Austin!

This past weekend was my cousin Greg's wedding. We had a busy busy weekend! It didn't work out for all 4 of us to drive in town Friday b/c Miles had his team soccer picture Saturday morning, so I flew down with Elaine. She did fantastic of course and it was so nice to not drive both ways. Friday night Mom babysat Elaine and I met Nina, Chris and Emily for dinner. We went to Z'Tejas and had a great dinner sans babies. Saturday morning Patrick took Miles to his team picture and then to a b-day party at the park. Meanwhile, Saturday we got some errands taken care of in Austin and then had our babysitter come to the house to watch Elaine for the wedding. This was not her first sitter, but I had never met Jessica before so I was a little uncertain about it all. She came highly recommended and is a preschool teacher so I wasn't too worried, but still it's easier to leave your child with a sitter once they can talk and tell you what they did.... Jessica was great. Mom, Ev and I met Patrick in Miles in Walburg for the wedding. This was Miles' first wedding and he had a blast. There were LOTS of kids so that was fun. Greg and Amy's wedding was so much fun and the weather was perfect. We drove back to Dallas Sunday after lunch. This was Elaine's first car ride and she slept the entire time. She is one good baby! Miles had so much fun in Austin that it was hard for him to leave. It's been about 6 months since I've been to Austin due to pregnancy and newborn, so it was a much needed trip. I'm hoping once the holidays are over we will be able to spend more time down there with not lots to do.

We had some pictures taken the past few weeks. First Chris and my sister came in town for TX/ou and he took some great pics. Also we had a lady take some that turned out pretty cute.

pics

Elaine - 3 months!
Miles' silly face
Elaine, Miles, Megan and Elise

Oct. 16th

We'll I've come to terms that I won't recover the last post, which is SUPER annoying to me.
Miles is loving preschool. Tuesday evening we had a moms' night out with the moms in his class. It was so much fun to get to know some of them. I knew about 3 or 4 moms already. Anyways, when we got there we were going around introducing ourselves and telling who our child is, etc.. and one mom said, "wait, who is miles' mom" - I was hoping this wouldn't be an embarrassing story! She said that her daughter, Riley, has a baby at home and named Miles! She thinks Riley has her first crush on Miles. It was too funny - I've got to see this little girl! Then a few other moms said that their kids talk about Miles all the time and how cute he is. Come to find out, there are only about 6 boys in the class and almost 10 girls, so it makes sense! Miles is trying to learn our phone number, which is hard since Dallas is 10-digit dialing! Oh well, we'll get there. He is becoming more interested in games and loves Hi! Ho! Cherry-o! which is fun. I think he'll be getting a few more for Christmas.
Halloween is in full force here! Miles is going to be a fireman and decided that long ago. His costume came in the mail a few weeks ago and he wears it all the time. He will put the whole thing on and ride his tractor down the sidewalk to the fire hydrant... forgot to mention that he has an inflatable fire extinguisher, so he likes to "fill it up" at the hydrant. Miles really wanted Elaine to be a fireman dog (Dalmatian) so I finally found a cute one at Pottery Barn. The others I saw seemed a tad bit tacky so Elaine was almost a ballerina, but thankfully we found one. I even downloaded some instructions on how to make a costume, which would have been scary.
Elaine is doing fantastic! She is 3 1/2 months and soooo happy - we are so blessed with such happy and relaxed babies! Elaine really hardly cries, except when bath time is over. She loves water so much! She also LOVES to watch Miles. Whenever she is in the car she stares at Miles the whole time, which he often looks at her and sticks out his tongue or does something very big brother-like - charming... No, he is really sweet to her and tells her he loves her and kisses her. He loves for her to lie in his bed next to him during story time before his nap if she is awake. His favorite book as of now, Thursday, is "we're going on a bear hunt" thanks to GaGa!!

2 months old!

We took Elaine to her 2 month appointment yesterday. We were dreading it for sure because this is the first round of shots for an infant. I was supposed to take Elaine to the appointment while Miles was at preschool, but Miles has either a random summer cold or allergies so he stayed home. Luckily Patrick's mom could watch him at home and I didn't have to drag him to the appointment. First things first, the nurse weighed and measured Elaine. She is growing fast and is already a healthy 13 pounds! Elaine is at the 95%ile for weight and 75%ile for length and head circumference. I am pretty sure she will slow down because Miles was a huge baby (as you remember!) as well, and is now very average. Anyways, our doctor said she looks great. After that, the dreaded shots came... 3 in her thighs and one oral vaccination - a liquid that she liked. She cried literally for 10 seconds and was over it. That was nice! It's hard to imagine how red a baby's face can turn, the calm before the storm, before they let out those screams. I just started to talk to her and she instantly calmed down.

We take Miles to his 3 year appointment on Thursday and I am hoping that he gets over those shots quickly as well. He loves going to the doctor! Whenever he has a boo-boo he tells me he needs to go to the hospital. He also thinks medicine is really fun and is always playing doctor with Elaine and his stuffed animals. So funny! He is loving preschool and was sad to stay home yesterday. I went to a Junior League meeting last night and his teacher was sitting in front of me. She asked about Miles and told me how much she was enjoying him and that Miles LOVES to play with his friends in the classroom. His teacher is just about the cutest thing I've ever seen - I call her sorority barbie, meaning that as a compliment of course. She is about 25 and just precious. Miles thought that was SO funny that she was at the meeting with me.

I think Miles must be more aware of manners. When I ask him if he wants something, like milk, he will say "No thank you, mommy, but thank you for asking me"! Last night Patrick asked Miles if he wanted to help him do something (don't remember what it was) while Miles was sitting next to me feeding Elaine, and Miles said "Not right now Daddy, I'm doing something very important with baby Elaine." He really loves his little sister! He is also becoming quite independent and LOVES playing with his toys. His imagination is working 24/7 and he loves to pretend to fix things around the house with his hammer and drill, wash the windows with his water sprayer, and do anything and everything imaginary with trucks. He is such a BOY, and it's so much fun.

I was holding Elaine like this and Miles asked to do the same thing... can't believe I captured it! Nothing is cuter....

Elaine - 1 month

Elaine, Sadie's back and Miles

Elaine is one month!

Today Miles went to gymnastics camp with Abby. They had a great time. When I asked Miles what he liked the most he said, "when this nice lady turned the music up and we ran around the room". I guess that is all a 3 year old boy really cares about doing so it was perfect! I think they also jumped on the trampoline and did other "gymnastic" things. They also made a craft (colored a pair of paper sunglasses) and had a snack. Miles didn't even question nap time today so that was the icing on the cake! It's still hard to believe he's old enough to be dropped off at a camp and I can leave. Good thing Miles was busy having fun because Elaine was awake almost the whole morning wanting to "play" (be held) so I wouldn't have had all of my attention for Miles.

They really do look alike....

I've been trying to work on my scrapbook. I've now gotten to the Fall of 2007, so I'm making some serious progress! I am also trying to work on Elaine's baby book, so I've been going thru a ton of pictures on the computer to say the least. I had to share these....

Some Quiet Time

My mother and grandmother came in town on Wednesday. We had a nice visit and Thursday they drove back to Austin with Miles. He is having so much fun with my mom! They made brownies for the firemen, and when they dropped them off Miles was allowed to sit in the fire engine. I know how excited he must have been! Today my sister and mom took Miles swimming. I'm sure they can't believe what a little swimmer he is!

With Miles in Austin, we have had a quiet house! I've been able to work on my scrapbook and organize my closet some. I am loving the time Patrick and I have with Elaine and we are just going crazy over her. With that said, we sure miss our precious little boy. We can't wait to have him back here!

It only took me 2 years to update this.........

Miles meeting Elaine
Miles is 3! Home from the hospital just in time.
Elaine's first bath!!

This blog has been quite neglected to say the least, but my Aunt Cindy and my cousin Emily have re-motivated me!

We had Elaine's 2 week appointment today at she is growing quickly! At birth Elaine weighed 7.12 pounds and was 19 inches long. Today she weighs 8.14 pounds and is 21.5 inches - she's grown 2 1/2 inches!! I am leaning a little towards the initial measurement being on the small side at the hospital, but looking back Miles grew 2 inches the first 2 weeks, too.

Elaine is a fantastic baby and Miles is adjusting really well. Today at nap I put Elaine next to Miles and read them a few stories. Miles didn't listen to the books at all. He kept checking to see if his baby was doing OK and gave her lots of kisses. Very cute, but his nap time routine is a lot easier when Elaine is sleeping ; )

Miles is heading down to Austin tomorrow with my mom and granny. Patrick is going to stop by the store on the way home to get him a digital camera so he can take as many pictures as he likes. He LOVES to take pictures and knows more about a digital camera than most people. I think he's going to be a gadget guy like his daddy!

Patrick and I took Miles to the fair last week and it was hilarious watching Miles feed the animals.

It's hard to believe that Miles is already 15 months! Where has the time gone? We are having so much fun with our little boy. Here are a few of his favorites: garden hoses, animals, airplanes, acorns, and anything that he can turn on and off. We've had a very busy summer and fall so far and we're getting excited about Halloween!

Happy 1st Birthday Miles! We celebrated first with a family dinner at home and the next day we had a picnic party with our friends. It was lots of fun and Miles did great!