Miles' party

We had Miles' birthday party last Saturday. It was hard to decide on a time to have it that would work well with his nap schedule. We decided to have it at 1:00 and have a quick celebration between naps. I think that would've worked out perfectly if he wasn't starting to get sick and wasn't scared to death of most of his visitors! Poor guy. Not feeling well on top of not really knowing what was going on and why all these people he doesn't know too well were in his house led to a rather short and sweet celebration. It was fun to throw a party though for such a wonderful occasion. Thanks to all who came and thanks for showering our little guy with lots of love and wonderful presents that he is enjoying so much! We know more of you wish you could've been here and we do too!

His cupcake cake

Opening presents



I was trying to get a picture of him with his hat, but he just wanted to be held

Eating his cupcake

Playing with all his new toys

Pictures of Miles

Thanks to the help of my neighbors, I'm able to share a few of Miles' 1-year-old pictures with you guys. He had these taken on Thursday. He was pretty grumpy that day (I think he is suffering from allergies) so I wasn't sure what we would get, but I'm happy with how they turned out! These are my favorite 5 from the bunch.

Isn't he the cutest kid ever?

1 year old

Miles turned 1 last Tuesday (9/14)!!! This post is just a tad bit late. We had a busy week getting ready for his first birthday party that was today. This post will be his "chair picture post" and his birthday party pictures will come later (hopefully tomorrow).

It's crazy to think that a year ago today we were anxiously (and that doesn't even describe it) awaiting a call from our caseworker in North Carolina to deliver the news about what Miles' birth mom had decided; to place or to parent. It was a very long and very emotional day! Sometimes that day feels like forever ago and sometimes that day feels like it was yesterday. We have been so blessed over this last year by having Miles in our lives. He is the greatest little guy! We also continue to thank our Heavenly Father daily for Miles' birth mom and for her sacrifice and selflessness. It has been a fun year experiencing life with Miles.

This month Miles...

• Basically went from walking to running. He is full of energy and likes to get places fast!
• Continues to be very vocal. We had a lady a few rows in front of us on the plane mention how vocal he is!
  
• Has 7 teeth now; 4 on the top & 3 on the bottom. I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of the 4th tooth on the bottom so he'll be balanced!
• Is starting to exhibit more and more "stranger danger." He tends to be especially scared of men although he is still a daddy's boy.
• Is still taking two naps a day.
• Continues to be a great sleeper at night and sleeps for 11-13 hours straight.
• He is trying to get the arm rolling technique down for songs like Pat-A-Cake and The Wheels on the Bus.
• He loves playing outside and loves putting everything "yucky" in his mouth.
• He loves getting up on the couch, going up the stairs, and being in the kitchen, all things he is only allowed to do while being closely supervised.
• Will throw a small fit if told "No."
• Loves to do everything Mom is doing and will follow her around crying asking to be picked up so he can "help."
  
• Is at the 81st percentile for weight, 93rd percentile for length, and 69th percentile for head circumference.
  

I could go into all of the details like the fact that if you put your hand out and say, "Give it to me." he sometimes actually does give it to you, etc. etc., but I figure those are mainly things that the doctor and us as his parents are interested in.

At his 12 month checkup, the doctor said, "It doesn't get any better than this." He then followed this statement with an explanation about how well he is doing in the growth department as well as the development department. He is right on track and even ahead in some areas. The doctor also suggested we get a basketball hoop installed at our house soon because he thinks Miles will continue to be a big/tall boy.

Just in case you were wondering, this is the last monthly update on Miles. I'll periodically post updates on how he is doing, but not on a monthly basis with his chair picture like we've been doing.

Miles' first haircut

I wanted to wait until Miles was 1 before giving him his first hair cut. He's not quite 1, but we decided today would be a good day to give it a try. It went amazingly well and he did such a great job at sitting there for the entire process! I think Dave did a great job too (he was super nervous about doing it 'cause Miles will have his 1-year-old pictures taken this week).

Before

As long as he had that comb to play with he was good

After

All cleaned up and ready to go!

Labor Day Weekend Get-A-Way

In honor of Miles' upcoming first birthday, we decided to take a trip to South/North Carolina to see Dave's sister and her family and to visit Miles' birth mom. I don't have a lot of paid time off accrued yet, so our trip was a fairly quick one, but we had so much fun and are glad we got to go. Unfortunately Miles' birth mom was unable to meet up with us which was sad, but hopefully we'll get to see her the next time. We hope to make it an annual trip!

While we were there we got to see an oak tree that is estimated to be between 300-400 years old and got to play in the ocean. Shannon also agreed to watch Miles overnight so we could have a night away in honor of our 10th wedding anniversary that happened last May. We had such a nice time and appreciate Shannon and her family taking such GREAT care of our cutie pie. From what we heard, he did a great job without mom and dad around.

Angel Oak Tree

Posing with Tyler & Carter

He was more interested in eating the tree than getting his pic with the tree

Shannon, Tyler, & Carter

Miles asleep at the beach in his PJs

It started pouring rain so we had to take cover for a bit

Soaked!!!

Miles' first experience with the ocean

He didn't have a great nap so he was extra clingy and not too fond of the waves

We celebrated his b-day early with the Garlands

He LOVED the cake

Our night away - the view from our balcony

Playing in the ocean

Dinner on the beach

DESSERT!!!

Relaxing!!!

While we were waiting at the back of the plane to get off, the flight attendant thought Miles was the cutest thing so she decided to take pictures

Family photo

*I have a panorama shot from our hotel balcony that I was hoping to post with these photos, but the software I need to do that is in a box in Miles' bedroom and he is currently falling asleep so I'll have to post it later.