Snow!

I seriously never thought I'd be posting this, especially after my first few winters up here, but we FINALLY got a LITTLE snow. Poor Brooke keeps asking when she's going to get to make a snowman. We didn't get enough for a snowman, but she was able to get out and play in it a little bit. She also "helped" Matt shovel.

Miles had fun watching them from the window. He was still sick so I didn't want to take him out in the cold.

After, we all enjoyed hot cocoa and muffins. The snow was gone by the next day. I can't decide if I 'd like more or not. Guess it's a good thing it's not up to me.

Poor Baby

I came home from my getaway to Miles with a runny nose and cough. A bad cough. Like, "pack a day smoker" cough that would wake him up and make him cry. I took him to the doctor and they diagnosed him with an ear infection and RSV (Sidenote: I'm wondering how many undiagnosed ear infections Brooke has had. It seems like every time I take the kids in lately with a cold, they have one. Maybe her ears aren't as impressive as I'd thought.). Brooke also had RSV as a baby, but she was much younger and needed a nebulizer. (That must've been before I was doing blog posts bragging about my children's illnesses.) For Miles, they pretty much said to come back in if he started wheezing. Otherwise, stay away from other kids for a few days because he was highly contagious. Thankfully, wheezing never developed and he seems to be feeling much better.

It was actually nice to have a reason to lay low and just hang out with my kids all day. Brooke was very sweet in helping take care of him.

 

And if you couldn't hear him cough or see the sad condition of his nose, you'd have no idea he wasn't feeling well. Brooke and I did some baking that day. We made a "menu" of things that we could bake and she had Matt choose. (She loves to play waitress.) Here she is giving her muffins a "thumbs up."

And Miles entertained himself in the kitchen. He's already starting to open drawers, which Brooke never did. I think the babyproofing is going to have to be a little more thorough for him.

Brooke the Ballerina

Brooke started "pre-ballet" a couple of weeks ago. We were only able to be in the room for the first few minutes, so these were the only shots I got. In this one, she's the one a couple of steps behind on "Head, Shoulders, Knees, Toes."

She was very disappointed that they didn't do a "performance" after her first practice, but she's accepted that the recital isn't until May. That should be priceless.

She's said, "That was fun!" after leaving class every time, which is so great to hear. This is one of those times where my imagination and dreams for her can get carried away. I think, "Maybe this photo will go in the playbill of her first Broadway play..." Then my pragmatic side comes out and I think, "Hopefully this class will help her be better at not walking into things." Either way, it's a joy to see her having fun.

Love from Wheaton

Last weekend I was able to go away for a few days with some great friends from work. We had a great time despite cloudy/rainy weather for two of the days. While I was gone, Matt and his mom joined forces to watch the kids. I received quite a few photos (at my request).

We were also able to FaceTime every night, which was fun. Miles would just kind of be chilling then Matt would show him the iPad screen and he would squeal and reach for the screen. Brooke did her best to make sure I enjoyed my time away by throwing a temper tantrum mid-conversation on my last night there. This is her "I'm sleepy" pose.

This guy might have missed me the most.

Miles was getting sick the last day or so that I was gone. I'm genuinely happy that he didn't really get sick until I got back. I'd hate to not be able to cuddle with him when he's feeling bad.

 

It was much-appreciated rejuvenation time, but I was also SO happy to get back to my babies. All 4 of them.

Brooke

Since I was doing a post about Miles, I thought I'd throw in an update about Brooke.

 

She got this microphone for Christmas and one of our daily games has become "Introduce Me" - She'll leave the room, then I'll have to give a big introduction and she'll come running out and say, "Clap for me, Mommy." She'll usually sing a part of a song or two before she's ready to be introduced again. She starts ballet today so maybe that will be a good outlet for her need to perform? Another favorite game of hers is "Car" - we'll climb in a chair or couch together and she'll come up with some elaborate story about where we're going. This game reveals quite a bit about me. Our most common destinations are "getting coffee" or "Target".

She's still a great big sister, although she's not a fan of Miles getting into her things. I have the feeling we'll be talking quite a bit about sharing once he's more independently mobile. I need to be better about writing some of the funny things she says. One of the more funny and memorable recent lines was, "Can I have a drink of your soda, Daddy?" Pause. "I'm a mooch!"

She's quite the girl, complete with seemingly irrational mood swings and meltdowns, usually a couple of times a day. Her reactions during these times can also be quite telling of how she's seen us react. It's good impetus to make me want to be a better example, especially to be more patient and calm. The rest of the time, she's very outgoing, happy, helpful and compliant. This purse was another Christmas gift that was a big hit. She likes to take it everywhere with us. The other day at Target (surprised?) she said, "I can pay with my credit card, Mommy." What a sweetie!

Miles at 9 Months

Miles turned 9 months old while we were in Florida. I feel like I've commented on it often, but he continues to be a really easygoing, happy baby.

 At his doctor's appointment last week, he was in the 65% for head circumference, 95% for height, and 25% for weight. (The sheet with the actual numbers is in his room and he's napping right now. I'll add them later if I get time. Ha!) He doesn't seem that long or that skinny to me so I was a little surprised by those numbers. He's now on formula and drinks about 22 oz. per day in 3 bottles. He can hold his own bottle, but needs a little cueing, especially if there's other stuff going on. He's also eating 3 solid meals per day and snacking on some of our table food in tiny bits and eating puffs. He's going to bed around 6:30-7 and sleeping until 6:30 or 7 the next morning. He'll usually take about an hour long morning nap and nap for a couple of hours in the afternoon.

He's become quite a flirt. He can wave, but usually prefers to point at whomever he would be waving to. He loves everything Brooke does. Even if she's in the middle of a temper tantrum or taking something away from him, he'll smile and laugh at her. They've recently started a game where they scream at one another in the backseat of the car. It's cute. For now.

He likes to remind us that he's a boy. He'll throw almost anything he can get his hands on (he's already throwing better than Brooke did when she was two). If you lay him on his back, he immediately flips to his tummy. Diaper and clothes changing has become a wrestling match that he finds hilarious. He's rotating all over and scooting backward, still no crawling, though. He's a pro at both static and dynamic sitting (I like to throw in an OT term or two every once in awhile).

He's such a joy and we're so blessed that he's ours. I'll leave you with one of his party tricks:

Bismey!

 

Ah, the Magic Kingdom. Matt had the idea earlier this year that since Brooke is so "into" Princesses, we should take a field trip to Disney (or "Bis-i-mee", as Brooke calls it - and we don't correct her because it's cute) when we went down to his parents'. It's about a 3 hour drive, so once again we found ourselves leaving at 5:30 in the morning. Have I mentioned that Brooke isn't a good car-sleeper? We got to the Magic Kingdom at around 9 with her going on about 6 or 7 hours sleep. We weren't sure how it would go.

 

But it's the stinking Magic Kingdom, so of course it went great. I think it was a combination of exhaustion and awe, but she was amazingly good. 

 

It was also my first visit (I'd been to Disneyland as a little girl). I'm not going to lie, I got a little choked up as we walked through the gates. Which is weird, because I'm not usually an emotional person. I'm also rarely sarcastic.

 

I don't know if you've been to Disney World lately, but 1) Fantasyland just opened several new Princess-themed rides in December 2) Christmas/New Year's break is supposed to be the busiest time to go and 3) there's this whole "Fast Pass" system that's kind of like doing a crazy logic puzzle (i.e. "If I have a Fast Pass for 'Enchanted Tales with Belle' at 11 and it's 10:30, but I've had the Fast Pass for 2 hours, I can go for a new Fast Pass, but only if I'm wearing a blue hat, facing East and standing in Adventureland").

Thankfully, Matt thrives on a challenge. After much discussion with my friend Christy who is a Disney expert, he went in with a game plan and I think we had an incredibly successful and productive visit.

Brooke seemed to like the more carnival-ish rides the best ("Dumbo", "The Barnstormer").

 

The ones that went into darker tunnels or where she didn't know what to expect she spent so much time worrying that I don't really think she got to enjoy the ride. Also, she was NOT a fan of the 3-D movie.

We did have a little bit of a problem later in the day when our Space Mountain Fast Pass (the only ride Matt and Jamie really wanted to ride) wasn't until 9:30 and we had planned to leave early evening.

 

After a fair amount of deliberation, we decided to cut our losses and wait in line for the Princesses, who just happened to be featuring Rapunzel (or "Tangled" as Brooke called her). Her favorite tends to vary frequently, but she's been on quite the Rapunzel kick lately. After waiting forever (over an hour), we were finally let into a room with Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Rapunzel. I think that Brooke spent most of her time with the other Princesses talking about Rapunzel.

And Rapunzel did not disappoint. She blew Brooke a kiss as soon as we walked into the room and was so sweet and patient with her.

We didn't stay for the fireworks, but we did get to see the castle lit.

Brooke promptly passed out for our drive home. It was expensive and tiring, but something I'd do again in a heartbeat (probably not for a little while, though...).