Is it almost June??

I cannot believe that June is upon us. It seems like I just went back to work and that was three months ago. I'm inspired by my friends who juggle parenthood with full time jobs and have time to blog about it. I can't seem to figure out how to do it all.

Miles is growing so fast! He's sitting up, eating solid foods (well, sort of...) and babbling all of the time. Every morning when we are getting ready he sits up on our bed in a boppy pillow. However, that is going to be short lived because he is starting to move all over the bed. Can you say falling hazard?? I just ordered a foam play mat for the living and dining rooms, and I guess I need to figure out to do while we are upstairs. What on earth do you do with a mobile infant while getting ready?? My singing and dancing will only last so long...I mean I'm entertaining, but not more entertaining than crawling around a room. I also suppose the idea of sitting down to eat cereal is going to be a pipe dream. Ahh, growing pains!

In the afternoons I pick him up from school and we stroll home. We have a lovely stroll, past Independence Hall, through Washington Square and the historic neighborhoods of Philadelphia. I often forget how cool it is that we live in such a special place in our country's history. When I get home and juggle Miles and Pearl, I need to remind myself that this is all part of the fun.

The evenings are reserved for trying to get Miles to enjoy his dinner, which is a bit of a test. So far the only thing he really likes is applesauce. I tried to feed him sweet potatoes--here's the video...
( http://http://sharing.theflip.com/session/d42f87a9aef000a8b6ff6f64b20201dd/video/14137291) last week and he lost it in his bumbo seat. Perhaps it is time for a real high chair. Before I know it is is 7pm, which means a bath and to bed!

Of course those few hours are the highlight of each day. It's a juggle and sometimes it can be very exhausting but being a mom is by far the best thing I've ever done. Period.

Family photo (already outdated!!)

But too cute not to share!

The Party is Over...

Or at least I'm back at work. I've made it to Thursday and am still able to stand, though Miles did not sleep very well last night so we'll see how long that lasts. I do miss him terribly during the day, but thankfully Scott is home with him for 5 weeks so I can call every few hours and check on the boys. They are doing well, and Scott is doing an incredible job of getting him on a nap schedule. Something I could not manage to do, probably because I was too much of a busy body and we weren't at the house at the same time every day.

Overall, I'm happy to be back at work. I enjoy my coworkers and love what I do. When I have downtime I can check email and update the blog. Something that didn't happen very frequently when I was at home with Miles. So I suppose being a working mom has some perks.

Hopefully the sleep will improve...and since I'm obsessed with Dr. Weissbluth's "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child", I am confident that we will get Miles on a good night schedule and make this multi-tasking thing much easier!

Here are some photos of our trip to FL in early February and a sledding adventure with some friends...

Like Father Like Son...

A lot of folks have been saying that Miles looks like Scott. What do you think? We had a great MLK weekend with Jen and Matt at a friends' farm and Pearl did not want to leave. (Neither did we!) However when we made the trek back into the city during rush hour traffic we confirmed just why we live in the city. A simple commute=a simple life. Here's the latest pic of Noah and Miles. They are beginning to look more alike each day! I continue to enjoy my time with Miles and as February approaches I realize that my time is very limited. I will miss our days together and March 1 will be here before we know it! After a week of waking up throughout the night I am hopeful that Miles will start sleeping better--especially when I go back to work. Not sure how I will navigate career counseling on zero sleep. Oh boy!

Christmas Fun

We had a wonderful time in Alabama. It was great to see family and friends and show off our handsome son! Here are the highlights...
Miles was decked out in his finest day gown to meet the visitors.. He got to meet Aunt Katie...

Uncle Pete and Ella and Alex...

Nicole and Stacy and his new friends Landry and Eric...
Most of all he loved spending time with his cousins (pictured here are Anna and Noah), Aunts and Uncles.

The Littletons meet Miles for the first time...

He even had his own stocking with a picture of Pearl on it!

And last but not least, he got to meet the Davis family. Ann was quite taken with Miles. I think there might be something special there!
We also got to meet Aunt Ashley (I can't believe we didn't get a picture!!), meet the Gillespie twins, and many old friends in Birmingham. It was a great visit and I wish we could get down there more often.

We're back in Philly now and getting into our routine. Miles is sleeping well (from 10pm-4am) most nights and seems to be getting into a groove.

I only have 2 more months with him and I know the time is going to fly by. These are precious times!

Snow Days!!

23 Inches...Oh my! The snow is beautiful and it has gotten us into the Christmas spirit. Yesterday we took Miles 'out' while we did some Christmas shopping and we think he enjoyed the snow. We spent the majority of the snow day with Jen and Matt, where Jen serenaded us with her saxophone (that hasn't seen the light of day for about 25 years). Good times.

Miles has some new friends that we've met through our weekly breastfeeding support group (sponsored by the hospital). The group is wonderful and for the past two weeks I've hosted some of the moms at our house. The babies seem to like it and the mommas sure do like the opportunity to get out of the house and have some adult interaction.

We are headed to Alabama tomorrow for Christmas and Miles is looking forward to his first trip on an airplane. Let's hope it goes well!

Merry Christmas!

The First Month

The nursery

Today's pic...

Look at that sweet smile!

The cousins (who are already Bama fans, despite an attempt at supporting the Gators from me!)

Listening to Nanny sing Christmas carols

We love Ikea!

The Dismukes

Auntie Jennifer and cousin Ella

What a good big sister!

Nana and Poppa

Wow. Motherhood is a LOT of work! Of course, I knew that from all of the incredible woman in my life who have done this before me, but I certainly didn't understand just how much work it is until now. Miles is a sweet baby, but he is also a pretty demanding little fella. As I type this, he is enjoying an after-lunch nap so I could have 5 or 15 minutes.

As we approach the 1 month mark, it is getting easier to understand what he needs. He is growing rapidly and already weighs 9 lbs 6 oz and is now 21 inches long. He's starting to focus and sometimes gives us a cute little smile.

Here are some highlights of the past month. He met all 4 grandparents, Auntie Jennifer, Uncle Buzzy and Aunt Omaris, cousins Juni and Ella, Uncle Jay and Tia Michelle and cousin Noah. He has also met most of our neighbors, my colleagues, our minister Alan and his lovely wife Wendy.

We are so blessed to have an incredible support group. We certainly couldn't have done as well the past month without all of our family and friends. Now we're going to take advantage of this beautiful day!!