Jibberish

If you have ever tried to call me, you know it is seldom quiet at Hazelwood House. Miles talks a lot though very little of it is discernible. I have been somewhat concerned (unnecessarily) that his language skills are not developing as they should, so I made a list of words he can say and I was shocked. It is much longer than I suspected AND everyday he has been pronouncing a new word. He doesn't use it again for a few days but I add it to the list. I thought I would share Miles' vocabulary with you - though this is not exhaustive. It is only what I could remember right now.

This was taken post-nap which explains the Sunday best on top and pj bottoms with the crocs. It's the latest toddler style don't you know. Oh and you have to push one leg up.

Animals - The only animal he actually says the name is duck. It was his first word other than Mommy and Daddy. Every other animal is identified by the noise it makes. He can make a noise for dog, cat, duck, cow, chicken, sheep, horse, tiger/lion, elephant, monkey, frog, fish, bunny.

Eating words - Juice, Apple, Bowl, Eat, Cheese, Waffle, More

People - Mommy, Daddy, Pop, Papaw, Mamaw, Baby (this isn't used often)

Other words - Book, Bath, Ball, This/That (usually accompanied by pointing), Copter (he and Mason got helicopters for Christmas and he tries to say it), Walk, Shoes, Socks, No no, Okay, Uh oh... and I know I am missing quite a few but you get the picture. He still jibbers in his usual way and with such feeling that I am convinced he knows exactly what he is saying. He even uses hand expressions while doing it. It simply gets hung up somewhere on the way out!

The Boys with their Aunt Marci during Christmas

The other little boy at my house, though not near as verbal right now, has discovered he has a voice. About a week ago, he would just sit there and squeal just for the sake of squealing. For such a little baby, he was quite loud. He still does some singing at night before he goes to sleep but without the intensity. It's oh so sweet. Before I know it, he will be tuning along with Miles spitting out words left and right.

Grant wearing his Christmas garb. I actually went and bought the poor baby something new. Isn't he handsome.

How to put on a santa hat

1. Find hole to put head in.

2. Pull hat up to head.

3. Place hat ever so gently on head.

4. Try not to sneeze at the tickley fur.

5. Pull hat down down onto head.

6. Continue pulling to cover entire face.

7. Find just the right fit.

8. Pose for the camera (while melting mom's heart.)

Ok. I'm done here. Can I go watch Curious George now?

You've got mail

This time of year, I love running out to the mailbox, throwing out the circulars, and scavenging for the Christmas cards. I will say this has been a late card season. Seems like everyone has had a hard time getting them out on time - and I know several people who just aren't doing them this year. I was tempted to not do them myself.

But Why do I love Christmas cards so? I am a real paper kind of person. I like pretty packages and holding something in my hand. It feels more real to me that way. Plus its fun to get something in the mail that is not junk, not a bill, and is hand addressed (not to discredit those of you who have it together and print labels). I save all of my cards from the previous year (to make sure I have reciprocated) and ones even farther back if I like them.

One of my most treasured cards is a presidential Christmas card from George W. the first year he was in office. I have NO IDEA how we got on the list. The only thing I can figure is Mason had given 5 lousy bucks to his campaign a year or two previously and maybe we were drawn in a lottery? I don't know how they do those kinds of things. Anyway, every year I hold on to that card and just sigh. It's on beautiful heavy creme card stock with gold foil embossing and original artwork of a Christmas package sitting on a chair. Sigh. It's very nice. Sigh. I feel like somebody holding that card. (I'm sure it will be a collector's item one day except I don't have the envelope it came in. Oh WHY did I throw away the envelope?)

Silly as it may be, I believe that card may sum up why I like Christmas cards so. Other than being a graphic designer and past philatelist (go look that up now), I appreciate the fact that someone thought of me enough to send a little holiday cheer my way. Granted, George W. didn't know he sent that card to me at all, but I can pretend otherwise.



Here is our family card this year. Like I said before, I almost gave up on it. It was difficult to get a good shot of the very mobile almost 2 year old in our house without a sippy cup or not in trance at curious george (those are about the only times he is still.) If you recall my Christmas card post from last year, these words will sound familiar. I ran out of cards again. So some of you, especially those of you who live in town and see the kids sometimes, probably didn't get a card. I sent them mainly to the family-folk who live out of town or to those who don't have email. So consider yourself thought of with a little holiday cheer pointed in your direction via the world wide web!

The BIG one

We usually have two or three official Christmas parties during the holiday season but only one BIG one. What do I mean by BIG one? I mean one where we have to get all dolled up. This usually requires me finding something to wear - whether that means going shopping or borrowing something from a friend. I prefer the later option since this is usually an item of clothing that I have no place else to wear it. My dilemma is that most of my friends are not my size - either smaller or larger than me - so borrowing something doesn't work most of the time.

I tend to wait until the week before the party and at a frantic pace scurry around the racks hoping they won't lock me in the store. (I have a fear of being locked in a store overnight. I don't know where it came from. Those big gates they pull down over the doors scare me.)

It's surprising, I know. We clean up well don't you think?

Anyway, I started looking for a dress in November this year to avoid that scenario. In less than an hour I tried on about 50-75 dresses but finally found one and jewelry to go with it. My grandmother loaned me her fur wrap and the day before I found some shoes. And for the record, they were the highest heels I have ever worn in my whole life! Luckily I didn't fall down but avoided stairs at all costs.

My grandmother's fur and the heels of all heels.

I am always impressed at the locations Mason's office holds the parties. They aren't too shabby. This year it was at the governor's mansion. We have had it at the Clinton Presidential Library, the Arts Center and the Riverboat.

The china from the governor's mansion. I have a thing for dishes. I have always wanted to design my own china like the first lady gets to do. We did register for monogrammed china when we got married. That is about as close as I will get. Unless Mason runs for office. And like I said, that is as close as I will get.

The grand staircase. Each governor had their name embroidered on the carpet on each stair. As you can imagine, that staircase caused me quite a panic in my shoes.

Nifty gingerbread replication of the governor's mansion.

I had more fun this year than I have had in the past. Not because we did anything different but finally, after 5 years of seeing these people, I know a few by name and can chit-chat with them and their spouses without it being completely contrived and awkward. So this years party was a success. Let's just hope they can keep up this standard! And maybe I can find something else to wear that dress to.

Mason won the table centerpiece this year. I think its pretty and I can use the container next year but I will probably store holiday m&ms in it instead of flowers.

Finding Christmas Spirit...

As I have gotten older, I find that getting into the Christmas spirit is a little harder and I struggle more with "Bah Humbugness". I do love the idea of Christmas but it gets somewhat harry. That added stress makes the delight of the season more difficult to come by.
This past weekend I found the Christmas spirit and plan on participating in this event every year if at all possible. My church hosts an event called the DAME memorial. Mr. Dame was a poor child and either did not have a pair of shoes or needed new ones during the winter back in the day. Someone from my church purchased him some. He was so touched by that simple act that after he passed away he left a sum of money to endow this memorial event with the purpose of purchasing clothing for needy families during the Christmas season. People from our church "host" a family, contacting them, assuring they have transportation and assist them in their shopping experience. I agreed to help last year but did not have the "experience" that I did this year.
My family was a single mom and her two girls. I called her to inform them they had been nominated for the event. This is the part I always get most nervous about. I don't like talking on the phone a lot - especially when it is a "cold call" to some stranger I don't know. The mom was ecstatic to put it lightly. She shared with me how she had just noticed how both of her girls were outgrowing all their clothes and she wasn't quite sure if she was going to be able to buy them new ones. Her pastor had preached that morning on tithing and how God will bless you and overflow your cup for being faithful. She kept saying how she knew God would answer her prayers but had no idea how quickly it would happen and that she would be there jumping up and down for the shopping event. She arrived and we did our shopping. She was tickled to buy her girls all these cute outfits and was truly overcome with emotion especially after we handed her a food box and a turkey to complete the Christmas experience. I got teary eyed myself.



I left that shopping trip completely blessed. Here I am trying to be a blessing to someone else, only to find I was also on the receiving end. Her faith was a testimony of God's loving kindness and the gratitude she had was beyond words. The rest of the day I was bubbling with joy able to do my usual Christmas chores of shopping and wrapping with a grateful heart.
I found my Christmas spirit this past weekend and hope that you have the opportunity to experience the joy of giving this holiday as well.

Happy 3 month birthday to you!

Dear Grant,
You are 3 months old today! Time has flown by quickly. Before you know it you will be a toddler on the move like your brother and I will be longing for the days where I can just sit and hold you. With that in mind, I have been trying to do just that, sit and hold you more. But it is hard with your brother always into something. I am trying to make a conscious effort to soak in all those sweet smiles. With your brother I was always looking forward to what was ahead and did not savor those sweet baby things as much as I wished I had. I'm learning.



What you can do:
-lift your head 45 degrees
-laugh and giggle (especially when tickled or while changing your diaper - you like being naked!)
-SMILE really big
-You have discovered your left hand especially. You will wave it back and forth, and stare at it until you fall asleep. In the past day or two I have noticed more activity in the right hand. Before too much longer you will be directing the band.
- bat and reach for objects in front of you
- follow with your eyes 180 degrees me or some other object of interest
- with some help you can hold a rattle or toy
- you goo and coo quite sweetly and have made a razzberry sound a time or two (possibly on accident but we can pretend it was intentional)



You aren't really on a true schedule yet - at least not like your brother was at this age. (I'm trying not to compare you since you are different people, but he is all I have to base my baby experience on.) You eat at different times, sleep at different times, and seem to vary day to day what is your most active time. But I can usually figure out what you need - it's just not real easy to tell others what you need if I need to step away. I hope in the coming days you will get on a schedule that is similar to your brother's just so I can get some things done around the house and I can play with you and your brother more while you are awake and happy.



You are a super sweet baby and I look forward seeing you form as a person.



Love always,
Mommy

Miles' ABCs

I have had blogger's block and don't know really what to blog. Lot's of fun things have happened but I just don't know which one to write about and I don't have time to talk about them all. My friend Laura did this on her page so I thought I would do it from Miles' perspective. I thought it was a cute idea - what do you think?





A is for age: I turned 20 months on November 1st. The big #2 is right around the corner.

B is for burger of choice: McDonalds, but Mommy has to help me hold it together. I'm not real good at sandwich handling yet.

C is for the car I drive: I have a tonka truck complete with horn and blinkers.

D is for your dog's name: A stuffed one named Yukon. (Gran and Pop brought him back from Alaska.) I sleep with him every night. Almost.

E is for essential item you use every day: My sippy cup

F is for favorite TV show at the moment: Curious George hands down!

G is for favorite game: Tickle Me with Daddy

H is for home state: Arkansas

I is for instruments you play: Harmonica, Piano, Drums, Guitar - I'm quite musical

J is for favorite juice: I like them all. It's also my favorite word to say "JOOCE".

K is for a habit you'd like to kick: This whole diaper thing is a drag. I need to work on my potty skills. Also due to some language limitations, I like to point and grunt or whine. I need to work on the communication skills too.

L is for last restaurant at which you ate: Flying Fish (Also happens to be the first restaurant I ever ate at. What a coincidence.)

M is for your favorite Movie: Curious George the movie

N is for number of piercings: I don't know. What's a piercing?

O is for overnight hospital stays: I've heard that I stayed at the hospital after I was born? Does that count?

P is for people you were with today: Mommy,Daddy, and Grant

R is for biggest regret: Regrets? I'm only one.

S is for status: toddler

T is for time you woke up today: Around 7 a.m. I slept in.

U is for what you consider unique about yourself: I have a very unique language. It's a cross between chinese and spanish and for some reason when I speak it people just stare at me. I know what I am saying but they just sit there. I don't get it.

V is for vegetable you love: English Peas or Broccoli. It's a tie.

W is for wedding date: I'm holding out for the right girl, though Scarlett is pretty cute.

X is for x-rays you've had: I had a chest x-ray once and it was quite traumatic. Mommy had Grant in her tummy so she couldn't hold me. It took 2 nurses to hold me down while they did it.

Y is for yummy food you ate today: oatmeal, banana, nutri-grain bar, chicken nuggets, english peas, and pears.

Z is for zodiac: Pisces. Whatever that means? We say "Z is for Zebra" at my house.

Welcome Dylan

Introducing my newest nephew Dylan Matthew Cleveland!

He arrived yesterday, November 10 at 9:24 p.m.

8lbs. 7oz. 21 inches long

Due to my miserable cold I have not had much contact with them but from second hand information and my brief phone conversations, they are doing incredibly well! Way to go Kim and I can't wait until Dylan and Grant can run around together. In just a year, its going to be nuts when we get together.

My new toy...

Mason surprised me last week with an early Christmas present. In the 7 years we have been married, we have never really given each other much in the gift department, so this was a huge surprise. I have always wanted one but never thought I would ever, ever get it. I have actually never even voiced that I desired to have one so way to go Mason on reading my mind. Oh - what is it?


My very own fancy schmancy SLR. Though I am trying to learn the manual settings, even the automatic settings take a pretty sharp image. It should. It's 12 mp! So you will have to humor me here as I thrust my learning curve upon you. All these images are SOOC (That is camera speak for Straight Out of the Camera).

When you live in my neighborhood, this is the obligatory photo shoot location.

Dang sun spot and this would be perfect. Oh I just want to grab those cheeks!

This tree is just around the block from me. It glows all autumn long.

The sun was peeping through the trees perfectly.
If I had a different lens and this shot would have been perfect.

Grant has upgraded to the big boy seat in the stroller. He is too big to lay down anymore in the "hidey-hole" as I like to call it. He liked riding like this. Giggled actually, when I started walking and then was asleep when we arrived home.

Pretty little Amelia, Sams baby sister.

I am going to a Cannon seminar in a week or so. I will be playing with this until then but hopefully I will learn a thing or two about my camera and shooting will become second nature for me. So I wonder what this means I have to get Mason for Christmas? How about a photo alblum?

Trick or Treat

So what do a monkey, bumble bee, and astronaut all have in common?
They are all really cute and like candy.


We went trick-or-treating for the first time with our friends Scarlett and Sam in "Aunt B's" nice safe gated neighborhood. They didn't quite get the concept of trick-or-treating at first, storming like a gang into the first lady's house when she opened the door.

Notice Mason having to hold back Miles by the arm.
He would walk into everyone's house if we let him.

By the end of the night Miles could say "Tik Teet", would knock on the door and hold out his bucket.

Don't we just look like trouble coming down the street? Grant went along for the ride in the carrier. I do believe he slept the whole time.

The Loot. (Looks a little lame but for a 1 year old who hasn't eaten
this much candy in his lifetime, it's a lot.)

These next pics were from the Nutrition Center's Halloween Party earlier in the week. Miles had a fun time just playing with their toys and having some juice.

This is the suit that inspired the whole astronaut theme this year.

Pumpkin Patch

Fall wouldn't be complete without a visit to the Pumpkin Patch.

Miles watching the Pig Races. (Yes, Pig Races. This is the South you know.)

Family Portrait to prove we didn't leave Grant at home in the closet. See Mom.

He looks so still but I promise this was dumb luck that we caught him like this.

Hay in the diaper is never comfy.

"Hmmm. Which one?"

MY Little Pumpkin