April and May and June 2015

Wow, we've got a lot to catch up on, huh? 

As you probably know, Miles turned 3, which basically puts him out of the "toddler" category and into the full-blown "kid" zone. And he's really showing it, too. We started kind of half-assedly potty training him again, and, to our surprise, he really took to it this time. We still have occasional accidents and he's not great about telling us when he needs to go, but we had a solid week and a half run in underwear with no accidents (even through the night!). Having a (mostly) potty trained kid is great, and here's why: I got to ditch the giant diaper bag and can carry around a much lighter, slimmer and more fashionable bag.

 Which is definitely NOT a purse. 

Definitely not. 

Eating has changed too. We've moved from making him his own separate meals to having him eat what we eat 95% of the time, which is more fun for everyone. 

On the sleep front, Miles has graduated out of his converted crib and into an Ikea-brand twin bed, which we spent a lovely afternoon putting together, and I only called it "stupid garbage furniture" twice! He's stopped having daytime naps, a development which I have long dreaded, but does have its own advantages. It really opens up our day and lets us take day trips together. 

Miles has grown into a very affectionate kid. He tells us he loves us 10 times a day, which would mean a little more if he didn't also tell people he met 5 minutes ago that he loved them too, but we'll take it. He's generous with hugs and kisses. It's pretty nice. 

Anyway, he's great, we're great, you're probably great, so let's make with the pictures!

Miles loves pho. Smart kid. 

Also, stir-fry. 

At Day Out With Thomas with his second cousin Madeline, who is very cute and sweet, but couldn't run this obstacle course if her life depended on it. 

A trip to the Natural History Museum

Hanging out with Frankie. As always.

Learning to ride a trike!

The kids at the local playground were having a dirt fight. Miles joined in. 

Happy Birthday!

Probably my favorite picture of him.

"This whole thing is held together with dowels? And you expect me to sleep on it?"

Sculpting at the Walters Art Museum

Working with shapes at the Walters

Miles discovers alternate percussion. I don't like it. 

Hiding under the playground.

Marble tower!

Sushi!

Summer Haircut! 

Look at this ridiculously cute family.

No corn holders? No Problem!

Hmmm, trenchant insight.

Frankie, Brooks, Miles

There is going to be some serious swimming this summer.

We can't wait!

Ice cream in the car!

At the movies.

Take 'em out, put 'em back in, repeat

Miles tries on some lipstick

I have two cats. Would you like to buy a cat? 

The Burger King

A drawing of a ladybug. 

"I'm not supposed to be sitting up here! But, I'm a rebel! You can tell by my hair!"

Happy Birthday Miles!

Three years old. 

You’re three years old today. 

You’ve made three orbits of the sun. That’s a long way. That’s over 1 billion miles (1 billion, 752 million miles, in fact!).

That’s a lot of miles, Miles.

Sometimes, it seems like you might have traveled that far on the surface of the earth too. You are so active. It’s hard for us to keep up. Every day is a new adventure to the park or the aquarium or the zoo. You’ve started pushing your own cart at the grocery store. You are an independent, sweet little guy. And over the last year it seems like you’re starting to become your own person, with your own personality.

This past year you’ve grown by leaps and bounds. You have started doing puzzles, you recognize all your letters and can even tell us some of the sounds they make. You can count! To ten, reliably! You have started to hold a pen correctly and can trace lines and letters. 

You’re sweet. You give great hugs and kisses. You wait for others when you’re racing so that Frankie or another kid doesn’t get left behind. 

You still don’t eat well. You don’t weigh much. But that means you still fold into my lap perfectly. After a long time of being unwilling to snuggle and sit still with me, you’ve fallen into a beautiful phase of long snuggling sessions. And when I walk in the door, it’s all, “It’s Mama! Mama, will you pretend with me? You be mama cat and I’m Miles cat. Will you be cats with me?” I can feel the joy emanate from your tiny being. And sometimes, just sometimes, you grab my face between your tiny hands and say “I love you, Mama.” And I return with, “I love you too. I’m the luckiest.” To which you insist, “NO, I’m the luckiest.”

I hope we stay lucky for a really long time.

Happy Third Birthday, little dude.

Love, Mama