Christmas, Snow, and More!

My surgery went well. I was a good patient, or so Mommy and the pretty nurses said. Dr. Russel said that I had watery fluid in my ears, and that the tubes should help a lot. I went back to daycare the next day.

I must say that I do feel better. It's like a whole new world for me. I hear things much more clearly. I like to dance to the music Mommy plays! I've got two moves now. I can wiggle and bop.

On Christmas Eve, Eve as Mommy calls it, we went to dinner with Lily, Megan, their parents and Erin. I had pizza for the first time. It was awesome! I really like spaghetti too. I got a cool tool set I turn the screws and it sings a song!

We went to Grandma Katy's the next day for Christmas Eve. It was snowing! Mommy was all excited about that. I got to play with Hailey, Thomas, Khloe, Sean, Molly, Luke, Jared and Amber and Natalie. Mommy helped me open my presents because I wanted to play with the bows that were on all the other presents. I got books, and clothes with my name on them, a concrete mixer truck, dress up clothes, and more cars! I can't wait to play with all of them.

I stayed up late on Christmas Eve because we were at Grandma's and there was so much to do and see. I was pretty hot, so I put on one of my new outfits. It was a green t-shirt that said "future farmer" and had a green tractor on it. Grandpa Carl liked that shirt a lot.

Mommy and I let Daddy sleep in and met Grandpa Carl and Grandma Katy for church. Then we went to Aunt Johanna's house for more presents and brunch. I'm a fan of brunch. I really like breakfast casserole! Yummy!! I fell asleep in the middle of presents because my tummy was full from breakfast. I am very excited to play with the new toys I got and have already worn some of my new clothes!

In the evening we went to Great Aunt Barbs for more food, family and presents! I was happy to have turkey and mashed potatoes for dinner. I learned what land line phone looks like. Did you know they have cords on them? I got to see my cousin Blake there too. I was totally worn out from all of the events of the day. I slept for almost 12 hours!!

Yesterday Mommy and I met Grace and Aunt Johanna at this place to go sledding. I wasn't quite sure what it was, but once I did it. I liked it. I wasn't a fan of putting on all of the clothes though. I could barely walk with the big snow boots that I had on. Mommy carried me up this big hill! We had to share the sled with Grace because Mommy let Thomas borrow hers. It worked out good though, Mommy got tired of carrying me pretty quick. We went down the hill really, really fast! Mommy tried to slow us down and that made snow go all over our faces!! It was super fun though. I can't wait to go again!!

Be sure to check out my photos!!

Cold Baby

Man has it been cold! I've had to wear my "Elmer Fudd" hat lately. I just call it my warm hat, but Mommy calls it this "Elmer Fudd" thing. I don't know who this Elmer guy is, but if I meet him, I'm going to ask him what is so special about his hat.

Oh, my I need to tell you about my night with Jody! Me and her had an awesome time! She was telling me about her pigs and she read me books too. I went to sleep with her there, but I knew when Mommy got home. I wanted to talk to Mommy, so I woke up and then Daddy put me back to sleep, it was pretty late. I hope Jody comes to watch me again, she is pretty.

After my night with Jody I got to visit Leta and Bill for a long time. Daddy was setting up new computers for them. They have their computers downstairs. I like that, because I like to crawl up stairs. Well, at least until Leta came and got me. We made a game out of it. She'd usually let me get to the third or fourth step before she'd get me. Sometimes I'd wait for her to get there, I wanted her to get me!

So the following Tuesday (Dec 7) I met a different Dr. I met Dr. Russell. He told me that I have to get "tubes" in my ears tomorrow(Dec 21). He said it's the only way to get the fluid out from behind them. He was a nice guy and said that I would be ok with getting the tubes. I'm not scared because he said that it only takes 10 minutes to get them. If it means that I won't have to get medicine all the time I'm all for it. I feel like I've been on medicine for the last three or four months.

Last Wednesday I got to see Lily & Megan! We ate dinner at Mommy's favorite place. She let me have a potato to eat! I also had some garlic bread. I got to see Lily, she is such a smiley girl.

On Friday we had a big party at Daycare! I got a photo taken with a red hat on...it was a gift for Daddy and Mommy. I also got some awesome toys and clothes from Dawn, Brie and Reyna! They take good care of me and I love them very much.

On Saturday Mommy and I went to "kindermusic". It was lots of fun. I made a set of jingle bells. I could have played with them all morning, but had to put them aside for a while. Then we got to know everyone by jumping and swinging. We then got to play with these sticks. Mommy kept trying to get me to hit them together since that's what everyone else was doing. I just liked them and watching what everyone else was doing. I walked around and saw the other kids hitting their sticks to the music. I was sad when I had to give the sticks back. But, later on we got to use our jingle bells again. After we did that we got to see Santa! I wasn't really a fan of him this time, because I had too much fun dancing earlier. I was tired and cried when he said hi to me. You can see in the photos.

I took a long nap on Saturday, and then hung around at home until Grandma Karen came! She had a surprise visit from Leta. I arranged that for them. I knew they missed each other, so I had Mommy and Daddy have Leta come over after Grandma Karen got my dinner to me. Oh, we played and played. It's awesome to have two Grandma's watching you. I showed them my new toy from Dawn, it's a walker. I haven't quite figured it out yet, but I like the noises it makes!

Yesterday was a long day for me. We got up early and met Grandpa Carl & Grandma Katy at church. Then we went to breakfast with them. I was so tired, I would fall asleep in the car, but then we'd be somewhere and I'd wake up! After that, we went to see Erin. Her brother graduated from "ISU". That sounds pretty cool, I think I want to do that. I was playing and playing and discovered that I LOVE Avanti's bread. THEN we went to Aunt Chris' house and I played with Thomas, Hailey, Uncle Denny and Aunts' Carol and Mary. They were making cookies or something.

I was sooo tired, Mommy and I came home and took a nap. We slept so long that we were late for my cousin Braxton's birthday dinner at Grandma Karen's. Luckily they waited for us to get there. I was playing "come and get me" with Grace. It was lots of fun!!

Thanks to everyone who has sent me Christmas cards! I love them. Mommy reads them to me.

xoxo
Myles

PS
I'll send another quick message tomorrow after I get home with my tubes. I'm thinking I'll be tired since I have to be there at 6 am!!

PPS
My birthday party is at Pheasant Lanes on January 1st at 2 pm. You are invited to come! Please email Mommy if you plan to bowl. It's more of a open house, come and go, just stop to give me hugs!!

Turkey Time

I must say that I now know why everyone calls Thanksgiving "turkey day." It is a wonderful food. It tastes so good! I'm not quite sure why all of the big people fall asleep after eating it though. It didn't make me sleepy. In fact, when we were at Aunt Chris' house I didn't take but one nap and struggled with it.

I got to see lots of family on Thursday! We got to sing Happy Birthday to Uncle Tim. I had fun showing everyone how I can walk instead of crawl. However, I still crawl if I want to get somewhere fast. I am getting faster at this walking thing though. Sometimes I don't even think about what I'm doing and all the sudden I'm across the room.

I'm starting to eat more food on my own now. I don't have to have Mommy or Daddy feed it to me. I eat peaches that are bite size. Peaches are silly though...they slip out of my hand. I wind up getting the juice all over my face in the process. Sometimes they end up on my lap and I sit on them. I think I'll get better at it over time though.

On Monday we went to visit Grandma Katy for her birthday! Aunt Mary and Hailey brought her and Grandpa a cold cake. Grandpa's birthday was yesterday! I went and saw Dr. Kaye on Monday too. My ears are red again. I have an appointment to see what they call an ENT. I wonder what that means.

I went to Mommy's work with Daddy last night and saw Linda, Cynthia, Brian and Tabitha too. I wasn't feeling very good though and wasn't myself. Mommy stayed home with me today so that I could feel better. I'm taking medicine again. I started to feel better after about 11 am.

I got two new winter coats this week! I got two because Mommy thinks I'm bigger than I really am. The 18 month coat fits just great...I was not a fan of the 2T one...my hands would disappear when I was wearing it!

I've been sleeping a lot with this latest ear problem. Daddy and I fell asleep on the floor in the living room last night. Mommy couldn't find us, but then she heard us both breathing. Daddy must have moved me into my crib, because that's where I woke up this morning. I had lots of snot stuck to my nose. It's pretty sore from all of the yukky stuff coming out of it. My favorite place to wipe my nose is on Mommy's shirts.

I'm going to be hanging out with Mommy's friend Jody tonight! We're going to play and play. I'm going to show her all of my cool toys and race her up and down the hallway. Mommy said it's supposed to snow tonight, I hope it does. Daddy and Mommy say that it's fun to play in!

Thanksgiving wishes...

Mommy keeps talking about Thanksgiving and from what she's been saying I have a lot to be thankful for.

Just in the last two weeks I've got three new teeth! They are all on the top of my mouth. I like to feel them with my tongue. It's a very different feeling than the two I have on the bottom of my mouth.

Getting three teeth at the same time does wonders on the rest of you. I had another ear infection and went to see Dr. Kaye twice! The first time she said that I had fluid in both of my ears and that the left one was infected. I got medicine and took it twice a day. But then all the sudden five days into the medicine I got a fever of 103.8! That was pretty high according to Mommy, so we went back to see Dr. Kaye and she said that my ears were better, just fluid in them - no infection. I was to keep on my medicine but just to rule out being sicker, I had to go to the hospital and get my chest and blood looked at.

That sounded pretty scary to me. Especially since I didn't know what that meant. Mommy was prepared though, she brought a bottle for me and so I had that while the nurses were trying to find a way to get my blood out. They checked both of my arms two times. Mommy said that was bad, because I have her veins. They finally found what they were looking for and then all of the sudden I couldn't move my left arm because they were holding it. That scared me so I started to cry.

Mommy was singing to me which made it not so scary, but then all the sudden I felt pain in that arm. Eventually it was over and I got a cotton ball with some tape stuck to my arm. Mommy said that I was a big boy and I did a good job. Luckily, I couldn't see what they were doing.

After that we went down stairs at the hospital to the x-ray section. We went into a room and it had big things everywhere. I got to sit on a green bicycle seat. I was sitting on this seat and then my hands were pulled up straight by my head. Something was closed around me that you could see through and then my head was strapped to it. It was kinda scary to be in that position. Especially since I couldn't see where Mommy was.

Mommy was talking to me the whole time and it didn't take very long to do it. Mommy said that they took my picture. I didn't get to see it, but when they let me out of the position I was in, Mommy explained to me about how I was sitting in there and showed me the green seat. Once we were done there, we went to Grandma Katy's. I had lots of fun at her place.

It turns out that all of those tests I did came back negative or normal, so I was ok. Dr. Kaye said that I may have picked up a virus while having my ear infection. All I know is I'm glad that I'm ok. By the end of the week I had a new tooth, it was my left front tooth.

Since I'm getting so big, I go in the big kid room at day care. I get to play with the older kids and watch what they do. They all walk around and I want to be like them. Mommy and Daddy practice with me at home and it's pretty fun. I do real good when walking with someone. I can even walk holding one hand with them.

Last Friday I got to spend the evening with Grace and Aunt JohAnna! I had lots of fun cruising around her table. It was a weird round shape. She let me play with these cups that made lots of noise and you could stack them. Grace had a tummy ache, and she rested on the couch most of the time, but I kept smiling at her to make her feel better.



Mommy and Daddy came back to pick me up and we were playing. I figured out that I could go from Daddy to Aunt JohAnna without any help! I did it two or three times in a row! It was a pretty cool feeling to walk, you'll have to watch the video.

After reading about these past few weeks, I think I have a lot to be thankful for. I'm thankful for Daddy and Mommy, and all my Aunts and Uncles and Grandma's and Grandpas! I'm also thankful that I will get to see many of them this week. Mommy said I can eat what everyone else is eating! Unless it has a lot of onions or peas in it. Those don't like me very much.

Love you lots!! Myles
Be sure to see the photos from Lily's b-day and my 10 month photos!

Big News...I have a front tooth!

Wow, it's been a while since I've had time to chat with you guys. A lot has happened since we were on vacation. It seems like yesterday sometimes. Last we spoke we were in Cincinnati.

The day after we saw the trains, we went to this place where I saw lots of fish. I'd never really seen fish before. It was really fun! I watched them as they swam around and around. Eventually it seemed to be a little bit of the same thing so I decided to take a nap. After we had lunch, we went to the hotel so Mommy and Daddy could take a nap. Then in the evening we stayed in the hotel because it was raining.

I was having fun crawling around in our room. They had this wall that I would stand up against. I would bang my hands on it over and over, it made noise! It was so much fun! I also practiced my crawling a lot. Mommy let me take a bath in the big tub! I was splashing and splashing!

On Thursday of our trip we went to see the planes. There were lots of them! Daddy was having fun telling me about the planes. We couldn't read all about every plane though, there were just too many. We spent all day there it seemed. I took two naps, because we were there for so long.

Friday we left our hotel. We stopped about half way and ate at this dark place. Mommy and Daddy said that the food was real good and that we'd have to go back again. We were on our way to visit some relatives. They were so excited to meet me!

We met Kathleen and Emily right away. Emily took us to see their animals. They have lots of brown goats. They are very friendly, they liked smelling me. We then saw Mary Grace and Dane working on a fence for a new baby cow that they got. Since then Mom said that they sold it to someone who will take good care of it.

We stayed there for dinner and I played the piano a little bit at their house. I got to meet Emily's dad Bruce. I played and played until we left and was fast asleep by the time we got to the highway. On Saturday morning we left Indiana I slept almost the whole time until we got to Sean's apartment.

My cousin Sean lives in Champaign, he goes to school there. We checked out his apartment and went to eat lunch. I Daddy put a scary mask on me. It didn't scare me though. I'm not afraid of anything.

We finally got home on Saturday afternoon and I was happy to be there. I wanted to play and play...but Mommy and Daddy were tired. So I played with all of the toys I missed while they rested. The next day Mommy took some photos of me next to the pumpkin we got from Aunt Chris. I tried to eat it, and that is a "no no." So is eating leaves...they look so good. Mommy was teasing me towards the end when I was wanting to go inside. She THREW me into the leaf pile she made. I didn't like that at all. I had leaves everywhere! Mommy took me in and changed my clothes to find leaves in my diaper!

Back to day care the next week. I really missed Dawn, Brie, Reyna and all of the kids. I was telling them all about my vacation all week. Then Saturday I got to see Khloe. It was her birthday party. She got lots of cool toys. She let me play with them. Funny part was, it wasn't her birthday yet.

After we got back from the party we went to see Barbara's computer. It was sick. Daddy needed to fix it. It took a while to fix it, that's ok though because I could play with Barbara then. She was singing a song to me in a different language. I like the song though. Mommy needs to learn it so she can sing it to me.

Khloe's birthday is the same day as my Daddy's. Wednesday we went to dinner! I got to see both Grandma's, Grandpa Carl, Denny, Chris, Mary, Marshall, Hailey, Erin, Mike, Angela, Megan and Lily, Mark, Greg, and Chris and Tony B. It was lots of fun. Then we sang happy birthday to Daddy.

On Saturday we went to breakfast with some more of those shirt tail cousins Mommy keeps talking about. I met a guy named Larry and his brother was there too. They came to town all the way from Canada. I'm not sure how far away that is, but it sounds like a neat place to go.

In the afternoon Mommy dressed me up in my costume. I'm not really sure why but I felt pretty neat when I was wearing it. Daddy said I'm a soldier. We went and visited Katie and Loren. Loren said I was heavy! Then we went to dinner with Megan, Lily, Mike, Angela and Grandma Sue. I have lots of Grandmas.

On Sunday I went out in my costume again! We went to see Jim & Angie, Robert, and Mike, Tina, Luci, and Ian. After that we stopped and saw Dionne for a little bit. Then we drove to Hudson to go to Aunt Mary's. I played and played and ate and played some more. Lots of fun Halloween is I guess. These people kept coming to the door, and then all the sudden they stopped coming, so Hailey and I were looking out for them. It was pretty fun, we were wondering if they were too scared to come to the door with us both there.

On this past Saturday I went to Lily's birthday party. She got some neat stuff too. I got to hang out with her Aunt Jennifer and her Grandma Sue again. It was fun!

My left front tooth came in today at day care! Mommy says the other one isn't far behind. I'll be glad when it's done, I'm tired of the runny nose I've been having. My nose is red and sore and I am not a fan of it being wiped.

So now that you all know what I've been doing, make sure to check out my photo album, there are lots of pictures! I hope to see you soon, if I haven't seen you lately!

New Adventures on Vacation

Every day the world gets bigger and bigger it seems. I've been exploring our house. We have two hallways. I can crawl from one end to the other!!

Now that I have two teeth, I have to brush them. When Mommy brushes her teeth, she lets me brush mine too. She always says that she has to have a turn first.

Yesterday we went on a really long car ride. We wound up in this place called Cincinnati. I slept a lot in the car so it wasn't that bad. We stay in this room with two beds! I get to crawl around a lot. I sleep in my pack-n-play.

Today we went to see the trees. Mommy put me on her back in the sling and carried me while we walked with Daddy to this outlook of the river. Mommy said it's the Ohio river. That was a long walk for Mommy.

After lunch we drove to this cool place. It has a LOT of trains in it. I got to ride one! We saw lots of pumpkins and I rode with Mommy and Daddy the first time. I rode a second time with Mommy so Daddy could take pictures. Mommy will post pictures when we get back home. I played with some toys and went down a slide. We saw lots of trains and a subway too.

I wonder what we'll do tomorrow!!

Tales of Exploration

Wow, it's been almost two weeks since we last spoke! It goes by so quickly. Now that I can crawl, I'm very tired when it's time for bed. I have a habit of standing up and sitting down and standing up and sitting down. I usually get hot and sweaty doing it!

I've been exploring around the house a little bit. Crawling on the hard floor is very different than on he fluffy floor. Most times I can't go anywhere on the hard floor because it's so smooth.

On Friday, I went to Grandma Katy's on Friday because my ear hurt pretty bad. I talked with Grandpa and Rick when they came in for lunch. That night we went to dinner with Erin! She was excited to see me crawling.

On Saturday we stayed in because it was rainy outside, so I didn't miss much. On Sunday, we went to Grandma Karen's for dinner. We celebrated Great Uncle Phil's birthday! I tried the meatballs that Grandma made. They are really good! I liked the mashed potatoes too.

I've started eating more meals from the jars now. Mommy gives me bananas that I can eat myself and some little pieces of apple. I also tried strawberry yogurt this week!

Because I'm so big now, 22 lbs at the Dr's office, Mommy bought me some bigger diapers. I haven't used them yet, but Mommy hopes that they work better than the ones I'm in now. I've had a tendency to over fill them in the past week or two. I think that part of it is because I'm eating more real food, and part of it is because of the medicine I've been on.

Mommy had to clean the exersauser this week because somehow it ran down my leg and then I was spreading it around with my feet. Mommy had just changed me for day care too. Yeah, that was a fun time.

Mommy and I went to my cousin's house on Tuesday. Mike was making funny faces at me. They saw me crawl and stand up! They were pretty excited about it. I got to see Luci and Ian too. They have a friend staying with them for two weeks from Germany.

Yesterday, we went to the park for a little while! I played on this rocket and we went down the slide! I of course got to swing for a long time too! See the photos in my album on the right!

Big end to another week!!

I've got news! Big news!

I can get where I want to go all by myself now! Daddy says I'm crawling. At first it was easier to go backwards to get where I wanted. Somehow I'd end up in a corner or something and wind up sitting stuck. Now that I can move and see where I'm going it's pretty fun. I also can get up on my knees usually with my hands on something to keep me steady. I stood on my knees for about 5 seconds last night not holding on to anything just to see if I could do it.

The other cool thing I did today was I got to see Grandpa Carl and Uncle Joe and Rick farming! I got to ride in this big thing with wheels like on my dump truck. It's green and makes loud noises. Mommy calls it a combine. It was so neat! We went up to get inside to see Grandpa. He let me sit next to him. I could see everything.

First there are these points that go in between the corn. And the corn stalks get sucked down into them and the yellow things break off and feed into the middle. It all happens so fast I had to look around a lot to take it all in. We were bringing dinner to Grandpa and he was hungry. He likes Grandma's chicken salad sandwiches.

We rode with Grandpa for what seemed like forever and two seconds all at once. We got out and Daddy was there to take me. Grandpa drove the combine over to our car and gave us curb side service. Our car is small compared to the combine. I sat with Rick in one of the grain trucks. We had matching red shirts on.

Needless to say, I fell asleep in the car ride that was less than 5 minutes to Grandma's. I don't know how Grandpa sits in that thing all day long, it made me tired after 10 minutes! That's an important job though. I hope I can ride again with him.

Grandma Karen hung out with me not once but two times this week!! We had so much fun playing together. I got to see Grace, Braxton, Aunt JohAnna and Zac and Grandpa Ed last Sunday too. Tonight went to dinner at the Grand Cafe. I played with my dump truck while we were there.

Hope you like the photos and my video!

Happy Labor Day!

Mommy said that Labor Day is for people that drive dump trucks like the one I have. I like to turn the wheels on my dump truck. The faster they go around the better. I like anything that has wheels!

On Sunday we went to State Farm Park to celebrate Lily's Mom's birthday. It was lots of fun! I saw both Grandma & Grandpa's, Lily, Megan, Mike and Angela and Lily's Grandma Sue! I also met Mike's sister Kathy and her family. I saw Greg and met Daddy and Mike's friend Chris.

I played with both Grandma's, they make me laugh! They like to tickle me. I let them, cause they give me a break to catch my breath. After the party I fell asleep in the car. Granmda Karen stayed in the car with me while Mommy went in to Meijer.

On Monday we went to see Grandma Katy and Grandpa Carl's. Uncle Tim cooked steak and I ate some carrots! Hailey and I were sharing my puffs. She likes them a lot. She wouldn't share her bread with me though. She also wasn't a fan of Aunt Mary holding me. I can't quite figure it out, but I hope she doesn't hold it against me.

Last night was a good night. Mommy and Daddy were both home and my teeth didn't hurt that bad. Mommy says that I'm working on getting my canine tooth in. It has been hurting a lot off and on.

Tonight has been interesting. Mommy was supposed to work late but she came home early! Daddy and I were very happy about that. She took some video of me making raspberries again. She sure seems to think that's funny.

Happy birthday to Mommy early, it's this coming Sunday. I'd tell you what I got for her, but it's a secret.

8 months and new teeth!

Wow has it been a crazy week and a half! I'm 8 months old now. That seems like a lot. I'm wearing size 12 month clothes. They fit me pretty good. Mommy says that I need to get some shoes or something. She has put some things on my feet before, but I didn't like them much.

A week ago Thursday I had something big happen. I got my first tooth. And then two days later I got a second one! It feels very weird, there are these sharp things that my tongue slides on.

So you would think that the hardest part is the tooth coming out. But that was just the beginning. Ever since they've come out, they have hurt A LOT. That means I'm kinda whiny. It used to feel better when I chewed on something cold, but now that my teeth are out, it's too cold and I don't like them. Mommy finally got me some of these little white things I eat and they melt in my mouth. They make me feel better so I can sleep. I couldn't sleep very good on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. I was up with Mommy from 1:30 - 4 am. Mommy had to get up Daddy and rest because she was so tired.

Daddy let me play on the floor and then eventually he rocked me to sleep. I slept until about 7 am so Mommy could get somewhat ready for work. It was a long day for her and Daddy. I didn't sleep well at day care either.

So, in addition to my new teeth, I saw a lot of awesome people! We went to the corn festival and saw Daddy's cousin Steve. He plays a harp or something. His band was really good, and I wasn't scared by them at all. It was real hot on that Sunday. We walked to this place and it was nice and cool. Mommy let me try some of her hamburger. She had something called pizza.

Mommy has posted lots of pictures and even a few videos of me...the video uploader thingy hasn't' been working so some of them might be a little dated.

It's great to be me!

Well I didn't make it to day care on Monday. I over ate some sweet potatoes and had a few ounces of milk and WHAM. All over daddy, all over me, all over the couch, the carpet and the sink. The good part is that I got to see Grandma Katy and Grandpa Carl on Monday. The bad news is, I gave Grandma Katy my tummy ache.

Mommy took me back to see Dr. Emm again because she was worried I may be getting dehydrated. I had actually gained an ounce and was at 19 lbs. Mommy says that I'd lost at least a half a pound because I do my baby stats on the Wii. He also checked my mouth and stuck this dry wooden thing that had no flavor in my mouth. He said that I'm getting tooth! That explains a lot, because it HURTS. Luckily it only has taken Mommy and Daddy a few tries to figure out that my crying is that my tooth hurts, and not that I'm hungry. Ok, back to Grandmas.

Mommy came and picked me up after Grandma got sick. Luckily Grandpa was there to hold me. He lets me play with his phone. Mommy never lets me play with her phone. Mommy said today that Aunt Carol got my tummy ache too. She was saying something about me being a giver. Anyways, I hung out at Mommy's work and played with my toys while Mommy did a bunch of stuff on her computer.

Yesterday I was back in action at day care. I really missed all of the kids and Dawn and Reyna. Then as if the day couldn't get any better Grandma Karen came over and visited me! She gave me carrots, and then we played. She was tickling me and so I giggled at her. She likes it when I giggle.

Tonight I went with Lily and Megan for a walk. We walked around this lake. Then I had some sweet potatoes and corn. I came home and got a bath. Mommy likes to make my hair stand up after baths. She's silly that way.

Be sure to check out some new photos of me!

Stroller Bound

Just thought I'd send a quick note to everyone to let you know I'm doing much better. My last fever was on Friday night. I slept all night and it finally went packing.

On Saturday morning Mommy and I went for a long walk. I got to ride in stroller. We wound up at Grandma Katy's. It took us a while to get there. I got to wear my jacket I got from Grandma Karen. It's a little big on me, but I still looked cute.

I got some new clothes. They are a little big on me. Most of the 9 month clothes I have are 'just right.' The new clothes I got say 12 months. I hope that I can wear the for a long time.

In the process of getting sick, I lost some weight. Mommy isn't too worried though. I'm now 18.8 lbs. I was almost 20. Mommy says she can tell a difference, but she always says I'm heavy anyways.

Daddy and I have been watching pre-season football. Mommy got me a Chicago Bears outfit. It looks pretty cool.

Tomorrow I'll go back to day care and see Dawn! I'm excited to go back, it seems like forever since I was there. I think I forgot to tell you that I got a new car seat last week. I think I'll like it, it's bigger and I can see out the window better.

Sick baby...

I'm just starting to feel like myself again. It all started on Tuesday night. I'm starting to get the hang of those things Mommy calls puffs. So I ate a lot of them. Then she gave me my favorite carrots. They tasted yummy.

After dinner was over, she was holding me on the couch and all the sudden they were on my lap. It kinda scared me, I didn't quite know what happened. The really scary part, was that it kept happening. Mommy called Angela to get some advise. Then she called Aunt JohAnna too. By then I'd thrown up, as Mommy calls it 3 times. It had only been 2 hours.

Mommy called the on call Dr. He said that a stomach virus was going around and not to worry. If I sleep all night, just keep feeding me. However, there was to be very little sleep for me. I kept throwing up about every hour. Mommy was giving me sips of this sweet water. It tasted good, but I kept throwing it back up. She would give me just an ounce and about an hour later, it would come back up.

We were both tired of this around 2 am I slept for maybe 2 hours. Mommy slept on the floor next to me to keep me company. I had gotten a habit of waking up throwing up. It is quite scary to be dreaming and then all the sudden your body is mad at you.

Mommy kept giving me the sips of the water stuff and I could keep it down for a little while. By 5 am I was so hungry she gave me 4 oz of formula. It tasted so good, I sucked it down. That didn't make my tummy very happy. It stayed down for about an hour and then BAM, all over the carpet in the living room. All over me.

Mommy put me in the sink and rinsed me off. The water was a nice change of pace from what had been happening.

I was so tired after that throw up, that I slept from about 7 am - 9:30. The longest sleep session that Mommy and I got.

I woke up and felt very yucky. Mommy fed me and I didn't throw it up right away. She had taken my temperature at 9 pm and it was normal. She took it at 9:30 am on Wednesday and it was 100.4. Barely a fever, but my hands and feet were HOT. Mommy packed me up and she called the Dr's office on the way to let them know we were coming. We got there quickly and I saw Dr. Emm. He was very nice and said that I was not dehydrated. He told Mommy to try giving me the sugary water with a tube thing instead of a bottle. Every 20 min. That worked well until about 1:30 pm. I was starving again!

Mommy gave up and gave me 4 oz of formula. I was feeling better, and had even smiled at Mommy to let her know I was thankful for that bottle.

Little did I know that I wasn't done throwing up my food. Right before Daddy got home from work, I threw up again, and again, and again. On the floor in my room, on the changing table and in the bathroom.

I was tired again and so I took a nap on Mommy from about 5-6:30 pm. I woke up and Mommy kept giving me the sugary water every 20 min or so. Daddy got called into work at 6 pm and left around 7 to go in. It was just me and Mommy. Since I wasn't eating well, Mommy needed to save her milk for me to drink later. I just wanted her to hold me. She put me in the exersaucer and I was just crying for her to pick me up. She called Grandma Katy and she came over and held me. Mommy was pretty darn tired by then...I was too to be honest.

I ended up falling asleep on the floor while Mommy slept in her bed. Daddy fell asleep on the couch in the room with me. Mommy woke up about 5 hours later...and I did shortly after her. We both looked at each other, we don't speak the same language yet, but we both were relieved. She fed me on one side and then we both went back to bed. I woke up at about 6 am and ate again. That's when the pooing started up.

I bet Mommy has changed me at least 10 times today. She was glad that I've finally went #1 this afternoon. She called the Dr.'s office and they said I could start eating bananas, rice and applesauce. I had some rice around 3 pm today. It was pretty yummy and a nice change of pace from the sugary water and milk. Mommy and I both took naps from 4-6 for Mommy and I woke up at 7:30. I had some bananas at 8:30 with Daddy.

Mom's Notes
What crazy few days. Myles went to bed right on time around 9:15 tonight. I'm headed that way too. I thought I'd share my Facebook posts, for those that aren't on Facebook. My commentary is pretty funny, at least to me. I think the worst part of him being sick was that he didn't smile for an entire 24 hour period. He moped, and was sad. It was almost like seeing his first smile when it came back yesterday afternoon briefly. He's still not 100% yet, but he is way better than yesterday morning.

Tuesday at 9:55pm
Nothing stains white towels like carrot throw up. Myles has whatever stomach flu that is going around. Lethargic baby = bad. Cross your fingers that the upchuck is over. He needs rest. At least I'll be home with him tomorrow.

Yesterday at 11:07am
A total of maybe 2 hours of sleep for me, and possibly 3 for Myles last night. He did sleep for 2 hours this morning and I slept for 1.5. Went to the Dr, just the same old stomach virus going around. Slight fever, tylenol do your magic. Sleeping now, time for Mommy to CLEAN and DISINFECT.

Yesterday at 2:42pm
Myles is back! A simile returned around 2pm

Yesterday at 5:07pm
Myles has perfected his projectile vomiting technique. He can now move his stomach contents about 3 feet. Medals will be awarded later this evening for lack of sleep creation on caretaker. Tonight is hopefully the final round.

Yesterday at 7:15 am
It is amazing what five hours of sleep will do. So far no throw ups since last night at 4 pm. It is on it's way out...

10:03 pm Myles is doing better, but still not 100% yet. Thank god for wipes and disposable diapers. I do believe I've done at least 6 loads of laundry, mostly towels and sheets. It is nice to have the smiles back. I think I'm a junkie for Myles smiles.

If you haven't checked pictures since my last email, then be sure to check them. None from this week. No one should see Myles when he's that sad and sick.

More fair fun and family!

So, let me fill you in on my fun at the fair! I went to the fair with Mommy in the morning. We went and visited Grandpa Carl and Uncle Mike running this contest. There were tractors there!! I met Bob, Gary and Jay. I also saw Brian and Doris. I got hungry and fell asleep when Mommy fed me. It was hot so I was sweaty. I didn't want to sleep in the stroller so Mommy tied me in her sling. Rick was there with Grandpa and held me while Mommy got ready for me to go in the sling.

I slept for about a half an hour and then we saw Kathy W and her kids. Gracie, Hannah and Claire were all talking to me. They gave me their camera case to chew on. Mommy tends to forget to bring me toys to chew on. We went into this big building and saw a huge tractor! Mommy said it's a combine. She took me up in it. It was really cool. She said that I can ride in Grandpa's this fall for a little bit if I'm good.

After that, we went and saw the baby pigs. Mommy let me pet them through the gate! I also saw the baby cow and the sheep. Mommy said it wasn't much of a baby, but I still liked it. I got stickers afterward that said "I pet a sheep!" Soon after, Daddy came and picked me up so that Mommy could start working. I played with Daddy for a few hours and then went to Grandma Katy's for the evening!

I had lots of fun with Grandpa and Grandma. I fell asleep around 8:30 pm and Mommy was supposed to pick me up and take me home. Daddy however had a rough night with his truck. Mommy had to pick him up to get Grandpa's trailer and then help him get it to Grandma Karen's house to go get fixed. Needless to say, I didn't get home until 12:30 am! I was a good boy though, and slept until 7 am for Mommy. She needed sleep.

Sunday was a busy day too. Mommy had to work a LONG day. So, I hung out with Daddy and then Grandma Karen came and picked us up and we went to dinner at her house. I got to ride in her car. It is a lot different than Mommy's car or Daddy's truck. I was having lots of fun playing with Grace and Grandma.

Monday things seemed to get back to normal around the house. Mommy didn't have to go to the fair anymore so I got to play with her at night. I like it when Mommy and Daddy are home at the same time with me. I need lots of attention.

On Tuesday night we went to dinner and saw more of those shirt-tail relatives. I met Marg, Marty and Mickey. Mickey is a nickname Mommy said. Her real name is Laura, but only her family calls her Mickey. I don't have a nickname, it would be too confusing. I saw Aunt Carol, Chris and Mary! Hailey and Grandpa Carl and Grandma Katy came too. It was a long evening, but I had a good meal. Aunt Chris was feeding me cucumber, well, she'd let me suck on it. I played with Mickey a long time. Marg held me too.

Wednesday night I went and saw Aunt JohAnna at work! She was making Daddy's hands all soft. I don't know how she does it, but I like it. She was making funny noises at me. I was glad that we got to hang out. On Thursday, It was just Me and Daddy. Mommy had to work late.

Friday night I went to dinner with Lily and Megan. We went to Mommy's steak place. Lily's Grandma Sue got me a dump truck. It's a soft dump truck. I like it a lot! Thanks Grandma Sue! I had an awesome dinner of green beans and rice. Mommy let me sample some of her baked potato.

On Saturday, we hung out at home for most of the day. Then we went to Toys R Us! I got a new car seat to ride in! Mommy says that because I'm almost 20 lbs, I need a new one. I can't wait to ride in it. Daddy installed it today (Sunday). After we got my seat we went to Barbara's house. We hadn't seen her in a while because she went to visit her parents in Canada for a month! That was a very long time. However, we did get to meet her brother Bruce and sister-in-law Angie. I now have two new friends named Jonahs and Samuel.

Today was a big day for me. I spent the day with my Aunt Chris. Mommy and Daddy went to this place called the State Fair. Mommy said it's like the County Fair only bigger, longer and more expensive. I was glad I got to go over to my Aunt Chris' house, it was hot today according to Mommy and Daddy. I got to her house and we played a lot. I took a decent nap in the morning. But, I was having so much fun in the afternoon, I didn't fall asleep until 3:15 pm. Mommy came home soon after that and I woke up about an 45 min later. I played with Uncle Denny, Molly and Sean saw me too! Klohe also came with her parents, they had fish for her Mom's birthday.

We got home around finally after going to the grocery store. It was fun this time because I got to ride in the cart! Usually I ride in the stroller. Not this time, I got to help Mommy pack up the groceries. Daddy installed my car seat and I can't wait to ride in it tomorrow to see Dawn!

It's fair time!!

It's been a quick week! I turned 7 months old on Monday. I celebrated by being all smiley for everyone who saw me. Sometimes I just can't help it. Had a great evening with Mommy & Daddy before things got all crazy with the fair!

Tuesday Mommy worked late, so she kept me with her in the morning. I took a good nap and was hungry for some reason. Mommy fed me, then gave me oatmeal and then gave me another 4 oz of formula before I was finally full. I was alseep by the time I went to Dawns. Daddy picked me up before I ate when I was there. I got home and was HUNGRY. Daddy gave me 6 oz and I was still HUNGRY. So, I had another four an hour later and then fell asleep from 7-9:30. I was pretty fussy, but it wasn't my fault. I was gassy. Mommy need sleep, so she put me in my car seat and I slept until 1:30.

My tummy felt better and I slept until 5:30, my usual wake up time. Mommy worked all day at the fair. So when Daddy came to pick me up we went straight out there so we could see her. I got to see lots of people at the fair! Lots of them said I was cute. I already knew that, but it was their first time to meet me. We ate dinner with Grandpa Carl next to the rabbit barn. Then we strolled around and looked at projects after Daddy went home.

I stayed with Mommy until I fell asleep with Kathy S rocking me in the stroller. I slept all night because the fair was too much for me. Well almost. I got to go back on Thursday too. Erin came and sat with me while Mommy worked at Share the Fun. Then Mommy and I gave Aiden and his parents a tour of the fair. Mommy showed him where the milk from the dairy cows go to. And we also got to see some REAL big tractors.

After Aiden's tour was over, Mommy fed me some carrots in my stroller. Well, did you know the fair is a dusty place? It makes me sneeze. And I did. But, my carrots flew out of my mouth all over the stroller!! Luckily Mommy thought it was as funny as I did.

We stayed until I fell asleep again, but this time it was Kathryn who I fell asleep on. We got home and I woke up because I wanted one more dash of liquid before sleeping all night. Mommy and I hung out again today in the morning because Grandma Karen came and played with me tonight. We played with all of my toys and she fed me my favorite carrots. I guess M & D went to dinner or something.

Today I'm going to the fair early with Mommy and then Daddy is going to pick me up. I'll play with him for a while and then go to Grandma Katy's. Mommy has important stuff to do for work at the fair so I can't hang out with her. I'm glad that the fair is over tomorrow, I miss having Mommy on a regular schedule.

Be sure to check out my photos from being at the fair. Mommy plans to take a lot of me today!

6 Month Dr. Visit

I know I just talked to you a few days ago, but Friday was such an important day, I didn't want to wait to share. First let me tell you about Thursday. I had a great day with Dawn and Casie. Then Mommy picked me up and we came home and took a nap. Mommy didn't sleep well the night so she was tired.

We woke up and went to the Verizon store. Mommy got a message on that thingy she won't let me play with saying she could get a new thingy. I was excited for her. Maybe she'll let me play with her old one...but I doubt it. We were there for about an hour and her new thingy will be here next Friday. There were a lot of people in the store. I wonder if they all got the same message Mommy did?

When we got done, we met up with Daddy. He went out with his friends from work. He hadn't done it in a while. We went to dinner at Fiesta Ranchera for the first time in a long time. Back when I was little, I couldn't handle spicy food that Mommy ate. Now that I'm older, I'm getting better at it. Mommy has even had her Chinese food spicy for the last two or three times. We ran into Chris and Tony. Chris' sister Petera was there with her friend. They both played with me while Mommy and Daddy ate their dinner. When we were there I had an ENTIRE tube of my blessed carrots with oatmeal. This is the bigger tub too, not the little ones either.

Friday was another long day, but not a bad one! Mommy picked me up so her and Daddy could go with me to my six month Dr. Appointment with Dr. Kaye. I'm almost 7 months old now, but she's busy with school physicals so it took us two weeks to get in to see her! I got weighed and stuff here are my stats:

Weight: 18 lb 9 oz = 50th percentile
Height 26.5 in = 25th percentile
Head Circumference: 18 in = 80th percentile

I also got more shots. They hurt A LOT. However, it wasn't so bad because Mommy was distracting me. She was feeding me when it happened, and for some reason that makes it all better. Seeing as how the end of the appointment was pretty stressful, I was exhausted. So I took a nap right away when we got home. Mommy took one too and then we went to Grandma Katy's to visit for a while. She was telling me stories of her trip to Las Vegas with Molly, Aunt Chris and Molly's friend Becca. I can't wait until I get to go to Las Vegas. It sounds like a hot place to be.

Today, I got to go to the fair! Well, kind of. Mommy had to work so I played with Daddy all morning. Then when I got up from my nap, we went to the fair. They are still getting things set up it seems. We got to see a lot of people there! I saw, Kathy W., Hannah, Rosemarie, Grandpa Carl, Great Uncle Joe, Tante Rosemary, and Uncle Marshall. Those are just the people who I've met before! Mommy said that there will be even more people there the next time I go. I'm very excited!

I came home with Mommy because Daddy wanted to work on his car. He says he's almost got it ready to run again. I'm excited because I might get to ride in it soon. I'll be happier when he makes it not quite so loud. It's really loud right now.

Hope to see you at the fair!!

A Whole New World

The past seven days have been so much fun! Last Thursday I went by Mommy's office to visit again. I got to meet Jeannea for the first time. She said that I'm pretty heavy. I also sat with Michael and Robin held me for the first time. I played on the floor with Sandy for a while. Mommy had this cup on the floor for me to play with and I wanted it sooo bad! I had to reach and reach for it. Eventually I got to it, but by then I was on my tummy. I had been sitting up. I like to sit up!

On Friday, Grandma Karen came over to play with me! Mommy and Daddy needed to fix some pump in the basement. They went to Lowes like 3 or 4 times!! Daddy finally gave up for the night and then Grandma went home to Grandpa and Hannah the dog.

I figured out that I can move around. If I stick my legs out straight and then pull them towards me while I hope a little. Mommy calls it scooting. I scooted to this box on the floor our living room four times in a row! Mommy says it's time to child proof the house. I wonder what that means.

On Saturday we went to see Erin. Her family was having a party because her sister is visiting from California. Mommy said that California is far away so it's a big deal when she is here. I got to meet Luci, Charlie, Jack and Jamie. Luci's mom is Moira. I also got to meet Hal and Jimmy. They are other nephews that Erin has. She had friends from school at the party. One of her friends is friends with my Aunt Carol! Her name is Tina. She had a lot of fun playing with me.

I had lots of people hold me at the party. So many that I can't remember all their names. It rained a long time at the party. There was thunder, lightning and wind too. I didn't notice it to much though, I was playing with the people who where holding me most of the time. It was a lot of fun, and I was super tired when we got home.

On Monday I went back to see Dawn and Brie. Brie has a big tummy! She's been at day care every other day for the past several weeks. Dawn said that today she had a baby! When Mommy dropped me off at day care she was already in the tub at the hospital. She had James sometime later in the morning. Dionne was there with Brie. That makes me very happy because she was with me, Daddy and Mommy when I came here too. Dionne sent Mommy a picture on her phone of James and said that I have a new friend. I can't wait to meet him!

I'm getting a lot more talkative now, I practice all the time. I practice so much and so loud that Mommy and Daddy have to stop the tv so they can hear it. I think it's funny when they do that. Didn't they know it was a contest to see who is louder? I win every time.

On Sunday I tried toast for the first time! I like it a lot! I like it when it gets all soggy and then I can swallow it better. It's also fun to drop it over the side of my high chair and see where it goes. I've been trying to eat these little star things too. The toast is easier to hold.

Mommy gave me some strawberries to try for the first time on Monday. I don't know if they are better than my 'favorite' carrots, but they are AWESOME! Mommy was holding a piece of strawberry so I could suck the juice away. I was sucking so hard that it slipped out of Mommy's fingers!! That made her nervous, so she pulled it out of my mouth. I wasn't expecting her to do that so I got real mad.

Last night Mommy let me try some chunks of her green beans she was eating. They were good and I liked chewing the bigger pieces. The only bad thing is that she wasn't giving them to me fast enough. So I had some that was all ground up with rice.

Hope to see you soon, the fair is next week and Mommy says that I get to go!

Loving Summer

I think I like summer. It's light out for a long time. I like feeling the warm all over my body, except when I sweat. I like going for rides in the stroller and have fun looking at all the cool things I see.

On Thursday night I got to go to work with Mommy. I got to see Dakota and Betsy again and I met Taylor and Andrew. They made a video and I'm in it! Mommy thinks it's funny. I was a good boy and played by myself until I got hungry. Then Mommy gave me a bottle and it was GREAT. After that I was sitting on the table playing and leaned too far forward and some came back out. It went on my leg and everything. I didn't mind much, but everyone else thought it was funny. I got to see Linda and Sharon too. Sharon had a meeting so I couldn't talk to her. Linda and I played for a little while.

On Saturday we went and visited Grandma Katy for part of the day. Mommy did some research for Grandma and Grandpa on how they can save money on their phone bill. I took a nap at Grandma's while Mommy did her research. Then that evening we went to Stanford to see more fireworks! I got to hang out with Kathy W's girls and she held me the entire time during the fireworks. I fell asleep because I was tired and was trying to block out the big BOOM's. Daddy said that they are the best fireworks he's seen. Knowing Daddy, that's a pretty good set of fireworks. Maybe next time I'll say awake for them.

Sunday Mommy was making bubbles for me. I was following them around. Sometimes they would come at me and sometimes they would fly up in the air real high. She took some pictures of me watching them. I also was watching this thing that was real small carry something. He looked like he was lost, he kept going in different directions. Mommy thought it was funny to watch me watch him. I bet he didn't think it was funny. He was probably crying because he couldn't find his family.

Later on I was really excited about my toy! Mommy was telling me to "get that toy" and I was so excited I screamed every time she said it! It was so funny the way she was telling me to get it that I started laughing and couldn't stop. I hope all my toys are that funny.

On Sunday night we went to Grandma Karen's for dinner. I got to see Grace, Braxton, Aunt JohAnna, Grandpa Ed and Uncle Phil too. Grandma held me while Mommy fed me some sweet potatoes and rice. Grandma says she's going to have her high chair ready for me next time we go for dinner. I like to sit in high chairs.

Last night Mommy bought me a high chair. It goes on regular chair. I like it a lot. The view from up there is amazing. It a little bit different than when someone holds you.

Today Mommy took me to see Dawn and Casey early. She had to stay home so some people could fix our basement. Mommy says that it will be nice and dry when they are done with it. Mommy said that they used jackhammers. I wonder what that looks like. This evening, we went for a stroller ride. Mommy was going to take me to the park to swing, but the park was full of people. We just kept on walking. That was ok with me because I was tired. I had a long day. And I had almost a whole tub of green beans with rice. YUMMY.

Don't miss photos from the past week!

Happy 21'st b-day to my cousin Molly, she is 21 on the 21'st. That's her golden birthday. I'm already planning for my golden birthday in 2012.

Christmas in July!

It was nice to have a "normal" week. Mommy didn't have to work late at all, but she did have to go in to work early on Thursday. Daddy got me ready for day care and took me to Dawn's. Mommy picked me up early and we played and played until Daddy came home.

When I'm at Dawn's I eat oatmeal. I like it a lot. Every morning all the kids say hi to me when I come. "Myles is here! Myles is here!" they say. We got to go to the park last week! I get to ride in the stroller it is a lot of fun!

Now that I can sit up by myself I like to play a lot with different kinds of toys. Mommy and Daddy took me to Toys R Us to get some new ones! I got a hammer that makes noise and lights up and a dump truck that pops. Some of the toys are a bit old for me so I might not get to play with them right away.

Later on Saturday night we went to see the cars again. Daddy didn't bring his because he's still workin' on it. We got to see Toni's new Vette and Greg's new Vette. They are practically the same, but I noticed some differences. They both are blue. Toni's Brian brought his yellow Vette too. We saw more distant cousins related to Daddy. We went out to eat after at the place with the big fire. Mommy and Daddy had steak. I was tired after such a long and exciting day.

On Sunday I woke up Mommy at 7:30 and when I was done with breakfast, we went and met Grandma Katy, Aunt Carol, Uncle Tim, Thomas for breakfast. Daddy got up and came too. We ate outside near the place where the things fly. Later in the day on Sunday we went the pool with Aunt Carol and Thomas! I was almost lying on my back with Aunt Carol holding me. I splashed more and more. It doesn’t bother me too much when I get water on my face. I got tired and took a nap while we were there. Mommy and Thomas went on the lazy river and Thomas was jumping off of this board thing.

Later that night Erin came over and hung out with me! We played with this thing and it had bright colors coming off of it and it would turn real fast when the wind blew on me. I was just watching it and watching it. Mommy was helping Daddy with putting the engine back in his car. They worked for over and hour and had to quit because something didn't work right.

On Monday night Mommy and I went to see Lauren, but she wasn't there. There are other babies there too. Mommy has a special name for where we go but I can't remember it. It's one of the few places that I feel like I can eat out in the open like at home. When we're out and about, Mommy covers me up with this thing and I can't see so well and it makes me hot. My friends there are Keegan and Hope.

Tonight Luci came over and played with me so Mommy could help Daddy finish his car stuff. It turned out that Daddy didn't really need Mommy's help so Mommy pulled a couple of weeds out in the front yard. She said it is HOT outside. I believe her, because I never wear pants and I sweat ALL the time!

Gotta run, after having bananas two times in a row, last night and this morning at day care, I'm a bit fussy...either that or I'm officially teething, says Mommy.

Happy Independence Day!

Last night was great! I got to stay up late! Daddy put on a show. It was real loud! There were booms and bright lights and oohs and ahhs! We were at Lily and Megan's house. There were lots of people there. Klohe was there too! I saw Thomas, Aunt Carol, Grandpa Carl, Grandma Karen, Lily's Grandma Sue, Greg, Angela, Mike and many others. Daddy was busy most of the time getting ready for the big show.

Before the big show we went to see some famous people. First there were fire trucks to lead the way, then there were a bunch of big black bikes. And then Mommy said they were soldiers, and they were riding bicycles across the country. No loud motors on their bikes, just moving their legs up and down, if they had them. There were a few who were moving their arms up and down. That looked much, much harder.

Once they passed us by we went near this big building to watch a ceremony. A lady gave us each a flag, with white stars and red stripes. The people cheered and yelled in support of them. During the ceremony it started to rain, we were soaked by the time we got back to the car. It was fun though, I'm glad I got to see those soldiers.

I'm sure that you saw the video Mommy shared about the new sounds I can make. I got to go work with her on Monday night because she had to work. I saw lots of doggies! We were in a big room. Mommy fed me a new food. It tasted ok, but the texture was weird! Mommy said it was turkey. She gave up on feeding it to me because I didn't really like it much.

On Tuesday, I got to go to work with Mommy again! This time we were in a room with lots of screens. I got to see Kathy W, Hannah and Claire. They were showing me what they do in 4-H. I was helping them with these forms they fill out. Mommy was busy talking with other 4-Hers about what they need to remember about 4-H. I like going to work with Mommy. Daddy was happy to be able to work on his car while we were gone. The weather was nice and cool.

Wednesday I tried peas for the first time. They tasted pretty good. I ate them two nights in a row. That was not good. They gave me gas! I woke up screaming at 4:30 am on Thursday morning. Mommy was worried about me. Then on Thursday night after we went to Grandma Katy's for dinner, I woke up at 1, 4, and 5:30 am. My tummy HURT! The only good thing is that Mommy and Daddy were there to take care of me. Mommy says no more peas for quite some time.

On Friday, I went to day care with Dawn and Brie while Mommy and Daddy went to look up some information in Jacksonville IL. They found out information about my Great, Great, Great, Great, Grandpa Patrick Hines. They picked me up at the usual time and then we went to Lily and Megan's house to meet up with Kylie and her parents. Kylie lives far far away in Washington. Her parents worked with Mommy and Daddy at State Farm. I got to go to Ming's for the first time. It is a busy place. I tried sweet potatoes for the first time. They are pretty good.

On Saturday, we slept in a little bit. I can now sit up for a long time. Unless I'm looking at something above my head, then I fall backwards. I was practicing that and fell over a few times. Mommy took my six month photos. She took LOTS of pictures of me. In the afternoon we went for a car ride. Mommy had to do some work. When we came back we went to Grandpa Carl's for dinner. We ate outside, Aunt Mary used Mommy's camera to take some MORE photos of me. I tend to be cute all the time, unless I'm hungry or have gas.

I hope you had a great Independence Day weekend! I did too, and the proof is in the pictures...if Mommy ever get's them all posted so you can see them!

Happy Birthday to Hailey's mom...aka...Aunt Mary!

Mom's Note
For more information on the bicycle riders please check this link: http://s2ssbikeride.org/