Happy Half Birthday to Miles!

Our sweet baby is half way to 1 year old!! I can't believe how fast time has gone. It seems like yesterday he graced us with his presence. We are truly blessed beyond belief to have such an amazing little boy in our lives! He is wonderful and we have had such a blast watching him grow. The Lord has really given us an incredible gift, and I am forever thankful!!

I think he has a lot of Matt's personality in him. He is very happy and loves to chill. However, he does like a lot of attention, too, so, he is somewhat like his mommy.

Now, at 6 months, Miles weighs 21 pounds!! No wonder my back hurts from carrying him around in his car seat carrier. One more pound and he is at the maximum weight limit for it!! He is also 30" long. This is probably why we are having such a hard time finding sleep and plays for him to sleep in! We have a big, healthy boy. I am thrilled with his size. I guess I just need to lift more weights!

Here are some of this month's MILEStones:

• I am sleeping all night long in my crib! Woo hoo!!
• I am wearing some 9 months clothes, but most of them are 12 months.
• I am still teething, but no more teeth just yet.
• I still LOVE Elmo!
• I recognize Mommy and Daddy.
• I laugh at Roxie and Luke, even when they aren't doing anything.
• I have started babbling "Mamamamamama" and "Bababababa"
• I love to roll around on my floor pallet. I am not crawling yet, but it is coming soon.
• I have started eating baby food. Carrots are my LEAST favorite.
• I still take breastmilk and a bottle at night.
• I love it when Mommy and Daddy read to me.
• I am sitting up like a pro!

It is also getting a little difficult to take pictures of Miles. Here's what he did when I put him in his usual monthly spot. He just wanted to chill, and have no part in taking a picture.

Here is a video of me singing happy half birthday to Miles. He loves it when I sing to him!!



Miles vs. Carrots and Sippy Cup

For the past month or so, Matt and I have been giving Miles rice cereal at dinner time. He loves it! So, we have decided to start giving him baby food. On our first go-round, we opted for carrots. Every kid likes carrots, right? Wrong. Here's what Miles did.....

Ultimately, he is not like his daddy. Matt's favorite vegetable is carrots. Maybe one of these days.

We also have decided to start giving Miles juice. Here's his first encounter with a sippy cup:

Needless to say, he likes juice, but is unsure of what to do with the sippy cup. We will continue to practice. And on the menu tonight, is either apples or squash.

Oh, and by the way HAPPY HALF BIRTHDAY TO MY LITTLE MAN!! More 6 month pictures to come.

Miles' first Starlight Symphony

We spent Saturday night on the lawn of First Presbyterian Church for the annual Starlight Symphony, which showcases the Jackson symphony. Matt and I go every year and usually Elaine and Darrell join us, but they have been in North Carolina for the last month or so. Therefore, this time we went with our good friend Todd, who took us up in the bell tower of the church to see the carillon bells. (His mom plays them every year.)

Miles really enjoyed listening to the music. He loves music! The weather was really nice, as well. Usually it is hot and we spend the entire night sweating.

Matt brought a blanket for Miles to play on.

Miles, of course, got hungry during the show...and yes he is finally holding his bottles!!

What a beautiful night...the rain held off and the heat stayed away.

My sweet, little man and I

Of course...Miles didn't want to look at the camera for a family photo op.

Anyone who goes to the Starlight Symphony knows that at the end cannons go off along with the 1812 overture. Well, before you get mad...don't worry. We left before all of that happened. We managed to make it to the car, got everything loaded, and got Miles buckled in before the cannons. :)

Get your kicks...on Miles' new tricks

Miles has some new tricks I want to show off!! For starters, he sure is mastering the art of sitting up. We have been practicing every day. On Saturday, we spent the afternoon practicing even more, and trying to get Luke more comfortable with Miles. Luke has been a little skiddish of him lately, but he is warming up to Miles.

Miles loves Luke and Roxie. He laughs at them and wants to pet them all the time!

All of that sitting up and practice made both of my guys sleepy.

Another trick that I have to note....our son is obsessed with tags!! They can be on anything from pillows to toys and he wants to eat them!! As soon as he gets a new toy or blanket, he scopes it out for the tag and proceeds to insert it into his mouth.

Here he is with a tag on a blanket

He even found the one on his bouncy activity seat!!

And the last new trick is the best....Matt and I have finally put Miles upstairs to sleep in his crib at night. I know, we should have done it before now. However, he just has gotten to the point of sleeping through the night. It was so hard to leave him up there. As soon as we put him down and left the room...this is what we saw on our video monitor.....

....but after a few minutes, he eventually soothed himself to sleep and remained there until 8:00 Sunday morning, when I ran in his room and cheered loudly while clapping my hands and dancing around. He, of course, thought I was hilarious, but I, of course, felt like an idiot. But who cares!!! I am so very proud of him and the little man he is becoming. He truly is the most amazing thing that has ever happened to us!

It's football time in Tennessee...well high school football time, that is!

Miles went to his first football game (out of the womb) this past Friday!! The JCM cougars played the Haywood County tomcats for the first game of the season. The weather was perfect and we won the game 13-7!! Miles sure did enjoy getting passed around by all of my teacher friends, and he even got to see his friend Cal Havner. I am sure we will be going to plenty of more football games in his lifetime!!

Just before the kickoff...

Miles saying hello to Cal Bradford Havner

Matt, surveying the talent

My two sweethearts!! I hope Miles is just as good at football as Matt was!

Walking in Memphis for a Weekend...

This past weekend Matt, Miles, and I traveled to Honey and Jo-Paw's house because Uncle Brandon was in town for a visit. He just moved back down south to Lexington, KY. Friday night we all went out to dinner at our favorite West Memphis restaurant, Margaritas. Then, Matt, Brandon, Casey, Jamie, and I all went to Beale Street while Miles stayed at home with Honey and Jo-Paw.

Out in Memphis....just like old times!!

So happy to see him! At least now he only lives 5 hours away, instead of 18!

The next day, Joe and I went running and then we all got in the pool, even though it was a little too cool for the pool that day. That night, Honey, hosted a surprise birthday party for Kim Miller, a family friend, and Miles had the best time getting passed around from person to person. He loves attention!!

Miles is sporting a birthday hat and his new bib from Mrs. Kim! We will have to borrow the hat again in a few more months!!

On Sunday, we had to get up early and head to Tiptonville for Perry Butler's funeral. He is a friend of ours' dad who passed away from a long battle with cancer. Miles stayed with Aunt Lisa, Uncle Mike, Catie Beth and Mary Claire while we went to the funeral. He even got to visit with Uncle Chris and Ashton.

Mary Claire and Miles

Miles with Uncle Chris

Miles with Ashton...I wish I could get him to smile this big for pictures!!

A big thank you to Mike and Lisa for keeping our little man on Sunday!! He had a blast and was worn out after all the fun.

Sitting Up!!! Already?

Our growing little lad is getting big too quickly!! I have been trying to work with him on his sitting up and crawling skills lately, even though I spend a lot of time lesson planning.

Here's a video I took with my phone the other night....

I just love these little moments with him. He makes our world so much brighter each and every day. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful person in our lives.