Sitting Pretty

Miles practices sitting in his big boy chair.

Practice makes perfect (so we'll keep working on it)!

Gravity

On the day you were born

the round planet Earth

turned toward your morning sky,

whirling past darkness,

spinning the night into light

On the day you were born

gravity's strong pull

held you to the Earth

with a promise that you

would never float away...

- (On the Day You Were Born by D. Frasier)

Miles can hold his head up pretty well, although that darn gravity always seems to be working against him...

Silly face...gravity working its magic on his droopy eyes and cheeks Miles defies gravity (and our camera) with his ultra-fast karate chop of the hands

My lesson in gravity came last night. While admiring my baby boy when walking across the room, I totally lost my sense of balance and everything else and ran into the doorframe of our kitchen entryway. Ouch! That's what that cute little boy does to me!

Finally!

It finally appeared...Miles has found his smile! Miles had been smiling in his sleep and sometimes to himself when he was awake, but just this past week he began smiling in response to other people, especially his daddy. It is so difficult to capture on film, as his smiles are quick and fleeting.

Beautiful, beautiful boy!

There it is, that smile is creeping up on him again...

Cute naked baby photos

Miles and abuela enjoy a little face time

Sleeping in the City of Angels

Just returned from our trip to L.A. Overall, the trip went well. Miles was a breeze to travel with - he slept through the plane rides and only fussed a little when he was hungry. He settled into the baby bjorn for the long haul through security and between gates. The only stress came from the amount of stuff we had with us. We LOVE our Peg-Perego "super-duper" stroller (even got compliments on it while traveling), but next time we'll be taking an umbrella stroller instead! David had to work everyday so Miles and I did little exploring during the day, but we were able to do some sight seeing in the evenings together as a family. The weather was rainy and cool with temps in the 5os. We still enjoyed it! All those Southern Californians are spoiled! The rain (more like drizzle) was the top news story the entire week we were there!

What David and I did in L.A.:

We went to Hollywood Blvd and visited the Kodak Theater and looked at the stars' names on the sidewalk. We ate at a hole-in-the-wall Mexican Restaurant - the kind with plastic chairs and a T.V. playing telenovelas in the corner. We were the only customers. One woman was taking orders, cooking and serving. Her 6 year old daughter was there coloring and playing. She befriended us and the baby. She pointed out the artwork that her mom had painted that was on the wall and mentioned that her dad was sleeping in their apartment upstairs. A little bit of Mexico right in the heart of Hollywood.

How appropriate!

We're introducing Miles to high fashion at an early age!

We were able to get together with a few of David's fraternity buds at a local restaurant for dinner one evening.

We also went to Venice Beach and Santa Monica. Venice Beach was nothing like what we imagined. Granted, we were there at night in the "winter" season while it was cloudy and rainy, but we didn't see anyone other than the homeless camped out in their tents on the beach and tenants of beachside condos driving around in their BMWs. It was an interesting place... Here's the fun part...with two days left of the trip we decided to move from our hotel outside L.A. to a different hotel in Anaheim, literally 3 blocks from Disneyland. David was visiting an office in Orange so this was more convenient for him (and more fun for me). We didn't actually go to Disneyland theme park (the weather was rainy and it was just Miles and I), but we walked around "Downtown Disney" and enjoyed the sights there. Here is Miles posing in front of a water feature at Disneyland Resort:

What Miles did during our trip:

Slept

Hmmm....slept (notice the touch of red in his hair!)

and let's see....SLEPT! (this last picture is Miles on the airplane)

Poor Miles slept through most of the interesting parts of the trip, saving his crying and fussing sessions for when we were cooped up in the hotel during the day.

The scenery:

L.A. does everything big and bright!

There was some type of citrus fruit tree outside of our hotel. I couldn't tell if it was an orange or lemon tree - too big to be lemons, too yellow to be oranges. I think it had been neglected. How amazing that fruit grows right outside your door without even tending to it! This poor little midwestern girl needs to get out more often! Beautiful (and eerie) trees line the streets of Disneyland Resort Bird of Paradise flowers - gorgeous! A good trip, but happy to be home - even if it is cold and snowy!

Traveling Circus

Who would have thought that a ten pound baby would require at least ten times his weight in baby equipment - especially when traveling! David has a business trip this coming week in Los Angeles. Rather than staying home in the frigid cold, Miles and I will be flying out to LA with him. I'm pretty nervous about it...wondering how Miles will do on the plane (we have to stop in Denver), if he'll be fussy at the hotel, did I pack all the right stuff, etc. The weather in LA is supposed to be partly cloudy, maybe rainy, and around 60 degrees. That beats single digit temps anyday. I'm hoping that we'll get to go to Hollywood and the beach sometime in the evenings after David gets off from work. There are also a few things to do close to the hotel, some hiking/walking paths and a park area. My desire to get outside and MOVE is stronger than my nervousness about traveling with a baby...so we're off! We'll be packing today and tomorrow, leaving on Monday and returning on Friday. Hope to have some great photos to post when we return!

A photo shoot with Dad...

Miles isn't quite sure what to make of the camera

A kiss from dad

Big yawn...it's almost naptime

Check out the double chin!

Posing dad, spaced out baby

David, Miles and Felix

2 Month Stats

Happy (almost) two months little bug! Miles and I braved the deep freeze and went to his two month well check today. The high is supposed to be a whopping 5 degrees here. It was zero degrees when we left for the doctor's office, but he was bundled sufficiently...hey, he is a Minnesotan, right? He didn't seem to mind the weather at all...a sure sign that he takes after his mom in that department. Here are his stats: Weight - 10# 15 oz (31 %tile) Height - 22.5 inches (33 %tile) Head circumference - 39 cm (25 %tile) At least now he's on the growth charts - yay!

Miles laying around - being a cute baby, of course

Felix moping around, acting like a very sweet, but neglected dog. Don't let him fool you - he's still very spoiled and has his pick of where to sleep at night (usually on the couch).

Here's to the two most life-changing and amazing months in my life so far!

The Space of Motherhood

It is said that some women fall deeply in love with their newborn the second he is born and some go through a more gradual process of falling in love. It's not that I didn't love Miles right away...but he was so tiny, so brand new, and, well, he was a stranger to me. Here I am almost two months after his birth and I find myself so attached to him and growing even more so every day. It has definitely been a slow process of getting to know one another. I left Miles for a few hours this past weekend and felt the itch to go home and cuddle with my little guy almost the entire time. I worry about how we will both adjust when I go back to work. I know he'll benefit from being with his abuela and I'll benefit from going back to a job that I enjoy, but I never anticipated how difficult it might actually be. Some days I love being at home, and on other days I can't wait to go back to work....such is life...complex, never simple. The space of motherhood for me has been like exploring a new city, a new country, a new dimension, where I spend half my time dodging rainstorms and the other half feasting on my favorite foods and sweet treats. The challenges and rewards run parallel in mommyhood - impossible to separate one from the other. Here is the physical space where we spend our time...

A few pictures of Miles' room

This rocking chair used to belong to my aunt, then passed to my mom, then passed to me. I spent an entire vacation repainting it right after graduating from college. My cousin teased me the whole time that it looked like it belonged in a nursery and that someday soon it would end up in mine...I never imagined that she would be so right!

Missing Daddy

David is in South Dakota all week on business, so it has been just mom and Miles trying to pass the time away at home. There's not much to do when it's chilly outside, yet the days go by so quickly, I can hardly believe it. We've been running errands, visiting family, and having friends over. Most of our time we pass playing with (more like staring at) toys...

sleeping and swinging...

and taking photos, of course!

Miles put on a theatrical production featuring his very interesting and ever changing facial expressions...he was happy to offer up these lovelies in a matter of about 2 minutes. I was quick with the camera, but not quick enough, as some of them are blurry due to him moving so much!

Life is a bit more challenging taking care of a new baby by yourself, as sleep is rare and there just isn't someone there to give a bit of relief when doing everyday tasks - only 2 more days to go...

Three Kings Day

In Puerto Rican culture, Three Kings Day is a big celebration. Miles, David and I, along with David's family, joined in the celebration at the restaurant Babalu, where we enjoyed a short play, yummy Puerto Rican food, music and dancing. Miles made his acting debut in the play as baby Jesus. Getting a head start on his involvement in the arts! Way to go Miles - you did a great job, especially after Auntie Sheyla ran up on stage to give you your pacifier!

Miles plays baby Jesus in a skit that was put on for kids and families as part of Three Kings Day Titi Sheyla and Miles

Titi Keyla and Miles

Abuela Yasmin and Miles posing for the camera

David and I at Babalu