Summertime

Summertime has arrived in all its hellish fury. The heat hasn't so much bothered me, until this past week and I don't think it has much to do with me being pregnant. I'm not entirely sure of the temperatures, but I know it has to be in the high 90s with heat indexes in the 100s. I have avoided or dreaded doing errands for the simple fact of hauling myself (and 2 babies) in and out of the car. I am generally drenched in sweat by the time I reach my destination and unless I am inside for a good 30 minutes, I don't cool down completely before having to do it all again when leaving. Even Miles' little face gets red and flushed just from being carried to and from the car. Also - why hasn't anyone come up with some nifty contraption to keep car seats cool? If its out there, none of our stores carry it. And they should. We live in the South - the heat happens every year. Its not a surprise. Anyway, I try very hard to not let any of the hot metal parts of the carseat touch him when putting him in and out, but it occasionally happens. I know it can't be pleasant. I have read on parent hacks of using one of those car window reflective shields and place around the car seat. I haven't tried it yet. I think i have also read to just cover it up with a blanket, but I don't see how that is going to work. Anyone else have a trick for hot car seats?
(Note: There seems to be a product listed on the above parent hacks post called the "seat chiller" but requires you taking it in and out of the freezer. It is also out of stock. Bummer.)
I don't know that being pregnant makes the heat any more unbearable - though people assure me it does. My friends seem to be equally as uncomfortable and sweaty. I avoid going outside if at all possible and so do they. My mantra for this pregnant summer has been "I would be hot even if I wasn't carrying another person inside of me" but it doesn't seem to help me visualize staying cool anymore. Our air conditioning cannot keep up with the temperatures and the only solution seems to be either snow cones or popsicles. (Homer voice) MMMmmmm - snow cones. I would eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner but I suppose a diet of frozen water and sugar isn't exactly a part of your balanced meal.

Maybe these pics of Miles and Allison in the backyard pool will help you think cool thoughts.

Very serious Allison shot. I had a hard time getting either kid to smile for these pics.
I guess it was the heat.

Backyard pool water is delicious. I just hope he didn't catch any parasites.

Allison and Miles both enjoyed letting all the pool water run out of the pool.
Kim and I weren't as impressed.

Shoveling water is hard work and no laughing matter.

Finally, a smile! If I poured cold water down my belly, I would smile too!

Movin' On Up...

(Play this while you read this post. There is no video - just the theme song. I thought some of your might enjoy the nostalgia.)



This past week we moved Miles from the highchair to a booster seat at the table. At restaurants he prefers the booster seat to the highchairs (except the ones at cracker barrel which are great) so I thought he might be ready. I put his seat together in the living room and he sat and watched some tv in it and then was quite upset when I moved it to the dining room table. Now when he is hungry he tries to go and climb into it himself. He is becoming quite the big boy.


Grilled cheese, english peas and some left over cheerios from breakfast. Mmmmm.

Miles also went to his first baseball game. Garver had their annual company pic nic at a recent Arkansas Traveler's game - our very own minor league baseball team. It was my first Traveler's game as well. We have a brand new stadium and its really quite nice. I did not get to watch any of the game - but I don't think we were winning. Miles kept me busy chasing him around the stadium pic nic area. We had to leave early because we were way past bedtime - mine and his - HA!





Another reason I chose the Jefferson's theme song is that I think Miles walks like George Jefferson - with his shoulders pulled up and his arms out while swinging them side to side. Or maybe its like a zombie from Thriller.

I will leave you with the most recent photo of Miles. We are scheduling some professional portraits to be taken soon but this will have to tide you guys over until then.



Miles' "dee-luxe apartment in the sky" should be ready soon - and he will be movin' on up to that as soon as we can get the crib and everything arranged. Truly that will happen as soon as we move everything that is not his out. And that may be to the curb. We are just running out of room around here. I assure you, there will be a big post on that project as soon as it is finished.

A double stroller...

I am super excited to say that we will be the proud owners of a Phil and Ted's Classic Stroller (with the double attachment) soon. I have been debating this issue ever since we found out a second baby was on the way because in all honesty I really don't like double strollers. They are HUGE. The front and back ones are like pushing a school bus around and the side-by-side options are just ridiculous. I can barely fit Miles' single small stroller down the aisles at most department stores and there are doorways that I know you couldn't fit a side-by-side through, so I really did not know what we were going to do. Not only because of size but also weight. They are ridiculously heavy AND after you get two big babies in there, it will be 50+ lbs.
While we were in Washington D.C. I saw a handful of these very interesting strollers. (Its no fair that these major metropolitan cities get all the cool stuff like IKEA - and other things which we will never see the face of until they are 10 years used on ebay. But that is for another blog.) You would have thought I saw a three headed green version of a purple people eater. I know my jaw was on the floor. We were on the tour bus when I saw the first one and I wanted to stop the bus, get off, and ask the people what it was and where they got it. I had NEVER seen anything like it and it was absolutely PERFECT. After that, I saw a few others with it as well so I knew it couldn't be that exotic. I was never able to ask anyone about it but when I returned home from our trip, I immediately started some research and found it!
What I saw was a Phil and Ted's stroller with the double attachment. If I explained it to you, you would think I was nuts and since a picture is worth a thousand words here is how it works:

The bottom two images show the double attachment. You can lie the infant flat in the seat and toddler in the front with the attachment. Or with two toddlers one can move to the back. We chose the classic version for monetary reasons. It was quite a bit cheaper for what we can only see as aesthetic features. The more expensive versions look sportier but when you have two cute babies in there no one will notice the stroller. (Wink.) I guess its the same difference as having either upholstery or leather interior in your ride.
I cannot express how excited I am to be getting this. I have been jumping up and down (on the inside) like a little kid and I get all giggly when I think about it. Like I said, I have been mulling in my brain as to what we were going to do for walks around the lake, and trips to the mall and I feel this is the best possible solution. Its such a relief that someone has actually thought this through with some parental reasoning and created a practical solution. I could kiss him (or her). I guess I should kiss Phil and Ted. (Does anyone else think of Bill and Ted and their Excellent Adventure everytime?)

Unfortunately we do not have it in our possession just yet. We had to order it from the world wide web since there is not one single carrier of this in our city (or state for that matter.) And, better yet, it is on backorder. The message left on my phone says that it should be shipped in a couple of weeks. As long as a couple of weeks don't turn into a couple more, I am okay with it.

Good things come to those who wait - right?

Look Below...

If you are looking for the newest blog about Miles and his feats of walking, look below the baby shower post. I started the walking post before the shower post - but published the shower post before the walking post - therefore the shower post is at the top despite me publishing the walking post last. Confusing - I know. And you probably did not care about that anyway. Just look below the shower for the stuff about Miles.

Shower pics..

Here are a few pics from the recent baby shower for Grant. I was not expecting a shower for the second baby but the folks from our church thought we needed one and I did not object :)
It was a double shower with my friend Kathy who is expecting her second (a girl) a couple weeks before we are due! We were pregnant together during our first pregnancies and I just don't know if I could be pregnant without her! HA!
Thanks everyone for all the swell gifts. We are truly blessed to have such a loving church family!

Preferred method of movement...

In just a couple of weeks Miles has changed his preferred method of getting from point A to point B from crawling to walking. Though he has been walking for a couple of weeks, he would start off going somewhere by crawling and then later decide to stand up and walk. But in the past couple of days he now starts by walking.
His walking is getting stronger and less wobbly every day. I even dare to say he did a quick little run yesterday. With this comes more bumps and bruises. He has a lovely carpet burn right down his nose after falling (or sliding) down a carpeted incline at our church. Nice. (That is a good pair with the bruised bump on his forehead. He looks quite tough with all that.) I was going to arrange for some portraits to be made since he is walking but I think I will wait a couple more weeks for that to heal up now. Speaking of bumps and bruises, we had our first accident involving blood a couple weeks ago. He bumped into the corner of the couch and hurt something in his mouth which started bleeding. It was a little scary and I wasn't sure what to do since it was in his mouth, but after the initial pain wore off and it quit bleeding, Miles did not care about it.
Here's a video. Look at our big boy go!



Miles Update:
We went to the dr for our 15 mo check-up last week and here are his new measurements:
weight - 26 lbs (25 and 14.5 oz to be exact)
length - 32 inches
head - 51 cm (huge - i know!)

He is understanding more and more each day. He will say hi and bye - at the appropriate times. He blows kisses - which I did not teach him. I am not sure where he picked that up - but it is oh so sweet. He has also started making sound effects with almost everything. He picks up the hairdryer and humms, anything with wheels makes a raspberry sound (like a motor), and if it looks like a cleaner or toiletry item, it goes psss. It's very amusing. Outside is by far his favorite place to be and will strongly protest whenever we go inside. His favorite toys are usually not toys at all - which has been the case all along. He will play with the broom, vacuum or cleaning brush for extended periods of time; anything with buttons (i.e. remote controls, keyboards, and cell phones) is a delight; and putting things in and out (mostly out) of boxes is a favorite past time. He also likes taking bottles, bowls and spoons and will cook up something for you (he has seen that done a few times.) He is very rhythmic and will sing and dance without prompting if it has a good beat. The other day he was jamming in the car to Queen's version of Crazy Little Thing Called Love - clapping, singing, and bouncing his head. Very cute! (Here is a little taste of him singing in the car. It can get much more animated than this.)



His favorite foods are starting to change somewhat. I recently discovered that he LOVES blueberries, and strawberries will do in a pinch. Spaghetti is still high on his list and broccoli is his favorite veggie. Fish sticks or nuggets in ketchup are also a new menu item for him - and he loves it - but why wouldn't he? We have also recently added whole milk to his diet. We transitioned from soy milk to organic 2%, and then to organic whole to regular whole milk. I wish we could stay on the organic as I am sure it is better for him, but it is $8 a gallon! Geez. Some days he won't eat much because he is too much of a busy-body, but over all he is still a great eater.