Friday, November 23, 2012
Friday, July 29, 2011
Hopefully homeowners to be
So we bought a house, or at least we put in an offer that was accepted, rather countered, and we accepted. We've been pre-approved, so things should work out, right? I'm pretty excited about it. It is lovely and much nicer than I thought we could afford. I think we really lucked out. I've already spent the last couple nights looking at decorating and design ideas. I've been waiting to get my hands on a place to decorate for years and years! We'll see how much actually gets done between time and budget constraints.
But I just wanted to document our exciting news. I'm sure there will be many pictures to come.
Speaking of exciting news, I don't think I have officially posted the good news of another little baby Roper to join us in December. Gender to be discovered next week, hopefully!
But I just wanted to document our exciting news. I'm sure there will be many pictures to come.
Speaking of exciting news, I don't think I have officially posted the good news of another little baby Roper to join us in December. Gender to be discovered next week, hopefully!
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Miles' 13.7 Month Update
I missed the boat on the obligatory one year baby update, so this is going to have to do.
Miles is adventurous and curious. He loves going pretty much anywhere, and he excitedly runs to the door whenever I mention "shoes" or "outside" or "go". Miles loves playing on playgrounds and going down slides, but he hates the swings. He LOVES department stores and pretty much anywhere there is lots of space for him to run/walk around and explore.
Miles has great stamina. It seems he can walk for miles. No pun intended. He especially likes walking up and down inclined planes. I wonder if this is a sign that he will be an adrenaline junkie, since it seems like he gets a kick out of pushing the limits of his balance as he runs down ramps.
Miles loves playing with other kids and babies. He enjoys pushing other kids around in strollers or on riding toys. He gives his friends hugs and pats them on the head. This is all pretty adorable, except for the fact that most of his friends are a little smaller than him, so his affection can seem a bit menacing at times. For example, when Miles' head pats roam down to the face. He has also been caught trying to take a horsey ride on the back of a crawling baby.
Miles' words are quite random and include: dad, juice, cat, shoes, kick, and toast. He understands quite a bit.
Miles is super affectionate. He gives us tons of hugs, plops down on our laps for cuddle time, and gives us kisses with the sweetest little puckered lips. Miles recently decided that he wants a kiss before bed, because he puckers up every night after I lay him in his crib. This kills me, because I only recall having given him a kiss on the head at night on a few occasions.
Miles love his daddy. He gets especially excited when he gets to see Gary in the morning. He gets a giant smile on his face and yells "Dadda" and climbs on Gary and cuddles him and gives him hugs. Gary doesn't mind being woken up by this little routine one bit.
Miles is a great eater. He hasn't rejected anything we've put in front of him (including Indian, Thai, Mexican, Italian, German food (sauerkraut!), seafood, and a wide variety of fruits, veggies, and proteins), so he eats pretty much whatever we eat, unless it has dairy or eggs, because he's allergic! Miles definitely has a sweet tooth. He was riveted by images of cookies on the TV the other day.
This inclusive appetite has lead him to go up in the percentiles in weight and height, which apparently is pretty rare at this stage. He is strong and also has a taut round belly that he proudly displays by lifting up his shirts at strange times.
Miles has twelve teeth: four on top and bottom in the front and one molar on the top and bottom on each side.
Miles is pretty determined. He'll find ways to get where he wants to go, no matter what types of obstacles come in his way. Miles is fairly laid back at the same time, and doesn't get too worked up about many things.
Miles also loves computers and phones, music, baths, water, animals, and most other things babies his age enjoy.
As you can probably tell, Gary and I are "those" parents who are completely obsessed with our little guy. He has brought us nothing but happiness and greatly enriched our lives, relationship, and family. We feel so lucky to have him as our son.
Miles is adventurous and curious. He loves going pretty much anywhere, and he excitedly runs to the door whenever I mention "shoes" or "outside" or "go". Miles loves playing on playgrounds and going down slides, but he hates the swings. He LOVES department stores and pretty much anywhere there is lots of space for him to run/walk around and explore.
Miles has great stamina. It seems he can walk for miles. No pun intended. He especially likes walking up and down inclined planes. I wonder if this is a sign that he will be an adrenaline junkie, since it seems like he gets a kick out of pushing the limits of his balance as he runs down ramps.
Miles loves playing with other kids and babies. He enjoys pushing other kids around in strollers or on riding toys. He gives his friends hugs and pats them on the head. This is all pretty adorable, except for the fact that most of his friends are a little smaller than him, so his affection can seem a bit menacing at times. For example, when Miles' head pats roam down to the face. He has also been caught trying to take a horsey ride on the back of a crawling baby.
Miles' words are quite random and include: dad, juice, cat, shoes, kick, and toast. He understands quite a bit.
Miles is super affectionate. He gives us tons of hugs, plops down on our laps for cuddle time, and gives us kisses with the sweetest little puckered lips. Miles recently decided that he wants a kiss before bed, because he puckers up every night after I lay him in his crib. This kills me, because I only recall having given him a kiss on the head at night on a few occasions.
Miles love his daddy. He gets especially excited when he gets to see Gary in the morning. He gets a giant smile on his face and yells "Dadda" and climbs on Gary and cuddles him and gives him hugs. Gary doesn't mind being woken up by this little routine one bit.
Miles is a great eater. He hasn't rejected anything we've put in front of him (including Indian, Thai, Mexican, Italian, German food (sauerkraut!), seafood, and a wide variety of fruits, veggies, and proteins), so he eats pretty much whatever we eat, unless it has dairy or eggs, because he's allergic! Miles definitely has a sweet tooth. He was riveted by images of cookies on the TV the other day.
This inclusive appetite has lead him to go up in the percentiles in weight and height, which apparently is pretty rare at this stage. He is strong and also has a taut round belly that he proudly displays by lifting up his shirts at strange times.
Miles has twelve teeth: four on top and bottom in the front and one molar on the top and bottom on each side.
Miles is pretty determined. He'll find ways to get where he wants to go, no matter what types of obstacles come in his way. Miles is fairly laid back at the same time, and doesn't get too worked up about many things.
Miles also loves computers and phones, music, baths, water, animals, and most other things babies his age enjoy.
As you can probably tell, Gary and I are "those" parents who are completely obsessed with our little guy. He has brought us nothing but happiness and greatly enriched our lives, relationship, and family. We feel so lucky to have him as our son.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Three months later...
We're still here. Here is a brief update on the last three months.
- I was lucky to be able to work from home in October and November and then mid-December through the end of January for the company I often worked for in Denver. They were super awesome to let me in on the project and it's always good to add a little sausage to the bacon Gary's bringing home.
- Gary's elective in December was acupuncture, which required him to be at work about eight hours a week. He showed up the first day, and the doctor he was supposed to work with wasn't there. In fact, she was out of the country and wasn't going to return until the 13th, so we booked a flight to Denver for the next day. We spent about a week and a half in Boulder with Gary's parents. It was great to have some time to visit the Ropers and Smiths in good old Colorado. Miles loved hanging out with his cousins and Nana and Papa. He also said his certified first word, which was cat.
The three amigos
- We were home for about a week after our Boulder trip and then we flew to Fresno. Miles came down with his first cold the first day we were in Fresno and promptly spread it to pretty much everyone else, which put a bit of a damper on the festivities. We spent a relaxing couple of weeks in Fresno and enjoyed the company of all of my family, including Jennifer, who had just returned from a mission in Barcelona, Spain. On December 29, our little niece Caroline was born to Bobby and Jessica. She is adorable, and I enjoyed some newborn photography practice with her.
Miles having fun with Big Mike
- Miles got a lot of awesome presents for Christmas and his birthday, and he loves all of them! Thanks and great work, Nana, Mimi, and aunt Emily! Gary and I are such bums, we didn't even get Miles a Christmas present or a birthday present. We probably won't be getting away with that any more. That's right, Miles turned one on December 30. He loved eating his cake! He didn't really understand unwrapping presents, but he does expect a fun surprise every time a box shows up in our house. I recently brought home a big box of Swiffers and a new air popper from Target and Miles insisted on opening them up to see what new toy he had received. Silly buddy.
Miles ate at least a fifth of that cake. For reals.
- January was another light month for Gary, so he enjoyed the slower pace and spending lots of time with Miles. Some of our excursions included a wild animal refuge and the world's longest non-motorized parade (aka, pretty much anyone with a horse in the Texas area riding down the streets of downtown Fort Worth). Now that I think about it, I would NOT have wanted to be in one of marching bands in that parade, if you know what I mean. Nasty.
- February brought us success in my family's Super Bowl pool, which is pretty much the only reason we ever care about the big game. Although, since we are going to be cheeseheads in the very near future, we were glad the Packers won.
- Now that I finally have free time again, I am back to obsessing over photography. I'll be starting up a photography blog soon, which will mainly only be of interest to those interested in bad to mediocre photography presented by someone who knows very little about the subject (yep, pretty much no one). But, I think it will be a good way for me to track my progress and hopefully internalize the things I am learning and practicing. Photography is something that really excites me, so I figure I may as well go with it. My goal is to eventually be able to make enough money taking pictures to cover the expense of all of the equipment. We'll see how that goes.
- Gary is surprised (and relieved) by how quickly this year in Texas has gone by. He is very comfortable being a doctor and he gets awesome feedback from his supervisors at work.
- We are now debating whether or not we should/can/want to buy a home in Wisconsin. Gary has another acupuncture month in March, so we'll probably be going up to scope out our future four year home.
- We are having a great time and love our baby Miles. He is so cool and we are a very happy little family. We hope to expand our family soon...
- I was lucky to be able to work from home in October and November and then mid-December through the end of January for the company I often worked for in Denver. They were super awesome to let me in on the project and it's always good to add a little sausage to the bacon Gary's bringing home.
- Gary's elective in December was acupuncture, which required him to be at work about eight hours a week. He showed up the first day, and the doctor he was supposed to work with wasn't there. In fact, she was out of the country and wasn't going to return until the 13th, so we booked a flight to Denver for the next day. We spent about a week and a half in Boulder with Gary's parents. It was great to have some time to visit the Ropers and Smiths in good old Colorado. Miles loved hanging out with his cousins and Nana and Papa. He also said his certified first word, which was cat.
The three amigos- We were home for about a week after our Boulder trip and then we flew to Fresno. Miles came down with his first cold the first day we were in Fresno and promptly spread it to pretty much everyone else, which put a bit of a damper on the festivities. We spent a relaxing couple of weeks in Fresno and enjoyed the company of all of my family, including Jennifer, who had just returned from a mission in Barcelona, Spain. On December 29, our little niece Caroline was born to Bobby and Jessica. She is adorable, and I enjoyed some newborn photography practice with her.
Miles having fun with Big Mike- Miles got a lot of awesome presents for Christmas and his birthday, and he loves all of them! Thanks and great work, Nana, Mimi, and aunt Emily! Gary and I are such bums, we didn't even get Miles a Christmas present or a birthday present. We probably won't be getting away with that any more. That's right, Miles turned one on December 30. He loved eating his cake! He didn't really understand unwrapping presents, but he does expect a fun surprise every time a box shows up in our house. I recently brought home a big box of Swiffers and a new air popper from Target and Miles insisted on opening them up to see what new toy he had received. Silly buddy.
Miles ate at least a fifth of that cake. For reals.- January was another light month for Gary, so he enjoyed the slower pace and spending lots of time with Miles. Some of our excursions included a wild animal refuge and the world's longest non-motorized parade (aka, pretty much anyone with a horse in the Texas area riding down the streets of downtown Fort Worth). Now that I think about it, I would NOT have wanted to be in one of marching bands in that parade, if you know what I mean. Nasty.
- February brought us success in my family's Super Bowl pool, which is pretty much the only reason we ever care about the big game. Although, since we are going to be cheeseheads in the very near future, we were glad the Packers won.
- Now that I finally have free time again, I am back to obsessing over photography. I'll be starting up a photography blog soon, which will mainly only be of interest to those interested in bad to mediocre photography presented by someone who knows very little about the subject (yep, pretty much no one). But, I think it will be a good way for me to track my progress and hopefully internalize the things I am learning and practicing. Photography is something that really excites me, so I figure I may as well go with it. My goal is to eventually be able to make enough money taking pictures to cover the expense of all of the equipment. We'll see how that goes.
- Gary is surprised (and relieved) by how quickly this year in Texas has gone by. He is very comfortable being a doctor and he gets awesome feedback from his supervisors at work.
- We are now debating whether or not we should/can/want to buy a home in Wisconsin. Gary has another acupuncture month in March, so we'll probably be going up to scope out our future four year home.
- We are having a great time and love our baby Miles. He is so cool and we are a very happy little family. We hope to expand our family soon...
Monday, November 15, 2010
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.
Miles will still put just about anything in his mouth. Whatever.
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.
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.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
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.
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.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
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!
Friday, September 3, 2010
Roper Visit 3
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.
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.
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