Happy First Birthday!

Miles turned one! I can't believe it is already a year. What a blessing he is on Geoff & my life. He is such a joy to have around. He is always smiling and inviting everyone over to interact with him. I can't go anywhere without him drawing people's attention. He really exemplifies loving life to the fullest. We can't imagine life without him. Happy First Birthday Miles!

His latest activities include taking a few steps on him own. So close to walking but not quite there. He loves sharing toys with us, putting them in and out of boxes, suitcases, or whatever he can find. He also plays peek a boo, where he hides then peeks out! He has gotten 7 teeth so far and seems to be on a break of more pushing through.

Stats:

• Height: 29 1/2 inches
• Weight: 19 lbs
• Head Cir: 24.25 inches
• Favorite Activity: cruising around & between objects and people
• Notes: Loves hanging out with kids, adults or on his own.

Toys r us trip

Our first trip to toys r us. Miles and I posing while Geoff captured
the picture.

Playdate

Miles and I went over to Andie's for a playdate. Only problem is Andie's Miles slept the whole time until the last 20 minutes.

Miles attacking the Camera

I was attempting to get Miles to make a sound with his hand over his mouth. Instead I got pounced on.

Cousins

Can't wait until the cousins can run around together! We are all going to have our hands full when that happens!

Jacob (7 months) and Miles (11 month)

Jacob

4th of July Hike

Sybil, Josh and baby Jacob came over for the 4th and we headed out to try out our hiking baby backpacks! It was a great success! We hiked for 2 hours with no problems. Sybil and I weren't even tired. :) We got the easy job of just hiking while the guys carried the 20 pound kiddos...

New Look

I decided it was time for a new look. Hope you like it!

Just like his cousins

The more and more I see Miles getting his own personality the more I see different trails of my nephews come out. I see a mix of Nathaniel and Andrew. The biggest one of Nathaniel is the head shake but I don't have a picture of that. Here are two examples like Andrew...

The wrinkled nose look

The just try me look.

I couldn't find a good picture of Miles, but I see it all the time.

11 Months Old

Miles is now 11 months old. It seems so little has changed over the last month and at the same time so many small things. He started cruising along furniture, playing ball back and forth, turning the pages in a book. This months favorite activity is stomping on everything. He's either crawl or cruise over to items and then get in a position so he can stomp on it. Such a boy thing!

He also loves the water, grass, dirt and sand. Anything he can get his hands into and he's having a blast. Whether it be splashing or digging. He's also adventurous. I'm guessing another boy trait. For example as group of us moms were at the park with our babies. All the other babies (same age as him) hung out on the blanket while Miles crawled off to investigate the geese near by. I had to go chase him down to stop him from following them off into the lake.

Latest Stats:

• Height: 29 1/2 inches (Lots of growing this last month!)
• Weight: 20 lbs
• Favorite activity: Stomping on anything and everything
• Notes: He now has 4 teeth. The top two breaking thru during the last week in May.

Kiawah Island Vacation

We had a wonderful vacation in South Carolina at Kiawah Island this last week. Here are a few of my favorite pictures. The rest are at the following site if you are interested:

Kiawah Pictures
Stephenson Family Photo shoot in Kiawah

The three of us in the pool.

The whole family.

Geoff & Miles on the beach

with the house in the background.

Camera shot from the porch looking at

Michael & kids playing in the pool.

Fun Moments

Bat Baby...in his Batman PJ's

Helping roll out Dad's tight muscles.

Using Genni as a step

Playing peek-a-boo

Memorial Day Weekend

All 5 of us (Geoff, Miles, me & dog's Austin, Genni) headed down to Geoff's parents house for a long weekend. It was nice enough out that we spend some time playing outside in the water and on the boat. I got a little camera crazy since I actually remembered my digital SLR. Here are a bunch of the pictures.

The rest can be see at: My Memorial Day Weekend photo gallery

Family picture with Geoff, Miles & I.














Miles with his scrunched up nose.














The boys playing in the water. Geoff w/Miles on the left and Josh w/Jacob on the right.







Gerry & Cyndie navigating the boat.









Miles helping Gerry drive.










Josh, Sybil & Jacob relaxing for a quick moment.









Lastly, the sailboat we rescued and pulled back home.

The Self-feeding Disaster

So I'm sure this will become more and more common. Every parents deals with this daily is some house holds. However it was the first time for Miles. The self feeding disaster. I decided to let Miles feed himself some asparagus and butternut squash and this is the result... I can't wait for the one year old birthday cake!

10 Months Old

What a great month with a tough ending. We made a 10 month appointment to get his weigh in. However he had a fever for two days, was very lethargic and then broke out in a rash all over his body so we made our first sick visit. Turns out everything was okay. The problem was Roseola. A viral illness he most likely got from other kids. It starts with a fever and ends with a rash over the body. We then did the weigh in and he passed with flying colors. He had gained almost a pound in a month!! We are still working on his neck rash however. Not sure if it is an allergic reaction or not.

Over this last month I can't believe how active he has gotten. He wants to touch everything, eat everything, experience everything. He has such a joy for life! And this is only with him crawling! I can only imagine walking. He started waving at everyone, loves other kids and can't get enough cheese or rice crakers.

The latest stats:

• Height: 27 1/2 inches
• Weight: 17.8 lbs
• Firsts this month: fast crawling, walking with help, attaching the bookshelf, playing ball with us, waving
• Favorite activity: going after the dogs water dish

Trip to the Reston Zoo

Pictures from top to bottom:

1. All of us mommas and babies at the zoo

2. Miles & I checking out a lamb

3. Our best buds

4. I have no idea, but isn't it cool looking.