Christ is Born! Glorify Him! Christmas 2009

I hear all of you out there judging me. No posts since his 2nd birthday party?! What does this kid even look like? All I ask is that you remember the charity and joy of Christmas and that you forgive me of my failings as a blogger.

Miles is doing great. He's HUGE and quite funny. Enjoy these pics from Christmas morning, and I'll do my best to follow up with posts about what has been happening the last 6 months in our lives . . . no promises though. :)

This was the first time our Christmas tree lights were turned on, so Miles really liked the lights (and the basketball ornaments)!

Oh yeah . . . he noticed the presents under the tree as well . . .

While his expression here doesn't quite say it, Miles really was excited to be a "football player!" We could take or leave the Bears, but we live here so what the heck? We may as well act enthused about our local football team.

By the way, Miles wore his uniform the entire day.

Perhaps the biggest hit of the day: TRAINS!

In addition to everything he received, Miles also really enjoys this edition of "The Little Drummer Boy," which was given to him by Deacon Theophan and Miriam. He asks us to sing it to him often. He calls it "Parum pum pum pum."

It really is a striking song, and so pertinent to our lives.

Christ is born! Glorify Him!!

The Little Drummer Boy

Come they told me

our newborn King to see

Our finest gifts we bring

to lay before the King

So to honor him

when we come.

Baby Jesus

I am a poor boy too

I have no gift to bring

that's fit to give a King.

Shall I play for you

on my drum?

Mary nodded

The ox and lamb kept time

I played my drum for him

I played my best for him

Then he smiled at me

Me and my drum.

Happy Saint Nicholas Day!

Earlier this month . . . In honor of his feast day (December 6th), Saint Nicholas visited our home and brought Miles some special gifts. That morning Saint Nicholas visited our church, so Miles gave him canned food items to help feed the poor. As Saint Nicholas told us this morning, "we will always have the poor with us. We must give to those in need."

(For those of you not familiar with the movie "Toy Story," Buzz and Woody are the two main characters. Now that we have a minivan with a DVD player in it, Miles has probably seen Toy Story in excess of 20 times. What can I say? He keeps asking for it, and it's a 45 minute commute one way :)

Happy 2nd Birthday Miles!

Miles turned the big 2 on July 17th, so we decided to throw him a birthday party at our house. Thanks to the friends and family who came, the party was a great success!

We went with an Elmo theme this year since Elmo is basically the only kid character that Miles' recognizes (ahh . . . the benefits of not owning a television).

The birthday boy enjoyed his party meal, which consisted of "all things that 2 year-olds like to eat: hot dogs, fruit, chips, cheese, veggies, and mac-n-cheese. (By the way, Stauffer's makes a mean frozen family-size Mac-n-Cheese (only to be outdone, of course, by Trader Joe's frozen mac-n-cheese, which feeds two adults and one child nicely).

Friends Domenico, Mary, and Claire enjoy dinner on the back porch.


Okay, this next photo needs explaining. During the party one of our friends asked me (jokingly) when Brian was going to come out in an Elmo costume. I answered him (seriously) that the only Elmo costume we own fits a toddler. Well . . . wouldn't you know that there were a few toddlers at the party, and one such toddler, our buddy Isaac, volunteered to dress up as Elmo and surprise Miles for his birthday. The following pictures document this grand event:

Isaac gets ready . . .
Elmo enters the garden where Miles is playing with his party guests . . .

Happy Birthday Miles!!

Oh my goodness! Elmo came to my party!!

I can't believe it's really him!

Elmo brought an Elmo cake!!
Great job Isaac! You were a terrific Elmo!!
(I don't think Miles ever knew it was you:)

I told Isaac's mom that they should consider renting "Isaac as Elmo" for other kids' birthday parties. Look at this guy! He even played bubbles with the kids! People pay big money for this kind of party entertainment.

Luke (Isaac's brother) wanted to make sure everyone knew that he was at the party too.

In this photo, Domenico teaches Miles how to put money in his pocket. This was useful because Miles had received $2 in a birthday card. (Incidentally, Miles pulled out the $2 several days later while we were shopping in Target. We were in the toy section, no doubt. This kid is smart . . .)

Time for cake and ice cream!

Note to self: for future reference, balloons are a BIG hit for the 2-year-old birthday party. No helium needed. Miles spent most of the party hitting a balloon up in the air, watching it come back down again, hitting it up in the air, watching it come back down again . . .
Forget the gifts!
1st birthday party: wrapping paper and boxes
2nd birthday party: balloons and bubbles

. . . Before I forget, here are Miles' official two-year-old stats:
Height: 35 and a half inches
Weight: 33 lbs. 11 oz.

WE LOVE YOU MILES!
MAY GOD GRANT YOU MANY YEARS!!

Visits with Granner and Dee

During the summer months we really try to pack in as much family time as possible since the fall and winter are very busy for both Brian and Kendra at work. We were fortunate to be able to visit with Granner and Dee several times in July, both in Chicago and Cincinnati.

Granner and Miles really got into playing catch on the driveway.

The cousins were able to visit from Canton too, which was a nice treat!

In Chicago, Granner and Dee came to celebrate the 4th of July with us (even though Miles slept through the fireworks).

Bubbles on the back porch. Always a popular activity.

Miles got to open early birthday gifts, like this choo-choo set!

Granner and Dee also made it back for the weekend of our condo association garage sale, which also happened to be the weekend of Miles' birthday party. I was grateful for Granner's help with the Elmo cake. It took several trips to the grocery store to get the red icing right! Thanks Granner!

What a lucky boy!

It's a new thing every day . . .

I was working in the kitchen one day and turned to see this . . .

It's so fun watching him learn new things!