Catching up

Hello again everyone! Sorry we have been MIA.  For those of you who we have seen these past few months, you may understand why the blog got neglected.  We have been on the move!  I am still trying to figure out how all of the wonderful mothers I know get things done!  With that being said, there is never a dull moment in our lives!  We have spent the past three months traveling and supporting Bryan in his away rotations in Chicago and Little Rock, as well as holding down the fort for his 30+ hour work days (yes days) here in OKC.  Thanksgiving was a welcomed holiday for us in that his schedule should slow down and we will once again all be under the same roof!

September was bitter sweet because although Bryan left to spend four weeks in Chicago, I knew Miles and I were headed there to visit for almost 10 days!  Because I have the most wonderful father in law ever,  Jack flew to Oklahoma City to help the two of us on our flight. The flight went so great and I was so appreciative of his help!  We spent some wonderful time with the Smith family exploring Oak Park and Chicago and enjoying the cool fall weather.  Miles and I, along with many family members, put some miles on our trusty stroller.  We stayed in Great Grandma Smith's (GiGi's) condo in Oak Park which was walking distance to parks, grocery stores, shopping, and Aunt Joan's.  Bryan of course was working long hours, but we found time to enjoy being so close to our wonderful family!

The 'Chicago Bean'

Bryan and I got a night out in Oak Park!

Oaktoberfest

Parks galore!!

Cousin Jack

The boys showing off one of Miles' favorite gestures.

Miles in flight

Miles' first train ride to the city with Aunt Joan, Mom, Poppy Jack, and Grandma Jean

October as many of you know is my favorite holiday, er month.  Along with being home to my reoccurring 29th birthday, October also includes pumpkin patches, fall weather (conducive to boots, sweaters, etc), and Halloween! Miles was just perfecting his animal sounds and had a pretty good lion's roar.  So, lion for Halloween it was.  We enjoyed the holiday here in OKC with friends going to the zoo and trick or treating at the local mall.  I put together costumes for Bryan and me, but they were packed away for a more promising next year.

Pumpkin town at the Myriad Gardens on my birthday

Happy Halloween! 

 Another highlight of October was some mommy and daddy time in Sonoma, California.  Because Elizabeth and I were neither one pregnant for this first time in 3 years, we felt it was time to all take a trip together. My parents graciously kept Miles and Bryan and I got to spend some much needed relaxation time along with our friends.

Following some quickly resolved flight drama, Bryan and I flew from California to Little Rock on the Sunday before starting his rotation at UAMS.  I had booked him to stay in an Extended Stay that looked decent on the website.  Lets just say that we didn't end up staying there. Yuck.  So...the next week was spent finding an apartment for Bryan to live in for the next month.  We ended up renting an apartment a little south of Little Rock and it was not too far from the hospital and perfect for Miles and I to visit on the weekends. Miles stayed in Clarksville during the week and I drove back and forth to OKC for work on Wednesdays and Thursdays.  I put some miles on the Jeep, but it was a fun month.  We got to spend some great time with our friends and family.  The month ended perfectly with Thanksgiving at my  grandparents in Heber Springs.

We spent a lot of time with our friends the Dowlers. They have three kiddos and the youngest is Miles' age.  He liked Bryan.:) The boys had fun!

Park time in Little Rock! We played with Aunt Jean Ann and cousins in Sherwood!

Cloud dough and relaxin' at Nona and Papa G's

Now, here we all are back at home and enjoying every minute of it.  I never knew how exciting it would be to clean my house, have all our laundry in the same state, and snuggle up together on the couch.  We put up our Christmas lights and tree (heaven help us) this past weekend and are ready for the holiday season!  We are planning to spend some time in Chicago for Christmas then back to Arkansas for a late celebration.  I can't wait to see many of you!

During these months Miles has changed so much! He is walking/running everywhere, he is talking up a storm, and is the most curious child I have ever met. His favorite words are now: mama, dada, dog, choo choo, tractor, truck, and please (it gets him what he wants 99% of the time!).  He is still signing some words but can usually repeat the word after we say it. He continues to love to play ball and has a pretty mean arm.  The dogs are getting a run for their money, as Miles has become very entertained by their ears, tails, and feet.  He is an eating machine and has shot up in height and weight finally! Despite all his environment changes he has continued to sleep 11-12 hours at night.  We are about the start the pacifier battle, but he has gradually started leaving it in his crib during most of the day.  So, life is pretty good for Mr. Miles and I can say this is one of my favorite but one of the most challenging stages so far.  He has developed such a sweet (but mischevious) personality!  Again, I am still trying to figure out how to get things done--including this blog!  I will try to stay on it! Love you all! xoxo

FIRST...steps, haircut, birthday!!

This past week was a week of firsts! First steps, first sweets, first haircut, and FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY!

Miles has been standing and cruising for a couple of weeks, but on Monday July 31st he took his first three steps!  Of course we are dealing with lots of bumps and bruises as we perfect this new skill, but it has been so fun watching him learn and get better each day!

Unbelievably we celebrated Miles' upcoming first birthday this Saturday!  We decided to do a 'small' get together at our house with a 'BALL' theme.  Miles' first word was 'ball' and anything that resembles a sphere is now known as 'ball'.  So since interests at this point are mom, dad, food, sleep, and ball, we chose the most party appropriate.  We made our back den a 'ball room' and carried the theme throughout the house and backyard.  The food kept with the theme with sausage balls, meat balls, cheese balls, melon balls, and shrimp ball.  We also had malt balls, cake balls, and a ball shaped cake for Miles!  After we ate and Miles got his first taste of cake, we went to the backyard to play in the ball pit pools and the beach ball sprinkler.  We had a total of 13 kids and over 25 adults.  Needless to say our little home was crowded, but we loved every minute of it! Miles got some great gifts, enjoyed a day with his friends and family, shockingly loves sweets and cheese balls (eye roll), and had all his spherical dreams come true!

For his upcoming birthday Wednesday we decided it was time for a big boy haircut!  I was so nervous about Miles sitting still for more than 30 seconds, but he did great and even seemed to enjoy himself!  We kept a few curls but he looks so grown up now!

It is so hard to believe that it has already been one year and it has only been one year! It has been the most wonderful 12 months of our lives!  I find it hard to believe anyone doesn't believe there is a God when you witness the wonderful miracle of life!  We thank Him everyday for this intelligent, strong willed, kind, loving, unpredictable, and beautiful child!

I can hardly wait to see what the next year holds in our LIFE WITH MILES! xoxo

Where did July go!?

Sorry it has been a few weeks since my last post.  The summer is flying by!  We have spent the last month catching up from our vacation, Bryan has been studying for his Step 2 Board exam, and trying to stay cool.  Miles is growing more and more every day and I can't believe his First Birthday is right around the corner!  As hot as it has been these last few weeks, all I have to do is remind myself that I am not 9 months pregnant and it makes it a bit more bearable!

We celebrated Bryan's birthday on July 4th here at the house with friends.  We grilled wings, played bags, and  as usual had Bryan's ice cream cake to celebrate his 32nd birthday!

Miles and I just returned to Oklahoma City after a road trip through Tulsa, Fayetteville, and Clarksville.  We visited family and friends and let Bryan study hard for his boards.  Every stop we made was fun and Miles was worn out!  In Tulsa, we visited my aunt and uncle.  Although Toby is having some health concerns, we enjoyed our time with them swimming in the pool and catching up!  In Fayetteville, we celebrated Tiffany's upcoming birthday and in true Gresham fashion got a free dessert out of the deal!

In Clarksville, we tore up Papa G and Nonna's house, played with friends, and I got a girls night out!  We are always sad to leave but were anxious to get back to Bryan!

Bryan took his test Wednesday and we were home to greet him with our version of "Whatta Man" by Salt-n-Pepa.  Fortunately there are no pictures to commemorate this event. Haha.  "He's smart like a docta with a real good rep..." for those of us who grew up in the 90s.

The past few weeks Miles has blown us away every day with a new skill!  His vocabulary includes ball (over and over...), bird, flower, teeth, banana, bottle, more (he is signing it now too!), and dog.  He is also just on the verge of walking!  He stands on his own and is trying to take some steps.  He toddled between chairs yesterday and its debatable if he was holding on.  So, any day now!  While in Clarksville my Mom asked me what I was 'going to do when he started walking?'  Good question Mom, good question!

He definitely is keeping us on our toes, but we are enjoying (most) every minute of it!  He is sleeping almost 12 hours now so at least we are getting some rest!  We are starting to plan our birthday party and would love for everyone who can to make it!  It will be Saturday, August 11th.  If you'd like to join let us know!

Have a great weekend and week! We are looking forward to a STUDY FREE weekend! xoxo

Our Northern Expedition

Our vacation began Friday, June 15th as Bryan wrapped up his third year of medical school and Miles turned 10 months old.  We headed out Friday afternoon at 4 pm and pulled in to Bryan's parents house in McHenry, Illinois at 6 am Saturday morning.  Bryan drove the whole way and I, well lets just say I did my best to support him.  Miles Trooper Smith slept almost the entire trip!  Driving through the night was the way to go!

We enjoyed a full week in Illinois visiting with family, going to the zoo, and swimming in the pool.  Miles met some of his aunts, uncles, cousins, and his Great Grandma Smith (GiGi)!  We had so much fun and Miles absolutely loves his grandparents! Miles helped them water the flowers every morning, clean the pool together, and visited the neighborhood park.  Miles continues to be fascinated with all things that fly, so he and Poppy did lots of bird and plane watching.

Bryan and I were so excited/nervous about leaving Miles in Chicago as we traveled to Boston and Maine for   Roshan and Cami's wedding.  Our flight left early Friday morning and we were gone until Monday evening.  Miles did fabulous!  Jack and Jean sent us frequent updates, Miles continued to sleep great, and I think everyone was exhausted by the end of it!  We are so grateful to have such wonderful families and it was so  nice to have a little weekend getaway!

We flew into Boston and rented a car for our drive up to Portland, Maine.  We met Roshan and Cami in medical school and now they are living in Boston where Roshan is a Urology Resident and Cami is studying to be a Nurse Practitioner.  Their wedding was a two day event, the first night being a traditional Indian ceremony, and the second being a formal, traditional Christian wedding and reception.  We enjoyed dressing up, learning new traditions, and seeing friends that have scattered across the country for their medical training.

After the wedding Bryan and I drove down the Maine coast and enjoyed seeing all of the coastal towns and the beautiful ocean.  We ended in Boston Sunday afternoon and spent the day walking the Freedom Trail.  As I mentioned several months ago, I am trying to learn more about our country and it was so moving to see where most of our history began!  We had dinner at the Union Oyster House, which is our country's oldest restaurant.  We walked the entire city of Boston enjoying snacks and drinks in the different areas.  The hotel we stayed in was the home to the Boston Cream Pie!  Monday was pouring rain, but we purchased an umbrella at the hotel gift shop (can you say 500% markup?!) and made the best of the day!  We were exhausted and rested at the same time when we finally flew back to Chicago that night.

After another successful road trip home, we are all safe and sound here in Oklahoma City.  Bryan starts his fourth year today and Miles and I are settling back into our routine.  We are celebrating Bryan (and our country's) birthday this week with friends and trying to stay cool.  My garden survived our vacation, thanks to my friend Erin, and we have enjoyed some fresh produce this week.  I hope everyone is staying cool and enjoying their summer!  Our doors are always open for friends and family! xoxo