12/8/11

Melodie is TWO






















This is a very belated post about your second birthday. The month of December will always be filled with celebrations beginning with your birthday. It seems impossible that you are TWO already. Two years of Melodie. And we are so thankful to have you in our lives.

The morning of your birthday, you slept longer than the rest of us. Miles woke up before you and waited with us in our bed. Finally we heard your little voice telling us that you are now awake and ready for the day. We all went into your room together with your cupcakes and your candles to sing you happy birthday. We then had breakfast together (cupcakes!) and you opened your presents.

The last few months, one of your favorite things to play is to pretend it's someones birthday. You make a pretend cake out of playdough, we add real candles on top, light them, and you sing happy birthday and blow out the candles. You'll want to do this several times. So it was especially fun when you got to this for real.

Your continue to adore dogs and kitty cats and your collection of such stuffed animals keeps growing (to your delight). You hug and kiss them (the real ones too) and show a true love for them. This makes your recently discovered allergy/sensitivity to real cats and dogs even more heartbreaking. You get red and/or dark circles around your eyes and sometimes break out in hives around cats and dogs. We hope this will pass with time.

You also love playing with baby dolls. You'll do everything your brother does, the good and the bad. This will probably not pass with time :)

You can count to at least 10. You love puzzles and reading books. And you love going to school.

You are already quiet opinionated - especially about clothes. You don't hesitate to tell me" No, I don't want to wear that!"

You love to eat apples, often two a day. You also love your milk, but only from a bottle. You drink one bottle before nap and one before bed time. This is ironic considering we had to literally force you to drink from a bottle when you were a few months old. Now we can't get you to stop drinking milk from the bottle. You'll drink water and juice from a cup, but not milk. It's sacred to you. And that's fine with me for now.

You are very tall for your age (off the charts according to the doctor). And you are also very cute (off the charts according to Mama & Papa).









11/29/11

on the way to the park






love those shoes. Miles wore them first.

11/22/11


I recently met with Miles' teacher Ms. Heather for our first parent-teacher meeting. She went over his Developmental form that covers Social/Emotional Development, Speech and Language Development, Critical Thinking and Motor Skills. He is doing great in everything. She kept telling me what a happy, happy boy he is and how she loves his laugh.

Here is her written evaluation:

"Miles is a friendly boy with a wonderful sense of humor. He is thoughtful and enjoys being helpful. Miles is very bright and has excellent self-confidence. While his abilities and skill set are quiet strong, Miles is often in a rush and does not always demonstrate his best effort. Miles has already shown marked improvement in impulse control and in his ability to maintain focus however, and I believe this will enable him to achieve continued growth in all areas of development throughout the school year."

I think this is a perfect description of him right now. And I am just a little proud.



11/19/11

up close








I love taking very close-up pictures.



10/23/11

Loving Life




happy, vivacious Melodie




couldn't have asked for more

9/6/11

Miles: Right Now





- you started your the new school a few weeks ago without problems and immediately engaged with the other kids and the teacher. You seem to really like it.

- you'll randomly say 'I love you Mama' and 'I love you Papa.' This I know will not get old.

- you like to snuggle

- you like to play spider man and octopus man

- you recently got really interested in drawing and painting

- you proudly helped Papa hang up your birdhouse (which you painted) in the backyard




- you like to play leopard

- you really like to climb trees

- you ask: 'why is Melodie so soft?'

- you like to run fast!

- you love to read




Life is like a box of...?




You don't know what you are going to get, but this guy seems happy with his.




Some more pics from the celebration in the slideshow below (finally figured out how to do this). Unfortunately, not all party guests are captured.



8/9/11

Projects









7/18/11

6/14/11

5/31/11


Happy and carefree.
I was taking pictures of the kids at the beach yesterday evening when this guy offered to take our picture. Well yes, please do!

5/29/11




A few weeks ago at the playground.

5/22/11