He's Changing

Yesterday Miles was 2 months old! Look how much he's changed! I love his chubby cheeks! The pictures are at birth, 2 weeks, 1 month, 6 weeks, and 2 months. His 2-month check-up is on Friday... I'll update his growth then.

100 Things Survey

Stole this from a blog I stalk...

RULES: There are 100 statements and I bold the ones I have done.

1. Started your own blog- you're reading it
2. Slept under the stars- on a trampoline
3. Played in a band- go Mendenhall!
4. Visited Hawaii- 3 times
5. Watched a meteor shower- from the front porch
6. Given more than you can afford to charity- I guess... depends how you define "afford"
7. Been to Disneyland- several times
8. Climbed a mountain.- Mt. Timp
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo- music class at BYU
12. Visited Paris- twice
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch- crochet, embroidery
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning- not fun
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty- twice
18. Grown your own vegetables- tomatoes and peppers
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France- it's small
20. Slept in an overnight train- Spain and China
21. Had a pillow fight- in Spain!
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse (solar)- summer of 1991
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset- who hasn't?
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person- from the New York side
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors- birth country...England
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied- thankfully
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person- and tried to hold it up
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David- Dan wondered where the fig leaf was
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt- yep
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance- an expensive & uncomfortable ride
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person- 1994
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris- and it was fogged in at the top
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling- Catalina and Hawaii
52. Kissed in the rain- not so romantic... don't like rain in my face
53. Played in the mud- in Virginia when I was told not to
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China- 2008
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies- hated doing this!
62. Gone whale watching- and got seasick
63. Got flowers for no reason- Jonathan used to pick them for me
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter- and got airsick!
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy- Ann is in a box under my porch
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial-have pictures to prove it
71. Eaten cavier.- Not on saltines!
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square- yep!
74. Toured the Everglades- via canoe
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London- once... second time, we saw the queen instead
77. Broken a bone- toe and bone in wrist
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person- North & South Rim
80. Published a book- Heritage Maker's books
81. Visited the Vatican- 1994
82. Bought a brand new car- a Neon and a Prizm
83. Walked in Jerusalem- in 1999
84. Had your picture in the newspaper- preschool!
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House- twice
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chicken pox- kindergarten!
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous- does Governor Huntsman count?
92. Joined a book club- it is now defunct
93. Lost a loved one- 1 grandma, 1 grandpa
94. Had a baby- 3
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake- don't remember it though
97. Been involved in a lawsuit- class action style
98. Owned a cell phone- yep... who doesn't
99. Been stung by a bee- stepped on one on Florida when I was 7
100. Read an entire book in one day- regularly... picture books are short!

Well, I got 60% and since my life isn't half over (based on average life expectancy), I'm doing good! I just noticed... #54 is missing!

More Cat in the Tree...

By popular demand, here's another picture of Beijing in the tree...

Nolan is Coming Around

After several episodes of Nolan shouting mean, potentially hurtful phrases at Miles (though Miles is oblivious to it all...), Nolan is coming around, at least for now. All it took for Jonathan to come around and accept Nolan was a few weeks for jealousy build-up and then the jealousy release of one good bite! Anyway, even before Miles was born, Nolan has had Miles jealousy issues... the baby shower was especially hard for Nolan to deal with (I did tell him he could choose any of the baby gifts for himself... he declined). Today I picked Nolan up from art. Miles was chillin' in the backseat in his car seat. Nolan got in the car, sat next to Miles as usual. But for some reason , Nolan greeted Miles with "Hi, My-Mi" and Miles responded by giving his big brother a huge smile. Nolan shouted out- "Mom, he's smiling at me!" I told him to smile back. Nolan did. Miles looked and smiled at Nolan the whole way home. Tonight at Pack Meeting, Mr. Cubmaster asked the cubs what acts of service they performed last month. Nolan volunteered "I helped my mom with my baby brother." He's coming around.

Christmas Tree Decoration

So my house is ready for Christmas, except for the tree. The fakey is up in the living room, but hasn't been "fluffed" and decorated yet... I'm too busy and lacking the motivation. Kitty doesn't mind though. I just got back from a milk run to Walmart and here's what I found when I got home. It reminds me of a "Wee Care" song/chant about apples in a tree. Here's my modified version of it... Way up in the Christmas Tree; two little eyes peered at me. I squirted that cat as fast as I could; down came that cat.. why can't she be good?

Band Concert

Jonathan's winter band concert tonight. He plays in the combined 7th and 8th grade band and in the jazz band. He plays clarinet in the "regular" band and alto sax in the jazz band. His "regular" band played first... Raider's March (theme from the Indiana Jones movies) and a medley of 4 Christmas songs. Then the jazz band played... All of Me (which is stuck in my head), Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree, and It Don't Mean a Thing (if it ain't got that swing). Then the 9th grade band played followed by the drumline. Then all the bands combined for the "Cougar Fight Song". I thought the jazz band sounded the best followed by the 7th/8th grade band. Jonathan was surprised that I thought his band was better than the 9th grade band. Anyway, he did great and feel great about how he did. Miles was awesome... one poop, and then he impressed us all by falling asleep during the drumline performance.

Miles' Blessing

It was a busy weekend. We arranged to have Miles blessed in church on November 30th instead of on the traditional first Sunday of the month due to my family being in town. After the blessing, I invited everyone (both sides of the family) over for dinner. I began preparing for that meal on Friday with a shopping trip to Costco. I planned that there would be 25 people coming over for dinner (we had 28!). Dinner would be Chicken Fajitas, Spanish Rice, Cuban Black Beans, and brownies. I bought 10 pounds of onions and 4 bags of red bell peppers (24 peppers) and we used them all! I also learned how to cook/use dried beans! I made a sheetcake pan of dark chocolate brownies. Saturday was food prep night. I got the onions and peppers for the fajitas cooked. I made the black beans and rice. I chopped up the chicken and stuck it in crockpots so it would cook overnight. Sunday morning I got up to make guacamole (but used all the onions the night before so I just cut up avocado) and chocolate frosting. I set the tables (now finding space for 28 in my house was fun... the living room couch went into the guest room, 2 small Christmas trees went there as well. The rest of the furniture got pushed against the walls. A card table and "table for 6" went in the living room, as well as the food serving table. We squished 9 around the regular table, put 4 people at the kitchen counter, and Cole was in a high chair in the corner of the kitchen!). Anyway, I planned food for about 25 adults and I think I could have fed about 100. We had leftovers and more leftovers (of everything except for the brownies... gone!). We'll be eating leftovers for a month! It was fun though.

Oh yeah... the main point of this post was Miles' blesssing. Dan (with the assistance of 11 other men) gave Miles a beautiful blessing . He blessed Miles to be able to have a good relationship with his older brothers who will be good example for him; to have the strength to accomplish all he needs to do; to be a light in the darkness; to learn and do his duty; and to feel and know the love of God in his live and to use that love as a source of strength.