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

Vacation countdown

As many of you know we are heading out for our family vacation in ONE WEEK!  Our plans include a drive to Chicago, a flight to Boston, then up to Maine for our good friends wedding.  Miles will accompany us to Chicago and stay with his grandparents while we fly East.  I am excited but nervous about leaving Miles, although I know he will be in good hands.  I know it will be harder for me (and maybe Jean:) than Miles!

In the meantime, we are enjoying summer!  Bryan is continuing to work hard on his Neurology rotation and my schedule changed so I am working in the middle of the week (to free up our weekends to travel when Bryan is away this fall).  And as I have said in the last few posts, Miles is EVERYWHERE!  And as I have heard, this is only the beginning of his bumps and bruises, but he face plants, spins, nose dives, and back busts so much!  I try my best to catch him but it happens so fast!  Luckily, Bryan assures me that kids are resilient and he always bounces right up.

Miles continues to enjoy bird watching, reading books, chasing the dogs, pulling up on everything, playing with his cars, and being in the pool!  I love this kid so much.  He is starting to say words intentionally: ball, bird, dog, teeth, whoa, drink, more, and dad.  "Mom" tends to come out during a good cry...but I am still 'patiently' waiting for him to say it in context!

We have enjoyed a few meals out this week with Miles.  As long as we have food, an interesting neighbor, and some toys we usually have a pleasant meal.  Bryan and I did sneak away one night this week for a date night.  We were both exhausted so we didn't make it out long, but it was worth it!

Also this past week, if anyone didn't watch, OKC Thunder won the NBA West Division Championship! We are waiting to see who we play in the finals, but we have enjoyed watching the games and seeing such a great group of guys play so hard!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!  Our next post will be in a few weeks with vacation pictures!  Can't wait to see many of you in our travels and hope to see our Arkansas gang soon as well.  Oh also, if you are reading this and are a mean person who wants to rob us while we are gone...I have someone really fierce staying here with the dogs...don't try it.  (For you mom and dad:)  Love you all! xoxo