Pumpkin Punkin

We have been ridiculously busy lately, so we have lots of updates to do. Here are some quick pics from our trip to the Dallas Arboretum last week, where we strolled the beautiful gardens and visited the pumpkin village, complete with pumpkins houses. It was pretty cool. Miles enjoyed playing with the pumpkins, most of the time.

He loves giving things (and especially us) hugs lately. It is awesome.

Miles will still put just about anything in his mouth. Whatever.

He was happy to play in the hay with the pumpkins.

Until mom tried to pose him on top of the bales. Apparently that was torture.

You can see the cool pumpkin houses and our new jogging stroller in the background. We haven't been jogging with it yet, because I have been too sleep deprived. But it is much more comfortable for trips to the park, zoo, mall, and other fun destinations.

Beach Baby Bonanza II

Beach Baby

Here are some quick pics for Gary from our fun day at the beach in Puerto Vallarta. Gary, we miss you and we're sorry you have to work all the live long day.

As you can see, Miles was a natural in the water. He would charge at the waves and then turn his back to them right when they hit him so the water wouldn't get all up in his face. He's so smart.

Cloth Diapers

Miles wears cloth diapers. A few months ago, a friend asked why we chose to do cloth. In typical fashion, I drew a blank, even though there were many reasons that I decided to do cloth when I made the decision. Think on my feet? Not so much. I'd like to answer that question for the blogosphere, except Miles has worn cloth diapers pretty much exclusively (except for a quick trip to Fresno in June) for the last eight months, so I can't say how cloth diapers stack up to disposables, which would be helpful opinionation.

I do have a strong preference for cloth diapers for young, exclusively breastfed babies. We started Miles on cloth right when he turned one month. Pre-cloth he had blow outs every day. Nasty and a pain and stains. No bueno. After the switch, no blowouts. Plus, at this stage it is super easy to wash the diapers. Also, disposable diapers stink! No offense to all of you sposies users. But seriously, sposies have a strong chemically smell that I hate. Cloth diapers don't smell like anything until befragranced by the little one. I admit that I have an abnormally strong sense of smell, probably the result of an abnormally large schnaz, so the aversion to the diaper smell may be unique to me, and I only used normal disposables, not any green varieties, so I can't speak to those. Cloth are also cheaper, especially since I got a sweet deal on the ones we used when he was little, and they are still in great shape so I'll probably be able to use them for two more kids. For all of these reasons, cds are the undisputed winners for the first six months.

Once babes start on solids, things become a little more complicated. I admit that I still have a bias towards cloth, but Miles and I are leaving for a grand adventure on Tuesday to Utah and then Mexico. We'll be gone almost two weeks and he will be wearing disposable diapers for that time. When we get home, I will have a more informed opinion to post about.

Miles the Model

He's still working on blue steel.

Nature Reserve Adventure

On Gary's day off last week, we went to a nature reserve a little bit outside of town that borders a local lake. We had a great time and saw lots of wildlife, which of course we loved. Gary half teased that there were alligators in the lake, which I did not believe, until we pulled up to a sign on the shore that warned of alligator sightings. Point for Gary. But I saved him from a water moccasin, so point for me. Miles had a great time, too, and got his first taste of dirt.

We started our adventure on a long bridge that stretched over the marsh. We spotted tons of dragonflies, wasps, and giant spiders.

This spider wasn't giant, but was so cute!

Gary went to take a picture of me and Miles on the bridge, and I noticed a snake slithering very close to Gary's feet. He stepped away and we investigated (from a distance). Our limited knowledge of snakeology told us that this snake may very well be poisonous, due to it's semi-triangular shaped head. Notice the scary cobra-like wings behind the head. When we got home, we investigated our little snake online and decided it was a water mocassin.




Funny thing about that snake encounter was that Gary was thinking to himself as he was going to take our picture, oh this is just the stereotypical sitcom situation for something bad to happen to me. Like the dad is backing up to get a picture of the family and he falls off the cliff. I guess you don't see that in many sitcoms, but you get the point. Luckily his premonition didn't come true.

We saw a few young deer on our way to the marsh and then saw many more as we drove around the reserve. Like our little Bambi friend above. So cute!

There were two rescued owls in cages near the nature center. Miles couldn't get enough of them! He was cooing and reaching for them for at least fifteen minutes. He loved those owls. We need to get Miles to the Zoo, it just needs to get about ten degrees cooler.


Our final wildlife sighting of the trip was two armadillos! That was pretty cool. Apparently armadillos make great roadkill because they can jump to about fender height when they get scared. I would be pretty scared if I saw an armadillo jump that high.

Gary also got this sweet macro shot.

All in all, a great day. If only Gary got more than one day off a week!

Roper Visit 3

At first, Miles was a bit timid around his visitors from Colorado, but it didn't take long for him to warm up to them.

Miles' latest trick is raising the roof when he's happy.

Barb and Ray gave Miles some fun texture and flap books. He LOVES them.

Patty Cake/Pat-a-cake

Barb taught Miles how to play Pat-a-cake. Miles wasn't too sure about it.

The Ropers Came to Town

Nana and Papa (Gary's parents) came to visit two weekends ago. It was so nice of them to make the trip and it was great to see them. Their brief visit consisted mainly of the Miles show, trying out new eateries, and playing games. I won zero games, but I still felt like a winner because it was my birthday weekend. Here are some pics.

Checking out the Stockyards district to see the longhorns.

You choose: I was too excited by my visitors to nap, or cattle bore me.

Nana helping Miles stay hydrated. It was hot. Of course.

Since Barb and Ray had traveled so far to see Miles, I really wanted them to get their money's worth. We had taken Miles to a little petting zoo a couple months ago and he had LOVED the animals, so we hyped it up, promising kicking legs, squeals, and laughs. This time, this was about the only smile he cracked. Miles was like, I don't perform on command. Actually, he was just really tired. Nana and Papa pics to come.

Our little puppy

Miles has adopted many canine tendencies of late. He walks on all fours, he loves chewing socks, and he begs for food like crazy. Even though we know we're probably not supposed to feed him "people food," we always give in. Miles' favorite is ice cream. Just like his mommy.

Treasures

Here are some of the treasures I found while unpacking.

This little number has survived approximately two decades of life and moves. Any guesses as to what it is supposed to say? A finished project, perhaps? Nay, it would have said "A Clean Room" if I had ever finished it. Sadly, my motto hasn't really changed.

I bought these photos at a sweet Flea Market in Leipzig, German. I still get a kick out of them.

I just love the look he is giving his woman!

Nothing can come between a young man and his accordion.

This one is my favorite.

Grrrrr

Lately when I have thought about something to blog, I only come up with petty annoyances. No one likes a Negative Nellie, so I decided that an attitude adjustment may be in order. However, like diets, attitude adjustments are best started tomorrow.


Here are some examples of my grievances:

1. My mom recently read that Miles is on the upswing in name popularity. Boo. We like names that are not too popular, but that are also not too strange. Miles is just perfect. What next, some lame new vampire franchise with a protagonist named Miles? Serenity now.
2. Miles cruises. He's a cruiser. He has been cruising for a couple weeks. Cruising? For others of the uninitiated, cruising apparently describes the action of babies "walking" while holding on to furniture. Where did that word come from? Are people in Texas making up words so I will take nonsense words with me to Wisconsin and look silly? How had I never before heard "cruising" used in this manner? Have you heard it? Simple words that are unfamiliar to me but somehow in other peoples' vocabularies disturb me.
   
3. Design Star stinks, especially this season. "My" shows are the artsy reality shows: Top Chef, Project Runway, Work of Art: The Next Great Artist (I came late to that one), and Design Star. Except the people on Design Star generally seem like hacks and I think Gary or I or any number of mildly artistic people could do just as well as they have been doing. The new production values are cheesy, too.
   

I think it's fairly obvious that if these are the types of things I have to complain about, I have it pretty darn good. This is true. I decided not to provoke the universe into punishing me for my grouchiness, and I've turned over a new leaf. Promise.

Bloomin' Algae

When we first arrived in Fort Worth, we were distressed to find that our faucets streamed pond water. I suppose a more accurate description would be that the tap water tasted and smelled suspiciously like pond water. Since I am still breastfeeding, and I pretty much assume that any toxins I consume will drop Miles' IQ a few points or inflict untold damage on his endocrine and other important systems, I naturally investigated the cause of said water funk.

According to the official City of Fort Worth water guru, the water in Fort Worth is perfectly safe to drink, and the odd taste and smell can be attributed to "algae blooms" in local reservoirs. Is that all? I thought public officials were only supposed to tell us things that make us feel safe and cozy. I do not feel cozy when I imagine the water pictured above flowing from my tap! That guy must not be elected.

Aside from the nastiness of my mental image, the water really was unpalatable. We had been drinking lots of milk and bottled water until this week, when we noticed that the water tasted decidedly less like a pond. This is great news because there is just something un-American about not being able to drink your own tap water. We still drink a lot of milk.