Warm Weekend in NC

That's literally and figuratively warm. Alas that such a lovely town as Durham should have a climate that causes one to sweat in the middle of November! We went down there with the single intention of enjoying the company of all three Nickoloffs, and that we did very well. What a laugh to see the babies finally seem to recognize each other as human beings and to reach for each other, grab each other, karate chop each other... it's all affection, we know this. We intend to make fast friends of the little people.



The big people had a fair good time too. We did whatever occurred to us at any given moment, for the most part. This included two separate women's shopping trips, games: skip-bo! (ah, the memories!) and pig-tossing (ask me!), Vietnamese food and some good old vegging out to The Office and Eddie Izzard, comic genius. We couldn't have ordered a better weekend or one that more exactly suited our needs of the moment. We are grateful for the luxury of it.

Check out alternative coverage of the event here.

TEETH!

I know we gave you all some warning of this, but I just had to show the evidence so you all believe me. He cut these three weeks ago. He's significantly less uncomfortable than he was and slightly less inclined to bite me just for the experiment of it. So we're all happier :-)
Don't you all think that, in that second one, Miles looks unbelievably like my father??

Anyway, here's another couple cute ones. Check out Miles' first read (totally not set up by Mummy at all or anything :-P )

Also, behold Actual Size:

New Data, 4month visit: Miles is 15lbs 3oz (55 percentile) and TWENTY-SEVEN INCHES TALL (97 PERCENTILE) like where in the gene pool did THAT come from?
Coming soon: pictures of marvelous visit with Uncle Matthew, Aunt Leah and Abby!!

Halloween with a Baby or Miles at my Mercy

I must say I enjoy that, though Miles can't yet really enjoy Halloween, go trick-or-treating, or have any consciousness that Mum and Papa are dressed weirder than usual, at least I get to have complete say-so (if you don't count Jon's opinion) over what costume he wears. To indulge me, Miles kindly and benignly appeared as Baby Harry Potter (with his pumpkin suit on undernearth). We attended our friends' Halloween Party which was a fabulous mixture of being able to see the adorable children who came to the door and to offer them candy and yet still be able to have adult fun inside. Very fun costumes (Jon went as the font, Comic Sans) and fun-er repartee and consumables. Hooray for Samhein!

(Click on them for a close-up. And if you don't get the costume, you need to get reading!!)

Sadly, no pics this time.

Two quick things:

1) Miles has a deep respect for Jimi Hendrix. While listening to "All Along the Watchtower," he was silently smiling and kicking excitedly, and he put his hand on my mouth when I said something to him. He also likes Queen and the Rolling Stones, but I'm not sure that he's realized his love for the Beatles.

2) Miles has a visible tooth, with another right behind it. It's painful, both for him and for us.

BFFs!

My Babies in Bloom buddy and I are celebrating our third anniversary :-) Three months of weekly (almost) get-togethers to Mommy together on Wednesdays and keep each other company, rejoicing and kvetching in turn over our babies. Vlad is exactly one month younger than Miles, and they were about the same size at birth, so... this can also serve as a comparison piece for the difference a month can make!

Miles and Vlad had some quality time yesterday:

Love in the Time of Swine Flu

So this week has been kind of shadowed by the threat of h1n1, something that, before I had Miles, I used to laugh at. I mean, the hype this thing gets is unbelievable, and there are so many readily available jokes... However, as "caregivers of an infant under six months," we're supposed to be particularly vulnerable and yet we have not yet gotten our shots. Get this: the County's Department of Health is no longer taking appointments! Given all the media coverage, local and state and federal officials encouraging vulnerable groups to get it, and the contingent (mostly paranoid Glen Beck-types, right?) that refuses to get immunized for fear that the government will then own their DNA or something, the fact that the county seems so unprepared that within two weeks it's apparently out of vaccine (or time or volunteers or something) seems outrageous. So here we wait, checking the website for updates, nursing cold symptoms with excessive care, and watching the absentee rate at Jon's school soar... Pray for all vulnerable people that we might have a collective immune-boost, won't you?

In other news, I went a week without work and it was a trying time. Oct. 8 was my last day with that first student, and all last week I had nothing. The poor woman whose email inbox I kept stuffing with queries ("Any students yet? I'm just here, unemployed..."). I think I've said this before: I need to work. I need to work because, to be honest, we need the money, and I need to work because I need the purpose, direction, and structure it gives my life. On Sunday I found myself in prayer FOR THE FIRST TIME that maybe I could have another student (inexcusable that I didn't bother God until a week had passed, right?), or if not, that we would be provided for and that I would have peace and patience waiting. The next day, just before the close of the school day, I was given a new student. It was only after I had finished thanking God and making phone calls to arrange a schedule that I noticed my Bible Verse-a-day Calendar's theme for that day, October 19: Proverbs 14:23; "In all labor there is profit." I laughed. God is a witty fellow. It's so hard in life to just do the tasks that are before you and know that with God's grace, it's good enough.

Anyway. Miles has been growing up so much! He is decidedly not a newborn anymore. No sooner had I determined that newborn clothes DECIDEDLY did not fit him and needed to be packed away, I realized that he was rapidly outgrowing his 0-3 months clothes as well. Well, we've added to our 3-6 month supply (thanks to the Rezendes and Sutter contributions), and now that I understand that the label "3 mos" actually means "0-3 mos" and "6 mos" means "This will fit a 12-18 pound person, that is, 3-6 mos," we're golden. No stats yet on his measurements; next appointment isn't until Nov. 9. I'll fill you all in.

Miles cannot, as yet, roll over. And I'm really, really okay with that :-) He CAN see a LOT better than before, so that looking at picture books (favorites include The Hungry Little Caterpillar and Pat the Bunny) means something to him now, he can see people across the room, and the cats' behavior is starting to register with and amuse him. He loves to look at himself in the mirror, "standing up" (supported by Mum or Papa) and stomping his feet in pleasure. He's also VERY vocal, which I believe means he will be VERY verbal, which is okay with me. Here are some recent videos of his utterances and expressions:

Miles Speaks:

Attack of the Cat:

This made me so happy I just had to share

TESTING...