on the other hand, had a cold about a month ago that turned into a sinus infection that then turned into acute bronchitis. He has the weakest immune system, and because he's working out and training three times a day, his body hasn't had the time it needs to get well.

So my poor little baby has had the worst few months. I was miserable with the flu and Richard has been miserable with his cough, but my poor sweet child had both on Friday night. He would only sleep if I was rocking him, so I got NO SLEEP that night. I remember sitting on the couch at 3:30am in tears - I was physically, mentally, and emotionally spent. I've never been that exhausted and have never felt that helpless.

He still isn't sleeping well and was awake last night from 3:30am to 5:30am. He was in an okay mood, but he was somewhat fussy becuase he didn't fall asleep until 10:30pm although I tried to get him to sleep at 9:30pm.

I can't wait until he's his happy, cheerful self. I almost forget who he normally is because all of his health issues have taken over his otherwise wonderful disposition.

God, Buddha, Higher Power, if you are reading this, please do what you can to give my baby back to me. I miss him!

When things haven't gone well for you...

2005-11-08T11:04:00.000-08:00

"When things haven't gone well for you, call in a secretary or a staff man and chew him out. You will sleep better and they will appreciate the attention." ~ Lyndon B. Johnson

Speaking of staff man, Miles has a staph infection. Aparently, staph is everywhere. "Many healthy people carry staph bacteria in their noses without getting sick." Gross. Miles was lucky enough to get a cut or scratch that let the bacteria in to fester and multiply. He's on two very strong antibiotics as his doctor was worried it would turn into Scalded skin syndrome, which would result in my son going to the hospital for the fifth time in his short 13 months.

I can't wait for him to get better. For those who are parents out there, you know what I'm talking about. There is nothing more frustrating and more upsetting than to have a sick child who is miserable, and there's nothing you can do to help them. I also can't wait to have a full-night's sleep again. My poor baby wakes up itching and crying A FEW times a night.

I look forward to the time when this blog can be used for fun and cheerful stories instead of dreadful and gloomy ones...

Maybe... Maybe Not...

2005-11-04T11:31:00.000-08:00

Well, Miles may not have impetigo, or maybe he does. No one seems to know just what he has, but I know that I want him to get better soon. His sores have now spread up his legs to his stomach, chest, and arms. He is constipated from his antibiotics, doesn't sleep but an hour at a time, and is generally miserable.

He had a culture taken on Monday at his doctor (who is a family practitioner and not a pediatrician). They had to peel off one of his scabs using a scapel and vigorously rub a cotton swab over the open wound. This sample was taken to the lab where they plan to "grow" the bacteria for a week to see what it is.

His follow-up appointment is on Monday, and he has another appointment scheduled on Tuesday with a dermatologist, just in case. He may have some rare skin disorder, but my doctor doesn't want me to freak out too badly.

In good news, he can walk like a mad-man. That means that he's everywhere and is into everything. He looks like a sumo wrestler because he's a little chunky and has bow legs. He waddles all over the place and falls down as soon as he tries to run.

He loves our dog, Doug, a six-month-old American Bulldog. And Doug loves Miles. They share kisses all the time, but it's not as gross as you might think. Miles thinks our cat, Penny, will be just as lovable, but he finds time and time again that she's not into that.

My husband comes home tonight, and I'm so excited to get as close to a full night's sleep as possible. It's hard living away from him Monday through Friday... I feel like I'm a single mom. It'll be nice to sleep a solid six or seven hours for once.

We call him Sensi-Skin

2005-10-28T14:01:00.000-07:00

So Miles has impetigo. For those of you who don't know (and most don't), it's a bacterial infection of the skin that causes scab-like outbreaks. Usually, a topical ointment can be applied to the sores, but advanced cases require internal antibiotics. Miles needed the latter.

He gets his sensitive skin from dear old dad, who also had impetigo when he was a kid. He's not in pain (or at least doesn't act like it), but the pictures show how awful it looks. I'll have better pictures after Halloween... stay tuned!
~mm~

Guess Who's One!?!

2005-10-25T22:16:00.000-07:00

Well, ladies and gentlemen, Miles has turned one. It has been one glorious year that has been eventful, to say the least. I am still unable to upload my pictures to the blog, but one of my friends sent me these pictures taken at Miles' first birthday party. I hope you enjoy!

Been Having Technical Difficulties...

2005-08-11T12:59:00.000-07:00

Wowser! It's been over two months since I posted. Miles can do so much now; he's like a totally different kid!

Since my last post, I received a printer for my digital camera. I have been printing pictures like crazy! Here’s the problem: I'm not able to upload pictures from my camera to my laptop now. I’m sure some techie geeks read this blog from time to time, so if you have any suggestions, I’m all ears.

Back to Miles (this is his blog, right?). He can clap. I know it may not seem like much, but for anyone who has ever had a child, you know how important this is.

I get so excited when I see his little hands slap together and see that big grin on his face. What’s the cutest thing ever? He claps when someone says Mama or Dada.

Another recent development is his ability to play peek-a-boo. When I put him in his playpen so that I can get ready in the morning, I say peek-a-boo. He’ll stand there smiling and will then put his head down. He looks up quickly, still smiling, and when I say peek-a-boo again, he laughs. Not giggles, laughs. A big belly laugh from his core.

I hope to be able to figure out how to upload the pictures once again. If you have any recommendations on how to rectify the situation, I would greatly appreciate it.

Word to your mom from Miles' Mom.
~mm~

A funny thing happened this morning

2005-05-31T12:09:00.000-07:00

We put Miles to bed in his crib in his room. When he wakes up in the middle of the night for a bottle, we bring him in to bed with us. He usually wakes up at about 6 or 7am and is ready to take on the day.

As I was getting out of the shower at about 7:30am today, I heard him mumbling and whimpering. Assuming he was ready to get out of bed, I headed into my bedroom to pick him up. But I didn't see him in bed, and I didn't see him on the floor of one side of the bed, and I didn't see him on the other side.

I called his name, and I heard him make another noise. Looking carefully, I saw his little hands poking out from underneath the bed. I was laughing so hard it hurt.

He had rolled off of my bed (over pillows meant to keep him from doing just that) and then had rolled or scooted underneath my bed. Luckily, he wasn't hurt. He was just a little uncomfortable, to say the least. After I picked him up, I wished I had taken a picture. It would be so funny for all to see!

Enjoy your week,
MM

Sorry for the delay

2005-05-24T23:39:00.000-07:00

Today, I started my very last class! I am exactly six weeks shy of having my degree. Unfortunately for my readers, I will be taking a six-week hiatus.

I wanted to let you know that Miles has been in the emergency room twice in the last few days as a result of a spider bite. He has cellulitis, which is a pretty serious skin condition.

I took him to the emergency room on Sunday morning and spent two hours waiting for the doctor. He graced us with a whopping thirty seconds of his presence and didn't even give us the diagnosis. He left that to his nurse, who made the condition sound like nothing to worry about. He prescribed a low-grade antibiotic.

At 11pm Monday evening, I arrived again at the ER (same hospital, different location) with Miles, whose bite was twice as big and ten times as infected. Just the slightest touch sent pus oozing out of the gaping wound.

I spent over one hour this morning waiting for his prescription, only to find this evening that it was labeled incorrectly. I have been giving my son the incorrect dosage for the entire day.

Today, Miles turned 8 months and has been in the hospital for emergency reasons three times already. I feel awful for him.

I have, however, included a couple pictures of when he sleeps peacefully (which he hasn't done at all in the last week).

2005-05-24T23:38:00.000-07:00

Could he be any cuter?

2005-05-24T23:37:00.000-07:00

My sleeping babe.

I like to read

2005-05-11T07:25:00.000-07:00

I really like reading other people's blogs. This blog for Miles is mostly pictures because he doesn't do much that is worth reading about. If you want to read some interesting blogs, go to Nicole's page, Trisha's page, or Jules' page. The first two are friends of mine, and the last one I happened to find on accident, but she's a great writer and has interesting stories.

Bath time...

2005-05-10T07:35:00.000-07:00

is his favorite time! Miles loves getting in the water and trying to grab at the stream as it cascades in front of his face.

In other news, he's getting another tooth! Finally he will no longer be my one-tooth kid. Don't worry, you'll see pictures of that other tooth, I'm sure.

Oh, would you all do me a favor? When you read through these posts and look at these pictures, could you post a comment so that I know who reads these things? Thanks!

2005-05-10T07:34:00.000-07:00

Always with something in his mouth

2005-05-10T07:33:00.000-07:00

He's in a trance...

2005-05-10T07:32:00.000-07:00

Big eyes and fat thighs

2005-05-10T07:31:00.000-07:00

See how happy he is after bath time?

Guess what I got for graduation...

2005-05-02T08:32:00.000-07:00

Yep, a digital camera. I have taken so many pictures! Below, you will see some from Miles' dinner last night. More are on thier way!

2005-05-02T08:30:00.000-07:00

Look at that tooth!

2005-05-02T08:29:00.001-07:00

Big-eyed baby boy

2005-05-02T08:29:00.000-07:00

What a big mouth!

2005-05-02T08:28:00.000-07:00

Silly smiling boy...

2005-05-02T08:26:00.000-07:00

Miles had a turkey vegetable dinner last night. He finishes his meal with a chomp on his spoon. His hair looks really red in these pictures.

2005-04-28T08:06:00.000-07:00

My little Red Hot Chili Pepper

Oh my sweet little baby

2005-04-28T07:49:00.000-07:00

I wish so much that I could upload a picture of Miles sleeping right now. He is an angel! I keep hearing that I'm getting a digital camera for graduation, so we'll have to wait and see.

Miles turned 7 months on Sunday. On Tuesday, he said his first word, Mama. Oh the joy of hearing a two-syllable word from your child's mouth when you know they know your name. It's like Cheers, and I'm Norm. Picture this: he looks like a fish opening for air at the top of an aquarium, and the sound seems to fall out of his mouth. No matter how unintentional it may be, it's my joy for the week that I wanted to share with you.

In other news, Saturday I walk across the stage and receive a diploma that says, "You haven't graduated yet. Your real diploma is in the mail" - or something to that effect. I hope by this time next week, you all will get to see my ray of sunshine, the apple of my eye, the toot in my horn, etc. Until then, here is what he was for Halloween:

A quick update

2005-04-20T16:16:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick update: Miles got his first tooth (and I have been sleeping for four hours a night this week), I have temporary custody of my two nephews (the oldest is 3 and the youngest is 2), and 7 people currently live in my 1-bath house.

Miles loves the company, which is good. Mommy is about to lose her mind though.

I will be getting a digital camera for graduation (which is April 30), so if anyone has suggestions on which camera to get, let me know. My parents are buying it for me, so I can get whichever one I want! That way, I can take and upload pictures of Miles for all to see.

Until the next time...
~MM~

Okay already

2005-04-06T15:54:00.000-07:00

This is to apease Auntie Nicole. Here's an update on Miles' life:

He is six months and a half months old
He can sit up on his own
He has reddish-brown hair and greenish-blue eyes
He eats solid foods twice a day and can't eat it fast enough
He loves our two cats, Ed and Penny
He's very happy in the morning
He laughs by taking in large amounts of air in a squeaking way
He misses Auntie Trish

I don't have any new pictures because we haven't been able to afford to develop the film (plus I'm lazy). I hope to get a digital camera for graduation, but we'll see.

Not as easy as I thought...

2005-03-18T13:36:00.000-08:00

So, here's the deal. I thought that posting regularly to this was going to be easy, but I have quickly found that working full-time, taking classes, and being a mom and a wife doesn't lend itself to much free time at all. Needless to say, I haven't posted in almost three months.

I'm predicting that when I'm done with classes (June 22, woo hoo!), I will have more time to devote to posting on behalf of my nearly-six-month-old son.

Until then, don't hold your breath.
~MM~

First post of many to come...

2004-12-22T12:10:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone.
Here is the first post in the trials and tribulations of being the child of Michelle and Richard. This page is not, however, only for Miles' thoughts; rather, it is to show how we as a family are growing and learning with each other. We'll also include random tidbits of information.

For now, Merry Christmas until we can post with pics.