Santa, Santa, Santa!

So we have been having breakfast with Santa for the past 3 years- you can tell by the pictures just how much Miles has grown!

We went this morning, and though Miles was a bit shy he warmed up and went to give Santa a big hug! Santa let Miles choose a stuffed animal, and he chose a clown doll-don't know where he got his love of clowns, certainly not from Mommy!

Later on in the day we went to the Irish Club's Christmas celebration for the kids. Santa was there again! And Miles got a cell phone made just for him!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Gingerbread Houses!

We made Gingerbread houses last night- thought it took Mommy 3 batches of frosting to get it right, it was fun in the end!

Mommy, Miles, and Daddy's Houses:


Miles' House:

Dominic the Donkey

Miles singing one of his favorite Christmas songs...

Letter to Santa

We wanted to get the letter to the "Man in Red" out early so he would have plenty of time to make all the toys! Miles dictated (with some prodding from Mommy and Daddy) while Mommy wrote it down. It goes as follows:

Dear Santa:

My name is Miles and I am 3 years old. I have been a good boy this year. For Christmas I'd like to give you presents. Do you like Circle cookies? I love you, Santa. I would like a house with animals, a camera, and some books (especially Berenstain Bears books) for Christmas. I hope you have a Merry Christmas, and I like you a lot.

Love,
Miles

It was very cute that the only things we really had to suggest were what HE wanted for Xmas- he just wanted to give Santa presents and cookies, and carrots and nuts to Rudolph.

Santa- he really has been, and is, a good boy!

Need a Little Christmas!

We got out tree this weekend- it's a nice Fraser fir form CT. Miles was so excited to put up the tree, he was jumping around like crazy putting up the lights and the ornaments. Christmas morning will be so fun this year!

November

Enjoy the pics!

Halloween!

It finally came! Miles started Halloween 2008 with a parade and party at school. All the kids dressed up and had a parade around the neighborhood, then went back to the class for some treats.

After school we rushed home and ate dinner, then got ready to go out Trick-or-Treating! Miles asked that Daddy dress up like a baseball player, and Mommy be a cat. Miles and Daddy went all around the neighborhood and got some good candy. Then they came back and helped Mommy pass out candy to the other kids. We had a lot of Trick-or-Treaters, but fewer than normal. There are a lot of pics, so if you cannot view the slide show, you can view them here.

Star of the Week

This week, Miles was chosen to be the first "Star of the Week" at school. Since he is the first, we had to come up with what we were to do all week without much guidance. We were told to bring in pictures for the board and that we could do something special each day. Today we made the bulletin board, and Miles explained each of the pictures for his class. Also, while Mommy was still there the class carved their pumpkin. The rest of the week Miles will read his favorite book, Mooncake, bring a CD of his favorites songs to dance to (and maybe his trumpet), bring a special toy, and then snack for the Halloween party. We'll post more pics when they come!

Reading

Miles has always loved looking at books, since he was a baby. He started turning the pages at 6 months old and hasn't stopped. Lately, he has started to "read" his books. Books we read all the time or only once or twice, he looks through each page and either recites what he remembers or makes up something. This picture was taken while Mommy was busy on the computer, turned around since it was "too quiet" only to find her little angel had been reading quietly (at the time for about 25 minutes). We are so proud that Miles has a love for books and hope it continues!

Officially the end of summer...

The closing of the beach house always marks the official end of summer. It was a beautiful weekend, sunny and cool. we also celebrated Nannu's birthday!

Forgotten Pics

Going through our camera and found these pictures from Miles' first day school (Sept). He moved up to the 3's room (pre- Preschool) and we got him his own backpack and everything. He and Nadia are still in the same class, which is good, since they are attached at the hip!

Pictures from the weekend

Here are some pics from this past weekend...

Apple Picking

We went apple picking this past weekend with Josh, Julia, and Tessa at Lyman Orchards. It is a great set-up there, and the kids had fun picking and then running through the corn maze! We may do it again, when the weather feels more like fall (it was about 78 degrees).

Beach Pictures

So we went to the beach again this summer for a week and had a blast! After 3 days of cloudy, rainy days, we ended the week nicely with some sun and warm weather.

Can't wait to do it again next year!

Miles' 3rd Birthday

It boggles our minds that the newborn baby we brought home from the hospital is now 3. Where has the time gone. In just three short years Miles has become a wonderful boy that is looked up to by his peers and the adults around him. He is sweet-natured, yet fiercely persistent; incredibly independent, yet loving and cuddly. He lets us know he loves us every day, and we hope that he knows how much we love him and so much more. We cannot imagine what any one of these last 1095 days would have been like without Miles in it, and will cherish every memory as the years continue to fly by quicker than we would like. We look forward to seeing the person he will become in the future- we hope the world is ready!

Here are the pictures from Miles' Yellow/Cinderella Birthday weekend/party (if you have trouble with the slide show you can see them in the web album here)

Random

We have been lacking in the blog world- so here are a few pics from last month. And yes, we did back-date this post...

Our Disney Vacation

We went to Disney for a week with Nanna, Papa, and Auntie Kiera. We decided to forgo the Disney resort and opted for renting a house near Disney. It was a good move- it was less expensive, more private, we had our own pool and kitchen for cooking some meals, and on top of that the house was gorgeous! Miles' favorite things were "It's a Small World"- we went on it five times, Dumbo, seeing the castle and Cinderella (whom he is SO in love with- every blonde we saw was "Cinderelly"), meeting all the characters, especially Mickey, seeing Mickey and Minnie's houses, the roller coaster ride, learning how to swim in the pool ALL BY HIMSELF, and the Hoop Dee Doo Revue. Miles loved every minute of it, and it was incredibly special for the rest of us to see the magic of Disney through his eyes. We all can't wait to go back!

Potty Training a Future President

Today was the day we decided Miles is ready for moving straight ahead on the "Potty Train."

WARNING: Bathroom talk ahead:
The other day Miles informed us of his need to poop. We encouraged him to do so on the potty, thus beginning our 2 day pooping attempt. He just did not want to go on the potty- but he kept trying- mostly sitting and reading through our entire library. Today, we let him run around naked a bit with the small potty chair in the kitchen if he needed it. So , he yells " I have to poop!" and runs to the kitchen, sits down and goes. Needless to say we went to Target for some cool Elmo and Mickey "Big Boy Underpants" and have decided for now when he is home he will wear those. Not sure he's ready to do this at school (or the teachers), so we will master it at home first.

Also, we're pretty sure we have a budding politician on our hands- here's a few reasons why:

- The other night Phil was having a meeting in the garage and Miles had to go out and shake every single person's;
- Anytime we go out, Miles has to say "hi" to everyone- really, EVERYONE. Some man in the grocery store jokingly asked, "Is he running for President?" Not yet!
- He wants to kiss EVERY baby we see- which can be awkward, but we now can joke- "He's running for office- kissing babies is a good photo op."

Congratulations Auntie!

Auntie Kiera graduated from Keene State yesterday. We went up after the ceremony (since it was also Mother's Day) and had dinner with the family.
Here are some pictures from Saturday at Nanna's as well! Enjoy, and hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day!

Daffodil Festival

We went to the Meriden Daffodil Festival this past weekend (I know it took a while to post). We met our friends the Statchen's for some food, fun and rides. Enjoy the pics!







Miles really loved the rides, so we're hoping this is a good omen for when we go to DISNEY the end of May!