Happy Holidays

What a fun festive week! Miles was so excited for Christmas to come and Santa to come visit our house. We have an Advent calendar and you put an ornament on the tree everyday during Advent, counting down to Christmas. Miles knew that once he put up the ornament on day 24, Santa would be coming. He kept wanting to put up #14 as he called it. We had a fun time making cut out Christmas cookies for all to enjoy, but wouldn't you know it, we forgot to have him put them out for Santa! We didn't leave Santa anything this year. :( I had thought about it all week and had planned what we'd leave him, but after Christmas Eve mass and eating late, we forgot. Hope he comes back next year!

Miles had a great time Christmas morning and really enjoyed all the gifts he got. It was funny, by the end, when we were on stocking stuffers, he had really lost interest and had me open the last 3 gifts for him. He really took a liking to his doctor's kit, which surprised us. We thought he'd like it, but since he's typically healthy and doesn't see the doctor often, we weren't sure how he'd play with it. He played with it all morning and continues to play with it, fixing us both along with his stuffed animals and the baby. He also enjoyed his other gifts and is having fun playing with all his toys.
Ahmad made a wonderful Christmas feast with a Pork Crown Roast, something we've never had before, but was quite tasty!
I also turned 9 months pregnant on Christmas! OMG! I can't believe we have less than a month left in this pregnancy. We are so excited to meet our new little one and anxious about all the new changes of being a family of 4!


The day after Christmas, my parents and brother came to visit and celebrate. We had a great time with family and really enjoyed having them up.

There was a bit of snow on the ground on Saturday, but not much. Miles commented on it, but never asked to play in it. I think he was too busy playing with Nana, Grampie, and Uncle Michael. It did snow all day on Sunday and was beautiful! We tried to get Miles out in it a few times, but he kept saying no, that it would get on his nose and in his eyes. Hope he's able to enjoy it before it's gone!

Miles is starting to expect visitors all the time now! Between Santa, my family, and then today, Andre, Emily and their baby Evelyn came through on their way back home. He's so excited to show everyone who comes the baby's room and his room and then all his new toys. He's such a ham! And we'll have more visitors this week when hopefully the Kleins can come visit and then this weekend when my friend Bubba comes up!

Ahmad is really enjoying the new features on the computer we have now and getting back into the groove he was in when he used to edit film for the IUPUI basketball teams. He put together this hilarious video of Miles' dance moves.

Miles is also too funny that he continues to play this kitty cat game he invented. He likes to act like he's a cat and says "meow" and rubs his face against you. Then he signs that he wants to eat and pretends to eat grass off his pillow or whatever else is around. He then commands that I act like a cat and offers me grass to eat as well. It's pretty cute!

I have this week off from work and am keeping Miles home to enjoy spending some extra time together in general and then also before the baby comes. I took him to a movie today and we saw The Princess and the Frog. He did pretty well with it and was very excited to go. He drank the majority of the large lemonade we had and had some popcorn, so about halfway through, he had to go to the bathroom. After that he kept talking about going back out in the lobby and I thought he either wanted to leave or go play the video games he saw. So I finally gave in and thought he was done with the movie, packed up and headed out. Turns out he wanted some candy! So, we got a bag of cotton candy and headed back into the theater to finish the movie. He enjoyed it and couldn't wait to tell Daddy all about it when he got home from work. We had a great day and I'm looking forward to the rest of the week!

Stories

As I was getting ready this morning for work and Miles was sitting on the counter in the bathroom, I was thinking about how when he was littler, he used to sit actually inside the sink while I got ready. As he was able, he'd reach out and grab various products I have on the counter and pretend to use them like I do, even holding up my hair spray and saying "sshhhh" like he was spraying his hair. It was so cute. I always meant to take a picture of him because I doubt he'll believe me when he's older that he used to do that, but for some reason, I never did. It reminds me of how my dad would always tell me he used to carry me around in his bathrobe pocket. It was always a fun story to hear.

I've also meant to write about one of Miles' games he plays with me before bed while we are bug-bugging. He likes to say the ABC's on my teeth, one letter per tooth, and then usually around the letter E, he'll tickle my neck. Then I do the same to him and we usually end up in a tickling match. He's such a tickle bug!

And a Partridge in a Pear Tree

Another fun and exciting week at the Keyes' house! Miles has been so good lately; only a few minor things here and there, but he's easily redirected these days. However, he's also into pouting when he's told 'no' or doesn't like something. He'll leave the room and lay down on the floor or go mope and put he head in the pillows or something. He doesn't get upset, which is good, but he's definitely into pouting.

It's also funny how he picks up on absolutely everything we do. Sometimes after dinner, Ahmad will leave the table and go lay on the floor in the living room like he's so full he just has to stretch out. Miles has started doing this too and can't wait for daddy to be done eating. They go lay down and say "aaaaahhhh!". So funny.

I've been meaning to write this, but kept forgetting. Miles also takes after his daddy in that he doesn't like tags on things. Every now and then, Miles decides he doesn't want a tag on something, like his clothes or stuffed animals, and insists on cutting the tag off himself. I think it's pretty funny. He also has started saying that his stomach hurts if we are doing something he doesn't want to do. For instance, if I'm suggesting something to watch before bedtime, he'll say (usually halfway through the show!) "I don't like this, this makes my belly hurt" or "I don't want to, make my belly hurt"!

I often say to Miles "You know what? I love you!" The other night when we were bug-bugging before before bed, Miles was talking to baby and said "You know what? I love you baby!" to my belly. It was precious.

We had a snowfall on Saturday and Miles couldn't wait to get outside in all the quarter of an inch of snow that fell. He and Ahmad went out to play while it was still snowing and that lasted all of about 7 minutes. They threw a few snowballs and ran around and then Miles decided he didn't like the snow falling in his eyes. He came inside and I suggested he wear his sunglasses. He liked that idea and went back outside. For about another 2 minutes. He didn't like that either. That was the end of snow play on day 1.

It snowed a bit more on Sunday and we went out again. He did much better and enjoyed making some snow angels, snow balls, and playing on his swing set. I needed a break after that and daddy joined Miles outside. Miles wanted to play football, so they donned their helmets and played a little football. It didn't last too long though because Miles was hungry and needed to get ready for a nap.

It's also funny to hear myself saying things that my parents have said to me while growing up. My dad periodically says "When you get big and I get little...". I found myself saying this same thing to Miles this morning. He has a set of keys he plays with and wanted to take them to school. This was fine as he agreed to leave them in the car. He then decided he wanted to drive and said "mommy, I drive?" I said "no, you're too little to drive". He said "when I get bigger?" I said "yeah, when you get big and I get little, you can drive". He said "ok!".

Last night we had the neighbors over to celebrate Christmas and have a play date. We had a nice dinner, exchanged gifts between the kids, and played. It was a great time!

Miles also has been learning Christmas carols at school and loves singing Jingle Bells!

2 Turtle Doves

Another good week! Miles amazes me with all the new things he does everyday. We started working Christmas gifts for the grandparents and had a great time! Now if we can just get them finished in time...(no peaking grandparents!)

Miles has been working on his ABC's for some time now and has had his letters down, but I finally just captured it on video.

We got a new computer, finally! Ahmad has had a good time working on all the new applications and had a great time putting together and editing this Christmas video of Miles.

Miles continues to be overjoyed with his new sibling. He's so cute and continues to play with the baby and talk to it and snuggle with it. The other night, after our bug-bugs, Miles wanted to say goodnight to the baby. He pulled up my shirt to see baby and gave it a kiss. He said "I know, I know, you miss me. I'll see you tomorrow. We have your bed ready and your fish ready. I love you!" It was precious! (the fish are a crib toy that Miles had and now we have one for the baby as well).

When I picked up Miles from school on Friday, he was very talkative (which he is most of the time these days). He started talking about his favorite foods on the way home and stated that he liked Taco Bell, burgers, sandwiches, and french fries. It was very funny because we never even eat at Taco Bell, so I'm sure this is something he heard at school. However, he is also into gummy bears and BBQ sauce these days. He loves them both and is even preferring BBQ sauce to ketchup, which is a huge switch for him. At first, he just called it 'sauce', but now says BBQ sauce. He also stated once he got home that "Michael Jackson goes hee hee" It was hilarious! Another school trick.

We were able to spend Saturday evening with our good friends, the Kleins. We had a great Christmas celebration and good food. Miles enjoyed spending time with his girlfriend, Lauren, and showing her how to use the new toy he got her for Christmas.

We also had a few other things happening this week. Ahmad got a new job and will be starting the first of the year. He decided it was time for a change and fortunately, found another opportunity he thought he'd like to pursue. He's going to be starting a sales position and is excited about the new adventure! Unfortunately, dad also had a turn of events and landed in the hospital with pneumonia. Thankfully, he's mending well and is hoping to be home tomorrow. Miles held up well when we finally located the seasonal flu shot. He was a trooper and didn't mind the shot at all. He winced, but then it was over and he got a band aid and a sticker-what more could you want?!

Yesterday was fairly nice, for December, and we really wanted to get to Christmas at the Zoo, so we decided to go for it. We invited our neighbors and Katie and the girls were able to go with us. It was pretty funny when I picked him up from school. Apparently he had been planning his evening and told his teacher that he was going to eat a lunchable with cheese, crackers, and ham. Then he was going to take a bath, watch Imagination Movers and go to bed. Well, I had to shake that up and asked him if he'd like to go to the zoo instead. He was so very excited, it was adorable! When we got out to the car, he started "yee-hawing" and even said "Yee-haw! Ride a pony!" I have no idea where that came from, but it was very funny. Somehow he also started talking about how old he was and I said, well, you are almost 3. He took that and ran with it! He concluded, accurately, that he would be having a 3rd birthday and he'd get a cake, presents, we'd sing to him and he was going to wear a party hat. It was very cute. His eyes kept lighting up and he was grinning from ear to ear at the thought of his birthday. I had to explain to him when that would be happening as we've been saying that first Santa would come and then the baby would come. We added on to that and said that after the baby, then we'd have his birthday. He tried to get me to reorder that, but of course we can't! We were already planning to have a very small party for him and now it seems that was a good idea!

So, we did make it to the zoo and had a great time. It got cold at the end, but the lights were amazing-there were so many, and even took a ride on the train.

We're looking forward to another great week and the upcoming holidays. I can't believe Christmas is next week!

Christmas is Coming

It seems like so much has happened this past week! Baby's arrival is getting so close now. I've got about 6 1/2 weeks left, which isn't much time at all! We've been able to get pretty much everything else we need for the arrival and I'm feeling fairly set. I need to just spend a bit more time in the room preparing and then we should be set.

We ended up over at our neighbor's house tonight for an impromptu play date.
It started out this morning with our first snow fall. I promised Miles that if he was good at school today, we could play in the snow when we got home (all 1/2 inch of it!). He was very good at school today, but the snow had about all melted and only had patches left here and there. Miles was still ready to play on put on his snow boots, hat, gloves, and coat and went out to play. The first thing he wanted to do was to taste the snow. So we found a few patches of snow on the wood pile and had a few tastes.

Then he played on the swing set and we made a few snow balls. About that time, he noticed Evelyn playing in her kitchen and wanted to say Hi. The next thing I knew, we were playing next door even though Katie and Eric weren't home (Kathy was there with the kids). They soon arrived home and announced that they had sold their house and would be moving the middle of January. :( We are so sad! We love having them as neighbors and playing with the kids all the time. Not to mention we are both having new babies about the same time and were going to be on maternity leave together and be able to raise our children together (at least for a little bit!).

So sad. But, we'll still be able to be in touch and get together, it will just take more work. We ordered some pizza and had a good time, planning to get together before Christmas to celebrate.

Yesterday, we got our Christmas tree and were able to decorate. Miles had a great time and really got into the tree decorating. After we got the lights and garland on, he put the first ornament on and continued to enjoy decorating the tree.

We finished the tree together, but did the rest of the decorating while he was napping. When he woke up, he noticed every decoration and we had to go through each one and explain what it was and why. It was very cute. He was still processing everything today and is getting there. He started out saying that Santa was going to come and bring ornaments. By tonight, he had it down that Santa would come to our Christmas tree that had ornaments on it and would put presents in the stockings. He's getting it!

Miles is playing pretend a lot more now and it's too adorable! This week he sat Ahmad and I down a few times on the floor in a circle and imitated his circle time at school. He pulled out his Go Fish cards and called them his flashcards. He put them in a stack by his side and directed us to sing songs before doing the flashcards. We sang a variety of songs and even sang the ABC's one letter at a time (each of us having one letter and going around the circle to complete the alphabet). Then we'd do a few flashcards before being excused.

Miles has also really been into his music again this week. He pulls out his guitar and plays music and dances and directs us on different instruments. I play the keyboard and Ahmad plays the mixer. Last night, Miles decided that someone needed to play the maracas and the other keyboard. So, he decided that baby needed to play too. He was very cute as he came over to my belly and pretended to take baby over to the floor and decide which instrument would be best for baby to play. Then we had a jam session!

Miles continues to have an entourage with him when he goes to bed and when he leaves for school in the morning. He has his elephant, moose, kitty, and gorilla as well as 3 blankets. He does well in the morning and leaves everything in the car except his one blanket he takes to school for his nap. He has all the animals and blankets when he goes to bed as well. When it's time to finally lay down and go to sleep, he balls up each blanket and places one on top of the other on top of his pillow. Then he places the gorilla on top of the 3 blankets. He then lines up the elephant on the right pillow next to the blanket tower and then his kitty on the other side and finally the moose next to kitty. Then he lays with his head on gorilla and we cover him up completely with the sheet over his head and the blanket over him. He turns on his fish and we turn on moon and he goes to sleep. It's too funny! I need to try to get this process on video. Inevitably, the moose will fall and Ahmad will have to go put it back in line.

The other funny thing that Miles does sometimes now if pretend to order food from a drive thru. He asks for an 8-9-10. I assume he's ordering a number off the menu; guess he's been through the drive thru a time or two! :)

Turkey Teeth

This last week was another adventurous week at the Keyes house! Lots of fun times were had. Miles is still really into the baby and wants to see it all the time. He even tells daddy when he touches my belly to not touch 'his' baby. Too funny! It's been interesting this week; I've heard that when a new baby arrives, sometimes your older child/ren can show some signs of regression, but it seems Miles is doing this already! Not too bad, but definitely bringing up things from the past. He's suddenly started calling us 'mama' and 'dada' fairly often and has begun wanting to drink out of a sippy cup again. He hasn't been drinking out of a sippy for some time now and now always wants one. He's also been using his baby sign language more often lately. He'd pretty much stopped using it since he can get his point across with words now, but this past week, he's been signing 'more', 'eat', and 'drink' that I've noticed.

Miles is also still really into playing basketball and has a great time with daddy about every day! They've even started doing introductions before they begin to play...sometimes this is Miles' favorite part and does like 5 intros!



We had a good time getting ready for the Thanksgiving festivities and Miles helped me make the apple pie we were going to have as dessert!

Mama and Papa Keyes came down to spend Thanksgiving with us and we had a great time! It'd been a while since they were down, so it was real nice to have them here. Miles loved visiting with them! He ended up napping through Thanksgiving dinner with one of his 3 1/2 hour power naps, but he eventually did have a little bit of turkey, which Ahmad had fried.

We had gotten some sparkling grape juice to have too, but didn't get to that with him really until the weekend. We got out our plastic picnic wine glasses and had 'fancy drinks'. He thought that was the best thing ever! We drank them all weekend. On Friday, we took Mama and Papa Keyes to the Children's Museum and showed them all around. Of course we had a blast!

Miles and daddy went down the Yule Slide and then we went to visit Santa. Miles was excited to see him and chose visiting him over the dinosaurs, but as we got closer to seeing him, he changed his mind and didn't want to visit Santa. Too late! We were about 3 people back, so we were going to see him. Miles didn't cry, but he wasn't happy either!

It was a fairly nice and mild weekend and on Saturday, we were able to get outside and get up the Christmas decorations. Well, Ahmad put them up and we watched! Miles loves the lights!



The other night, Miles played pretend in a new way. We were spending time bug-bugging before bed and he decided to act like he was mommy and I was Miles. It was very cute! He offered me some of his water and then sang me the ABCs and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. I can see role playing taking off now!

Miles was funny getting dressed this morning. I got out a football type shirt to wear and he insisted, no, he wanted his Colts shirt. I was a bit surprised he even knew he had one, but went to get it. It turned out he really wanted his Notre Dame outfit, so he wore that. Then, when we were getting ready to put on his shoes, he had a bit of a hard time because he didn't have any 'football shoes' to wear with his outfit! I tried to get him to wear the regular ones he likes, but he insisted those were his basketball shoes and he couldn't wear them with his football outfit. I had to laugh! So I tried to get him to wear a blue pair that at least matched, but he didn't go for that either. He did end up wearing the basketball shoes, but after much distress.

This morning was Miles' first official trip to the dentist. We talked about it this weekend and this morning. He was all about going and was practicing how to say "Ah" and how to show the dentist his teeth. He even insisted he would go first (we both had appointments), but once we got there, he didn't want to go at all! He sat very nicely next to me in a chair while I got my teeth cleaned and paid close attention to everything they were doing. Then when it was his turn, he didn't want to show his teeth. He clung to me like he was scared to death! After a few tickles, he warmed up and allowed the hygenist to look at his teeth. He did quite well! She said he had great teeth and it looked like he brushed very well! I was surprised as I was a bit concerned he wasn't brushing enough. She said it looked good and to keep it up. We'll keep bringing him with us and eventually, they will clean his teeth too.

All in all, this week is off to a good start! :)

Big Brother

Miles was bug-buging with me and baby tonight before bed as usual. Then when it was time for daddy's bug-bugs, Miles was very sad to leave the baby. He kissed it goodnight and said "I love you". He pretended the baby was crying for him and he said "that's ok baby, I'll see you tomorrow. I can't hold you right now." and he went to get daddy. My two babies...

Baby Bug Bugs

This was such a fun week! Very busy and the week flew by, but it was good. Miles continues to gain his independence and insists on doing things by himself, stating, "no, let me do it!". He even was able to do his zipper on his sweatshirt this week for the first time by himself. He was so proud! He's almost got his coat zipper too, but not quite yet. He's got a new saying, "no way!". It's so funny. I guess I say that to him when I'm playing around and he wants me to do something, I'll say either "no way" or "no way Jose". He's picked up on it and says it all the time. Cracks me up. He's doing better on spelling "stop" this week and has it down every time now. He's loves spelling it when we see a stop sign. Today we worked on spelling his name. He got it pretty well, but we'll see if it sticks. He's also doing great on his numbers and to my surprise, after reading and working on them, he was able to identify all the numbers up to 10 except for #4. That one seemed to stump him.

Babies babies everywhere! My cousin, Katie, had her baby boy, Andrew, last week. He's such a cutie pie! Unfortunately after she came home, she went back to the hospital because she started having seizures and it was determined she had some air bubbles in her brain. They aren't exactly sure how they got there; they think either from having to try her epidural 3 times (and possibly entering air that way) or from her pushing for over 3 hours during delivery (and possibly having air enter that way). It was very scary and I'm so glad that she is now back home again. They are keeping an eye on her as the air will take some time to dissipate, but she's on blood pressure medication and seizure medication, so hopefully it will run it's course and she can enjoy being a new mommy. Let's keep them all in our prayers. I also just saw tonight that my good friend, RaeLynn, had her baby! I'm assuming it was today, but need to find out the details. Juliana looks just beautiful! Another friend of ours, Andre and Emily, had their baby several weeks ago, but we still have yet to visit with Evelyn. We hope to be able to do so soon. The only ones left that we know of are our neighbors and me. It's getting so close! Katie is scheduled to be induced in about 6 weeks and I have about 9 left. Wow! I've been able to get lots organized over the weekend and have washed the clothes that are neutral and gotten them put away. Just a few more details and things to buy and I think we'll be all set!

Miles was cheering for ND yesterday and got all dressed up for the day. It almost helped, but not quite. However, it was a gorgeous day and we enjoyed spending most of the day outside watching daddy work in the yard while we played with the neighbors. Good times! Then Miles and daddy enjoyed a game of basketball after getting ready for bed. Miles had such a good time, he kept talking about it before he went to bed and even when he woke up this morning, he told me he dreamed about it last night too. They got to play again today, so that was very fun.

We got to spend the morning outside today as well. It was so nice! Miles was enjoying his new hat one of Ahmad's clients brought back from Disney World for him and checking out what mail there might be (which is a bit of a daily routine for him now).

This evening, Miles was dancing and then daddy joined in. They danced to the Roots and did their routine, although Miles is getting faster these days and daddy has to work to keep up with him now!

Miles is so into the baby these days. He talks to it all the time and says "baby, my baby" and wants to see it, so he pulls up my shirt. He talks to it and pretends the baby may be crying and says "ok, it's ok" and tells it that "big brother is here". He kisses the baby, has me kiss his hands as if he's holding it, and pretends to take care of it. It's so adorable. I was able to capture a few of these moments after we got in from our walk this morning. He's also begun talking about being excited when the baby will come live in our house. He sometimes says the baby is kicking "like this" and proceeds to lay on his back and kick his legs in the air. Before bed, while we are 'bug-bugin', he's begun bug-bugging with the baby and lays down next to my belly and hugs my belly. He tells me to cover them up, so I put covers over my belly and Miles. He lays there and bug-bugs with the baby. So cute. I just know he'll be a great big brother!