An Epilogue of Sorts...

Well, that's is. I'm done. I officially cut Miles off from the boob when he turned 8 months. I say that but the truth is that he cut me off. I was doing just fine. We were down to one nursing session, first thing in the morning. It was nice to have that time together when we first woke up. Miles was the one that finally decided the bottle suited him just fine. He would rather just guzzle it down in 5 minutes as opposed to leisurely nurse. But anyway, I am satisfied with sticking with it and lasting as long as we did. I hope that our next kid catches on more quickly.

Every Day Get One More Yard...

Miles gives his daddy a kiss

Miles has been growing up a lot recently. He has his first new teeth on the bottom. They are pretty cute, but I know I am going to miss his gummy smile. 

Miles has also learned how to kiss recently. He really goes for it - lots of tongue - like a wet sloppy junior high dance kiss. It is pretty adorable. I get one every morning when I wake up way too early - it kinda helps make up for the fact that it is still dark outside..

Miles has also shown a lot of interest in standing up recently. He is pretty close to crawling, but I think he would prefer to just jump right to being upright. 

 This last picture is one of my favorite faces I have seen.

Finally, here is a video right after Miles woke up too early from his nap. It is a wonderful display of his pathetic "fussbutt" face. Behold the Fussbutt!

 

We're Going to See Jackson!

Big news!!!  Miles is adorable...p < .05

Seriously though, this past Friday Andrew found out that he matched at Jackson MS for his internship, which starts July 1st. Miles and I were excited to hear that Daddy matched at one of his top sites, and now we have plenty to do before we leave Columbia MO. 

I will probably still keep my position at Mizzou and commute back every once in a while to ensure that the grant project is still moving along. It is a little intimidating to run a grant project from another state, but luckily, I have an amazing project coordinator and most of the data collection efforts will be complete by the end of the summer.

To celebrate, we went to Kansas City yesterday and had a playdate with our good friends the Wardlaws.

 They have a sweet little two year old boy named (not joking), Jackson!

The boys got along very well and we cheered on the Tigers in the Border Showdown. It was a blast!

12 Days of My First Christmas

Although it was a long, long time ago now (we have been very busy!), we had our first Christmas before we left Missouri. Really it was us giving Miles his present from us. He enjoyed it for a bit. The "ele-fun-t" blows these balls out of its trunk. Right now, Miles enjoys blowing the air in his face.

 

Miles got to meet folks on the Talley side of the family. Here he is with his Grandfather  Talley.

He also met his Great Aunt and Uncle Talley.

He also met his Granny Talley.

Miles also met folks on the Cox side of the family. He was especially excited to meet his Grandma and Grandpa Cox!

He also met his Aunt Lori.

Of course, he spent some quality time with Nana!!!

He also had fun with the Littlefield side of the family!

Here is his favorite Christmas video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubeVUnGQOIk

Finally, here is a more recent picture - he can stand! (sort of)

Miles received a Christmas present from Grammy that we decided he could enjoy a couple of weeks before (not in the spirit of Jimmy Kimmel). He loves bouncing around in the jumper. He is always figuring something else he can do at his "command center."

A few days ago, it snowed for the first time in Mid-MO this winter. So, I went outside with Miles briefly to show him what snow was all about. He didn't really seem freaked out at all that this white stuff was falling from the sky!

Warning: The following videos are extremely adorable. Your head may just explode...

What I am Thankful For...

Miles' first thanksgiving was such a special day!

We went up to Moberly MO where his Auntie Amanda hosted a beautiful family dinner. I brought my family's secret green bean casserole recipe, a sweet potato casserole, and a homemade apple pie. Our friend from the Sher lab, Angi and her brother Michael joined us as well.


Andrew ran a 5k that morning and finished first out of those in our group. :) After the run, we hung out and watched football/the Macy's Parade. Miles got to try his first taste of pumpkin puree at dinner. He liked it well enough, but I think mostly because it was novel.

The turkey was really delicious! We also had mashed potatoes, rolls, stuffing, cherry coke jello stuff, brussel sprouts, and salad. For dessert, we had peanut butter pie, apple pie, sweet potato pie, and some pumpkin bars and cupcakes (YUMMY!!!). 

Miles also really enjoyed spending time with his Grammy and Grandpa for the rest of the day! We played board games and watched tv and took naps.

Andrew really enjoyed spending time with his brother-in-law, Ryan...

A belly-busting fun time was had by all!

A Cornucopia of Updates

I haven't done a top 10 list in a while, so here goes!

Top ten new things that Miles has experienced in his third and fourth months:

1. Rice cereal

2. Mount Pleasant Winery in Augusta MO

3. A MIZZOU tailgate

 

 

4. His newest friends, Mike and Courtney

5.  Cooper's Landing

6. His Great Aunt Jeanette and her friend Ellen (photographer)

 

7. A-frame in Rocheport MO

8. Turning some pages from my library

 

 

9. First Halloween

10. The Great Pumpkin Patch