A visit with the Denhams

We recently went for a visit to see my Mamaw Denham - this time at my Dad's house in North Carolina. We saw them all last year about this same time but in Louisiana.
We decided to fly instead of drive - a few hours of intense traveling versus 4 days of communal confinement in the car. It was Grant's first time flying the friendly skies and Miles' third. It went ok. We survived but was glad I did not have to do it again in the foreseeable future. Miles did not care for the whole stay in your seat with the seat belt buckled but he had to get over it. On the way home he did much better and I learned a valuable lesson - don't take it off once you get it on. Grant slept most of the way there and got lots of comments about his cheeks!
We didn't really DO much but got a lot of visiting in, which is what we came for. We did make a minor outing to Pullen Park and to the mall. There were no dining excursions though, which is usually a high point of my vacations but can you imagine the hostess' face when you tell her you would like a table for 7 adults and 5 children: 2 boosters, and 2 highchairs? Yes, you get quite a stare :)
Mamaw got to know two of the newest grand babies in the Denham clan, Grant and Dylan. That was one of the main agendas of the trip. We don't get to see her often and I am glad we took this opportunity.

Me, my Dad, Kim and brother Sam

Dylan post-breakfast. He wears it well.

Mason manning the bacon station at breakfast.

My dad and Sam paddle boating at Pullen Park.

Mason going down the slide like a big boy.

Miles showing Mason how it is done. Mi Mi was there to help.

Cheeeeeeeeese. Carousel ride at Pullen Park.

This picture cracks me up. They all look very concerned at what exactly is in that nasty-looking water. The little boats went round and round like a carousel.

Paddle boat lake. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom and were beautiful.
A very nice park indeed.

Miles and Mason with me in the paddle boat.
I believe this was Miles' first excursion on a real boat.

Two of my favorite people.

Miles having a heart-to-heart with Grandaddy
(probably about something of great importance like that rock there.)

The choo choo at Pullen Park.

Me and the boys at Pullen Park

Cousins in space.

Cousins at the mall. Very nice (free) play area for kiddoes and seating for parents.
Our mall should take note.

Cousins hanging out on the quilt.

Mi Mi taking advantage of naptime.

Mamaw with Grant

Sam and Miles - these two have some sort of very sweet bond. Miles loves to play with Sam and I think Sam genuinely likes playing with Miles. I also think that Sam and Miles resemble despite their limited "relation".

My favorite picture from the trip. Sam recently got glasses and I think they make him look very cool and smart. Grant loved all the attention at Mi Mi and Grandaddy's.

Mamaw Denham with her brood: me, Dad, Kim and Sam.

You Tell Me...

I have a ton of pictures to post - but I saw this and had to know-
Does he or does he not look like the gerber baby? You tell me...

Miles' second birthday

I'm only a month late with this post. I have been waiting on the pictures and then I got the pictures and they sat on a DVD for a couple weeks before loading to the computer. No amount of technology will make up for laziness. My apologies.

ANYWAY - the party was a huge success in more ways than one. I invited a slew of people thinking at least a third of them couldn't come. Well, two or three families said they wouldn't make it, and all the rest showed up. And we are glad they did. But it was one of those parties that just grew, and grew and grew. Thanks to multiple ongoing lists and some strategic delegation, it went off without a hitch or a huge dent in our wallet.
We had a curious george party because that is by far Miles' favorite show. He wakes up in the morning and the first word is "Joooce" and the second is "Ooh, Ooh, Ah, Ah". That is code for Curious George. We borrowed a blow up ball pit from our neighbors and a tunnel for the little ones to crawl through. Then we had a special visitor come and read Miles a birthday story. He was very surprised and loved sitting in The Man with the Yellow Hat's lap. We had cake, ate snacks and called it a party! It was really a lot of fun and I was glad everyone could share our celebration.

There was no question as to what theme Miles' party was going to be. We had plenty of George items to decorate with.

Me and the birthday boy. Miles had a really good time at his party.
(I know you can't tell by the look on his face here. But really. He did.)

The upside down borrowed tunnels and the Barrera kids.

My cute niece, Allison, who told us the tunnels were upside down.
It took a 3 year old to figure it out!

The borrowed bouncy ball pit. It was a HUGE success. And better yet - it was free! I should probably bake my neighbors some cookies or something for letting us borrow it.
We had it at our church. Our house holds 4 people comfortably, so that wasn't an option. It was a cold rainy/snowy day and I am glad we didn't plan anything outside. That will always be an issue for Miles' parties. It could be gorgeous or miserably bleak.

The birthday boy chillaxin' in the ball pit.

What's a party without balloons? We purchased a shiny curious george balloon but the Party City employee didn't tie it on to the string correctly, and it came loose from the ribbon and flew away as we took them out of the car. Who me? Bitter?

I do want to say a huge thank you to all our friends for bringing such wonderful toys for the Make a Wish Foundation's Wish closet. Not only did you make our day wonderful by coming but you have cheered up another little boy or girl somewhere in Arkansas by contributing to the toy box. I delivered them the following Tuesday and the staff were so excited. They commented that these were "really nice toys". It made me proud to have such generous friends.

Miles with special guest, "The Man With the Yellow Hat". He read Curious George and the Birthday Surprise. How appropriate.

I spent way too much time on that hat but its not an item that you can find at just any old store.
I had a hard enough time finding a bright yellow shirt. And yellow pants are impossible to find.
I know. I've tried. Thanks Chris for playing along - even when your wife and kids were sick and couldn't come to the party. You were quite convincing and I loved it just as much as Miles.

A quiet story time before having cake and ice cream
(and as we let the inflatables have a rest too.)

Brother Grant partaking in the festivities and some good grandparent time.

THE cake. Wish I could claim it but we got it from the Blue Cake Company.

Miles actually blew out the candles - both of them - all by himself. I have no idea how he knew what he was supposed to do, but he did. I was thinking the whole time "Whose idea was it to blow out candles on a cake that everyone is going to eat. He is going to spit on this cake. I know it." I was right there and he didn't. I was shocked, and proud.

To calm the restless crowd of mostly 2 year olds, we had crayons and George coloring sheets to fill the time until I could cut everyone cake.

Miles enjoyed about 3 bites of cake before going back to playing with his friends.
I finished it off for him later since we ran out.

We are so glad everyone came to celebrate Miles' second birthday with us. We hope you had as much fun as we did and for those of you who couldn't make it, we hope this post can make you feel like you shared the fun with us. Hey, there is always next year. I hear that Atkinson kid can really throw a party!

Blooming

This is the time of year when things start blooming - Daffodils, Irises, Tulips. Miles' language skills have been blooming themselves, and like the flowers, come out of nowhere. One day he wakes up and will say a new word. Honestly, he says a new word almost daily. Some more constructive than others. I have the "ah-ha" moment when he says a new word. He says it, and carries on as normal. I believe it's because he has been saying it all along. We just could not understand him.

It must have been a good winter for Daffodils. Most of ours are blooming but none of my Lilies of the valley are. I have about 2 dozen Iris blooms coming up as well. They will be pretty after they open.

My favorite new word moment happened after I had changed his diaper. He was standing on the changing table, so he was taller than me. He leaned down eye to eye, right up in my face; put his finger on my nose and said "Noooose". Then he immediately put his finger on my mouth and said "maaoouth". Last he picked up my hair and stuck his finger in my ear and said "EOoor." He has a really hard time with that one. He says them very deliberately and slowly like he is thinking very hard about it - and i am sure he is. Other new words this week - Lelmo (elmo) and paper.
I had been worried that his speech was not developing on track. And it still seems very muddled but my friends assure me this is normal. We had our nutrition study visit recently (at which they track his development) and I had to circle all the words Miles says. I was surprised how many were circled. I also had to write in the words not listed and I know I missed 5 or 6, probably more. So that reassured me that we are moving in the right direction.

So smart! The freezer bar is just his height. I need to get him some magnet toys.

Grant has been sitting up supervised. I tried leaving him sitting up on the floor while I fixed breakfast and he fell over on his face on the hardwood floors. He didn't appreciate that. So we aren't quite to sitting all alone yet. Since moving to his big-boy carseat, he has been perfecting this skill. Since his carseat does not come out of the car, he has to sit in a high-chair at restaurants, or the buggy at stores - and when you can't do that on your own, it poses a problem. For now we have been toting the infant carrier in the trunk and using it when we are shopping or go out to eat. I don't think we will have to do it much longer. Everyday he gets stronger. It's hard to steady all that weight!
Grant has also moved up to the Jumper-roo. Many of you know Miles was the jumperroo king so Grant has big shoes to fill. Right now, he enjoys standing in it and playing with the toys. He doesn't really do much jumping. It seems to capture his attention more than the swing these days. Grant liked being in the swing but he gets bored in it now.

Some of Mason's lettuce crop. It's probably double this size now.

Daffodils are the first to poke their heads out. It must have been a good season for daffodils b/c we have more than normal that bloomed though my lilies of the valley did not bloom at all. I also have about 2 dozen iris heads forming.