New painting of Miles

I just finished my latest painting, and yes, of course, it's of Miles. This is from that picture I took when we went to see Santa. When Miles saw the painting for the first time he got excited and said "Choo Coo! Ho Ho Ho!" Smart boy and what a good memory too! I think he really likes it. What do you think?

Pacific Southwest Railway Museum

12/24/08: The other night we took Miles on the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum’s trip to “The North Pole”. It was a blast. First of all it was COLD, like in the 30’s, which added to the Christmas-y spirit. We packed a picnic and some wine and shared it before the trip on the picnic tables provided at the station. Then we piled on the train and waited for the High School elves to serve us our hot cocoa and cookies. We sang Christmas carols off key with the rest of the jolly carolers and anxiously awaited Santa’s arrival on the train. When Santa arrived he spent a little time with each child as he made his way to the front of the train where he waited for the end of the trip. After we made it back to the station we made our way back to the special train car where Santa waited for us and had a semi-private picture opportunity with him and Mrs. Claus. Miles was very excited to see Santa and would say Hoo hoo hoo! When he saw him. He wasn’t as excited about sitting in his lap, but the picture we got of him waiting his turn is priceless. I would recommend the trip to anyone with young children. We brought my Mom and even she had a great time.

We just finished decorating Christmas cookies and we are getting ready to visit with the family for Christmas Eve dinner as is tradition. Miles helped me with the cookies. He is so helpful and eager to try new things. Happy Christmas to you all!

Thanksgiving Thoughts.

11/26/08: Getting ready for Thanksgiving. Reviewing recipes, grocery shopping, cleaning house and crocheting like a fiend. I’ve been trying to get Christmas presents together. Yes, the home made, oh so crafty kind. I’m trying not to spend more money on yarn than I would on actual gifts. Christmas is going to be big on spirit and light on funds this year. We are so lucky though. Blessed really. And I am so thankful for that. I listen to NPR a lot, too much probably, and as I’m trying to make room for leftovers in a packed fridge I hear about little old people and children standing in line for hours to get a free sack of potatoes and some onions. And this is somewhere in my neck of the woods. It makes me pause and realize that although we may have some unexpected bills and things are tight, that we are soooo very lucky that we have each other. We have heat, food, a warm place to sleep. I get to stay home with my amazing little man and practice words and signs with him everyday (today we learned dragonfly- thank goodness for the internet and http://www.aslpro.com/) Anyway, I guess I’m blubbering and going on. But I am so thankful this Thanksgiving. Now I need to go look up that recipe I heard on NPR for putting vodka in your pie crust. That’s my kind of Pie! Happy Thanksgiving.

Visiting a Horse.

I took Miles to meet my friend Wendy's horse, Concerto today. Miles loved him. Wanted to feed him treats and follow him around. He wasn't afraid of him at all. Not sure if that's good or bad sometimes! I'll be doing a portrait of Concerto for my friend. I'm looking forward to it. He's such a sweet, gentle horse. I'm having some trouble uploading a picture, so I'll try later.

Haircuts, Halloween, and Mission Trails Hike

11/1/08: I can’t believe it’s already November! But don’t I say that ever month? A couple of days ago Miles got his first professional haircut so he finally looks a little less wild. I’m a little sad about it, but his hair really was getting unruly. He did great. Sat on Daddy’s lap and watched me get my hair cut at the same time. They gave him a lollypop so I think that’s the trick to getting him to hold still.

Yesterday was Halloween and Miles went trick or treating for the first time. He loved it. It took him a few houses to get the hang of it, but after a while he was running up to each door to show his pumpkin to our neighbors. He is still too little to say "trick or treat" so we said it for him. We just went up our block and back and that was enough. Halloween is a little bit of a reunion tradition for us with some of our old friends, so I made a big pot of stew and we had guests in and out all evening. It’s amazing that Miles slept through the noise.

This morning we went on a hike at Mission Trails. Miles is asserting his independence and strong will full force these days. It can be difficult to go to a store or run errands with him because he has his own ideas about what we should do and where we should go. So that’s why I took him hiking today. I wanted to let him lead the trail and show me every branch, rock and twig along the way. We ended up going about 2.5 miles, Miles was great for about the first half then he got tired and would pause for long periods, picking at nearby plants. Finally I would carry him a while and then he would want down, would walk then stop, the crouch and poke at the dirt looking for good rocks to show me. I carried him the last mile or so, up the detour that turned out to be very steep. I was worried about not getting enough exercise going so slow, as it turned out, I got my fair share. Whew!

Gardening and bread making

9/30/08: We are having a great day so far today- so much so that I felt compelled to sit down and make a note of it.

I tore out my tomato plants this morning before the sun peeked out over the roof of our house. I was able to shove most of them in the composter. After tearing out the tomato plants I found my forgotten bell pepper plant, which is finally beginning to produce. I’m hoping it will thrive now without having to compete for sun and water and we’ll have a late bell pepper harvest. For our winter garden we are going to plant beans, spinach and onions. I bought organic seeds from Henry’s yesterday. I’m going to start them in a biodegradable egg carton so I wont have to transplant them. I kinda feel like I need another raised bed, but where would I put it? Ah well, one season at a time. Miles helped mix the worm castings and bloodmeal into the soil and got good and filthy. I had to squirt him down with the hose. Despite the chilly morning air, he loved it and we ran around the yard screeching and laughing.

Then we went inside and began the bread making. I have a recipe for Tassajara Yeasted Bread from last months Yoga Journal Magazine. Miles stood on his kitchen stool and helped spoon flour into the measuring cups and would sprinkle the flour in the bowl as I stirred. He slept through the initial kneading but when he wakes it’ll be time to knead and separate and get ready to bake. I’m bringing this bread along with a carrot butternut squash soup over to a friend’s house for an early supper. I hope it all turns out since I’ve never made either before!

I’m still crocheting my “Punk Bunny” for Miles, It’s a pretty slow going thing. I think he’ll love it when it’s done though. And I managed to get a painting finished for my friends birthday. So all in all things are good on the creative front.

More Baby Sign

Signing with Miles has helped us tremendously. He can only speak a few words, but can sign a great many! He started by signing “more” as “I want that” and “milk” meaning nursing then we were stuck- until we took Sign 4 Baby class. Then we had a sign explosion! It really helped me get in tune to what interested him. His first signs were helicopter, airplane and motorcycle. Then he moved on to some more useful signs like cookie, cracker, cheese, down, eat, finished, pear, mom, dad, butterfly, spider, dog, duck, hug, please, and thank you. I’m sure there’s a bunch I’m forgetting. Before we took the class he clapped by hitting his arm instead of hand to hand. Then with the added hand eye coordination that I believe he received from this class, he finally got it and learned to clap like his peers. All these signs help us get some insight into what he is thinking as at 20 months old he only says a few words clearly. We’re at the point now where he can focus on me when I show him a sign and try to copy it. Now we can avoid tantrums by asking him to use his hands to tell us what he wants/needs. Also he understands much more signs than he can actually do so I can talk to him without voicing- like if we are in the library I can tell him we’re going to change his diaper soon without letting the whole place know about it and he shows he understands by running away!

We mostly use sign for mealtimes where he can tell me if he’s finished or if he wants more and what he wants more of. That’s super helpful and avoids a lot of food tossing. We also use sign to help him express his interests in locomotives and animals/insects. He loves telling me when he spots a spider web by signing spider and pointing. Or can tell me when he hears a helicopter flying by. You can see the excitement on his face that he can say words he would have difficulty pronouncing at this age- and I love knowing what he’s thinking. I also love knowing that he’s learning another language that we can expand upon as he grows and he can be bilingual to a certain degree. And of course it’s super cute to watch him sign thank you to his grandma when she’s offered him something! Now that is priceless!

Pumpkin Decorating

9/23/08: We had a busy week full of fun stuff. We finally cut some of the pumpkins off the vine and had a decorating party with a couple friends, Lauren and Dylan. It was a ton of fun. I think the kids really had a good time getting all messy.
Then we hosed them down and went out for Pizza at San Fillipos in La Mesa. That place is cool ‘cause they give the kids pizza dough to play with- and the food is consistently great!


Keith, Miles and I went wandering OB over the weekend. We packed a lunch to eat on the pier and then went for ice cream after hitting up all the shops.

We stopped in at the Children’s museum too. Can’t go wrong there. Miles favorite is the bubble installation. Always a hit!

Co-sleeping Changes

9/12/08: I put Miles crib back together in our room and we are helping him learn to sleep in there. He is taking to it well- the hard part is getting him to go back down in the middle of the night. That's been a bit of a battle. But I think with some persistence and consistency he will start to like it more. I think he's sleeping better since not being next to the boob all night. He's almost 20 months! I think it's time to start to wean at night at least. It's a hard sell to him, but he'll get used to it. Can't wait to sleep all night! The other night he did sleep for a full 10 hours! Last night for 9 hours! But he goes to sleep so early that it doesn't help me much. If I put him to bed later he still gets up early so he just gets less sleep. I tried that.

Last night he woke at 2am and I nursed him in the rocking chair for 15 minutes and put him back in the crib. He was okay for a minute or two and then started to cry and stood up. So I woke up Keith and when he saw his Daddy coming for him he started to screech and wail. Keith took him in the other room and changed his diaper and got him some water at my request. The whole time I could hear the screaming (the neighbors probably could too) Finally after hearing a few loud bangs and more screeching I went out to the kitchen to see the problem. Miles would throw any cup Keith gave him so the floor was all wet and Miles was on the ground crying while Keith was mopping up the floor. He took it like a pro and was very calm. I picked up Miles and he went quiet except for little gasps and choking sobs. Keith looked at him and was astonished how calm he was. I took him into the bedroom and gave him a fresh sippy cup and put him in his crib. He started to cry and thrash so I leaned over the crib rail and sang our song really loud so he could hear it over the crying and rubbed his back. He clutched his sippy and his elephant and calmed down. He turned on his back so he could see me and I sang more softly and stroked his hair and forehead. He calmed after just a few minutes of this and I was able to go to bed (next to him). I could hear him kicking the mattress for a while but he was able to know he was safe, mommy is always there and put himself back to sleep. I don’t think he would have been ready for this at any younger of an age. But I do think he’s ready now and I think it’s important. If he wakes at 5am or later I bring him in to bed with me for some cuddle/nursing time.

So that’s a little peek into our new co-sleeping arrangement. I think it’s worth the work. It’s always hard to make a change. But without change it’s hard to grow. Miles is learning that I’m always nearby and even if he’s feels like he’s alone, he’s with me. I am still meeting his needs- especially the need for a good night’s sleep. He’s old enough to understand when I say “Mommy goes night night, Daddy goes night night, Andy goes night night, Num Nums go night night and Miles goes Night Night.” I’m happy with the change. And I’m happy Keith is willing to try to help, even with disastrous results. Last night he asked why he even tries and I told him he does it because I appreciate his effort. How would we know that it wouldn’t work if he didn’t try? I can’t be a sleep time martyr. I’m no hero! Just a Mom. The picture you see in this post is a totally random but oh so cute picture of Miles with a swim diaper on his head, we needed a good use for them, right?

One more thing, Miles signs "ball", and "ceiling fan" too- He can say ball. But when he says ceiling fan it sounds like "Kung Pow!" So a sign is helpful! ha! He's learning a new sign every day or so- hard to keep up! Oh and he said "cheese" today- the actual word. Yay!

Pumpkin update and spider friends

Here are a few new pictures of our amazing pumpkins- and our friend that lives with the tomato plants.

Baby sign language explosion.

9/10/08: The other day Miles "said" his first sign sentence, “Eat food please, yum.” I was pretty excited because he’d never done the sign for eat before. Today at breakfast he would copy just about any sign I would give him, He signed cracker, more (properly), cheese, and fish, all in one setting. Wow! That’s quite a language explosion for breakfast! He would point to something and look at me and I would give him the sign and he would copy most of them. That’s pretty cool!
By the way- we take Baby Sign classes at Java Mama with Signs 4 Baby. Joann Wooley is great! http://www.sign4baby.com

New Co-sleeping Arrangements

9/6/08: Ack what happened to summer! I can’t even believe it’s already September.

Miles is 19 months and 4 weeks. He is talking up a storm! Most of it is fairly unintelligible, but he’ll have a whole conversation with you if you can decipher the general topic by his signing and gesturing. He still can sign much more than he is vocalizing. All this makes him really fun to have around. He’s also a little bit better at independent play.

We had to put the crib back together, but we are compromising and we put it in our room next to our bed. We did this because Miles was waking at 3:30am every morning and wanting to get out of bed. I think I was waking him with my movement and then nursing him doesn’t really get him back to sleep. So after many sleep disrupted nights and sore boobs from nursing for hours, we decided this was best for our family. Miles has taken to it very well. But I think he’ll probably be able to crawl out of it soon. I already have a plan for that. I’m going to take of the front rail and put a bed rail on the crib so he can get in and out by himself. Hopefully this won't lead to more midnight roaming. But so far I don’t ever leave him in there awake anyway- it’s really just so my movement won’t wake him. So, Yay! He slept all the way trough ‘til 5am this morning, then was in our bed until 6 when we finally got up. I think this will be a good transition into his own room eventually. Just a little independence.

19 months old tomorrow!

8/14/08: Disclaimer: I should be folding laundry, but I don’t feel like it.

So my new thing is jogging. Keith and I have been jogging when he gets home after work. We put Miles in the jogging stroller and go around the hood for about 30-40 minutes. Not all of it is jogging, because after about 3 minutes I feel like my lungs will explode, but we alternate jogging and walking. I am pleasantly sore and feel so fit! Yay!

Miles is 19 months old tomorrow. He talks some, but signs more reliably. He can sign, helicopter, plane, more, milk, cookie, sorry, please, motorcycle, truck, down, and thank you. I’m sure I’m forgetting some words. He can say: banana, down, more, vroom, duck, uh oh, Dad, Mama, and I’m sure there’s more. It’s the kind of talking though that only mama can understand for the most part.

Miles is no longer using the potty- taking a little break, I guess. No pressure, we’ll see how he does in the future.

Pumpkins are coming along nicely, They are getting big but are still green. i wonder what we'll be this Halloween!?

Okay- the laundry isn’t going to fold itself- onward weary laundress!

Potty and Pumpkins

8/6/08: My pumpkins are really growing! Along with tomatoes, jalapenos, tons of herbs, strawberries and bell peppers. It’s harvest season for the tomatoes. Some of them have blossom end rot so I added some calcium to the soil and I’m watering a little deeper and less often, that seems to be helping. But I am SO EXCITED that the pumpkins are growing! I hope to have a little kid party in October where they can all go pick a pumpkin from the yard and maybe we can have a carving party with lots of help from Mom and Dad. I love it.


Miles is on a slight potty strike. He will sit there for a minute but then hops down to play. Half the time peeing (or worse) on the bathroom floor. So no progress these past few days. We are not in a hurry, I just offer it to him every now and again and follow his lead. Hopefully he’ll be back on the wagon (or potty seat) again.

I finished a little amigurumi for my girlfriend who is about to give birth any day now- here he is- it’s a mouse.

Potty Update

7/30/08: We’re learning to use the toilet! Miles has decided he wants to put the potty chair seat on the toilet and actually use the toilet like a big boy! This is the third day in a row that he has “gone” in the toilet. I made a little chart, not that he needs it- it’s more for me, but he gets a sticker when he goes in the potty. He’s still going plenty in his diaper too, don’t get me wrong. But it’s a great start!

I-you-la

7/9/08. Miles said "Iyoula" yesterday- which I’m pretty sure meant "I love you". We were playing in bed in the morning and I said "I love you" and he looked at me and said "Iyoula" and gave me a kiss. So cute!

My Mom bought Miles a potty seat that doubles as a step stool. So far Miles loves it. He has been standing on it to wash his hands and sitting on it with his clothes on. Today he asked to take his diaper off and sat on it for a while commando. I think he likes the idea of being diaper free. Me too! Maybe it’s not too early- but then I don’t want to get my hopes too high. We’ll see.

Otay Ranch Fountain

6/19/08: We are having a busy week! Today we went to the Otay Ranch Shopping Village. I love that mall. We hung out with my Mom all day and night- which was a lot of fun and a huge help and distraction for me after being on my own all week. Miles had a lot of freedom at the book store to play and rearrange their shelves. Then we headed over to the children’s play area. They have a wonderful fountain where the kids can play (under age 7). I was actually prepared this time with a suit and change of clothes for Miles! He LOVED it. It’s so amazing and fun to watch him interact with other children and explore a new experience. He’s not shy at all. He loves to talk to and watch other kids. You can just see him soaking everything in. He talks a ton lately although not much that’s understandable in English, a lot is understandable in tone. Here’s a picture of the set up. We’ll be back for sure, but next time I’ll bring a towel! (almost perfect!) For more pictures of this week, email me...

The Misadventure of a Novice Mom or Morning at the Beach

Upon hearing that it would be in the nineties today, I decided last minute to go to the beach this morning. I had a vision- We would sit on a blanket under the umbrella and I could read my book while he played in the sand. So with this in mind I put the wagon, the umbrella, a blanket and a lunch in the car and we headed off to Coronado at 8:30 in the morning. This is what really happened. We parked right next to the wheel chair ramp that leads out to the sand. I put him in the Ergo, loaded the wagon and off we went to find a good spot not too close to the water, so he wouldn’t be tempted to run off into the ocean. I laid out the blanket and put up the umbrella and put Miles down and he took off, made a straight line for the ocean. So I hopped up and ran after him, taking his sandals off and running back to throw them in the wagon.

He ran screaming like a wild boar straight into the water and promptly fell on his butt. Okay so his shorts and cloth diaper are wet, no big deal, I thought. I tried from then on to keep him in the shallow water, but selfishly, I wanted to get video of all the cute noises he was making, so I made a decision. I let him go. He ran into the waves and got knocked down and roll in the water, get up shake it off and do it again. So I took off his shorts. All the while I was very aware his sun block only went to his knees. His cloth diaper was soaked and hanging heavily between his legs- probably what kept knocking him down. He had sand all over his body, caked on like sandpaper. After a little while of trying to get video and pictures without letting the ocean take him or getting my camera wet I decided that enough was enough and I would try to salvage my original vision. Having forgotten towels, swim diapers, or a change of clothing and being unable to put sunblock on him as he was covered in sand, I thought I would strip him down and let him dry off in the shade of the umbrella. That was a joke. He ran all over the beach picking up sand and throwing it, mostly on himself, while totally naked. Meanwhile it was nearing 10 am so the beach was starting to become more crowded with other Moms and older kids. Boy did they all get a kick out of seeing me in my wet clothes and floppy hat running after the wild and naked boy.


Cursing myself for being so totally unprepared I made an executive decision to cut my losses and pack up. I decided to try to hose him off at the bathroom shower. So again, naked (him, not me!) I tried to put him under the shower. He was very interested in pushing the button although he was shaking like he had Parkinson’s from the cold. We managed to get most of the sand off him and a relatively clean and dry cloth diaper on him. I let him play in the car while I loaded it up. Finally, donning a cloth diaper only, I buckled him in to his seat and defeated, headed for home.

On the way home I was trying to feed him little pieces of the sandwich I had hoped to eat on the beach. I was driving and reaching back to hand him pieces. He grabbed my hand and steered it to his mouth and then held my hand, patting it and laughing. I felt like he was thanking me for the short time at the beach. And that made it all worth while. But next time I’m bring bathing suits and towels. Duh.

Purple Corduroy Pants.

6/17/08: I went to the San Diego Fair today with my friend Lauren. After the long drive to Del Mar and the hot wait in line to get in, we decided the kids needed to run around and be free from their strollers. So we headed over to the garden exhibit to tear things up a bit. Miles would run up to people- everyone and anyone- stop right in front of them and wave at them with this big, goofy, expectant smile on his face, wait for them to acknowledge him (or trip over him), then run to the next stranger to personally greet them. Most people were older, and kinda hippy-ish and were very responsive to his salutations. Some of the younger crowd just pretended not to see him. But he waves with his whole arm and hand, so it’s hard not to see him.

There was one special couple, who were standing close to each other, the man’s round belly almost toughing the lady. Miles ran up and dashed in between them, under the belly. I think he thought their bodies made a tunnel. The woman had long, grey hair, thick glasses and a fanny pack over her bright purple, tapered leg corduroy pants. When he made his mad dash between them, they kind of jumped back saying “Oh!” Miles thought it was the most fun thing to do, but when he circled back to give it another go they were walking away, so he ran up behind the lady and head butted her in the posterior and she spread her legs so he could run through them! And then back again, and again. Keep in mind he’s a tall boy and wasn’t really ducking so she was kind of trying to hop up to avoid being pegged in the crotch. Miles was laughing so hard the entire time. Finally the couple said good-bye and tried to make an escape from this crazy boy but he followed them until I finally grabbed him, kicking and screaming and went to go find Lauren.

His other favorite part of the fair was the trip to the infield where we had to go through a real tunnel. Miles hollered and yelped and bellowed the entire length of the tunnel so he could hear his echo. We also stopped in an old timey photo booth- which he was amazed with- and we watched a band play some old surf rock for a while.


I managed to be swindled and conned by a carnie at the balloon/dart booth. It was $2 for one dart or $5 for 3. I gave the tall, smiley, man my $5 and popped 2 out of 3 balloons with the darts. The last one I missed. The man said, “Say “Pop!”” So I said, "Pop!" and he said, “You won!” But it was one of those crappy little toys that I won so I decided to go for the big stuffed dragon. When I asked him how much I would need to spend to get the dragon he told me he would make me a deal, and for each dart that hit a balloon it would count for 3 points and I needed 12 more points. So I needed to hit 4 balloons. I agreed and tried to pay him but he graciously told me to pay him AFTER I took the shots. I knew then that he was somehow going to take me for my $20.00 and I even said so. Again, I hit 4 balloons and was so impressed with my dart skills. He gave me a high five and got me the desired Dragon and then told me I owed him $20.00. What?! $20- It should have been $7.00- But each dart counted for 3- he explained. Oh- He got me. Such a con. But I had agreed to that, so how could I argue? Besides I had so much fun winning the dragon, and I knew he was conning me and I thought it was such a funny cliché- that I just handed him my twenty and laughed as I walked away. How he sleeps at night though, I’ll never know.

After that we walked through the farm and headed back to the car, stopping along the way to indulge in a chocolate dipped banana. Miles now thinks that chocolate dipped bananas are the next best thing to num nums (nursing). He clutched it and gnawed on it with his eyes closed all the way back to the car. Not bad for a one dollar ticket to the Fair!

Skin Deep, Green Bag Lady, and More!

6/11/08: You can always tell when my life is crazy by how long I wait to update this blog. Things are challenging here while Miles learns to talk… and listen! And we are always in flux with sleeping arrangements and schedules. Very loosey goosy. As long as he’s getting enough sleep, that’s good enough for me. I do okay with half a brain. Ha.

Here’s a few sites that have been sent to me recently. Sites that will open your eyes to the scary world of chemicals that we live in. My friend just mentioned that the FDA has really let us down, and I couldn’t agree more. http://www.cosmeticdatabase.com/ This is the site to check out the products you use on your skin. It’s awesome because once you discover how toxic your products are, you can find ones that are less so. And this one http://www.thedailygreen.com/living-green/blogs/organic-parenting/sunblock-sunscreen-55040201 has some great information in general, but this link will take you to an article on sunblock.

On a happy note, I received my “Green Bag Lady” Bag that I requested through http://www.greenbaglady.blogspot.com/ Not long ago I heard about this artist who sews reusable market bags for people and gives them away for free. In fact she mailed my bag to me for free, costing her $1.95. I noticed that her envelope had a stamp that asked me to reuse the envelope. So I did. I promptly picked out some extra fabric that I had laying around and took it to the post office today. She gets fabric donations from around the US (at least). I’m glad I can add to it. What she’s doing kinda renews my believe in humankind’s goodness. Rock on Green Bag Lady! And thanks for my beautiful bag!