Tomorrow Miles is 6 months old. I cannot believe it. It has gone by so quickly and yet in merely half a year my existence has become so different. For the life of me, I cannot think of any other 6 month span during my 33 years that have been so transformative. While there are times that I miss the ease of going for a long run, grabbing a beer, or working through the night that my childless days knew, I have grown to love this little guy so much I would not want it any other way (GAK...total cliche). How many millions of moms have said that, but it is cliche because it is true.
Anyway, enough with my reflections on motherhood. Here is a quick update for the month of October. Luckily my parents were here from the 11th to the 19th. The timing was perfect, we all missed them and we really needed the help. First, I have not been 100% healthy since getting back from Maryland. First, I got mastitis. Then, the antibiotics I took for the infection gave me severe intestinal problems that are just now starting to rectify. My energy has really been tapped. On top of that, our new child care provider ended up not working out. Thus, we have been back to tag-teaming Miles' care while trying to get ready for the Society for Neuroscience conference, which has been rough. Thank God for grandparents. I just wish I had felt up to having more fun while my folks were here, but we did manage to have a few new adventures during their stay. First, we took Miles for his first dip in the pool. Here he is before we headed to the pool. I call this outfit "The Tourist". The hat is from his Great Aunt Sherrie and Great Uncle Tom, I got the shirt in Maui when I was 17 weeks pregnant and the swim trunks are from Uncle Jon and Aunt Katie.
We only managed to get his feet wet. The pool was quite cold and he was not thrilled with the experience. He actually tolerated his dip in the Pacific Ocean better. Perhaps that was so cold his feet went numb.
Last weekend we headed to Portal and stayed in a stone cabin at the mouth of Cave Creek Canyon. Portal was spectacular. It was everyone's first time there, but we will all be back. We loaded Miles in the child carrier and did some hiking. Our goal was to make it to the top of Silver Peak. In this endeavor we failed. I was not up for it and Miles was really only good in the carrier for about 5 miles (we needed to go 9). Drew was going to summit without us but then realized that he had the car keys and within a Mile from the top rushed down the mountain to catch up with us. I have a very considerate husband. Anyway, here is Miles in the carrier while he was still enjoying himself. His forehead is red because he just woke up from sleeping with his head forward.
Another picture while everyone is still in good spirits.
This is a stunning picture my dad took of my mom and Miles at Cathedral lookout just before sunset.
On Sunday, we hiked up to Barfoot Lookout for a breath-taking 360 degree view of the Chiracahuas. We felt on top of the world and Miles hated it (as evidenced by the picture below). He cried inconsolably the entire time we were up there. Drew then suggested that poor Miles was probably afraid of heights. Sure enough he was fine as soon as we got back on the trail and in the trees. I should have figured this out considering that I was so afraid of heights as a child that I cried during an entire trip to the Grand Canyon.
In other Miles developments, he is working on mastering a sippy cup. Tonight was his first encounter and while he managed to soak himself I think he also drank a bit of water on his own. If anything, he really enjoyed playing with the cup.
In fact, he enjoyed this so much that he made super-happy scrunchy face!
Miles pulling someone else's hair for a change!
Baby monkey
Getting a little girls attention the way daddy gets mommys attention
Amaris and Miles....
And a few more....
Don't worry, we did not let me sleep in this position for long. Only long enough to exploit it photographically.