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...