Big Little Boy...

Mommy took Myles for a standard check-up and immunization appointment yesterday. Though he doesn't like being held down very much, he takes the shots in stride and bounces back pretty quickly.

Myles is still a very big kid for his age. He is not quite 17 months old and he measured 36" in height. That puts him within the 100th percentile for his age. The doctor explained that roughly 9 out of 10,000 kids that age are taller than Myles. He's just a few yogurt melts shy of 30 pounds, which is about the 93rd percentile, and he's around the 90th percentile for head circumference. All around big.

We often point out that he's not even a year and a half old when strangers, like the woman who cut his hair, seem to expect him to be a little more conversational or responsive to instructions. We can understand the assumption that he is older. He is taller and bigger than most of the 2-year olds we know, including some that are a full year older than he is. He's just kind of a big dude.

Chef Myles

This video was taken in the afternoon on Christmas Day, and Myles was already getting into a groove in the kitchen. Clearly, he favors liberal use of seasonings. The "practical toys" - the kitchen, pots and pans, vacuum cleaner, shopping cart, groceries - have been a huge hit, because he really just wants to be doing the things he sees us doing. It's so frustrating for him to be told "no" all the time when he wants to play with the real thing, so these toys are perfect. Fun times!

Christmas Celebration No. 2

With a great opening round behind him, Myles charged into Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with confidence and gusto. My family graciously accommodated our wish for Myles to have childhood Christmas celebrations at home, so they all traveled from the Madison area to our place on the afternoon of Christmas Eve. In attendance were Grandma and Grandpa A, Aunt Jenny and Uncle Mike, and my cousin Kristi and her daughters Stephanie and Leanna.

Myles woke up from his afternoon nap to find that the whole bunch had arrived, and he very much enjoyed playing with all of his visitors until dinner time. We sat down in the dining room and had a nice Christmas meal, and then moved into the family room to open the mountain of presents. Myles scored some pretty sweet items, and wasted no time starting up the vacuum cleaner Grandpa and Grandpa gave him.

He also got a shopping cart and a lot of toy groceries and dishes from Grandma and Grandpa. Myles was also spoiled by Aunt Jenny and Uncle Mike, with the doll and stroller below, as well as the Little People airplane Mommy and Myles are opening.


Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Jenny and Uncle Mike stayed overnight to be part of the Christmas morning fun. Myles awoke to find a living room full of family and a very elaborate play kitchen from Santa. He wasted no time getting started on working hard in the kitchen and enjoying all of the accessories he got from Grandma and Grandpa.

Then, he had presents from Grandma and Grandpa T to open, including a CD of personalized songs, such as "Myles and the Dinosaur," plus another handmade wooden train car to add to his collection, as well as an insulated motion W cup, just like the ones Daddy uses.

Myles finished off Christmas morning by digging in his stocking, where he found such treasures as yogurt melts and a Tonka truck. So much excitement.

So, all of these new toys should keep him busy until his first big airplane trip to visit Grandma and Grandpa T in Florida at the end of the month!

Christmas Celebration No. 1

Myles's second Christmas was a big success. He really enjoyed the festivities and all of the family visiting. Of course, he enjoys his new toys as well.

We started off our celebrations on the weekend before Christmas. Uncle Dan, Aunt Tiffany and Cousin Cole came to visit and have a small celebration, because they would be in Florida visiting Grandma and Grandpa T for the holidays.

Myles got the biggest, coolest present in the history of 16-month old kids from Dan, Tiff & Cole and Grandma and Grandpa T. I remember looking in the JC Penney Christmas catalog as a kid and wanting an electric car - still wanting. It took Myles just 2 Christmases to get one. Lucky dog. He enjoyed it from the first moment and is actually surprisingly good at driving it around the house.

Cole and Myles had a fun time playing together and Cole was very patient and gentle with his younger cousin. As a veteran pro with electric cars, Cole gave Myles some pointers. We enjoyed a nice meal and a nice day with them, and it was a great way to start the holidays.

Decorating the tree...

Myles was only 4.5 months old last Christmas, so this one looks to be a lot more exciting for him. Now that he's running around, climbing on everything, getting into everything, etc., he takes so much interest in what we are doing, and he was pretty excited to see Daddy and Mommy set up a 9-foot Balsam tree in the living room on Sunday. He couldn't get enough of it.



Some of the ornaments we have are semi-functioning miniatures of toys, such as a miniature Rock'em Sock'em Robots and, Myles's favorite, a miniature jack-in-the-box that really pops up when you turn the crank.



It looks like we will be spending the month of December trying to keep Myles from doing too much damage to the bizarre, decorated tree that is taking up some of his playspace. He's so curious about all of it - how it looks, what it feels like, how much force it will take to tear items off the tree and what they sound like when whipped against the hardwood floor.

Happy Halloween

Myles had a busy and fun Halloween weekend! As usual, he was a very good sport and the cutest lion I have ever seen! Friday evening, we headed to our friends' house for their annual Halloween bash. We had a very good time and Myles was very well behaved. He stayed at the party until about 10:00 and didn't once complain about being tired.

We went as a safari family. Unfortunately, we didn't manage to get a picture of us all together.

Saturday evening was trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. We stayed home for the first hour handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters. Myles loved running to the door every time the doorbell rang and all of the neighborhood kids were so cute. Then, we suited up and headed out ourselves.

Aunt Jenny came to trick-or-treat with Myles, which was wonderful! It was not only great having her here, but she sure helped out since Mommy and Daddy were busy wanting pictures and video of this momentous occasion.

Myles hit several houses, and while he was hesitant at first, he really seemed to start to get the hang of it toward the end.

After trick-or-treating, we enjoyed some pizza with Aunt Jenny and then headed over to our neighbors' house for a little get together. It was so cute watching Myles play with the other kids. We are so happy to be in such a nice neighborhood!

Pumpkin Patch, Take 2

As promised, Myles headed back to the pumpkin patch with Daddy over the weekend. Myles had been sick for several days, but appeared to be on the mend and was in dire need of some fresh air and exercise, so this trip was perfect! It was a beautiful fall day!

Myles and Daddy cruised through the hay bale maze. Myles tumbled a few times, but just brushed himself off and kept going.

Myles was fascinated by the gourds and oddly shaped pumpkins.

We have had great times at the pumpkin patch this year and are now looking forward to getting Myles in his first Halloween costume and doing some trick-or-treating!