Bragging Rights

I think I have bragging rights here. That, and if my husband won't toot his own horn, who will? Just in passing yesterday he tells me that the position he was offered at Sandia National Laboratory is to be apart of their SENIOR TECHNICAL STAFF. That's big! He says this to me like it's no big deal, but I know it is. Just wanted to share this because I couldn't be prouder of my cute and humble hubby.

Depleted and Defeated

Depleted and Defeated! That has been my motto the last week or so! Depleted of energy from all of the fun had and defeated by mean traveling people (visit this blog and this blog for a more accurate account of our experiences). Traveling with a toddler while being 7 months pregnant is a lot of work! Worth the work, but hard nonetheless. I want Miles to have great experiences and if that means Mommy is exhausted so be it! We just got back from Portland and spent four days hiking up to beautiful waterfalls, playing on the beach, shopping at some of the most interesting hippie markets, visiting the greenest and most luscious zoo ever, and spending time with friends. On our last day there, we were flying home and Miles came down with some type of bug. In the Portland airport he vomited a buckets worth of food and everyone around me just sat there staring at me while I was cleaning myself and Miles up. It took one sweet older lady (whom stated had had 12 children) to ask me if we needed any paper towels. Niceness and chivalry was dead this weekend except within this sweet woman. It's times like that, that I am grateful for my husband. I couldn't wait to get home and have an extra pair of hands to help out with my sick child.

While hiking up to the waterfall we saw a "duggy" (Tuggy). Miles walked right up to this dog and gave him a big hug and everyone around just about melted. The owner was shocked that he had no fear of this ginormous dog. I then explained that we have our very own Newfoundland at home and that Miles loves to cuddle with him.

After our fun-filled weekend in Portland we returned home to a very clean home. While we were out Tim packed a lot of our stuff into boxes, did a lot of finish construction work, painted, and rearranged furniture. He also had our carpets cleaned and Merry Maids come through and deep clean our entire abode. Thanks to Tim's parents Tug now remains in their backyard until our house is sold. After being home for one day we turned around and repacked for a two day vacation up at the Zermatt Lodge in Midway. I had a conference both days, but my boys had fun playing in the pool and all the many water fountains. Traveling is fun, but I think Miles was happy to finally be home where he can run wild and where we know he's safe to do so.More pictures of our vacation coming soon...

Household happenings...

I feel like our sweet little boy is well on his way into the "terrible twos" ALREADY! This last week Miles has discovered to hit and he thinks it's pretty darn fun and funny! I don't think he's doing it to be malicious or mean, but I do think he's testing his boundaries. It has taken me by surprise and I have resorted to holding his hitting hand, telling him "no hitting" in the firmest voice I can muster up and putting him down on the ground. However, I'm open to any other suggestions. It kills me to "yell" at him, though. Every time I have to lower my voice his lips starts to pout out and he begins to cry-- such a tender boy he is. Hopefully this phase of hitting and thinking it's funny will end soon, but I'm sure I'll have a bazillion more battles like that to come. Onto other happenings-- Miles has learned the masterful art of tantrums. Again, this all seems like it just happened over night. Recently, we were at the grocery store and he saw the ball rack from clear across the way and b-lined as fast as he could towards the balls. He then proceeded to pick out the lovely lime green ball seen below. I thought to myself, "what's another $1.25?" so we proceeded to the checkout with the ball at hand. When it came time to hand over the ball to the cashier to ring up Miles had a fit. He threw himself onto the floor, lowered his head into his arm and proceeded to scream. It took everything out of me to not laugh because I've seen mothers like this before in grocery stores and now I've become one of "those moms" having to deal with an upset toddler. After our groceries were purchased we headed home and as you can see below Miles had to hold the ball the entire walk home from the grocery store. I know his arms must have been tired, but he was NOT letting go of his precious ball. Funny kid.

Enough of the frustrating/comical aspects of motherhood, because the fun and good outweigh that by far. This kid has got quite the sense of humor! He loves to crack up and laugh! He'll laugh at anything and anyone. As we were driving in the car the other day, Kailee was making noises at him and he was blue in the face from laughing so hard that he couldn't catch his breath. Also, he LOVES to play with (or terrorize) Gus and take away all of Gus' toys. He thinks it's so funny to chase him around the house with the toys at hand and tease him. Gus and Miles could keep each other entertained for hours. Best buddies!

Lastly, this kid has learned to "roar" like a lion, blow kisses, laugh evilly, give slobbery kisses on the lips, sign some basic words (it's about time), climb onto EVERYTHING, turn on and off the TV, pat mommy's belly when we say "baby", pick up his toys and put them back into their baskets, steer his radio-flyer bike like a mad man around every corner and shake his head "no" when he knows he shouldn't be doing something. I'm sure there has been more growth than that, but that is all my pregnant mind can remember at this moment.

Speaking of which, I can't believe we only have a little over 2 months left before we meet this new guy. Sure, the timing of everything is not the best. I know it's going to be hard with Tim graduating and getting a job in NM, having another baby, putting our house on the market, buying a new house, and moving two states away from family and friends, but I have to keep in mind that we are blessed to have this more than awesome opportunity, while there are others out there struggling to find jobs. Life is good and we're looking forward to this new adventure.

Just love those little chicklet teeth and kissable cheeks!

Vids!

Miles LOVES his ball-- best $1.25 I've ever spent! He also thoroughly enjoys dancing to music. Let me tell ya, this kid has got some groovy moves. Hope you enjoy the videos.