squares are everywhere...

This weekend I found myself dancing around singing "Squares, Squares are everywhere, can you find them?" ...thanks to the big music block we picked up for Miles for Yule. We also listened to the Wiggles (love them) among other things on the kids' music channel on Sirius. Played with stuffed snails and puppies who sing songs and little drum toys and blocks. Guy and I went walking with M on my back (love the Kelty carrier). M loves seeing the world from my perspective, pulling my hair (its just like reins) and he squealed with glee while his dogs, clearly the delinquents at the leash-free park, rolled in the mud and encouraged bad behavior from the other dogs. M even got to examine leaves up close since he was at the proper height to reach out and grab them for himself.

We also shopped for a playpen and new car seat (suggestions, parents?).

I am a parent. Holy s*&%. I never expected to take this journey. I never expected to love it. I have to admit, I went like a cat sliding downhill. But now that I'm here, I'm loving it.

drum baby

New Year's Eve we went to see the Taiko drummers. Miles LOVED them. New Year's Day, Aunt V helped him stand in front of our big marching band bass drum and hold the mallet. He quickly mastered this skill and seemed highly delighted that he could make such a big sound. Check out the big grin. I think we may have a Mickey Hart/Glen Velez sort of musician on our hands...

sheer delight

Miles trekked around with us this weekend...to restaurants, parties, on errands...and he remained the charming soul. He flirted with people in restaurants. He played with Ambiaka & Johann's husky--including a very cute sequence where the dog moved his toy further and further away as Miles crawled toward him. Now that crawling poses no obstacle, Miles requires constant supervision unless he's in the playpen. Oy.

What to say that I haven't already said a million times? Nothing. But I have to say it over and over: I am awed by this little being. I am delighted. I feel utterly blessed. I feel completely delighted. I take such joy in watching the light in his eyes. I love to watch him sleep. I love it when he puts his feet on me as he sleeps. I love the squeals.

little guy on the go!

I arose early this morning and went off to take a shower and get ready. Miles and Guy slumbered peacefully (we co-sleep). I mounded the pillows like I always do. When I came back to wake Guy and nurse Miles, Guy asked if I had put Miles in the floor. Uh, no. Apparently the little man woke up, got to the floor and was playing and crawling around when Guy awakened. It helps that our bed is closer to the floor than most and that we have a thick carpet with lots of padding and often pillows and blankets end up in the floor by the bed...but...OY VEY!!!!

I am excited and terrified.

Over the weekend, I tried out the hiking backpack for Miles. He seemed to love it. It puts him on my back and looking over my head. A pretty nifty vantage point for a little boy. He cooed and talked while Ambiaka and I walked. He especially likes it when I lean forward--kind of like a carnival ride for him, I guess. It's supposed to be very good for him developmentally (visual stimulation) and it keeps him closer to me than a stroller. It's a bit difficult to put on without a table or bench, but sturdy as all get-out. (Thanks, P&C, what an awesome thing!)

cuddly little bear

Miles in his cuddly little bear bunting courtesy of P & C...too cute and excellent for blackmailing him when he's a teen! He was an angel at dinner last week (this photo was taken on Jan. 6 at a nice restaurant).

Funny thing about this outfit, I'd been cruising Ebay looking for it on sale for a couple of months. P, without knowing I wanted it, bought it for Miles. She did the same thing with a soft, stuffed cow in a downtown shop.

I'm off to spend a long weekend with my cuddly little bear...YAY!

faster than a speeding baby...

Oy vey. In a few short days Miles has gone from figuring out forward crawling to moving fast. The dogs live in trepidation. The cats may end up living in a state of permanent outrage. Suddenly we have to keep our eyes on him every single second instead of putting him in the floor to noodle around. Which means walking may not be that far away....He loves going for the dog water bowls.

forward gear achieved

Life as we know it has changed irrevocably. Miles figured out how to effectively forward crawl. Previously he could go backward and turn himself in circles. Now he sort of commando crawls but has figured out how to use his little monkey toes to push himself along the floor. Oy vey. He moves pretty fast.

I observed that we mere parental units don't drive his urge to crawl. But the dogs do. And the cats. Woe be unto our poor critters! Diogenes kept moving back and forth between the formal living room and the music room last night...Miles would crawl into one room in pursuit of his Royal Furriness. Diggy would exit into the other room. Miles would crawl back.

So, we begin the process of putting everything up and away to protect him.

well-rounded fellow

So, last night we took Miles out to dinner with us--P & C are in town and wanted to do dinner with the "family". It ended up being about 11 of us at Tellers. Miles behaved wonderfully. He snoozed, then woke up and ate his "baby gruel" (rice or oatmeal cereal), nursed a little, and generally cooed, gooed and charmed his way through the rest of the evening. After dinner, we ran by our favorite coffee shop to procure some beans and a jazz jam was happening. I'm not sure if the music or the track lighting fascinated him more.

He's so curious. I can really see the wheels turning, lights going on and off, and connections happening in his head. We take him everywhere with us so he gets exposed to lots of stimuli. If his current personality indicates anything, we have a gregarious, social creature on our hands.

And, in less than eight hours, I will have two days to hang out with our little man. I live for the weekend and holidays.

final stretch: holidaze

Yesterday we finally got some time to just chill out. No events. No plans. Just playing and enjoying each other. Miles loves his new toys. He loves whatever his father and I have in our hands even more. It's very exciting to watch the gears turning and watch him figuring things out and becoming excited and inspired.

New Year's Day we did our traditional feast--about 40 people came out to eat good food (all prepared by Guy with a bit of help from me and various friends), play music and start the year with some lovely energy. The coolest part was watching Miles.

Let me back up for a minute. We spent New Year's Eve as a family doing First Night. We popped Miles in his jester's hat, I put him in the baby Bjorn front carrier and off we went.

Columbia has a great celebration.The downtown area has all kinds of performances and activities going on and people float from place to place.This year one of the big attractions was St. Louis Osuwa Taiko. Wow. We took Miles and he LOVED it. He squealed and clapped his hands and moved around. It was very, very cool watching him watching them. At one point, he got a bit fussy, got tired, nursed and snoozed.

We ran into a very old, dear friend and finally introduced she and her partner to our little man. They were out with their puppies and Miles got to meet all three friendly pooches who loved up on him. He squealed more and had a fine time. Our dogs tend to be more cautious with him so having dogs so friendly delighted him to no end.

We trekked around more, saw lots of people, then ended up at Courthouse Square for a final Taiko performance and fireworks at midnight. We almost made it to midnight, but Miles got fussy, so we went back to the car, snuggled up, he nursed, and we watched the fireworks.

So, New Year's Day brings all kinds of folks to the house from the various parts of our lives. Miles, social creature that he is, charmed the daylights out of many of the guests. He didn't seem to meet a stranger and enjoyed the company of many folks who fed, carried, played with and otherwise entertained him.

Then, Aunt Toria took him in to see the big marching band bass drum. It mostly hangs out, unused, in our big music/junk room. I cleared out the biggest section of the room so folks could bring in drums, guitars, banjos, etc. Toria handed him the big mallet and he was playing in no time. (Folks photographed it and I'll upload to the baby blog when I have photos.) Amazing.

He danced, layed in the floor making sounds with his dad, flew, met another tiny baby (Jackson) and seemed highly intrigued and got to hang out with his Aunt Kas.

What a lucky bunch we are...Miles is healthy, happy and so easy. We're surrounded by good friends, music, lots of love, support...and we set the tone for 2006 with a great community in our house and welcoming our son into the world.

Blessed be.