Matt's First Father's Day

Yesterday was Father's Day...and that meant it was Matt's first Father's Day! He has been such an amazing father during the past 3.5 months. I have seen him grow as Miles grows and it is awe inspiring to me. I am so proud of the Dad Matt has become.

We spent the day together as a family unit of three. We woke up at Mom's house in West Memphis and Matt was greeted by Miles and his Father's Day goodies. Miles gave him some Tennessee rocks cups for his whiskey drinks, and made him a little booklet of "52 Reasons Why You're an Amazing Dad." (Got the idea from Pinterest. It was my first Pinterest project!)

Then, we headed home to Jackson. We spent the afternoon playing with Miles, unpacking, and taking naps.

Miles and Daddy

Miles wore a onesie to commemorate the day.

He played in his activity seat that his NeNe and Mommie Cica gave him. He loved it!

But liked chewing on the parts much more!

After our afternoon together, all three of us went over to Mimi and Papa Darrell's house to celebrate Father's Day with some grilled pork chops, potatoes au gratin, green bean casserole, corn and pie. Overall, it was a great day spent with the people I love most. I even got to see my dad for a little while before we left Arkansas.

June Weddings

We have spent the past two weekends in Memphis for weddings. The first weekend of June a family friend of mine got married at FUMC in West Memphis and had her reception in Downtown Memphis.

This is Matt and I at the reception. They had an awesome band and we had a great time dancing.

Then, this past weekend two of our very dear friends got married in Germantown. We are so happy for Erica and Kevin Butler. Matt and I were both in this wedding.

Matt, Miles and I at the rehearsal dinner. We had yummy BBQ from Germantown Comissary!

Miles was just hanging out in his stroller during the rehearsal. He was such a good boy!

Erica and I before she walked down the aisle. She was such a beautiful bride.

Matt and I at the reception, which was at the Memphis Raquet Club. We had so much fun, but we missed our Miles...who spent his night with Honey and Jo-Pa.

This is the picture my mom sent me while Matt and I were at the wedding. She said he loved playing in his activity seat. He is getting too big already!!

Hanging out with Mommy

Miles and I have enjoyed the past few weeks together. We've spent our days watching Sesame Street and Dora, playing, and going for runs in the neighborhood. Sorry it has been a while since my last post....I have been busy with weddings, bachelorette parties, and trying to write a 40 page paper for my last master's class.

Miles is doing well....his blocked tear ducts don't seem to be a problem anymore. I have been putting breast milk in his eyes and it helped clear them up! He is growing like a weed. I tried to put a 3 month sleep and play on him the other day and it fit in the width, but was too short!! I believe we will have a tall young man some day. He is also holding his head up so well! We are so proud of our little guy!

I've taken several videos of our young buck...here are a couple.


The first one is of him having tummy time. His Mimi (Elaine) taught him how to do this and he is playing with his favorite toy that his Uncle Brandon got him.

The next video is of him having a conversation with me. I ask him questions and he responds in his own way. It is so cute!! This is one of my favorite things to do with Miles.



Miles' little querks

Miles has grown...as I mentioned in the previous post. We love that he is a healthy and big boy, but we love his little querks even more.

One of Matt's favorites is when Miles has been laying in his "Ava Kate" or carseat for a long period of time. When he gets up, he stretches by sticking his little booty out. It is the cutest thing!!

We have been trying to get it on video, but Miles is camera shy (I know...how is my baby camera shy?). However, we did catch it on camera one day...

This picture doesn't do it justice...It is just the cutest thing we've ever seen. He does this all the time!

Another querk about Miles is that he loves to communicate! He has definitely found his voice. One day, we were playing and talking and I got out the video camera to catch his communication skills. He was a little camera shy, but I was able to get a little bit....

We love our Miles and hope he continues with his querkiness!!

Well....It's that time of the month again....It is May 28th, and that means Miles is 3 months old today!! We are so incredibly grateful to have this wonderful little man in our lives. He is such an amazing blessing. Matt and I spent 5 1/2 great years together and had the best time. However, now, we couldn't imagine life without our Miles--or as we call him, our Booger Bear. I thank the Lord everyday for giving me such a precious gift. I only hope and pray Miles gets healthier and stronger everyday.

He has been growing a lot in the past few weeks, especially on the communicating side of things. Matt and I have a lot of fun with him. Not that we didn't before now...but now Miles loves looking at us, hearing us talk, and he even talks back to us in his own language, of course.

Miles now weighs a whopping 17 pounds! He is 27 inches long.

Here are a few MILEstones:

• I love to coo--especially when Mommy and Daddy talk to me in the morning and when Mimi has tummy time with me.

• I am holding up my head.

• I can sit in my Bumbo seat without Mommy and Daddy holding my head.
• I am grabbing onto everything--from blankets, to pillows, to jewelry and hair--I grab it! Daddy says I have a SUPER grip.
• I am teething! I love to gnaw on my hands, fingers, and my Sophie Giraffe (who we renamed Gus-Gus).
• I have started to drool a lot lately, too. So much that I might have to start wearing bibs.
• I am sleeping better at night--at least 6 hours.
• I am now using bigger bottles to eat, but I am still taking breast milk too.
• I am starting to use my hands to prop myself up during tummy time.
• I like to use my legs to stand up when Mommy or Daddy hold me.
• I have found my voice! I scream, especially when Elmo is on TV!
• I love to hear my Mommy and Daddy sing to me.
• I can wear some 6-9 month clothes.
• I am starting to develop a little bit of a personality. I am definitely like my Mommy, a morning person!
• I am in the 90-95 percentile in weight and length, and 75-90 percentile in head circumference.

Matt and I took some pictures of our little guy today, on his 3 month birthday....It is getting a lot harder to take pictures because he moves around so much. I had to put my camera on sports mode!

This one is great...it shows his drool! It might be gross, but this is how it is all the time nowadays.

He has great posture already!

Such a sweet little man!! I love his smiling face!

Uncle Joe, the high school graduate!!

We are just as proud of our Uncle Joe, my youngest brother. It feels like yesterday when he was Miles' age and I was changing his diapers! Now, he is a West Memphis High School alumni and heading off to college in the fall.

We spent the weekend of May 18th celebrating...in typical Looney-Smith fashion...with parties, family fun and lots of good food.

That Friday night, we went to the big graduation....

Miles got to meet Alvin, my uncle. He sat with him during the graduation ceremony until Miles got scared because people were screaming for their loved ones. (I love his Elvis face in this picture!)

The whole family...The Smith's, Huff's, Looney's, and Cleek's

Meemaw, Joe, and Papaw

Me and two of my favorites!! Don't we look alike?

Class of 2012-Mommie Cica graduated from Speech Therapy School, Joe from high school, and I will graduate with my master's in July.

After graduation, we went to the country club to celebrate Joe and his friends' graduations. Then, on Saturday, Matt, Brandon and I ventured to the BBQ Festival in Downtown Memphis.

Matt and I at BBQ fest. It was sooooo hot. We were glad that Honey, Janet and Diane kept little man!!

Saturday night, Honey and some of her friends threw a wedding shower for a family friend. Miles enjoyed getting passed around from woman to woman so they could love on him.

Miles was so tired Saturday night. He fell asleep around 9 and didn't even want to eat when we finally went to bed around 12.

Sunday, we got to eat yummy breakfast at Meemaw's and then we came home. I was glad to be off from school for the summer after that busy weekend. But...I wouldn't have traded it for the world. It was great to have everyone in town to celebrate Joe.

Uncle Brandon Meets Miles

My brother Brandon finally got to meet Miles!!! It was almost three months, but I am so glad he got to hold, change, and feed his nephew.

For those of you that don't know....Brandon lives in North Dakota. I know....who would want to live there!! However, he went to UND to pursue a career in air traffic control. Now...after a year as a college graduate he is finally well on his way to becoming an air traffic controller. We are so proud of him! So...who knows...the next time you fly the friendly skies, Brandon might be guiding you to your final destination.

Brandon came down for my youngest brother, Joe's, high school graduation on May 18th. He killed two birds with one stone and got to hang with my little man, Miles.

Brandon holding Miles. Miles got some awesome gifts from Uncle Brandon---a new outfit and a toy that plays music and flashes lights. Miles loves his new toy that Uncle Brandon gave him, especially during tummy time!