And Lori Shone Around

The real lyrics are this:

"While shepherds watched their flocks by night

All seated on the ground

The angel of the Lord came down

And glory shone around

And glory shone around."

I had never heard this carol before Miles started singing it a few weeks ago. He learned it at his (Christian) pre-school.

Ethan's sister Rachel, her partner Linda, and their boys William and Benjamin (four years old) arrived on Christmas Day, and it's been a flurry of activity. FOUR Remmel grandsons in the same house; Grandpa and Grandma are thrilled. We opened presents after dinner, and I mostly remember paper and ribbon flying (literally!) through the air, and choruses of "is there another present for me?" from all the boys. Miles's favorite presents were (a) a $3.00 pack of Thomas the Tank Engine matching cards and (b) Hess Truck with a loud vroomy jet! (Miles received so many presents that I sequestered a few unopened ones, which he definitely won't miss.)

Happy Holidays! May you be blessed with love and laughter this season.

Harrison Hot Springs

Twice in four weeks, we've gone to Harrison Hot Springs in British Columbia, about 1.5 hour drive northeast of us. Kathy, Ethan, Miles, and I went just after Thanksgiving; Seth and Grandpa Chuck joined us this time. Impossible to take photos because it's so steamy (and also because though the pools are gloriously warm, the air temps are too cooooold to do anything but hustle from one place to another). Miles loved the outdoor family pool, calling it the "black pool" because it's laid with bricks in the shallowest end. At 80 degrees, it's the coolest of the pools there. He'll ask, "do you want to see me swim like a fish?" and then put his whole head under water for a second or two and jump up. He loves the water so much! We would then visit the indoor pool for a few minutes (104 degrees!) before heading back to the room.

The restaurant there is called the Copper Room, and the food is "Fraser Valley Cuisine" and quite delicious. A live band plays there every night, and Miles loved to dance on the dance floor.

Here's the link: http://harrisonresort.com/activities_pools.aspx

Last Friday, my parents hosted us (the Remmels plus Grace Wang) for Christmas dinner. My mom made a feast, and everyone had a great time. Here are my nephews Jackson (far left) and Jordan (far right), with Seth and Miles:

Brussel(s) Sprouts

Ethan scooped me on this (http://ethanremmel.blogspot.com/2010/12/chemo-update.html). But Miles loves Brussel Sprouts! Sometimes he calls them "little cabbages." It's really hilarious...we had turkey meatloaf, mashed potatoes, sprouts, and salad last night for dinner. Miles adamantly doesn't like salad, or anything leafy and green. But for some odd reason, he loves sprouts; so much, in fact, that I had to convince him to eat other stuff before I'd give him more sprouts. Also, he had a baked apple for dessert (thanks, Grandpa Chuck) which he gobbled up before declaring "my tummy's all full."

Jingle Bells

Miles's rendition of "Jingle Bells" with a little help from his parents. Hope everyone is having a great holiday season; we're doing relatively well. Miles's daycare center was flooded a few days ago, and I brought him to work. It was nice having him there.

Sort of cute things that Miles says

I've told Miles that he cannot interrupt grown-ups, so one (sort of) cute thing Miles says is "Excuse me, stop talking!" when he wants attention. Sometimes he says "leave me alone!" or "Mama, are you okay?" He says this most often after I admonish him about something...

This past weekend, we went to Harrison Hot Springs, and one of Miles's favorite activities was to "call" Grandpa (we unplugged the phone), and the conversation went like this: "Hello Grandpa how was your day I'm fine how are you okay talk to you later good bye." He did this at least 100 times, if not more. It was cute, and we are all looking forward to Chuck visiting, as Miles says "I miss my Grampa" many, many times a day!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and recovery weekend!

Sweetness...

So, perhaps it was a stage...Miles has been so sweet the last few days. Oh, he definitely still has his contrary moments, but tonight as I was putting him down, he asked to give me a big hug so we would be "ka-nected." I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner with the Bunns, and a weekend in British Columbia at Harrison Hot Springs...

Gobble, gobble Everyone!

Love,
~Grace

Snow Day!

Beautiful, cold, and sunny today. We started the day at Norway Hall for Swedish Pancakes (very reminiscent of my years in Minnesota!) with our neighbors and Lynn, Seth, and Lynn's sister Shannon. There, we ran into Jim, Crispin, and Eric; and then also saw the Bunns.

Bellingham got a lot of snow, by our standards (6" or so). Miles and I took two walks in the neighborhood:

Here's our house:

Terrible Threes

Miles was a pretty "terrific two" but he's a "terrible three." This morning, we went to the local Children's Museum, and Miles deliberately pushed a little girl (I would guess her age to be about 14 months, toddling). I watched him sidle up to her and give her a hip-check, and she lost her balance. It wasn't hard, but it was very intentional. I gave him a time-out on the spot, and he only said to me "ribbit ribbit ribbit, I'm a frog." He did finally reluctantly apologize. Today, he was one of those kids. I apologized profusely to the girl's mom, but I felt awful. I was only slightly embarrassed because I know these things happen, but the behavior is so atypical of Miles! Even hours later, when I asked him why he did it, he would only say "ribbit ribbit ribbit." Sigh...

And tonight, well after bedtime, I could hear Miles crying and saying "I want my Mama! I want my Mama!" So I went upstairs and all he could say was "I'm scared. I'm scared." (Why?) "I just am." So we snuggled for awhile, and right before I left him again, I asked him what he was thinking: "Mama, I'm feenking about you buh-cuz I like to snuggle..." Awwww.

It has been a rough week...crazy busy at work (academics spend at least 40% of non-classroom time in various meetings!) with grading, prepping, actually teaching, etc. So it's the perfect storm of work stress, Miles being three and challenging, and Ethan's illness, etc. I need a spa vacation, big time!!!! (Actually, we -- Ethan, Kathy, Miles, and I -- are headed for Harrison Hot Springs for the weekend after Thanksgiving.)

I hope everyone out there is having a great weekend...send me some tips on managing preschoolers!

Three posts in one day!

#3 of the day, another semi-serious, but very appreciative post. Thank you, thank you, thank you to our friends and family, near and far, for your unwavering support and friendship. In particular, the Bunns, our neighbors Jane & Gene, and the Helfield/Stutzman family have been terrific in taking Miles at a moment's notice. They have sustained us with their love and support, and lots of other things, too numerous to mention (hugs, a kind word, tissues).

Relating to my earlier posts, I think Miles does really well with our friends, especially when he has Micah (3 months older) and/or Eric (11 months younger) to play with. We have also managed to have play dates with Elizabeth and some of my yoga-mom friends. Hm, yoga...that seems like a VERY long time ago. The kiddos used to just lay there in a baby "mosh pit" as Crispin would say. And now they chase, climb, share, and run around together at the park.

We -- Ethan, Kathy, Miles, and I -- truly appreciate each and every one of your cards, phone calls, blessings, and positive thoughts. Keep them coming!

Love,
~Grace

How Miles is coping

A more serious post...several of you have asked how Miles (and I) are doing with Ethan's illness. Obviously, it's a pretty difficult time in our lives now, but I'm committed to keeping Miles to as normal a routine as possible. We've all been very open about Ethan, and try to communicate things as honestly as possible, but really, how can you describe what's happening to a three year old? Obviously, Miles sees Ethan every day, but with various degrees of interaction. Lately, we've had a great stretch of Ethan feeling better, and able to read and play with Miles a lot more. Evening "snuggle time" is very special, and Miles sometimes gets a few extra books out of Ethan and Kathy. I think Ethan likes to hear the pitter-patter of Miles's feet, though he probably sounds like an elephant sometimes!

Miles has been at the same day care/pre-school since he was 13 months old. Over the summer, Miles kept his usual day care schedule of three days a week there, though everyone was extremely flexible, and let us bring him in on a few extra days (when Ethan had chemotherapy, and we wanted a "quieter" house). Since the school year started, Miles is now in pre-school there four days a week. He's very comfortable at Hillcrest; I think he's really thriving, and the teachers love him.

We had numerous visitors over the summer -- many of Ethan's friends, from both Maine and San Francisco; Kathy's friends from the East Coast -- and Miles really enjoyed meeting everyone. In general, he's a very sociable little guy. And it just added to the number of people who played LEGOs with him, read to him, and played vehicles with him (for hours!). Thanks to everyone!

What I've noticed about Miles lately, and it's so hard to know if it's a developmental phase (see post from a few days ago), or some sort of reaction to the upheaval in our lives, but he's awfully clingy and sensitive lately. Innocuous things might bring him to tears (e.g. telling him to use the bathroom), but other things he just takes in stride. Miles is pretty flexible about most things, and what I mean about that is that he's easy to placate once he knows what's going on. So, though my patience is (often) tested, I feel blessed to have such an easygoing kid.

Miles continues to see my parents on a fairly regular basis. Over the summer, my parents would drive to Bellingham to see us, but since August, I've been able visit them in Seattle every few weeks, for a day or two at a time. And they've taken care of Miles when I've traveled (once for work, and once when I was in SF with Ethan). He seems to suffer for a tiny bit of separation anxiety, and again it's hard to know if it's developmental or situational. But it's always flattering when he wraps his chubby little arms around me and says "Mama, I missed you!" I missed you too, kiddo!

One of the most delightful things about Miles is how transparent he is. He loves to narrate everything: when he's playing, he'll describe in great detail things such as "the car is going over the bridge, vroom vroom, oh no there's a red light don't forget to stop! Hey, there's a garbage truck picking up garbage! And the real-cycling (how he says recycling) truck! Watch out for the helicopter coming to land on the garage" and so on and so on...he's a talker!

Woodland Park Zoo

My mom, Miles, and I visited the Woodland Park Zoo (http://www.zoo.org/) this morning. It was perfect timing, as the zoo wasn't too busy yet, but most of the animals were up and about. We saw lions, hippos, giraffes, tigers (from a distance), a jaguar (beautiful!) and lots of primates. The Zoo is terrific, and we probably only made it to about half the exhibits before we headed home for lunch. It's definitely an all-day excursion, once Miles outgrows his naps.


Miles looking at the tapir...


Posing with the gorillas...

First Professional Haircut

Miles got his first professional haircut yesterday. In the past, Ethan has just shaved his head every six months or so, going from a full mop of hair to a buzz cut. This time I decided I just wanted Miles to get a trim:

Here he is before...notice the hair covering his ears:

This one is out of focus, but his hair doesn't cover his ears anymore, and the result is super cute!

In other news...Miles has been particularly "clingy" and temperamental lately; I'm hoping it's just a developmental phase, but it's sometimes hard to set limits and stay consistent with so much demand from the little guy, sweet as he is. And he's so sweet 95% of the time, but he sure is testing my patience the other 5%! Tonight he went to a dinner party with the Bunns (and without me). It was reported to me that he did "great" but missed me a lot. THAT'S sweet, but the "Mama, come here RIGHT NOW!" not so much...

Happy Halloween!

Miles was a tiger this year, and my parents and I brought him to a local grocery store, which hosts a kid-friendly event (including a tractor-pulled hay ride!) each year:

Roaring!!!!

Still no peanuts for my peanut

The nurse called back with Miles's RAST results: he's still considered allergic to peanuts, but his IgE levels are decreasing. When he was first diagnosed, Miles's level was 7 point something (highly allergic), last year 0.7, and this year, 0.49, which is still considered "moderately allergic." Another year of no PB&J. Oh well.

Three year well-check

Miles had a 3 year well-check yesterday: zero concerns about his health and development.

Here are his numbers:

Height: 36.5" (25th percentile) --> I'm surprised he's so short, with Ethan at 6'2" and myself at 5'6". Maybe he'll be a late bloomer.

Weight: 32 pounds (50th percentile)
Cuteness: 99th percentile! There's not a chart for that, but just one mom's opinion.

He'll get a blood test soon to see if he is still testing positive for a peanut allergy...[October 8th UPDATE: Miles got his blood drawn this morning. I had to get blood drawn for a cholesterol test as well, so we went in together. I went first; Miles watched with interest, as I explained everything that was going on. Then, he sat on my lap and the tech drew some blood from his arm. NO TEARS, no whining, nothing. My brave boy! Results in a few days!]

Singing ABCs with Micah

Riding a trike

Miles & I went to the Bunns this afternoon, and he rode a tricycle (I forgot to bring his helmet!):

Action:

Update: potty training

If you're reading this blog, you're probably not be offended by TMI...but, this is big news: Miles pooped on the potty yesterday! Intentionally! With no reminding, goading, or help from me. I was upstairs doing something, and when I returned downstairs, Miles had gotten himself on the toilet and was doing his business. He was pretty excited, and I'm really proud of him.

Miles rode a pony yesterday: http://remmel.shutterfly.com/1858

Potty Training

Miles is so close to being out of diapers! Twice this week, he has come home from daycare with the same (dry) pull-up diaper that he left the house in. The teachers say he's doing great! When we get home, he wears Thomas the Tank Engine "big boy underwear" and has had a few accidents. Good thing we have hardwood floors. But for the most part, he's getting the hang of things. 99% of the time, when I ask him to pee, he'll go to the toilet and do it. (One M&M per pee doesn't hurt!) But it's less often that he'll anticipate needing to pee and do it proactively.

I wish I had a video of this, but tonight, he was shaking to maracas while naked and dancing in the kitchen. Too funny!

Miles's language is really taking off! He is able to convey "complex" (to a 3 y.o.) thoughts and emotions:

• "Mama, I'm sad buh-cuz I miss my puppy/Dad/Grandpa."
• After a short tantrum: "I'm happy now!" This actually happens pretty often. He'll throw himself on the floor for a few minutes, and it's over pretty quickly.
• Grace: "what did you do at school today?" Miles: "I pwayed LEGOS, and I was very friendly." Grace: "what does that mean?" Miles: "I didn't wap or kick anyone!"
• "Mama, that man's not wearing a helmet!" (Random people riding bikes who don't wear helmets. Yeah, Miles is the kid of Safety Grace.)

Still no camera, sigh...

Fire Station visit

Today, Miles & I attended a birthday party of a classmate of Miles's (Porter). It started at a local fire station, where one of the firefighters gave all the boys plastic firefighter hats. I think it was a dream come true for five 3 year old boys!

Miles, Porter, Josiah, Mason 1, and Mason 2

Beach Boy, part two

Labor Day weekend, our family (Ethan's parents Kathy, Chuck, Ethan, Seth, Miles, and I) went to Orcas Island, the largest of the San Juans for 3 days/2 nights. What a great trip...lucky to have nice weather both days on the island, though it poured on Monday, the day we returned.


You can check out a more extensive photo array at Ethan's Shutterfly page: http://remmel.shutterfly.com/1772

Beach Boy, part one

Miles loves the water...a few weeks ago, Ethan, his friend George, Miles, and I went to Clayton Beach here in Bellingham.

He was making "seaweed soup" for Ethan.



And he loved collecting clams. (By the way, all of these photos were taken by Ethan. My old digital camera is kaput, and I'm shopping for a new one.)

What a wonderful day!

Putting Miles to bed last night, he exclaimed: "what a wonderful day!" Followers of this blog will remember that Miles loves all sorts of vehicles. We started the day taking Amtrak to Seattle (actually, Edmonds). Miles really enjoyed it, and I love seeing the world through his eyes.

My parents picked us up, and we had a nice lunch at their house. We then all returned to Bellingham in the evening, and had a party for Miles at Lake Padden, a local park. I planned just one game, throwing beanbags into a front loader. Although there are only boys in this photo, there were two girls there, Nora and Ewizabef (Elizabeth), who luckily like trucks as much as the boys!

Jim graciously manned the grill, and we enjoyed pretty good food and a moderate amount of sugar. Thanks to the Barefoot Contessa, I made a construction vehicle cake, complete with crushed Oreos for dirt. Miles really enjoyed himself today, and I am truly blessed to have this little guy in my life. Thanks for a great three years, Kiddo!

Sorting

Does anyone else's toddler/preschooler do the same thing? Miles has a penchant for lining things up:

Convertibles...

Firetrucks...

School buses...

And trains...with pick-up trucks behind

Blue gloves

Miles had a dental appointment this week...his favorite thing: blue gloves!

Afternoon at the beach!

Grandma Kathy brought Miles to Larrabee State Park earlier this week (I was just along for the ride.). Kathy caught a sea anemone, and Miles said: "Mama, look at my sea enemies!"

Raspberry Picking

Miles and I went raspberry picking in Ferndale, WA yesterday. Where we live, Whatcom County, is one of the top raspberry-producing counties in the country, providing about 45% of the country's raspberries.

Miles's creations

I think I've mentioned the Playmobil Garbage truck before. Miles loves it! He can spend lots of uninterrupted time collecting and sorting trash. And Ethan's best friend Eric is visiting, and helped Miles make the LEGO control tower:

More...

I found Miles sitting on the couch like this the other day...

Update!

I enrolled Miles in a Toddler Art Class at the local museum (http://www.whatcommuseum.org/) and we've made masks, puppets, and clay sculptures. It's a class designed for two to four years olds, and Miles was definitely on the younger end of the spectrum. I think the best part for Miles was being able to play in the Interactive Art Gallery after class!

Here is Miles "helping" me make a caterpillar puppet. (I did the cutting and pasting, but he placed the fuzzies.)

And here he is a few weeks later, painting:

It's May!

Hello Everyone,

Well...I haven't posted in almost a month. Two reasons: (1) my laptop at home is kaput, and I am unable to upload any photos. But I'm getting a new laptop this week. (2) Even if my laptop worked, my camera is unpredictable at best.

But things are going pretty well in the Wang-Remmel household. Unfortunately, Ethan has been sick, but Miles & I have weathered it all right. Miles is a talking almost constantly. He narrates his (and our) daily activities. He is also enjoying lots of pretend play: "Mama, I'm going to work to make you some money!" as he drives his truck. Sometimes he "makes" us donuts with sprinkles!

I bought him a Playmobil Garbage Truck, which turned out to be a fabulous investment. It's not an understatement to say that he loves it. He'll spend hours (total, not at a time) over the course of a day pushing it around the house and "picking" up trash; it came with recycling bins and a dumpster. Our living room has become a dump site, with sticks, rocks, and pine cones rotating in and out of the garbage truck.

So...stay tuned...I'll be back with photos (hopefully) in a week or two!

Big Boy Bed

Miles graduated to a toddler bed yesterday. It's a beautiful, handmade, solid wood frame from a local craftsman (made for his grandson, who outgrew it). I congratulated myself on how easily it went...same routine, same naptime, same bedtime yesterday. I wasn't sure if it occurred to him that he could get up. But tonight after bedtime, I heard him come into the shower ("whatcha doing, Mama?"), and then I had to accompany him back to bed twice. Hm, this may take more time than I anticipated. Here he is:

Happy Easter!

Miles went to an Easter Egg hunt this morning...hundreds of kids (and their parents) clamoring for plastic eggs on the wet ground. Miles was a bit shell-shocked, but did fine! He also met the Easter Bunny, but didn't want to get too close:

Mexico

We've just returned from Akumal, Mexico...lovely and hot there. Miles loved the water:

With "Gamma Kaffy"


Miles liked the kayak

And...looking at the "beeg airplanes" at the airport.

More photos can be seen at Ethan's Shutterfly site: http://remmel.shutterfly.com/1334 (my camera is a bit unpredictable.)

Whatcha doing Mama?

I'll post some photos from our vacation in Mexico soon, but I just wanted to post something before I forgot: one of Miles's cute sayings lately (not annoying yet) is: whatcha doing Mama? (Or Daddy or Seth or Gamma Kaffy, etc.) Even if he's RIGHT THERE in front of you, he'll ask "whatcha doing?" My reply: "I'm just sitting here." Miles: "Okay, I'm sitting too." 30 seconds later: "whatcha doing Mama?" SIGH. I don't mind so much, but poor Seth gets the question a lot!

Miles has been super-inquisitive and talkative and curious lately. Our trip to Mexico was terrific in so many ways, but was really compounded by Miles's joy at spending time with Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Chuck. And Miles loves the water! (We're going to take swim lessons next month.) He is communicating in full sentences, with mostly correct grammar/syntax: "I saw a city bus over there."

There's my tractor!

Another beautiful day in Bellingham! Miles loves all sorts of vehicles...we have a patch of dirt beneath our deck, and here he is, piling up trucks. tractors, bulldozers, excavators...

Portland (Oregon)

Ethan, Seth, Miles, and I have just returned from a weekend in Portland! (Ethan and Seth went to the Celtics-Trailblazers game on Friday night.) Yesterday, Miles and I rode the bus, and then the MAX train to the Portland Zoo. The weather was outstanding, sunny and warm (mid-50s). Miles loved the bus and MAX...he's still talking about "riding the MAX train..." The zoo was fun, but crowded, so Miles had a hard time seeing the animals. We did get a close look at a hippopotamus that swam close to us, and saw an elephant, and "sweeping tiger." Miles and Seth really enjoyed running down the long corridors of the hotel we stayed at (the Kennedy School), which was renovated into a great hotel.

February...

It was pointed out to me that I hadn't posted in awhile, but my camera is broken, so I don't have new pictures. Here's a nice picture of Seth, Ethan, and Miles in our backyard just a few days ago, taken on Ethan's camera. While my friends on the East Coast and Midwest are socked in by "Snow-maggedon" it has been an unusually mild winter, thanks to El Nino.

Miles has been really doing great. He's becoming increasingly verbal, and is able to (sort of) describe his day to me: "I played wif toys and Teacher Grace." (Yes, he has a teacher named Grace.) He'll also say "I yike Teacher Grace" and "I yike so-and-so." This morning, another little boy at daycare named Hanson came over and hugged Miles. It's irresistibly cute.

Miles has been quite interested in letters and numbers lately. He can “count” to ten: “one two free five seven eight nine…fourteen!” Of course he doesn't know their value but it's fun counting with him. And he knows several letters. A few weeks ago, he put together two pieces of macaroni and said “T for Thomas.” He identifies “yetter I” and “number 1” and other yetters: I, X, Q, H, M, and T. We watch “The Letter Factory” and I think it’s helping with letter identification and phonics because if I ask “what does the M say” Miles will reply “mmmm.” For several months now, Miles has being saying “two” for any plural items. I’ll ask “how many?” and if it’s more than one, the answer is always “two” though he is starting to say “many” or "free."
You can just see Micah Bunn's foot to the left of Miles. We often see the Bunns on Fridays, and the boys' favorite activity is playing with trains. In fact, if you ask Miles what he'd like to do, he'll say "pway twains with Micah!"