New Bed

Miles moved into his "big boy bed" tonight, accompanied by his trusty pal, Thomas the Train. New Thomas Jammies - Check.

New Thomas Plush pillow toy - Check.

New Thomas Blanket - Check.

He was pretty excited about the allure of the new change -

enthusiastically dressed in his new jams, practiced getting in and out of his new configured bed, avidly posed for pics, etc. But when the time came for lights out, he fought it as usual. There was some screaming at the door, but after 20 or so minutes, he gave in, I mean settled in. :)

Russ

Russ fell asleep from boredom waiting while Miles continued to stall bedtime. He was surely dreaming that the new bed was actually for him, and not Miles. Then, he became Angry Russ when he realized his own bedtime routine does not include a series of cheerful songs and endless hugs and kisses. Grrr...

LarriBird Love

Here's a recent pic or two of LarriBird, who doesn't often get much blog love since her brother is quite the ham of late. Here she is enjoying her new Reindeer hat and gloves, gifts from Gma Jule and Gpa Ernie, who visited recently. She actually wore the hat for about an hour around the house. The mittens lasted another 10 seconds after this photo was taken.

MIles, Daddy & Sizzle

Sizzle, the mascot for the T-bones, KC's minor league baseball team, was on hand in Brookside to make sure everyone was having a sizzlin' good time. Miles was surprisingly comfortable around Sizzle, posed voluntarily, and even gave him a high-5. (Note that I stayed a good distance away from Sizzle.)

Trick or Treating In Action

Our neighbors a few door down are big into Halloween, and have had several yard ornaments out for the last few weeks. Miles LOVES all of them, and each time we go by, he troops into their yard to hug each one, or pat it gently. Last weekend, the Cat was stolen and they are still not convinced Miles was not somehow involved. Thankfully, the Cat was replaced, much to Miles relief. He was confused when it was missing.

Getting Ready

Miles is getting strapped into Elmo. Note the Itsy Bitsy Spider left to fend for herself in the background.

Itsy Bitsy Spider and Daddy

All ready to go

Happy Halloween! Elmo and the Itsy Bitsy Spider had big fun this evening, trick-or-treating in Brookside and on our street. Here's Larren ready to go, and in action on the street.

More playground fun

Miles met a new friend - Charlie - at the playground.

Look at me! I'm crawling...almost!

Fun with leaves!

Playground Fun!

Greatest Photo Ever.

Jim & Larren Viola, Day 3

Miles' New Digs...in progress

Miles is getting a new room (the former guest room) in preparation for the arrival of his sister, who will inevitably take over countless number of his things throughout his life. His room being the first, we are preparing it -- and positioning it -- as a big-boy room. Although there will still be a crib, he's getting a new-to-him toddler table and matching chairs, new rug and a new battleship gray paint job. Here's some pics of Jim in his room-painting debut...

Xmas Morning Pandemonium

Miles began ripping open gifts minutes after being plucked from his crib. Here are a few of him opening his new items.... Jim's reaction is captured here as well -- as he opened his new ice cream maker. Num, num!

The Dreaded Haircut

After months of pleading from Jim and close friends, I finally acquiesced and allowed Miles' first haircut a few days before Xmas. Here's several photos of me and Miles NOT enjoying ourselves, including one of me side-eyeing her comb as she prepared her tools.

Decorating the Tree

Miles helped decorate the tree before Xmas. In the days after, he particularly enjoyed un-decorating it as well. All breakable or important ornaments were strategically placed out of reach.

Nash Visits

Nash came to town recently with Kaisha for an evening/day of running around and getting messy. Here the boyz are getting cleaned up, just in time for bedtime. The next AM, they ran around and took a book break.

Miles' Classic Red Jumpsuit

Here's Miles wearing a jumpsuit, previously worn by both Uncle John and me. He wore it for about 10 minutes before the zipper started to itch. Too cute!

ROTFLMAO

Oh the simple things in life! Miles apparently gets a real kick out of coughing and sneezes. This first one was so funny that he couldn't keep his balance.